Lessons from Ozzy Osbourne and Hulk Hogan
What can podcasters learn? The wrestling legend excelled at marketing and merchandise. And the rock legend mastered reinvention.
First Ozzy Osbourne. Then Hulk Hogan.
Their deaths made it a tough week for those of us who came of age during the Cold War, cranking tunes on the car radio, and watching Saturday morning cartoons with a bowl of cereal.
Ozzy and Hulk Hogan leave behind incredible professional legacies. They were towering figures in the 1980s. And each can teach podcasters a few lessons today about innovation, reinvention, marketing and merchandise.
Innovation
Ozzy Osbourne invented a new music genre back in the late 1960s. As the father of heavy metal, his style of deep driving beats and dark lyrics paved the way for a new generation. When many musicians were protesting the Vietnam War in the 1970s on college campuses, Ozzy zagged and courted a blue collar generation. The song Paranoid, released in 1970, was the first major hit for Black Sabbath. It is widely-considered one of the greatest heavy metal songs of all-time. (“I need someone to show me, the things in life I cannot find. I cannot see the things that make true happiness, I must be blind.”) The lesson here? Do something different with your podcast. Stake new ground. How can you and your show differ from the millions of others out there? Don’t do yet another talk show. Blah. Blah. Blah. Leave the studio. Take a mic and interview someone in their space.
Reinvention
Ozzy left Black Sabbath after being fired (admittedly for being stoned all the time) and he started a successful solo career, selling more than 70 million albums led by Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman. The lesson here for podcasters? Don’t get stoned all the time. (JK! Just seeing if you’re paying attention.) The real lesson here? Know your talents and change with the times. If your podcast audience is stagnant, what can you do differently? Should you shake up your format? Should you ditch your co-host? Are you providing the best quality possible? With so many podcasters producing video-first shows (and publishing glorified Zoom calls), make sure your audio quality doesn’t suffer. How can you improve your audio while still playing the video game?
Marketing
Don’t rely on someone else to promote you and your podcast. You need to take the lead. You are your best and strongest brand. Ozzy and Hulk Hogan seemed to know that. Ozzy would eventually get his own reality show on MTV. The Osbournes debuted almost a quarter-century ago and paved the way for reality TV. The show remains one of MTV’s most popular shows to date. As for Hulk Hogan, his blonde locks and horseshoe mustache were his signature, his charisma his calling card. He also formed alliances with other wrestlers and became an ambassador for his brand and industry. In the 1980s, Hogan even had his own Saturday morning cartoon on CBS. The lesson? Don’t rely on an agent or marketing firm or podcast network for promotion. At the end of the day, it’s all up to you.
Merchandise
If you’re a podcaster looking for additional revenue, study what Hulk Hogan did back in the 1980s. He sold goods that played up his personal brand including action figures, bandanas, lunch boxes, and tee-shirts. (A Hulk Hogan lunch box is available on eBay if you’re interested.) I’m not suggesting Michael Barbaro from The Daily needs his own GI Joe-style action figure. But think outside the box. What screams you? What merch reinforces your show and brand? What can you make inexpensively and sell to your community? What will your fans buy?
Good-bye, Ozzy and Hulk Hogan.
Thanks for making my Saturdays so much fun!
MY RECOMMENDATION Take a moment and crank up Paranoid. At last check, this song has 338 million views on YouTube.
John Wordock runs his own podcast and media consulting firm John Wordock Media. He served as Executive Editor and SVP for Podcasting at Westwood One from 2019 to 2024, helping build Cumulus Podcast Network into a top ten network and top channel on Apple. He also served as Executive Producer for Podcasts at The Wall Street Journal until 2019. He started podcasting back in 2006. Wanna talk? Email John@JohnWordockMedia.com.