Shownotes
The first step to a successful podcast journey is understanding your listeners. From thinking that people don’t want to hear from you, to making intros that make your listeners skip the episode, to creating hours-long content that gets heard by one because you’ve never looked at your analytics, there is so much that podcast hosts never considered and that will make or break the podcast experience. This episode will cover 10 secrets that you need to know about listeners in order to make podcast decisions that will help grow your business. Ready?
Understanding when to follow-through, and when you can break promises you made to listeners
You can even break a promise to your listeners and still maintain their support, as long as you remain authentic and true to your core promise. It’s not about the medium or specifics through which you deliver your promised, but the fact that you do deliver on the what.
Listeners are human after all, and they’re reasonable - being honest and truthful about your circumstances will sometimes further your relationship with them, as it shows a more vulnerable side of you!
The Impact of Show Notes on Downloads
Show notes can be a tricky aspect of podcasting. While detailed show notes may provide a thorough understanding of the episode's content, I believe that they may also decrease the number of downloads, as listeners might opt to read rather than listen. By no means I’m saying that you should forgo accessibility by not offering transcripts or closed captioning), but you should understand that doing show notes that are too thorough will impact listener behavior.
A single superfan can bring you a small crowd of listeners - for free!
A single superfan can be a catalyst for your podcast's growth. Remember that as you’re podcasting, your content is helping a single person and while they may at some point ‘graduate’ from your content, they didn’t forget about you.
Podcast listeners WILL buy from you - when they’re ready
Edison Podcast Metrics measured podcast listener habits in 2020, and they found that weekly US listeners 34% bought products and services advertised in podcasts. In 2023 that number rose to 46%, which is highly encouraging when you’re a business owner using your podcast as a business tool!
Only 10-20% of your listeners will actually reach out online
It’s a shocking truth, but it’s a low number that most hosts struggle with too! Podcast listeners truly need a strong incentive to reach out. If you’re skeptical, just think about the amount of podcasts that you consume every single week, and the amount of times you actually reached out to the podcast’s host - you’ll likely believe me now!
CHAPTERS
- 00:00 - Intro: Unlocking the Secrets of Your Podcast Audience
- 01:20 - Secret 1: They Come for the Content, They Stay for YOU
- 02:32 - Secret 2: You Can Break Promises (and They'll Still Be There)
- 05:47 - Secret 3: Don't Assume Your Listeners Are Just Like You
- 08:34 - Secret 4: In-Depth Show Notes Might Reduce Your Downloads
- 11:12 - Secret 5: You'll Only Hear from 10-20% of Listeners (and That's OK)
- 14:10 - Secret 6: Why Most Listeners Won't Engage on Social Media
- 18:06 - Secret 7: Superfans Are Your Secret Marketing Team
- 20:26 - Secret 8: People WILL Buy From You (But on Their Own Timeline)
- 24:42 - Secret 9: Listeners Will "Graduate" From Your Content
- 25:36 - Secret 10: Not All Listeners See Everything You Post
- 27:04 - Bonus Secret 11: People Are Rooting For Your Success
- 28:37 - Bonus Secret 12: Your Current Listeners Might Be a Little Annoyed
- 30:42 - Outro & How to Connect
Resources mentioned in this episode:
👩💻 Book your Podcast Power Hour: thepodcastspace.com/powerhour
Takeaways and more resources:
www.thepodcastspace.com/podcast/28-10-listeners-secrets-every-podcaster-need-to-know
Feeling stuck? Book a Podcast Power Hour: https://thepodcastspace.ck.page/products/pod-power-hour
Listen to Denise Duffield-Thomas’ Podcast Chill and Prosper: https://open.spotify.com/show/5RtAeja3hIHF5QI0CZBVHt
Learn more about our Maximize Your Podcast Content course: https://bit.ly/3TesQwc
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This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp
Transcripts
Do you ever think about your listeners?
Speaker A:What they think, what they spend time doing?
Speaker A:Why aren't they buying from you?
Speaker A:You know the basics.
Speaker A:Understanding core details about your audience will be the difference between creating content for the longest time and not seeing results, or actually creating content, having fun, creating meaningful connections, and have people buy from you.
Speaker A:If you are new here.
Speaker A:Hello, my name is Inexor.
Speaker A:I'm the founder of the podcast space, which is a practical podcast that is going to get you unstuck and elevate your podcast journey.
Speaker A:As a podcast strategist, I've seen so many podcasters burn out because they never took the time to think about what their audience really cares about.
Speaker A:And so this podcast episode is going to uncover the 10 secrets they need to know about your podcast listeners.
Speaker A:But these are going to be things that are going to increase your awareness about how listeners behave, but also make you think ahead of time.
Speaker A:Even before you press record, what is the experience?
Speaker A:All right, so let's get into this.
Speaker A:I cannot wait to share with you all the things that you need to know, and I'm looking forward to hearing your aha's on social media.
Speaker A:All right, let's go.
Speaker A:Okay, let's get into the first one.
Speaker A:Listeners come for the content, but they will stay because they like you.
Speaker A:And this is one of the biggest truths that podcasters like yourself need to get in their minds, right?
Speaker A:Like, people will come because you have something that they want.
Speaker A:Unless they know you in real life or, you know, they found you on social media or through a friend, they are here because you have something that they need and want, whether that's information, entertainment, or inspiration.
Speaker A:But it is through your genius and your expertise and your personality that they will stay in the long run.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Like, they come initially, but they are hooked by you.
Speaker A:So if you gatekeep or if you're too afraid to be yourself, if you're being too vanilla, they may get what they need and then they walk away.
Speaker A:Then they leave.
Speaker A:So let's make sure that you're leaving a lasting impression in your audience.
Speaker A:By the way, there's a fantastic episode with vocal coach Nick Redman is episode six.
Speaker A:I'll have the links in the show notes, but this episode is so good because it really talks about how you can find ways to be yourself in a way that is going to increase your comfort in front of the microphone, but also in attracting listeners.
Speaker A:So make sure that you listen to that.
Speaker A:But going back into our list, number two, you can break a promise you made your listeners and they will still be there for you, they'll still support you, and they'll still love your brand.
Speaker A:Because, remember, listeners are human and they're reasonable and they can compromise.
Speaker A:So, so many times I'm talking to podcast hosts and they're so afraid because, you know, they made a promise to listeners when they first launched the podcast, but they're so stressed out because they're like, oh, but I promised them.
Speaker A:But I have to change things around.
Speaker A:They're going to think I'm a fraud.
Speaker A:They're going to think I'm a liar.
Speaker A:That is not the case at all.
Speaker A:I mean, things change, things shift, and they prefer that you're honest with them than being shady.
Speaker A:Let me give you a very clear example.
Speaker A:I'm gonna go on a sabbatical.
Speaker A:If you're listening to this in real time, this is the last episode I'm gonna be releasing in July.
Speaker A:And so one of the reasons and one of the compromises that I had to make at the time was to decide if I wanted to take kind of like a full break from the podcast and not release any episodes throughout the time that I'm away, or if I wanted to kind of like adjust my capacity.
Speaker A:One of those things was to not do video podcasts.
Speaker A:And the reason for that is that, again, I want you to have incredibly practical content.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Like, the mission of the podcast space is to educate the community, obviously.
Speaker A:Like, I'm a small business owner, so I hope that you're listening to these podcasts and at some point in your journey, you're able to afford working with me, which is, you know, something that I know that not all podcasters can.
Speaker A:So for me, one of the kind of, like, the tiers of this company is to provide educational content.
Speaker A:Now, can educational content be provided on an audio podcast?
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:But it doesn't need to be video because, again, I don't have the capacity.
Speaker A:I don't need to burn myself out.
Speaker A:And also, I didn't want to compromise on the quality of the content that I'm releasing.
Speaker A:So instead of taking a break, I decided one, I'm going to turn these on audio only, but podcasts, because they take less time to create.
Speaker A:But I also decided to create something fun.
Speaker A:And I decided to create a summer season, it's called Summer Spark series, which will be the upcoming episode.
Speaker A:And they're going to cover more, like, mindset.
Speaker A:Topics are not as intense.
Speaker A:You can still learn while I'm gone.
Speaker A:Some of these will kind of like, be very specific, like one topic only, and they'll be Shorter.
Speaker A:And again, one topic per episode.
Speaker A:It makes sense, right?
Speaker A:Like, you will continue coming here for the content.
Speaker A:You won't be considering ditching my podcast because suddenly you're like, oh, my God, how dare Anna not release a video podcast when I'm telling you, okay, instead of taking a break, I'm shifting things around and you're like, okay, cool, right?
Speaker A:So whenever you're thinking about all of this, think about, like, realistically, how can you deliver the message in order for your listeners to be behind you and support you?
Speaker A:And so I hope this example kind of gave you a baseline of what your promise can be.
Speaker A:And don't dwell on the specifics of the delivery, like, oh, my gosh, this episode is going to be shorter than the rest, right?
Speaker A:Like, your listeners will still be there.
Speaker A:So again, you can break promises, but what is the core promise that you made?
Speaker A:Them?
Speaker A:And everything else can be adjusted.
Speaker A:All right, Number three, don't assume your listeners all behave like you.
Speaker A:And if you don't know how they behave, so start asking and start looking at the data, like podcast analytics.
Speaker A:Episodes that were more played than others, more downloaded than others.
Speaker A:And the thing is, we can start assuming when you have no clarity, but we all need a starting point, right?
Speaker A:Like, I understand you have to start somewhere.
Speaker A:However, if you don't know what makes them tick, how they behave, you're going to be making decisions based on information that could be wrong.
Speaker A:Like, for instance, I like listening to podcasts while I'm doing other things.
Speaker A:And sometimes what I do do is, like, replay some parts of the episode.
Speaker A:And I have my phone on me, so I actually take notes there.
Speaker A:But I know that some of my listeners, they actually take notes while they're listening.
Speaker A:And I even know that some of you actually print out some of the show notes and highlight them.
Speaker A:And that is something that, like, personally, as a behavior, I don't normally do, but just because I don't do that, I never assumed that.
Speaker A:That you wouldn't want show notes, right?
Speaker A:Or that you wouldn't want, like, takeaways and stuff like that.
Speaker A:So I make sure that I am providing content in ways that I know that listeners will benefit from.
Speaker A:Another example is, you know, sometimes you have to try different things.
Speaker A:So one of the reasons why my podcast is on YouTube is to provide some sort of accessibility format if needed.
Speaker A:So I always assume that people listening, they may have some sort of life that is different than mine, and indeed not.
Speaker A:When I launched the podcast, but maybe a few months before, I received an email from one of My email subscribers he named Sabo and he's from Botswana in Africa.
Speaker A:In fact, actually we recorded a podcast episode together, but he's blind.
Speaker A:And he emailed me and he said, hey, I actually enjoy the content.
Speaker A:And it was so cool for me to think, oh, wow, like, I had no idea I had someone who was blind in my community or people who may have some sort of accessibility requirement.
Speaker A:But what I did do was to make sure that as much as possible, I was making my content available for people with all types of needs.
Speaker A:And so that is something that you want to consider as well in terms of episode consumption.
Speaker A:And when you're looking at your podcast analytics, look at the type of episodes that are really doing well and think, why are they doing well?
Speaker A:What is this about?
Speaker A:What is that is making my listeners what, really interested in this type of episode?
Speaker A:Is it maybe because they're shorter?
Speaker A:Is it because they're more personal?
Speaker A:All of these are key pieces of the puzzle for you to figure out who your listeners are.
Speaker A:And if you never take the time to think about that, then you're missing out on that connection with them.
Speaker A:All right, let's go into secret number four.
Speaker A:Giving listeners in depth show notes will reduce your downloads.
Speaker A:And I'm not talking about accessibility, I'm not talking about providing them with a transcript.
Speaker A:So this is something that I actually talked about with a client and we were discussing how we wanted to provide the show notes for her audience.
Speaker A:And one of the things that she wanted to do was to provide the show notes in like a lot of in depth information.
Speaker A:And I asked her, I was like, I see what you're saying, but if this is not supposed to be behind a paywall, this will eventually impact the downloads that you have on your show.
Speaker A:And she was kind of, it's not that she was skeptical, but I asked her, hey, how do you listen to podcasts?
Speaker A:Do you ever take notes?
Speaker A:Do you ever highlight?
Speaker A:And she said, oh my God, you're so right.
Speaker A:There's this one podcast that they provide in depth show notes.
Speaker A:And I stopped listening to the podcast because all I do is just read because I'm a reader.
Speaker A:I'm not saying that providing like really in depth show notes will stop downloads from coming in.
Speaker A:It will just drastically reduce them.
Speaker A:So just be aware, again, not talking about accessibility, not talking about if you want to have that as a revenue stream and put it behind a paywall and just offer regular show notes, just be mindful that this is something that is a behavior for listeners.
Speaker A:If they have a lot of information.
Speaker A:And let's say that's how they best consume.
Speaker A:Like, for instance, someone who, you know, if you know your audience is already like, they like studying, they like researching, There's a high chance that, again, they're going to take the reading part instead of listening to the episode.
Speaker A:Now, of course, there's exceptions.
Speaker A:There are people who will still like listening to the episode.
Speaker A:That's their preferred way to process information.
Speaker A:Or other people who you're part of their day.
Speaker A:Or honestly, some people that just do not have enough time and they need to listen to the episode because they need to be driving, and that's how, like, they do it.
Speaker A:I remember listening to these podcasts for two whole years, even before I launched my podcast, my own company, everything.
Speaker A:I remember listening to these podcasts on my way to work.
Speaker A:And I never kind of looked into the show notes ever, but that was the only time I had available in my day.
Speaker A:All right, so it's time to ask yourself what you actually want.
Speaker A:Do you want to focus on the downloads?
Speaker A:Do you want the information to be provided to listeners?
Speaker A:And that's like, kind of almost like your legacy?
Speaker A:Or do you want to have a product, like a tier that you charge people for?
Speaker A:Again, there's no right or wrong.
Speaker A:What is the medium that you wanted to deliver this information by?
Speaker A:And focus on that number five.
Speaker A:You will only hear from about 10 to 20% of your listeners, and that's totally normal.
Speaker A:I have conversations on social media with so many people who are like, Anna.
Speaker A:I never hear from my listeners.
Speaker A:And I always remember that one video I did, that actually, it got really popular.
Speaker A:So I did a reel on Instagram a few years ago, and I was talking about how we behave as listeners and how we behave as podcast hosts.
Speaker A:And we get into this, like, completely irrational space.
Speaker A:Because think about it.
Speaker A:How many podcast episodes did you listen to this week?
Speaker A:Probably more than five.
Speaker A:And did you think to reach out, emailing that person, tag them on social media?
Speaker A:Did you actually tell them that you love the episode?
Speaker A:Did you tell them how transformational it was?
Speaker A:Did you tell them how it made your life better?
Speaker A:You likely didn't.
Speaker A:And that's exactly what happens.
Speaker A:Like, we go about our day.
Speaker A:We consume content like, okay, cool.
Speaker A:You don't immediately email the person.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:And so we have to settle our expectations onto, like, how do we normally consume and behave with podcasting?
Speaker A:And they will help us kind of, like, process things less personally because, again, it's totally normal.
Speaker A:I too, like, I create these podcast episodes weekly, and I receive Maybe one to two messages about the content.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker A:Like, there'll be some weeks where, like, there was one week where I received like, maybe like five messages, and I was like, oh, my God, this content.
Speaker A:Again, I'm taking that data and I'm thinking, okay, this type of episode really resonated with people.
Speaker A:That's something that I want to go back into and, and kind of like explore more the format of.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:So we want to make sure that again, we're not setting ourselves unrealistic expectations.
Speaker A:We can't look at bigger creators who have thousands and thousands of followers who have been doing this for years and expect that we will be at their level and suddenly have our inbox flooded with messages from listeners.
Speaker A:I'm not saying that you just have to settle for that, but definitely there's two ways that you can increase that percentage, and that is one, to be asking more frequently for feedback.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:Like, the more we ask, the more we will get.
Speaker A:And number two is creating content that invites those behaviors.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:Like on these podcasts, I talk about often, like, hey, tag me on Instagram.
Speaker A:Tag me on Instagram.
Speaker A:Talk to me on Instagram.
Speaker A:Like, I'm always doing that.
Speaker A:And I do get some engagement.
Speaker A:But I just want you to remember that if you're not telling people to engage with you, you cannot expect that to happen.
Speaker A:And again, some episodes will invite people more because it will strike a chord.
Speaker A:It will create that moment in their life when you're like, oh, my God, I needed this episode in my life.
Speaker A:But you don't think about it like that with every single episode that you listen to, with every single creator, right?
Speaker A:So again, let's kind of adjust our expectations to what actually happens.
Speaker A:Number six, most listeners will never engage with you on social media because in their mind, you are either busy or you are a celebrity.
Speaker A:And I know this sounds ridiculous.
Speaker A:And again, I'm the most down to earth person.
Speaker A:Through both my content on social media, my newsletters, my approach to podcasting, I feel like I am, you know, kind of quote unquote, like a regular person.
Speaker A:And I still get people messaging me back and I'm like, oh, my God, you replied to your own emails.
Speaker A:And I'm like, yes, because, you know, I'm a regular person.
Speaker A:But still, in their minds, once you have a podcast, you're positioning yourself as a public person.
Speaker A:And when you're on a street and there's a musician busking, like, they're playing, and even if you enjoy the music, you don't go up to them and say, Man, I really enjoy your stuff.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:Like, we just consume from the distance.
Speaker A:It's the same thing with social media.
Speaker A:There's so many, what's called window shoppers.
Speaker A:They stream your episodes, they watch your stories, but they don't really talk talk.
Speaker A:And again, it goes back to, you have to talk about something really important, really exciting, really kind of personal for them to talk to you.
Speaker A:So if you want to spark more conversations, you have to go first.
Speaker A:You have to build that habit of asking again.
Speaker A:Just like I said, you have to do it on your podcast episode.
Speaker A:You have to do it on social media more.
Speaker A:And here are three examples.
Speaker A:You can ask questions on more informal places like stories, right?
Speaker A:You can create, like, stickers that are fun.
Speaker A:You can have little actions for them to take.
Speaker A:Or you can also engage with your listeners content.
Speaker A:Again, it's not a void.
Speaker A:I know that you're already creating content and you want engagement, but we have to start the conversation sometimes by going into their content and supporting them as well and, and starting the conversation there.
Speaker A:But one of my favorite ways to engage with people has been on the DMs on private messages and direct messages.
Speaker A:I've been getting a lot of conversations going for the past six months because people engage again, I create stories on Instagram and so people feel that I'm kind of like, more down to earth.
Speaker A:I rarely have makeup on.
Speaker A:It's in my office.
Speaker A:So it feels very intimate.
Speaker A:And in a way it feels like, kind of like chill.
Speaker A:And so ask yourself, how are you showing up on stories?
Speaker A:Are you showing up in a way that feels, quote, unquote, perfect, that you feel like you're almost pitching them?
Speaker A:That's not the kind of thing that they want to engage with.
Speaker A:So show up with humanity.
Speaker A:And finally, this.
Speaker A:If you take nothing else from this episode, take this one, actually reply to their comments when they comment on your content.
Speaker A:I get so many podcasters booking time with me and say, hey, Anna, I really want to boost my engagement on social media.
Speaker A:My listeners don't engage with my content.
Speaker A:They don't share my episodes.
Speaker A:And I'm like, okay, let's go quickly into your profile.
Speaker A:Normally, I always spot one or two comments that they were left on posts, and the person maybe looked at them and thought, okay, I'm going to go ahead and comment on these later.
Speaker A:I'm not going to do it now, I'm going to do it later.
Speaker A:But what happens is that you probably forget and again, set yourself some time to go over every single post.
Speaker A:If you don't Want to do it in real time, right?
Speaker A:Like set up some time every week and reply to these comments.
Speaker A:Because what happens when people leave comments and you never reply?
Speaker A:They assume that you're one.
Speaker A:You're not monitoring that social media, or you just don't reply.
Speaker A:And again, we don't want to be talking to someone who doesn't reply back, right?
Speaker A:So again, how have you unconsciously been conditioning people to behave like that?
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker A:So sometimes people don't engage because we're not showing them that we are there to engage back.
Speaker A:And again, your podcast episodes are already a one way street.
Speaker A:So you need social media, you need newsletters in order to get them excited to talk to you.
Speaker A:All right, number seven, superfans do spread the word about your show.
Speaker A:And I know you're thinking, anna, I don't have super fans.
Speaker A:Yes, you do.
Speaker A:Think about that one person who's always emailing you back, messaging you, tagging you on, you know, whatever social media it is, they are there.
Speaker A:And I know that it feels weird and kind of like thinking like, oh, only one person.
Speaker A:What a loser I am.
Speaker A:Like, I have so many podcasters who are saying that.
Speaker A:But again, I can tell you that I can pinpoint at least 10 new followers from two superfans that I have of my podcast.
Speaker A:I know that these people come from them because we have someone in common and that's the one person.
Speaker A:So I'm like, yep, that's a superfan.
Speaker A:That got me these 10 people.
Speaker A:And again, you're thinking, okay, what is a superfan?
Speaker A:Episode 5.
Speaker A:I actually broke down the different types of podcast audiences, so make sure that you will listen to that one.
Speaker A:I'll put it in the show notes as well.
Speaker A:But these are people who really love your content.
Speaker A:And I know that you're thinking, anna, how much can be one person in terms of growing my brand?
Speaker A:You have to remember that a podcast is like a marathon.
Speaker A:And so growth is one listener at the time.
Speaker A:And so that's why it's so important to value the single connections that you have with these people, right?
Speaker A:Like it's the one listener you're talking to.
Speaker A:Like I am talking to you right now.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker A:But while you're listening alone, there's 30, 40, 50 people listening to this podcast.
Speaker A:And you're all thinking that I'm talking to you individually, and I am.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:But I value you.
Speaker A:I want to make sure that you're always getting good content.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker A:And if you consistently know that people are listening to your show and if they really feel compelled by Everything that you're sharing, they will continue to share that podcast episode with more and more people.
Speaker A:And again, it's free.
Speaker A:These one person can really make a difference in the long run.
Speaker A:So don't feel disheartened that you don't have, like 30 new followers every day.
Speaker A:This word of mouth is slowly happening in the background, but think about this.
Speaker A:These are people doing the work while you're doing your life.
Speaker A:You have no idea that this is happening, but suddenly you're seeing more and more and more followers, and that's because of these one super fan, these two superfans, these 10 superfans of your show.
Speaker A:Number eight.
Speaker A:Some listeners will binge and buy from you in a month, and others will take months or years to actually buy from you.
Speaker A:And if you're a little skeptical, let me tell you about some data, because normally the data convinces everybody, right?
Speaker A: Metrics made a study that in: Speaker A: ater, in the first quarter of: Speaker A:And that's a huge opportunity, right?
Speaker A:Don't think and don't assume that people won't buy from you.
Speaker A:People will buy from you.
Speaker A:It's just sometimes it's not the right time, or you may not be showcasing your products just in the right light.
Speaker A:And this is so clear.
Speaker A:Like, I often get podcasters telling me, you know, they're booking a podcast, power hour.
Speaker A:They're like, okay, Anna, like, tell me why I'm not getting anyone to buy it.
Speaker A:I was like, how frequently do you talk about your products and services?
Speaker A:How frequently do you talk about how you specifically help podcasters?
Speaker A:Do you talk about customer success stories?
Speaker A:Do you talk about, like, how you work through them?
Speaker A:And mostly it's crickets.
Speaker A:And they're like, yeah, I don't actually talk about it because.
Speaker A:And, you know, insert excuse or insert reason that is normally rooted out of, like, their imposter syndrome, feeling uncomfortable.
Speaker A:And they're like, it feels salesy.
Speaker A:I don't like talking about it.
Speaker A:And so they end up never talking about it.
Speaker A:And so again, if you're not talking about the products and services you have, you're not giving listeners an opportunity to understand that you are the person that is ready to solve their problem.
Speaker A:And so how do you effectively do this?
Speaker A:I think it's important to have different price points.
Speaker A:So again, let me tell you about a real life story.
Speaker A:A real life Example of how I bought from a podcaster.
Speaker A:So I think two years ago, my copywriter recommended this podcaster called Denise Duffel Thomas.
Speaker A:She's a money mindset coach.
Speaker A:And by the way, I'll have links to her podcast, Chill and Prosper.
Speaker A:I love her.
Speaker A:And if you do know about Denise and if you follow her podcast, let me know, because we can, like, kind of fangirl together.
Speaker A:I really love her approach to, like, podcasting as well, because she talks about money mindset, and, you know, it's geared toward female entrepreneurs.
Speaker A:I am one, and I suffer from that.
Speaker A:Like, I also struggle with talking about my products and services.
Speaker A:I also have limiting beliefs about money.
Speaker A:And so a personal recommendation by my copywriter got me to binge through the nieces podcast because, again, it was at the right time for me.
Speaker A:And so she does have a book.
Speaker A:She has, like, she actually has multiple books.
Speaker A:She also has, like, a boot camp that I think at the time was, like, $2,000.
Speaker A:And I was like, okay, I'm not ready to spend $2,000.
Speaker A:But because she had a book, I actually bought the book within a month of me binging through the podcast.
Speaker A:So I became a listener, I became a client, I became a super fan, and through one superfan, in fact, actually even bought more books from her to give to another copywriter.
Speaker A:That works for me.
Speaker A:So I wanted to make sure that you understand that, again, one kind of, like, connecting the super fans of the podcast, like, how they can actually get you new listeners and potentially new clients.
Speaker A:Because, again, the podcast recommendation was tailored to me.
Speaker A:My copywriter knew me.
Speaker A:She was like, okay, you will enjoy this podcast.
Speaker A:And indeed I do.
Speaker A:Like, it's been almost like, what, a year and a half or something like that.
Speaker A:And I still listen to her podcast.
Speaker A:And again, I will buy that book anytime someone is like, oh, you know, I have these issues, and I'm like, okay, Christmas coming.
Speaker A:I'll buy that book because I believe in her.
Speaker A:I listen to her podcast.
Speaker A:I know her stuff is good.
Speaker A:So the key is to consider.
Speaker A:All right, do I have price points that enable people who maybe are a little hesitant to buy or that maybe they don't have the capacity to buy?
Speaker A:So if you have, like, something like a book or something like a mini course, think about that.
Speaker A:Like, maybe if you have a product that is too expensive, the podcast may not do lead generation for you.
Speaker A:All right, number nine, listeners will actually graduate from your content if your show is educational.
Speaker A:And so what I mean by graduate is that, like, they will just be done with it, right?
Speaker A:Like they, they expand on their, on their knowledge and then move forward.
Speaker A:And so they're either in a season of life or they need another, like, type of information.
Speaker A:They need to up level their information.
Speaker A:And that's okay.
Speaker A:Listeners will not stay with you forever, especially if your content is educational, if you provide them with insights.
Speaker A:But again, what someone can do for you is that they were listeners of the show.
Speaker A:And then eventually they'll recommend the podcast to someone else who is kind of like 10 steps, two steps behind them.
Speaker A:So again, don't feel like you need to hoard, quote, unquote, listeners, people.
Speaker A:If your content is good, they will pass on the information to other people.
Speaker A:And then number 10, not all listeners follow or see everything that you post.
Speaker A:One of the big questions that I get when podcasters come to me and they're like, anna, I want to create more content, but I feel really awkward.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:You tell me that I should start a newsletter, but I don't want to bombard people with the same information.
Speaker A:Well, sometimes people follow your account on LinkedIn and on Instagram or whatever, and because of the algorithm or maybe because of their habits, they stop, you know, going into one of those platforms.
Speaker A:They still will look at your newsletter.
Speaker A:Social media engagement is kind of going down.
Speaker A:I saw a study not that long ago, I think maybe two weeks ago, talking about how engagement on Instagram particularly has gone down 76%.
Speaker A:So if your content is on social media and you're kind of seeing a dip in engagement, at least your newsletter is getting open.
Speaker A:And so even though, again, don't assume that your listeners don't want to hear from you, if they want, they will sign up to the newsletter.
Speaker A:You're not forcing them.
Speaker A:And so whenever you're sharing stuff, just think about, like, oh, maybe they didn't see it somewhere else, or maybe you want to give a little of like an insider information on your newsletter that you don't give on social media or vice versa.
Speaker A:So make sure that you're giving them the information that they want in whatever medium they prefer.
Speaker A:So not all listeners will see everything that you post.
Speaker A:So just feel free to recycle content from one social media to another or from one social media to a newsletter.
Speaker B:All right?
Speaker A:And because we are overachievers over here, I want to give you two extra secrets.
Speaker A:Secret number 11.
Speaker A:People are actually rooting for you and your success, and they want to know about your life with a little bit of measure and caution.
Speaker A:So remember how in the beginning I talked about how they come for the content that you have, like your expertise, but they will stay for your personality or your unique take on something.
Speaker A:A clear example of this is when, fairly recently, in June, I received an award.
Speaker A:I got awarded the Marketing Maverick Award by the American Marketing association here in Dallas.
Speaker A:And I had no problems and no issues celebrating that.
Speaker A:And here's why.
Speaker A:People want to hear about your personal success, but also your client success.
Speaker A:If you're not talking about the accolades, if you're not talking about the things you're winning, you deserve it.
Speaker A:You're working hard, and sharing those things will only solidify the idea that you are an expert in your field and you know what you're doing.
Speaker A:I know sometimes may feel cringy, but the post that I shared about my winning the award, or like last year when I launched my self paced course, maximize your podcast content, when I shared that I had so much engagement, those were the best performing posts of that, like, month.
Speaker A:And so again, people want to celebrate you.
Speaker A:They are here, they want to root for you, even though you're like, in a way, you're kind of like a stranger and you're not at the same time.
Speaker A:So don't feel like it's kind of like bragging.
Speaker A:It's not.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker A:And Last secret number 12, your current listeners are kind of annoyed at you.
Speaker A:And the reason is you're not curating their experience.
Speaker A:You're only curating and thinking about the new listeners.
Speaker A:Here's what it actually means.
Speaker A:Your intro is too long.
Speaker A:You're making your current listeners sit through, you know, 45 seconds, one minute intro music or one minute kind of like standard intro, and it just is too much.
Speaker A:Try listening to your own podcast, you know, maybe four episodes in one sitting.
Speaker A:You'll be like, God, I'm done with listening to these, like, really long intro.
Speaker A:That's the same for current listeners.
Speaker A:So you want to make sure that at least you have, you know, 25 seconds max.
Speaker A:And same thing with the outro, like, try to reduce that as much as possible or throw it completely away.
Speaker A:I don't even have an outro, right?
Speaker A:Like, I do my own outro.
Speaker A:I ad lib it and I adjust according to each podcast episode.
Speaker A:Another thing you can do is to spice it up and maybe have like two different tracks that you kind of interchange.
Speaker A:Maybe you use one track for like the solo episodes in a different kind of track for the interviews, or if it's like theme from like, I don't know, like inspirational or practical episodes, but give them something fun.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:Like, again, I'm not saying use a different track every single time, but just think about the experience.
Speaker A:Think about as well.
Speaker A:Like, don't repeat the same thing over and over again.
Speaker A:That you know you can do it, maybe say it one time and be concise, but don't kind of dwell on, like, giving your life story every single time.
Speaker A:And again, when I'm talking about having an intro that is very short, I'm talking about because normally you want to put all of the clout in the intro.
Speaker A:Like, oh, my God, if someone is just listening, I want them to know that they need to listen to my podcast because I have X, Y and Z qualifications and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Speaker A:But for someone who has been listening to the show, that's annoying.
Speaker A:They already know.
Speaker A:So look at every episode as, like, a way to give that insightful information in a way that makes it, like, fun for the current listener.
Speaker A:And at the same time, like, look at show notes as a really good experience.
Speaker A:Don't just put two lines.
Speaker A:Provide stuff that is really useful.
Speaker A:All right, this episode was not supposed to be this long, but hey, I just can't help myself.
Speaker A:I just have to give you all the goodies.
Speaker A:This is the type of episode that I hope that you reach out to me and you tell me the one thing that you're going to be implementing or a big aha that you had after listening to the this podcast episode.
Speaker A:If you can, of course, please share it with a friend.
Speaker A:If you haven't rate and review the podcast, just try to pass along all of these goodness that you're getting every single week on this podcast and I'll be so, so grateful for you to do that.
Speaker A:All the things that I referred on this episode, like episode five and episode six, will be linked in the show notes.
Speaker A:And so if you need help with your podcast in implementing some of the the things that I talked about in this episode, you can book a podcast Power Hour with me.
Speaker A:The link will also be below.
Speaker A:So I'm always looking to get to know new podcasters.
Speaker A:Just help you through, get you unstuck, and so just reach out to me.
Speaker A:I promise I won't bite.
Speaker A:All right, I've been Anne Xavier, and it's just been my pleasure.
Speaker A:I hope these podcasts help you get unstuck and eliminated so much of those perceptions that you had of podcast listeners and just got you in a different mindset every time you hit record.
Speaker A:All right, I'll see you in the next episode.
Speaker A:Bye.
