Audience

There are a lot of experts within the podcasting industry. But James Cridland is in a unique position to see the industry’s trends, successes, and failures differently than most. As the curator of Podnews, a daily podcasting briefing, his perspective is a combination of news from podcast hosts, advertisers, content creators, and listening platforms.

Given his holistic view, we invited James to chat on our latest Audience episode. We took the opportunity to hear his thoughts on the future of Apple Podcasts and Spotify, monetization opportunities, and what’s the biggest distribution mistake many podcasters make.

Read on for James’ biggest takeaways and listen to the full episode for even insightful comments.

Along with many other experts, James agrees there’s a big opportunity to increase podcast consumption. He argues if the industry focuses on increasing overall listenership, all ships will rise. From creating more monetization opportunities for podcasters, increasing user bases for listening apps, and driving more financial investment into the industry as a whole.

But the driver of this growth isn’t squarely on the shoulders of podcasters. Instead, James offers opportunities podcast directories can take advantage of to jumpstart the effort.

The biggest player in the industry is without a doubt Apple Podcasts. Apple helped grow and standardize things like podcast categorizations and artwork sizes. But in recent years, Apple hasn’t made many monumental advancements to increase consumption.

But given their strong foothold, there’s one opportunity available that would change the industry forever.

According to Scientia Mobile, over 60% of worldwide mobile users have an Android device. But to date, Apple hasn’t created an Android version of the Apple Podcasts app. While there are popular Android-only listening platforms, the majority of podcasters primarily promote their Apple Podcast listing.

Think of the instant consumption growth if Apple released an Android version of their app. Podcasters could more comfortably promote their Apple Podcast link knowing it would be a seamless subscription process across all devices.

You likely submitted your podcast to Apple Podcasts from the start. But in case it slipped off your radar, submit your podcast today.

In the aftermath of the Spotify and Joe Rogan deal, there’s been article after article about the possible implications.

To date, Spotify’s podcasting footprint is relatively small. According to Libsyn, Spotify accounts for 9.5% of total plays for their hosted podcasts. A far cry from Apple Podcast’s 60-70% share of the market.

But by acquiring exclusive rights to one of the most popular podcasts in the world, Spotify is betting on Joe Rogan’s listener base converting to their platform. But whether Rogan fans will switch to Spotify and continue listening is still up for debate. However if they do make the change, it’ll have positive effects for podcasts across the platform.

Here’s why. Spotify is making investments to push consumption forward with their open API and advanced recommendation algorithms.

If they’re able to crack the recommendation code, this means more relevant podcast suggestions and discoverability opportunities. It also means music listeners may now start subscribing to podcasts. From each outcome comes more consumption from both new and current podcast listeners.

Make sure your podcast is listed on Spotify by following our handy tutorial.

With all this talk of Android users, according to James, there’s one obvious mistake podcasters make to gain subscribers. Namely, only including a subscription link to Apple Podcasts when promoting episodes on social media and their website.

Given the preference for non-Apple devices, podcasters should consider if they’re stifling their growth. Make sure your calls-to-action and website include how to access your podcast on Android-only listening apps.

We discovered a tool called Kitelinks from Podkite that helps podcasters drive people to listen to an episode in whichever app they prefer. Their free plan lets you create links for individual episodes, perfect for your social promotions.

Another worthy consideration is what types of listeners use each platform. Spotify, for example, skews towards millennials who prefer comedy and entertainment podcasts. While smart speaker owners prefer short, daily news briefings and queue up multiple podcasts in the morning.

Understand some podcasts will perform differently across platforms depending on its topic and length. To back up this claim, James says over half of Podnews’ podcast downloads are via smart speakers. For a show with quick, digestible news this makes complete sense. Our main takeaway? Different podcasts work well in different environments.

Consider this: according to Libsyn, the average number of downloads per episode is 125. If your episodes get more than 125 downloads, your podcast performs better than over 50% of the shows out there!

This large population of niche audiences is why podcast advertising isn’t a viable monetization method for a lot of podcasters. It’s difficult for both the content creator and the brand to earn money.

That’s why Jame encourages podcasters to look to selling their content as a business model. The main reason why? Because we know it works. The most established content creators, like The New York Times, offer free access to some of their material in addition to using a paywall. You can use private podcasting features to create a hidden feed full of exclusive, premium content to utilize the same strategy.

James also points to another way Apple Podcasts could revolutionize monetization. Apple currently has a fully functioning payment system that accepts money from users and distributes it to app developers. Why wouldn’t they apply their system to Apple Podcasts and include a “donation” button for podcasters to earn money too?

• Subscribe to the Podnews newsletter
• Subscribe to the Podnews podcast
• Follow @JamesCridland on Twitter
• Podcast monetization platforms: Supercast, Glow.fm, Stitcher Premium, and Luminary
• Google Podcasts Manager

When it comes to the distribution aspect of your podcast there are fewer “sure things” than having other similar shows in your niche promoting your content.

And podcast networks are the most natural way to establish that cross pollination of your podcast with other relevant audiences.

In this coversation with Jeff Umbro from podcast network Podglomerate we discuss how setting up a podcast network can be a good fit for you and other shows in your niche, the 5 different approaches they take to distribution or promotion of shows they work with, and where Jeff feels many podcasters are missing out when it comes to the marketing of their podcasts.

While huge podcast networks like 5×5, Relay, Gimlet Media, NPR, and others have significant barriers to entry it doesn’t have to be difficult for you and your podcast to benefit from the same type of organic sharing that happens in these larger networks.

In fact, many of the most impactful podcast networks like Multitude Productions have created significant benefit for their member shows. One way that Multitude accomplishes this is by focusing much of their network into associated vertical niches.

For Multitude focusing their shows into the niches of gaming, Harry Potter and other mythology arenas has helped them grow significant audiences, mostly by cross promoting other member podcast in their episodes.

At Podglomerate, Jeff and his team handle 3 main aspects of podcasting:

While they have several member shows they also create some original shows.

Having a built in “laboratory” where they can experiment on new show ideas, refine approaches to content creation, and in general have an avenue to express their creative side has shown some of the biggest advances in their growth over the years.

One lesson Jeff learned for other podcast networks is having shows of your own is a great sort of virtual CV to show prospective shows that you’re approaching to join the network. Showing other podcasts the kind of work you do and what other member shows are like is a great selling point.

Podglomerate works with member shows in a variety of ways to help monetize their podcasts.

Programmatic Ads

Working with platforms like Megaphone is a good option for podcasts with a large following to easily monetize their shows.

If your podcast has 10,000 listens or more per episode then programmatic advertising platforms like Megaphone may be a viable option for your show. In these platforms you choose the type of ads that you’d like to run on your show and the platform takes care of the sourcing of the ad content and dynamically inserts those ads into your podcast as listeners download or stream the episode.

For podcasts with lower listenership, say less than 1,000 listeners per episode, Jeff says that the best way to monetize a show is to go directly to brands in your space to sell ad spots on your show.

These “Direct Ad Placement” techniques require a bit more work up front, but can be the most beneficial for both sponsors and podcast brands.

Direct Ad Placement

If programmatic ads aren’t a good fit for your show, either because your audience is too small or your niche too narrowly defined to appeal to the broader audience of advertisers such as Squarespace, Casper mattresses, etc. then directly approaching companies in your niche is a great move.

This type of advertising relationship often garners a higher CPM (cost per thousand downloads) than does a platform that offers programmatic ads, and can have a better alignment of Audience – Listener – Theme fit.

The downside here is that you as the show host would have to do much of the outreach and sales process with a prospective sponsor. But Jeff admits that these sponsors are usually the best way to monetize a show with a smaller following.

Podcast Ad Agencies

A middle ground between programmatic ads and selling your own ad space directly to brands is working with a podcast ad agency. These companies do all of the hard work of selling ad time on your show, working with companies to come to ad sales terms, outreach, and all of the fulfillment of helping you sponsor your show.

Affiliate Programs

Aside from advertising on your show on a CPM basis you can also work with brands on a pay-per-performance basis where you are paid a reward for conversion on a brand’s site. This is similar to the conventional affiliate model followed by many in the online business and influencer space.

Once the content has been created and a monetization plan is in place the next step is to organize the best way to grow the show’s audience.

Podglomerate runs through a 5 tier process to evaluate and test the best ways to promote its member shows’ podcasts:

• Publicity – getting your show listed on “Best of” lists and in other online sources relevant to your show and your ideal listeners.
• Marketing – Utilizing your existing social media and web properties. Conversions to new subscribers and listeners.
• Cross-promotion of member shows on other podcasts in their space.
  • Hosts of your show guest appearing on other podcasts.
  • A “feed drop” arrangement where they coordinate with other podcasts to have an episode of theirs appear in another show’s feed.
  • Cross Promos – arrangements with other shows to mention your podcast as an “ad” in their podcast.
• Merchandizing – Getting your show featured in curated lists by platforms like Apple Podcasts. Having your show featured within these podcasting directories reduces friction to getting new listeners.
• Paid advertising in podcasting apps like Overcast.

When searching for shows similar to yours to which you can pitch cross promotion or copromotion ideas looking in apps like Apple Podcasts for shows which they suggest “You May Also Like…”. These podcasts are ones that apps like Apple Podcasts and Overcast have shown to be good fits for adding new listeners.

Whether it’s starting your own podcast network or joining an existing one the first step is to decide what your end goal is. Beginning with the end in mind is key to how you approach teaming up with other podcasts in your space.

Podcast networks can be a great way to further your overall niche’s awareness, increase listenership to all of the shows in the network, and serve listeners better by offering better content all around.

To learn more about how to grow your show, start or join a podcast network, check out Jeff’s Podcast Perspective newsletter.

The team at Castos is excited to announce that our premium course on how to create a great podcast is now entirely free. Check out the Podcast Like A Pro course today to get 25+ lessons on everything from:

• Listener personas and popular podcast topics
• Gear, microphones, and setup recommendations
• Audio recording and editing software recommendations
• How to achieve professional sounding audio for your final episodes
• Writing SEO-friendly show notes for your website
• Setting up a podcast hosting platform account and website
• Submitting your podcast to popular listening apps
• Launching your show with style
• Growing your audience and approaches to monetization

All you need to do to gain access is sign up on Teachable. You’ll instantly receive the entire 25+ lesson library of videos and resources to get started.

In this episode, we discuss a handful of questions from our Podcast Hackers group on Facebook. This is a place where we have lively discussions around what’s working well in people’s shows and what they’re struggling with. As a community, we share our knowledge to succeed as a group.

Great question here, and one that is asked a lot. Getting into the New and Noteworthy section of Apple Podcasts can do a lot to increase your reach, especially as a show is launching.

There are two parts to the New and Noteworthy section: The New and The Noteworthy. Let’s examine each of these individually.

The “New” aspect refers to a podcast that was approved by Apple within the last 8 weeks. So the clock is ticking once the show has been approved to make a splash in those first few weeks.

During these 8 weeks, there are two Calls To Action (CTA) that you want to encourage.

For your broader audience members, the goal is to get them to subscribe so they receive each episode as soon as it’s published. This will ensure download numbers stay steady and there less one-off listens.

For those who subscribed (we like to refer to this as your Tribe), take things a step further and ask them to leave a rating and review in Apple Podcasts. These go a long way towards increasing the social proof for your show, which in turn will bring in more listeners and subscribers.

The Noteworthy aspect of New and Noteworthy is more subjective and is driven by a team at Apple directly. These are shows that might be following a recent trend (like COVID-19 right now), a show about a political campaign, or maybe a show about a TV series that’s just started. There’s not much that any of us can do to influence this decision, other than creating great content and empowering our listeners to spread the word as much as possible.

This may be is the single biggest hurdle that folks have when starting a podcast. And for good reason. Many podcasters don’t have a background in audio engineering but strive for a professional sound. There are a few pieces to this equation, so let’s examine each separately:

Podcast Microphones

This is really where great sound starts. You can save yourself a lot of trouble, time, and headaches down the road with a good microphone.

I’ve been using the Audio Technica ATR2100 mic for 5 years now and (I think) it still sounds great. This is a USB microphone that plugs directly into your computer without needing a preamp or other equipment.

Another option worth considering is the Rode NT Mini USB mic. Rode is a fantastic audio gear company and this is their newest mic offering. It’s also a USB mic but with the added benefit of a pop filter built in.

Other Gear You’ll Need

Once you’ve settled on a mic there are a few other pieces of audio gear you’ll want to consider.

Firstly, a Pop Filter. Unless it’s built into your mic (like the Rode NT Mini USB above), these dampen the harsh P and T sounds when we say words like “thanks” and “pop”. The sounds are very difficult to remove in post production, so eliminating them from the recording altogether is the best way to improve the audio.

Additionally, it’s worth considering a boom arm to attach to your microphone. The stand puts the mic at the same level of your mouth, which makes it more comfortable to sit and podcast for a longer period of time. It also ensures your microphone captures the proper vocal qualities. When the microphone is positioned too high or low, it alters your normal speaking voice as you strain to talk into the mic.

Audio Editing And Recording Software

If you’re recording locally on your computer, Audacity is a great tool. It’s a free, open source software that works on Mac and PCs.

For remote recordings where cohosts live in multiple places, we recommend SquadCast. This is an in-browser tool that records high quality sound without any being affected by internet speed, latency, or dropouts.

The key here is the “royalty free” part. Unless you want to pay royalties, you can’t use commercial music in a podcast. Some music is allowed under the Creative Commons license, but those tracks have to be attributed to the artist each time they’re used. For podcasters, that means attribution must appear in each episode.

Using royalty free music is a great way to pay one for a track, then use it over and over again without needing to mention the artist.

Of the services who offer royalty free tracks, some use monthly subscription plans and others allow for one-off purchases. If you use infrequently, purchasing a one-off track is probably the best, most affordable way to go. But if you like using new tracks for each episode, then a subscription service may be a better fit for you.

Here are a few resources we like for both of these options:

• Audioblocks
• Audiojungle
• Pond5

Still confused on the intricacies of including music in your podcast? Read our comprehensive guide on where to find free and affordable podcast music.

Show notes are a written summary of each episode. They are meant to serve two purposes: provide SEO value as users search for something relevant to your show, and to be a resource for your listeners to refer back to.

The process of creating show notes is a relatively simple one. Within Castos Productions, our audio engineers mix the final audio then our team of writers produce the show notes.

For DIY show notes, make sure to include these sections:

• A paragrph style summary of what the episode is about
• A bulleted list (with or without timestamps) of topics discussed
• Links to resources mentioned within the episode

Good show notes will serve those two purposes very well: be a written form of your podcast episodes for search engines like Google as well as for visitors to your site who haven’t listened to your show yet. But also as a resource for your listeners who want to refer back to something you mentioned, or get a link to something (like one of the podcasting mics from this episode) earlier in an episode.

For current writers and bloggers, another option is repurposing existing blog posts into podcast episodes. As a result, the show notes are already finished and are extremely thorough (like the ones for this episode we hope ;)).

In our interview with Kevan Lee from Buffer, we learned how their team approaches repurposing their high performing blog content.

We want Audience to be about the things you care about. Have a question that we haven’t covered yet? Send them our way. Drop us a message in our Podcast Hackers Facebook group and we’ll include it in a future episode.

Creating great content is hard. Any kind, really. Whether it’s a blog, a YouTube channel, or a podcast. In a sea of information it’s tough to know what advice to follow and what to dismiss as noise.

In this episode, we lay out an easy-to-follow set of podcast best practices that will help you grow your show.

This playbook is full of things we’ve learned from working with hundreds of successful shows and interviewing some of the best minds in podcasting. They are the proven steps that many other successful podcasters before us have taken to build great podcast brands.

It’s easier to create the content an existing audience is looking for rather than finding an audience for the content you want to create.

This may seem simple on the surface but is pretty nuanced when you get into it. And not doing this will set your podcast for failure no matter what your promotional activities include.

A great way to find out what people in your community or target market are looking for is through online communities. We’re big fans of Facebook groups, Slack channels, and other virtual meeting places for doing this.

Hang out there, ask interesting questions, and see what topics keep bubbling to the surface. This is a surefire way to find out the interests and pain points that people in your prospective audience are having.

Interviewing guests is a way to change the pace, tone, and perspective of your podcast. But it’s also a great strategy to share your podcast’s message with new audiences.

If you did a good job as an interviewer, the episode will be one of the shining lights of your guest’s podcast repertoire. By giving your guest a platform where they can explain their ideas and perspective, and they’ll be more excited to share the content.

But before the interview, set clear expectations about promoting the final episode to your respective audiences. Mention early on that you plan to send a ready-to-go email of exactly what you want them to share.

For example, here’s an email I got recently to share a webinar we co-sponsored. All I had to do is copy the email text and tweet then post them.

You’ve done all the hard work to create great content that your audience is looking for. Don’t fall one step short by not creating interesting assets to share on social media.

Hands down the best tool to create audiograms is Castos’ Headliner integration. Here’s an example of an audiogram from our previous episode:

Additionally, pull quotes from the episode’s most interesting soundbites to promote it on Twitter.

Crafting a custom featured image for each episode is another great way to stand out from the crowd. The image can include episode’s title, a headshot of a guest, or custom graphics. Tools like Snappa and Canva are great for podcasters who don’t have the budget for professional graphic designers.

Use a tool like Buffer, Hootsuite, or Coschedule to schedule the social media posts for each episode. Aim for 5-10 posts per episode and schedule them for different days, time of day, etc. to drive people to listen days after the content is published.

The team at CoSchedule has put together a great tool for optimizing the social posting for your shows.

Headliner is integrated with Castos so making custom audiograms is a breeze.

Facebook, Discourse, Discord, WhatsApp groups are all fantastic ways to stay connected with other members of your audience in between episodes.

While much of podcasting is a one-way conversation, opening the doors to encourage two-way dialogue improves your relationship with listeners.

Be a consistent contributor to the discussions going on there. Provide your experiences and insights and don’t ask for anything in return. Build your reputation as someone who knows your niche, and people will want to learn more about you. Along the way they’ll find your podcast, and subscribe.

Tools like Speakpipe, or even a Google Voice number are a great way to encourage your listeners to actively participate in a show. Prompt them to call in with questions or their take on a topic. Use the calls to create unique episodes and increase audience engagement at the same time.

To encourage people to leave reviews, try reading recent comments on air and mention who left it. The Pen Pals podcast does a fantastic job of this. They started the hashtag #growtheshow and read funny reviews at the top of each episode.

Either strategy is a great way to feature listeners on air and increase their involvement with the show.

Offering a free course, lead magnet, or content not available elsewhere is one way to encourage listeners to sign up for an email list.

Using basic email marketing techniques can keep you in touch with your audience. It’s also a place for them to get unique value from your brand.

We like the trick of having a podcast-specific email opt-in page that you ONLY mention on the show. Then include a different link in your show notes. This way you’ll know which subscribers came directly from listening to an episode versus reading a blog post.

This doesn’t mean you have to publish episodes every week, but whatever it is, stick with it. Every week, every other week (probably not less often than that), or even twice a week is all fine.

Just stay consistent and let your audience know when to expect each episode.

Doing this over and over, every episode, will create an enormous amount of trust in your from your listeners.

In our previous conversation with Eric Nuzum we discussed the rising popularity of podcast networks, and DIY networks.

Groups of related shows are a natural way to cross-promote your content to audiences interested in similar topics.

Networks like 5×5, NPR, and Gimlet have all proven that this model works great, and is something all podcasters do without any special tech.

In this episode we laid out the 8 podcasting best practices that will lead to a better show. Doing each of these on a consistent basis will grow your content library, your listenership, and your reputation in a niche.

Leave your podcast best practices in the comments and let us know what we missed!

• Join our Facebook group, Podcast Hackers
• Listen to Jack Rhysider’s interview on Audience
• Listen to the Ladybug Podcast’s interview on Audience

Creating great sounding audio is the cornerstone of what constitutes a winning podcast. And there are many things that go into this: the right gear, the right techniques, great post-production, and a way to record that audio in an easy and high-quality manner.

And in this episode, we welcome Zach Moreno and Rock Felder, cofounders of Squadcast.fm to discuss this, and much more.

At their core, Zach and Rock from Squadcast have set out to create a platform in which creatives can record really high quality audio (and video soon) content for their audiences. Even with many of the remote communication tools that are available to many of us these days none has been focused solely on the quality of those pieces of content.

As a team that sees a lot of great content being recorded Rock and Zach emphasize the importance of a good microphone (like our favorites here) but also a practical approach to recording. This often includes considerations around the environment you’re recording in, potential for interruptions, and a bit of advance planning.

As at the time of this episode airing we’re all going through the Covid-19 pandemic that is gripping the world, Zach, Rock, and I discuss how we’re seeing Coronavirus affecting the podcasting industry. With unique perspectives on podcasters, we have all seen amazing new ways in which we can serve our customer base. Both from new people coming into the podcast space to enabling communities, medical professionals, and even governments to share information and inspiration with their audiences.

Squadcast.fm

Zach Moreno on Twitter

Rock Felder on Twitter

Podcast Movement