A couple of months ago, my husband and his friend started a podcast. You wouldn’t know this because while they have spent many-a-nights drinking beer and talking into the microphone about movies, they have yet to actually publish a podcast. My stubborn husband refused to listen to me when I told him that they needed a plan before they started recording nonsense. But like most husbands, he didn’t listen and so about four recorded episodes later, they are scrapping their original “plan” and going with a structured editorial. You see, I “secretly” sent him my blog about starting a podcast to show him my writing masterpiece, but in reality, I wanted him to read it and digest it. And it worked!
When my husband told me they wanted to do a podcast I started probing with questions. Who is your audience? what do they look like? what kind of content do they appreciate? He didn’t know the answer, and that’s OK — but what came next is not okay. He said, “I don’t care if people listen. I just want to do a podcast.” WRONG. It doesn’t matter if you’re doing a podcast for fun or because you are passionate about something. You need an audience. Otherwise, you are just talking to a blank wall.
Knowing your audience — from where they hang out to how they receive and share their content — are all vital pieces of information to help market your podcast once it’s been produced. Don’t be my husband. Plan, know your audience, and know how you want to market your podcast. Here are just a couple of Do’s and Don’ts that I have put together to help guide you during the process.
Do: Know your audience. Just like any marketing campaign, know who you will literally be talking to. Mostly males? Mostly females? Are you talking to the cool millennials? Or Gen Y parents
Don’t assume everyone is your audience. It’s a rookie mistake. Dig deep into who will appreciate your content because those who appreciate it will share and talk, and your tribe of listeners will grow.
Do: Know where your audience hangs outs online. Is it Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace — oh, wait! You will want a branded presence on these channels, and you can even consider advertising on these platforms when you first begin so that you can reach the right audience and build your listenership.
Don’t be afraid to try platforms and channels that you are unfamiliar with. I am not a big fan of Reddit, but that is literally the only place my husband consumes content and if he’s in my target audience, I would need to consider channels I am unfamiliar with.
Do: Find a reliable podcasting hosting platform. Finding a good host is key to syndicating your podcast to other platforms. We typically recommend SoundCloud; they are affordable and offer reliable RSS syndication to iTunes and Google Play.
Don’t limit yourself to only the big giants for syndication. Publish that bad boy everywhere. iTunes and Google Play are the most known, but don’t forget about Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Podtail, and Podbay — just to name a few.
Do: Optimize your podcast with keywords in your listing. This is great for many reasons — search engine optimization (oh, we love search engines at OT), and of course for the podcasting platforms themselves. When I am looking for a new true-crime podcast, using those keyword searches help me find exactly what I am looking for.
Don’t be a dope — use keywords!
Do: Announce your podcast. Write a press release, and submit it online. Tell your friends, family, clients, and even prospects.
Don’t just publish and wait. You will be disappointed.
Do: Seek out guest hosts who have Klout and can help you broaden your audience.
Don’t try to go at this all alone.
Do: Create show notes and post them to your social channels and website. This allows listeners to easily grab resources and bullets of the topic you covered without having to scour through the audio.
Don’t hide your tips or resources — this will not only give you great content for your social and your site, but it will continue to set you up as the subject matter expert.
Do: Get your audience involved. Ask them to email in questions, write on your social, or tweet at you with topics or questions that they want to be answered in the podcast.
Don’t assume that you know everything they want to hear. Let your listeners participate.
Do: Take the leap of faith.
Don’t be afraid to succeed. You got this. And we are here to help you!
If you want to know more about how we can help you plan, produce, and market your podcast, contact our office today. I am always happy to help, and I would love to regale you with the comical stories of me watching my husband and his friend try to podcast. I can be reached at 407-830-4550 ext. 305. And if I don’t seem like your style, no worries, you can call my boss, Tom Jelneck. He can be reached at 407-830-4550; if you mention coffee, you will easily get through his gatekeeper!
