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Glowing podcast reviews feel really, really good, but getting

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any benefits from them beyond a warm, fuzzy feeling is questionable.

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Unless you have a plan for celebrating reviews for your podcast.

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Today's episode is brought to you by My Podcast Reviews - because

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you need to know what your audience is saying about your podcast!

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With My Podcast Reviews, you'll be notified anytime anyone anywhere in the

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world leaves a review for your on podcast on Apple, Stitcher, Podchaser, or Castbox.

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Even though podcast ratings and reviews don't affect your podcast's ranking,

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podcast reviews are still extremely powerful ways to know, engage, and

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even grow your podcast's audience!

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So make it easy for your audience to follow, rate, and review your

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podcast with a free three-week trial of My Podcast Reviews when you

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sign up at MyPodcastReviews.com/pp.

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Hello, and welcome to another Podcast Pontifications with me, Evo Terra.

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Now, if you fast forwarded through the sponsorship message at the

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beginning of today's episode, A) I understand, but B) you missed out.

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We have a brand new sponsor.

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That sponsor - thanks again, Daniel - that sponsor provides a service

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to help you get more and track all of the reviews for your podcast.

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But why?

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What's the point?

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I mean, ratings and reviews are a thing, sure.

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But they don't really influence anything important, do they?

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Well, maybe.

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First, it's true we have no evidence to support the notion that more favorable

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ratings or reviews for your podcast will cause your podcast, the listing of your

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podcast, the ranking of your podcast to go up or down in any algorithmic-based

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Top 200 list or whatever.

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In fact, the opposite is true.

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We have ample evidence that goes against that very notion.

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Often that evidence comes directly from the mouths of the people

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responsible for writing and maintaining those ranking algorithms.

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But reviews do have an influence, maybe even an oversized influence, on something

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more important than ranking algorithms.

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That thing that's more important?

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Human beings.

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Because humans are influenced by reviews.

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So it's with that notion that I say you should celebrate your

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reviews, celebrate them like a boss.

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In fact, I think there are three very specific ways any podcaster

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can celebrate the reviews they get.

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The first one is celebrating the review in the audio of your episodes.

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Now, why would you do that?

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I mean, people who are already listening to your show know your show is amazing

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or else they wouldn't be listening.

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So what's the point of a review?

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You're not getting anybody new there.

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Well, reviews, beget reviews.

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Hearing you read aloud the text of a review where you also thank the reviewer,

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ideally by name if you can figure it out, and then saying nice things about them

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as you mention them by their name, that's a pretty powerful psychological draw.

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People want to do that.

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They want to be a part of that.

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Now, keep in mind, though, that content and consistency are

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super important in your episode.

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So be deliberate when you place the little section where you're celebrating reviews.

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Resist the temptation, specifically, to celebrate this review very

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early on in your episodes.

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Remember, your listeners are here first and foremost for the content

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you provide, not you patting yourself on the back for a few seconds.

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So I think you should, as I'm going to do, stick your reviews

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towards the end of your episode.

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And yes, I understand that consumption drops off as the episodes progress.

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That's natural.

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It happens.

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But still, we want to be smart.

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We also want to be judicious with the reviews we actually showcase, right?

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If your show is big enough to start, and fortunate enough, I suppose, to

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start pulling down dozens of reviews between your episodes, you may not want

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to read every single one of them out.

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So adjust this advice that fits to you.

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You also should celebrate them on your website, on your podcast's website.

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And that's because people will discover your show from a search, from a link

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they followed somewhere else, they will get to your show's website.

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And oftentimes, especially if it's done from a search, they'll have

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no idea you even have a podcast.

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So when they learn that from visiting your website, don't make them

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wonder if your podcast is any good.

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Repurpose that social proof you're getting from the reviews on your website.

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I add every single review I get to my content management service, my

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CMS, that I use to build my website.

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That, in turn, displays the reviews proudly right there on my homepage, along

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with the date, name of the reviewer, the platform they reviewed it on.

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All of that is available and I'm working on a way to add a rotating

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review box into my episode pages, which get a fair amount of search trends.

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But once again, I implore you be deliberate in your choices.

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Your website has a job, or maybe several jobs, but the job of the website is

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still to do the job of the website.

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Putting reviews too early, or in the wrong place on your website, isn't

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helping your podcast and it might actually hurt the job your website is there too.

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So when in doubt, and when you can, hire a designer with some UX

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experience, or, even better, CX experience to get it just right.

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Also, celebrate the reviews on your social channels.

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I mean, spend any time at all, seeking out podcasting info on any social

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media site from Twitter, all the way to Reddit, and you'll see a flood of

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"Got any good podcast recommendations?"

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posts.

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Now, of course, the reach of your own social shares is a function

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of the size of the people who follow you on that platform.

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And you may not be a big star on any given platform.

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This technique will still work for you if you can leverage the power

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of the person who wrote the review.

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See, when you share the review socially, and I recommend taking

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a screenshot of the review.

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Bonus, by the way, if you can turn that into some little cool animated GIF

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without making it too terribly annoying.

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But, anyhow, tag the person who left the review with their handle

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on that social media property.

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And yes, it takes a little bit of sleuthing and research sometimes to

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figure out the actual person or the social handle of the person who left the review.

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But it's time well-spent.

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I think it's worth it because you just might get a reshare from

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that person, which piggybacks on the size then of their audience.

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Now, by the way, I do all of these things, or at least I try to do these

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things or I'm trying to do these things.

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I've not been really good about sharing reviews on the show here in the episodes,

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but I'm going to be changing that.

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For example, here we go.

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Right now, we'll put this in the Boostagram Corner, shall we?

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Now it's time for the boost-the boost-the boost- Boostagram Corner.

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Boostagram Corner.

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I don't know a thing about crypto.

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A big thanks to Seth Goldstein for leaving me the following review on Podcast Addict.

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He says, "Evo is an expert in the pontification of podcast knowledge.

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His approach to sharing this knowledge is approachable.

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I'm so glad I discovered this podcast.

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Why?

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Thank you, Seth.

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I too am so glad you discovered this podcast.

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Now I'm going to be sharing Seth's comments across my social media

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channels later on this afternoon.

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And yes, adding it to my website because I like to eat my own dog.

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Now, if you received value out of this episode and you're using one of those

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new fancy value for value enabled apps, I really appreciate the sats.

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You're already streaming to me, but if you would hit that boost

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button, baby, and leave me a message, I'll read it out here on the show.

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But of course that's complicated.

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Yes, I get it.

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So BuyMeACoffee.com/evoterra remains the easiest way for you to support the

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efforts of Podcast Pontifications that's a place where you can buy me one, three,

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or five, or whatever number of virtual coffees, or even a recurring virtual

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coffee support message every single month.

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Do that, set it, and forget it.

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Style click of a button.

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Super easy.

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With all of that, I shall be back tomorrow with yet another Podcast Pontifications.

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Cheers!

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Podcast Pontifications is written and narrated by Evo Terra.

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He's on a mission to make podcasting better.

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Links to everything mentioned in today's episode are in the notes

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section of your podcast listening app.

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A written-to-be-read article based on today's episode is available at

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podcastpontifications.com where you'll also find a video version and a corrected

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transcript, both created by Allie Press.

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Podcast Pontifications is a production of Simpler Media.