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A Matt Countdown: The Top 10 Reasons Your Podcast Isn't Working
Episode 292
The last few weeks, I've been doing a lot of podcast housekeeping- pitching sponsors, and reviewing the stats, and thinking about what's next for the Sound Off Podcast. As it turns out, it's going to be more of the same, which is a good thing. One of the biggest questions I get asked is: "Why is my show doing better?" Here are some of the conclusions that often come up.
Number 10: No Video Strategy
Have a video strategy that includes Youtube. That's it. That's number 10.
Number 9: You Are Impatient
Did you know that it takes three years to build an audience? It’s true, because Dave Jackson, who has been podcasting since 2004, told me so. Even if you have a big audience now with your podcast, because you are named Kim Kardashian – it is still going to take you three years to find that podcast audience. I see this all the time with actors, Youtubers and Instagrammers: They get a big audience out of the gate, and then the audience drops off because those initial people prefer to interact with the star on Youtube or Instagram or TV. But if they stick to it, over the course of three years, a true podcast audience will develop.
So if you want to start a podcast, give yourself a lot of runway. Like three years worth.
Number 8: You Thought It Would Be Easy
Wanna know what’s easy? Doing the midday show on a music station. You talk for a few minutes an hour, and all the elements are handed to you. Produced commercials, traffic and weather together, the music and promos… You have about 56 minutes of the hour taken care of. That’s why you hear the same midday person across many markets now. In podcasting – you don’t have any of that. You have to build most of it from scratch. You will need to produce all the necessary elements including the commercials (if you have any), the intro, the extro, and the music beds. You need to do some show research, show prep, writing, you need to produce the audio and make it sound listenable, and then after you launch it… you’ll need to market the show.
Number 7: Your Show Is Not Everywhere
I can’t tell you the number of podcasts I review who are missing from iHeart or Stitcher. And with countries like India offering a gateway to 1.4 billion people, it might be a good idea to be on Gaana or Jio Savaan. Think of India as the same size as the United States… with an additional billion people. Yeah you want in on that. And don’t forget to submit your show to Tune In… it works well with the smart speakers. Don’t be like a radio company that takes its stations off Tune In to be on an app only available in the US. That’s stupid.
And finally don’t let your podcast host provider submit the show to Apple or Spotify for you. Do it yourself. It takes five minutes, and it’s a pain in the ass to rescue the show later should you have to move. You always want to keep your stats with you, not with someone else.
Number 6: You Don't Release Episodes Consistently
Ironic, I know, because I didn’t release an episode on time last week. But you need to be consistent with your releases. Those in radio know this better than any other, and it’s why radio people get famous. They are reliable and always there on time. What radio and TV people are doing is creating the consistency that allows for listeners to get in the habit of consuming their media. So, if you think you are going to release episodes whenever you want, and expect people to download it when you want them to? Not happening.
Mondays and Tuesdays are great days to get episodes out. Early in the week, people believe they have more time to plan their life out. By Thursday they are swamped. You can still release your episode on a Thursday or Friday – but you’ll have to market through a weekend when attention spans are on neutral. Best of luck with that.
And for those of you who do the “seasons” thing- unl
Published on 3 years, 9 months ago