We don't often think of listening to podcasts as problem-solving, but it happens. A smart podcaster knows how to present solutions to their audience, as well as who else is helping solve their same problems. 

Problems, broadly speaking, fall into one of two camps: acute problems and chronic problems. 

Acute problems for podcast listeners might be things like needing just the right information to file their taxes this year. Or that their facing an 8-hour flight and need to be entertained or informed. Or maybe they need your help finding the new laptop that fits their needs best.

Great titles, excellent packaging, and getting right to the point will be appreciated by your listeners, as you're helping them solve an acute problem.

But each of those have similar chronic problems. It's not filing taxes this year, it's solid financial planning or money management. Maybe that's a flight your listener takes every week? Or they aren't buying a laptop, but are responsible for the tech needs for large organization.

To service chronic problems like those, you'll need higher-concept episodes, not just "how-to". You'll need a deep catalog of content. And you'll need to brand you as a trusted source as much as your podcast.

And I know you'll be shocked by this, but the reality is your audience is made up of people with both chronic and acute problems. How do you solve for that?

 But you're not alone, and you don't have your audience's undivided attention.

You compete for your audience's attention as they turn to YouTube, books, and more to solve their acute problems or stay on top of their chronic issues.

The best you can do is make the best podcast content that you possibly can, and accept that a good swath of your audience will dip in and out of your content. 

You can't solve every single problem for every single member of your audience. But you can work to make sure you've covered as much of the problem landscape as makes sense for you and your podcast.

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Links

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Podcast Pontifications is a production of Simpler Media. New episodes are released four times a week, providing ideas and questions every serious podcaster should be thinking about.

It's created and hosted by Evo Terra. Follow him on Twitter for more podcasting insights as they come. Allie Press assists with the production and transcription of the show.

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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.