Last year, I decided to write a 5 podcast tips article for those that are trying to produce great audio content. That article spurred on several conversations via social media that has keyed up several other tips that I didn’t yet hit on.
Now, the previous article was more fundamental to those that are considering getting into podcasting, these tips are for people who decided to jump into the thick of it. Hopefully, you might gain something to make some tweaks to what you are creating and make some better content.
So here are another 5 podcast tips for us creators to consider when creating podcasts for others to consume.
1. Show Notes Are Important… If You Want Interactions
For some people, they see podcasts as a one-way medium to get their content to the masses. I see a unique platform that lets me create in a unique manner that includes tone, creative audio, and more to not only talk to but dialogue with the audience. But hyperlinks are an issue and so when you reference a blog article or product for sale, you need to shoot a link out via the show notes.
I can’t tell you how many times I hear about a guest interviewee that a podcast host has where I want to see the Twitter handle they mention or they go over a story topic on some big security tech issue from a web article that I’d love to read more thoroughly later. But if I’m listening while driving, mowing, or running in the gym, I don’t have the capacity to go Google this information. If they expect me to remember that one specific detail to Google later, you are hoping for too much with my goldfish memory.
No, you need to do the work with your show notes. If you want people to visit your sponsor, put their link in the show notes. If you want people to subscribe to your YouTube channel, add the subscription link in the notes. And if you have ANY kind of questions you want them to respond or a hashtag to utilize, PUT IT IN THE NOTES!
2. Podcast Reviews Are Actually Very Important
I hear this over and over again, “I didn’t realize podcast reviews are important, but we received a lot of audience members when we got them.” Now, iTunes is going through a lot of changes right now with podcasts (including Analytics, finally!) so this may change, but right now iTunes only rewards NEW quantities of reviews. They actually do not care about the star rating. If you get a lot of 3-star reviews, you will be put on the hottest list. If you have a million reviews last year and only one new one this month, you drop off the lists. You have to keep pushing that review request, but it’s actually worth it for new discovery.
3. Find Unique Ways To Promote Content With Snippets
This was not something that I discovered but was actually shared with me by our founder, Eric Dye. Imagine taking a 30-second snippet, putting it on Facebook for others to listen to, and then linking to the full episode. Yeah, AMAZING, right? I don’t know about other providers, but Buzzsprout has a great visualization tool that you can learn more about here and looks like the image above here. Seriously, super good!
Also, consider taking quotes from the episodes, putting them on images and sharing on Instagram. Get soundbites, go do a guest podcast elsewhere and share it on their episode as a teaser, or even consider doing Facebook ads!
4. Have Good Balance With Your Podcast Team
One of the amazing things that have come about with the ChurchMag podcast team is the different roles we each play on the recordings. It’s not forced and it works. Sure, we may play it up a little, but what shines through is a passionate and authentic conversation that we hope would be there even if we weren’t recording.
This also makes for MUCH easier recording because I know that there will be good dialogue from the group. A single topic for us can go 45 minutes into recording and if it is a topic we are passionate about, we may have to make it a 5 part series. At that point, it’s just good chemistry where we can have fun which is entertainment for the audience, have good conversations which are cognitively stimulating, and we can be passionate which speaks to the emotional side of podcasts with tone.
5. Assume That Schedules Will Be Your Biggest Hang Ups
In my experience of podcasts, I can always get another review, find a good intro song, upgrade my tech, or create better content. It may take some effort, but that’s really not the hard part of podcasting. The hardest part is arranging schedules. If you interview people, you have to assume it’s going to take the time to align the best time to interview. Schedule people to record 3-4 weeks out, be flexible with your schedule and have a backup plan when things eventually will go wrong.
For our podcast, it’s working with the families that wake up and create background noise or events that force us to reschedule or cancel recordings. This means if we want to have consistent, weekly content, we need to have several podcasts in the hopper as we have had last minute cancellations or several weeks of no recordings with holidays or vacations.
Bonus Tip: Monthly Episodes Will Not Develop A Following
Unless you are part of TWiT, Serial podcast, or something else that already has huge brand recognition, once a month episodes are NOT for you. I personally exclusively listen to weekly episodes because I cannot take the “we have one this week, we don’t next week.” Consistency and frequency are always important when creating and marketing content. Ten times more so with podcasts.
What podcast tips from this article and last year’s do you agree with or disagree with?
Sound off in the comments below.
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