A homeworker has hailed the success of his podcast, which he credits with delivering £40,000 worth of sales.
Kieran Eccles-Miller, co-owner of Magical Traveller, launched the Magical Cruising podcast at the start of the year in a bid to raise his profile.
Eccles-Miller, who runs his business with husband Phil, hosts the weekly podcast with family travel blogger Sarah Christie, with the pair discussing cruise lines, ships, drinks packages and cabins to educate and entertain their listeners.
The 40-year-old, whose agency is a member of the Merlin Travel Group consortium, said he had long wished to host a podcast.
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“As a homeworker, I have always been aware that I’ve got to do something to promote myself so I stand out and the podcast felt like an authentic way to prove my authority within the industry,” he said.
“Our customers are predominantly couples who like to cruise as Phil and I can talk to them about the experiences we’ve had, but the podcast with Sarah has helped us expand into the family market, which has been a massive boost.”
Eccles-Miller said he has landed roughly £40,000 worth of bookings off the back of the podcast, which he spends about six hours recording and editing each week.
“This goes to show listeners value what I’m saying and recognise I know what I’m talking about so they trust me to book their holiday,” he added.
The Magical Cruising podcast has so far had more than 4,000 downloads and peaked at number 40 on Apple’s UK travel podcast chart.
“We’re up against a lot of celebrity podcasts so we’re chuffed to have reached number 40,” he said. “It shows we have a loyal following as every week we get more downloads.”
The podcast welcomed Virgin Voyages sales vice-president Shane Lewis-Riley on to a recent episode, and Eccles-Miller plans to invite more guests from the trade in the coming months.
“While it’s great for us to give our opinions on different cruise lines and offerings, we wanted to give listeners the chance to hear a real person behind a brand,” said Eccles-Miller.
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