Word of mouth not only comes with a recommendation of what you should listen to but why you should listen.

It helps to think about other media content to get us out of our head. Imagine that you’ve received a movie recommendation from me that came with all the reasons I loved a movie. But when you sit down in the theater, the following happens:

1. The movie starts and you're fairly certain from the first opening sights and sounds this movie is not what you expected. 
2. Perhaps more importantly, you can tell right away that you're probably not going to like it.

Yes, you’ll probably stick it out. You just dropped $15 and you’re committed.

But what if you were sitting at home watching the movie on a streaming service? Most people I surveyed said they wouldn’t finish.

If it were an episodic television program, like news or a comedy sketch show, most said they wouldn’t stick around the full hour.

But if it were a serialized show on a streaming service, most said they’d stick around for an episode (maybe two) before giving it the boot.

Which brings us back to podcasting. How does this behavior relate to our world? I’d wager it’s exactly like one or more of those experiences above. And it's a failure on the part of the creators to live up to the hype associated with word of mouth that causes people to give up on episodes, podcasts, or network.

Whatever your podcast is hyped with, get to that first! If you have a chatter and talky-stuff segment to stay nice and chummy with your long-term listeners, don’t let that get in the way of the hype new listeners cam to experience! 

If you occasionally drop not-normal episodes, preface that! Let your listeners know -- in the audio of the episode-- that this episode is something out of the ordinary, perhaps going so far as to recommend new listeners not listen to this episode first.

If you’re making serialized content, make sure you’ve set the tags in your feed so that the first episode of your series shows up first. And check your feed to make sure bonus content or seasons show up the way you want them to for new listeners.

Also, make sure your website -- a likely first-stop for people won’t haven’t yet developed the podcasting habit -- showcases your best episodes, not just your most recent one. The same advice holds true if you run a website for a podcast network or collective. Feature the best rather than the most recent.

Take time today to make sure your podcasting is living up to the hype associated with its word of mouth, would you? It’s critical to ensure new listeners immediately get what they expected, and it’s the best way to keep growing your audience. 

If you love that advice, I would love it if you went to BuyMeACoffee.com/EvoTerra and bought me a coffee. You can even set up a monthly recurring donation.

If a small contribution isn’t possible for you right now but you still want to give me a little something, go to RateThisPodcast.com/podpont and leave a rating or review of the show. 

Finally, if you’d like some help making sure your show or network is living up to the hype so you have the best possible chance to reach new listeners and grow, get in touch with me, as it's what I do. SimplerMedia.pro or drop me an email at [email protected]. 

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Podcast Pontifications is published by Evo Terra four times a week and is aimed at the working podcaster. The purpose of this show is to make podcasting better, not just easier.

Follow Evo on Twitter for more podcasting insights as they come.

And if you need a professional in your podcasting corner, please visit SimplerMedia.pro to see how Simpler Media Productions can help your firm. Podcasting is our only business!

Mentioned in this episode:

Support For Abortion Rights

While Americans overwhelmingly support the right of an individual to make their own decisions about abortion, unfortunately, that right is no longer protected everywhere in the U.S. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24th.