Kim Kerton, a seasoned podcast strategy consultant and creator, shares invaluable insights into the importance of first impressions in podcasting, particularly through show artwork. As the host of her own business podcast, 'Unemployed & Afraid', Kim emphasises that the visual appeal of a podcast can significantly influence listener engagement. Drawing from her extensive experience in broadcast radio and podcast consulting, she discusses how artwork, often overlooked, can either entice or deter potential listeners. Kim encourages creators to strategically consider their artwork by analysing competitors and avoiding common pitfalls such as using thin fonts or cluttered imagery that compromises readability. By prioritising clear and impactful designs, podcasters can enhance their chances of attracting and retaining an audience.
Kim delves into the evolution of podcasting, highlighting how the medium has transformed from audio-only to incorporating video elements, reflecting broader trends in media consumption. She passionately advocates for the decentralised nature of podcasting, which fosters creativity and personal growth for both creators and listeners. The episode underscores the necessity of a robust strategy in show development, emphasising that effective branding and visual presentation go hand-in-hand. As listeners tune in, they should be encouraged to reflect on their own show artwork and the strategic choices that can make a difference in their podcasting journey.
Hi, my name is Kim Kerton. I'm a podcast strategy consultant for brands and a podcast creator, and today I'm going to give you a tip about your podcast first impressions being your show artwork.
I work for myself as a consultant for brands who want to develop owned shows and networks, guiding them through the strategic planning, the education on the medium, growth auditing and all round strategic direction. I also run my own show as a one woman host, producer, writer, admin editor, marketer and salesperson.
This show is called 'Unemployed & Afraid' and it's a business podcast for the brave self employed where entrepreneurship meets some serious personal growth and a whole lot of keeping it real.
I'd been in broadcast radio for 13 years for Nova Entertainment and the Australian Radio network in promotions, sales, management, commercial strategy and branded content roles. And through that, I had welcomed this quote unquote 'new friends' to broadcasting as part of the team that supported the Acast entry into Australia.
So we cut to January:
When I started my own show in:
And under the guise of improving my own show, I began soaking up as much knowledge about the medium of podcasting as possible, and seeing it as a creator just brought so much new energy and perspective to my previous audio experience.
I started freelancing in branded podcast consulting and strategy, and that experience, together with my strategic eye, made me see the biggest shift in brands becoming media owners in podcasting, amongst other mediums and what it is that they truly need to create in this new way. Spoiler alert. It's a robust strategy for all phases of show development and significant medium education. And I'm just hooked. I'm completely hooked on podcasting.
As podcasting has evolved from pure audio to audio plus video, in some instances just video, I'm sure it will continue to evolve.
It has remained a decentralised and democratised vehicle for impactful entertainment and education, which just holds so much positive personal growth and happiness potential for the people creating it and those consuming it. And I love it.
That's the one thing I love about podcasting, and I couldn't think of a medium I'd rather bet the bank on.
For my big tip, there's the popular saying that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. And it's a popular saying for a reason.
Now, often the first real impression somebody gets about your show is in app and it's the artwork, that visual impression of the show, and it's a hugely underrated enticement or deterrent for a listener.
Most artwork gets created on a large screen in design software, and it's really, really easy for that not to translate well in app, given how tiny the artwork appears in a potential listener's feed.
As I've had the benefit of working mostly with brands on their shows, they tend to have a strong handle, of course, on brand colors, fonts, imagery rules. But there have for sure still been times where those rules just don't translate to the environment that a podcast artwork lives on.
And for creators, visual creative is perhaps not as deeply considered as other aspects.
Everything about your show should be considered strategically, from its positioner, its marketing, and even its artwork, and to give yourself the best chance to convert your listener at that pointy end of their listening selection. This is the advice that I give to everyone I work with regarding their artwork.
Take a good look at your competitor set and notice if there's a dominant color or a dominant colour palette, and just avoid it completely.
Use both elements of your artwork strategically so your show artwork and the episode tile to land the impression that you really want a listener to take away. It's best to avoid completely thin italics and small fonts. The readability is just non existent.
You need to make the show title as big as possible, make it stand out.
You can run it through an accessibility or readability checker to make sure that if you're putting colour on color, it's still readable and it's accessible, and you want to be completely deliberate about what imagery you use.
For example, unless your show is about podcasting and given the listening environment, the use of a microphone icon loses its impact, so you know it's superfluous.
Unless, of course, your show is actually about podcasting. When it comes to imagery and host imagery, it can either add or take away from your artwork's impact. So you have to consider what it's doing for you. If it's at the expense of your show title readability, don't put a photo on there, you don't need it.
It's true that listeners do learn to love their host, but an image of them is not always necessary.
If you're developing a new show, or if they're not significantly well known in the niche and quickly recognisable, you want to prioritise your show name at all costs, avoiding the word podcast on the title if you can.
And again, if your show is not about podcasting and the tone of voice of your show should really be reflected through the visuals and the colours that you use. You can find my show and check out my artwork and see if any of this has made any sense at unemployedandafraid.com.au and as a consultant, you can find me at goodsideofthebed.com.au and you can see all of my links in the show notes. Thank you for listening to podcasting, people.
