Josh Lachkovic is the founder & CEO of Wine List. Prior to launching Wine List, Josh had a career in marketing & growth, starting his career in content, SEO, and insights at PR agency Hotwire. He then joined Pact Coffee’s growth team to turn his hand to print marketing and partnerships. Following this he went to an education company where he was responsible for breathing startup process into an established business. Before founding The Wine List he spent three years as employee number one at digital health company, Thriva, where he led and built the growth side of the business.
Creating content online today is easy. From a 280-character tweet on Twitter to a feature-length documentary on YouTube, whatever your skillset the internet has you covered. Twenty short years ago this was not the case. In the early 2000s, you needed technical skills and an understanding of HTML to post text and pictures online. The Web2 era came and things got easier (and crazier if we’re honest).
Creating content online today is easy. From a 280-character tweet on Twitter to a feature-length documentary on YouTube, whatever your skillset the internet has you covered.
Two of the earliest content platforms to emerge in the Web2 era were blogs and podcasts. Both of which are still in use by millions today. While they may not have the caché of the new cool social app like TikTok today, Instagram before it and Facebook before that, decades later both continue to be important tools for influence and brand building.
The name ‘podcast’ comes from the iPod, Apple’s MP3 player which was the precursor to the iPhone. The podcasting genre launched during the iPod’s reign and began to take off after the launch of the iPhone. While Facebook, Instagram and TikTok have received all the limelight over the years, the podcast genre has been humming along with steady growth.
Fewer listeners than users don’t mean less influence. Someone listening intently to a 90-minute podcast is entirely different to someone scrolling mindlessly through their social media feed. Quantity doesn’t mean quality in this instance. Likewise, clicking on one hundred funny 15-second videos is not the same as listening to someone speak or have a conversation for an hour.
The podcast format has several distinct advantages over other kinds of communication tactics. For starters they’re portable and you can consume them while doing day-to-day tasks. You can listen to one while driving, working out, walking and cleaning. It’s one of the few forms of media that you can consume almost anywhere.
Podcast listeners have a lot of endurance too. People spend an average of 38 minutes to one hour listening to podcasts according to numerous studies. They also spend up to 11.2 hours per week listening to them. If people enjoy you have to say they will listen to you intently and for a long time.
Show highlights
3:55 Josh introduces himself and how he got to where he is today.
7:21 From a passion to a business. How Josh got into the wine business.
9:38 The Wine List business model.
14:34 Josh teaches Ste a bit about wine.
20:52 Acquiring customers for The Wine List.
24:48 How Covid-19 has accelerated the ecommerce industry.
33:44 Is Amazon making it difficult for DTC brands to compete?
38:56 The current state of Facebook ads.
44:21 The one book Josh recommends everyone should read.