How To Grow Your Podcast Audience
There are many people who believe that the days of podcasts are over but that is not true. Many people across the world still have podcasts but they struggle with getting an audience and growing their brand. There is a whole bunch of people who love to listen to podcasts while they are commuting or simply waiting for the best episode to come across and you just need to grab that audience and bring it to your own podcast.
Businesses largely indulge in making podcasts so that their customers always know what is happening with the company. For instance, if you are interested in knowing what is happening in the field of digital marketing, love listening to podcasts, and you are located in Bangalore, all you have to do is search “Digital marketing company in Bangalore podcast” and you will have your results in front of you.
The growth of a podcast is directly related to the size of the audience. When you have a large enough audience, you will be able to indulge in other things that grow your podcast as a brand. You will be able to invite special guests and even get big sponsorships for your brand. Having a large audience also increases the chances of exponential growth through word-of-mouth marketing. People love to share the things that they love with their close friends, and you will soon be looking at a multitude of audience than you had before.
There are many ways in which you can grow your audience. We have listed a few of them so that you can start the growth and eventually reach the top rung of the ladder of success in the podcast business.
Increase The Quality Of Your Podcast
This is one of the most basic things that you can do in order to increase your audience. You have to be consistent with the quality of your podcast and research on the content before you put it out there for the world to listen to. Try to be professional with the presentation and work hard to not make your interviews boring to the listeners. It just takes one episode to make or break your audience and if you have one boring interview, your audience will not want to listen to your next episode and you will see a steady decline in your audience.
Have A Purpose
Make sure that your content has a purpose and you are not just rambling on about random things in the universe. Have a niche for your podcast so that you can target the audience in a better way. Ponder on the question if you want to keep your podcast all about business or do you want to bring your personal life in it too. Having the latter will connect with your audience and will work wonders in keeping them engaged for a longer time.
Choose A Great Title
The title is the first thing that a listener sees before he starts to listen to a podcast. It is the first impression and you should always try to make it the best and something that would leave a lasting impression in his or her mind. Do not be vague with your titles as it might just slip through the scrolls. Spend some time coming up with an eye-catching title and keep that interest consistent throughout your podcast.
Up-to-date Equipment
Many people believe that it is only the quality of the content that matters. However, that is not true since the quality of the sound matters just as much. If your equipment is outdated, your listeners will hear a lot of static and that is just plain irritating. Even if you have chosen the most interesting topic in the world, your listeners will avoid listening to your podcast just because you are using equipment that is not pleasant to the ears.
Consider Other Platforms
Nowadays, the audience is spread out across various media platforms. It is not necessary that you will find all the right people in one place. Try making YouTube videos of your podcast or sharing the podcast on other social media as well. If your podcast is interesting and has enough audience, you will be on your way to monetizing your channel in no time. Try to avoid just putting up the audio file on YouTube and instead work a little on the video as well. This will keep the interest of the people who are comfortable with watching a video rather than just listening to someone talking for a long time.
Ask For Opinions
Focus on the comments and reviews of your podcast so that you will be able to understand what your listeners want from your podcast. Also, ask your listeners to leave some suggestions for the next episode so that you will be able to get a better in-depth knowledge into the opinions of your listeners. You can also include a call-to-action button on your podcast where your listeners can leave suggestions for the next episode.
Create A Network
Do not think that you are alone in the game. There are a lot of other podcasters who are looking to collaborate. This allows you to share into the audience of your fellow men and women, and if their listeners find your views interesting and appealing, they will consider becoming your full-time audience as well. Promoting each other is a healthy way of increasing the audience and also making new friends in the industry. You will also get to learn a lot of new things and will remain updated with the happenings in the field.
Upload Regularly
Consistency is the key to making a great podcast. Always have a bunch of episodes ready to upload at a moments notice. You never know when you might be stuck in some situation and may not be able to record an episode for the next show. However, if you have a few episodes ready, you will simply have to upload them so that your listeners always have something to listen to even when you are away. Plan ahead so that the calamities of the world should not stop you from making great content for your listeners.
Market Yourself
This is one of the keys to getting ahead. You are the voice of your podcast and you are the only person that your audience is listening to on your podcast. Make yourself interesting and do not lose sight of the goal that you are your own brand.