Former Washington Wizards star guard Gilbert Arenas is now a businessman — or more accurately, a guy running an NBA podcast who believes it’s a new avenue to NBA money.
And like Arenas or not, he makes good sense. He is also trying to help others make some good cents of their own. In other words, Arenas gave some solid pointers in how to run — and market — your own pod.
He went from NBA player to podcast how-to guru.
“Trust me, there’s NBA money in the podcast game, but it’s going to take time,” Arenas said on the Straight Game pod, via HoopsHype. “Don’t focus on views right away. It’s not about the numbers.
What’s important first is your thumbnails, titles, and then the content itself. The thumbnails and titles make people click, but the content keeps them coming back. It’s all about being authentic and consistent.”
Arenas is just repeating the experts here. He wasn’t finished.
“Make sure when you drop episodes, you’re doing it regularly,” he added. “Build a podcast based on yourselves, not just guests. If you’re always relying on guests, you’ll run into trouble when someone cancels or can’t show up.
“Think of it like a TV show — people should watch because they like you, not just because of who you have on.”
That’s not to say building a podcast that’s a slam dunk is easy.
“From there, it’s just about consistency. The stuff you think won’t go viral ends up being the biggest hit sometimes,” he said. “Push your content everywhere — Instagram, TikTok, YouTube Shorts. Treat it like Thanksgiving dinner: make sure you have short clips, 30 seconds, reels — everything.
“You never know what’s going to resonate. Something might blow up on TikTok but not on Instagram, or vice versa. The key is to put it all out there.”
Want to know how to win in the podcast game? Well, you might want to listen to none other than Gilbert Arenas.
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