Podcast listeners are won within the first seven seconds. Have you ever stopped to think about what is stopping your podcast from winning your ideal listeners?
Maybe it’s time for an introspection?
Podcasting industry data shows that people don’t like podcasts with too many ads or long introductions that don’t get straight to the point.
And this is an issue that’s ever more important to tackle now, with fairly recent changes to Apple Podcast’s app UX.
The first thing you see now whenever you find a show you might want to listen to, is a big button that says “latest episode”.
That means you need to be creative with the way you open your podcast’s newest episodes.
You need to get to the gold quickly, and without making your banter too plodding and annoying for listeners. And, at the same time, you still need to keep the consistency for your existing loyal listeners.
What can you do differently?
Here’s some advice on how to make sure your next episode will be a success.
Think like your listener!
It can be really tempting to open your episode with something that validates you. Maybe the guest says something that’s really flattering about your show and you’re really tempted to use that as an intro clip.
Perhaps you’ve got some exciting news to share with your audience.
When it comes to your opening intros, you need to think about it from the point of view of the listener, and what they’re going to get out of listening.
Always focus on a strong takeaway they’ll get from the full episode listening experience. Once you have that, ‘tease’ it with your intro audio.
If you have self-serving news, by all means have a designated section for it before your main content, but only if you feel you’ve done a solid enough job of telling the listener what they can expect to hear in the episode.
Make sure the podcast has a strong production value so the listener will be encouraged to keep listening beyond the opening and intro.
While podcasting is now being recognised as mainstream content that people enjoy, podcast listeners have been around for years, and have heard it all, including decent quality podcasts that invest in their sound.
This means, good enough is no longer…. well, good enough.
Step up the quality of your show
If you want to compete with the popular podcasts, you’ll have to meet them on their playing field.
The podcasting industry is no different from any other, and just like writing a blog or posting on social media, podcasters can’t get away with making rookie errors or being sloppy.
Particularly when it comes to the introduction of the podcast: your podcast’s opener should be interesting enough for listeners to stick around, and helpful enough for them to want to come back for another listen.
Podcasting, like any other form of digital marketing, has a success trajectory that’s built on compounding over time.
This means that if your podcast is only good enough for a listener to want to check out one episode, then you’re really going to struggle to get any repeat listens.
So podcasting newcomers, listen up! Wait… sorry…. read on… Habit!
If you want to be successful in podcasting, then make sure you avoid this one big podcasting rookie mistake.
If you’re not doing it already – start prepping your intros after you’ve recorded your main content.