Podcast Pontifications

Podcasting holds a single metric as sacred: downloads. And to ensure a podcast gets the most downloads consistently, lots of energy is spent encouraging people to become subscribers. 

But podcasting has a dirty underbelly that we're largely ignoring. Many of us don't want to face the truth, but the reality is that many downloads are never listened to.

Shocked? Don't be. Email marketers have known this for a very long time. It's not good enough to track delivery. We need to track if the file is ever opened. 

Once a podcast episode is opened, we know (thanks, Apple) that the majority -- upwards of 85% -- of the episode is listened to. That's much better than online video, where the vast majority of views are for less than 10 seconds -- often with the sound off. So hooray for podcasts, right? Maybe.

In this episode, I'll tell you how to use information from your podcast hosting company and from Apple Podcasts to find out what your show's "listen rate" actually is. Even better, I'll give you practical advice on how to improve it.

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.

You put all that time, energy, effort, and money into making a great podcast. But it's not growing as fast as you like. And that's probably because you're not marketing it properly.

To properly market a podcast, you need three items:

1. Planning
2. Creative
3. Budget

You must have all three. If you've a plan and some creative but no budget, your efforts will flounder. If you've a plan and a budget but no creative, you're just wasting money. And if you the more common combo of budget and creative but no plan, then you're using "spray-and-pray" tactics.

You must have all three to properly market your podcast. That's what I'll get into in this short episode today.

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.

When a podcast host tries to one-up their guest, it's a bad thing. It's also bad when the host continues to interrupt their guest, hoping to plug their book, product, or just get a point in edge wise.

It's not a competition, podcaster. It's a collaboration.

The extreme opposite isn't any better, where a host abdicates the mic, and each episode is literally just about the guest telling their own story.

Yawn. Your audience wants your point of view. They listen to your show for a lot of reasons, and having quality guests is only one. One that's easily replicated and doesn't foster loyalty.

In this short episode, I'll give practical tips on removing the competition from the encounter, making a better show for you, your guests, and the most important party: your listener.

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.

"I'm not going to invest in improving the quality of my show until I know this is something I want to do long-term."

That's a common refrain I hear from my podcasting clients. And I understand the need to control costs, especially for activities seen as experimental and not core to the business.

But it's also terribly short sighted.

There's a minimum level of acceptable quality, and that bar is only getting higher and higher. Listeners have effectively limitless choices, and there are more competitors podcasting than you probably think. 

In this short episode, I'll lay out my case for paying attention to your show's quality. On obvious reason? It's your band personified. Can you afford to ignore that?

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.

"If you go in through the little door, you stay in the little room." That's from some business book I've forgotten the title of. But it's of importance to podcasters who spend a lot of time trying to chase down small ad-spends from big companies. 

Please stop.

This short episode is the first in a mini-series about what NOT to do with your podcast. Today I'm talking about why chasing down ad dollars is futile unless you've over 50,000 downloads per episode or are a publisher.

But if neither of those hold true, I'm still not opposed to you making money with or at least paying for the costs of your show. I just think your time would be better spent cultivating sponsorships and collaborations with those firms. Sure, that might involve some "ad-type" mentions on the show, but the long-term intangibles are much more valuable. For you both.

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.