**Podcast Episode Notes: Growing Your Audience Like a Pro**

**Introduction (0:00 - 2:00)**

- Host expresses gratitude for birthday wishes received.

- Brief personal anecdote about attending the new Beetlejuice movie; praises improvements in theater experience (reclining chairs, heated seats) despite cold AC.

**Main Topic: Growing Your Audience (2:00 - 40:00)**

**Initial Experience with Podcasting (2:00 - 5:00)**

- Host references the start of their first podcast, "Digitive Dirty Marketers."

- Discussed strategy of interviewing small business owners to gain exposure and build relationships with new audiences.

**Website Optimization (5:00 - 10:00)**

- Importance of customizing the podcast website provided by hosting platforms.

- Emphasizes the need to collect subscriber information (name, email, phone number) for better outreach.

- Discusses compliance with regulations (GDPR, spam) by utilizing opt-in mechanisms.

**Text vs. Email Communication (10:00 - 15:00)**

- Highlights findings from a report on messaging preferences: increasing preference for text messaging over email.

- Discusses higher deliverability, open, and click-through rates for text messages.

- Importance of personalized communication for listener engagement.

- Mentions PodOps Connect as a tool integrated for text communication with subscribers.

**Best Practices for Communication (15:00 - 20:00)**

- Discusses the significance of one-to-one communication rather than mass messaging.

- Suggests thanking subscribers personally to enhance engagement.

**Choosing Communication Tools (20:00 - 25:00)**

- Explains setup processes for third-party text communication tools and the advantages of using PodOps Connect.

- Encourages embedding subscription forms on personal websites (WordPress, etc.) to ensure seamless data management.

**Social Media Strategy (25:00 - 30:00)**

- Emphasizes the need for a focused social media strategy—suggests picking one or two platforms to concentrate efforts.

- Discusses audience demographics for social media platforms (e.g., TikTok for younger audiences, Facebook for older demographics).

- Encourages creating engaging content (sound bites, controversial topics) to increase shares and comments.

**SEO and Website Content (30:00 - 35:00)**

- Importance of optimizing podcast titles, show notes, and transcripts for search engines.

- Recommends including exclusive offers or bonus content in communications to incentivize subscriptions.

**Collaborations and Cross-Promotion (35:00 - 40:00)**

- Discusses the benefit of collaborating with other podcasters and influencers.

- Mentions Social Cat platform for connecting with micro-influencers.

- Highlights the effectiveness of host-read ads and cross-promotions.

**Branding Your Podcast (40:00 - 45:00)**

- Stresses the need for a strong podcast brand.

- Shares personal branding experience with PodOps, using playful themes (e.g., pickles) to enhance brand identity.

- Encourages creativity in branding and marketing efforts.

**Conclusion (45:00 - 47:00)**

- Wraps up with a reminder of the fun aspects of podcasting and branding.

- Encourages listeners to stay engaged and experiment with their own strategies for growing their audience.

**Key Takeaways:**

- Building an audience takes time and strategic effort.

- Utilize multiple communication channels effectively (text, email, social media).

- Personalization and engagement are critical for listener retention and growth.

- Collaborations and strong branding can significantly enhance visibility and appeal.