012: Not Seeing the Listenership You Want? Try This!
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We know that more listeners mean more opportunities for monetization, sponsorship, and high profile guests. But how do we actually get those listeners? If you've tried every marketing trick in the book, then keep listening. We're breaking down the unique tips for building an engaged listenership that will spread the word about your podcast for you.
Every podcaster — no matter if you’re just starting out or you’ve been releasing episodes for a while — wants more listeners, right? Yeah, I see you.
I’m willing to bet money on the fact that you have never said, “Oh I am good here, thanks!” when you hit the listenership goal you set for yourself when you started your show. No, you want (and you are worthy of) continuous growth!
First of all, remember that like other digital marketing platforms, quality is always, always, better than quantity.
However! Other than the very validating and very delightful ego boost you get when your listenership grows, there are other benefits too. Like the fact that a large audience will help you attract sponsors, approach podcast networks and ultimately attract more listeners by word of mouth. ]Seeing a podcast with a huge following tells people there is something worth their time at the other end of the follow, subscribe or push of the play button.
But how do you get there before you are — there? How do you build your podcast audience in an ongoing way?
Be sure to stick around after my step-by-step, for one of my personal favorite bonus tips (which is conveniently super fun) for getting that level up in growing your listenership, and keeping them around!
How do I grow my podcast audience?
Building an audience is not the goal. Building an engaged audience is. Engaged listeners act on what they hear, and they are quicker to come back for more. They want to spend time with you, their friend, every week. Heck, maybe even every day!
Although you may not be releasing an episode every day, it is good to remember that engaged listeners follow you on other social platforms to get more of you in their life, so there are ways to reach them daily. Not only that, but engaged listeners buy your products and services and tell other people to listen to your show.
In that sense, engaging listeners can also help grow your listenership just as much as any other marketing technique.
To develop engaged listeners, you have to change the communication channel from one-way to two-way. In other words, instead of simply talking at them from your podcast, you need to open up a communication channel for them to be able to talk with you. Make it about them as much as it is about you. Make it a chat! Have a chin-wag! Something my English husband says. It’s a thing, I promise.
Pro-tip #1
With so many distractions and apps enticing people away from one piece of content to the next, living in the here and now is where you want to be. A way to utilize this here-and-now mindset to your podcast’s advantage is to employ the live feature on Instagram (or another platform of your choice). More specifically, promote recently released episodes using Instagram Live instead of just posts, stories, and reels.
As a podcaster, you may be really tempted to tease items and mention up-and-coming releases or features—and while this can absolutely help with the more exciting portions of your podcast—it can quickly lose the interest of your audience, who are fast to move on to the next thing in their feed that is ripe for the picking. This means they soon forget that release date or upcoming guest you mentioned two moments ago.
Going live lets your audience join you in real time! It quickly snaps them into the here and now, breaking up the endless scroll to bring them to the present here with you. By joining you on your live feed, they are no longer seeing the rest of the items that could be tempting them, waving at them to come on over and say hi.
It is just you and them.
Going live feels more like a conversation because you can actively engage with viewers when they join the broadcast by welcoming them in and responding to comments as they float across your screen in real time. This gives your audience immediate acknowledgment and investment in seeing what happens next.
To take these lives to the next level, you can consider inviting a guest to join you and automatically reach their audience as a result. This is an excellent technique if you have found it difficult to get your guests to post about their appearance on your show. All of us struggle with this. Instead, of asking your guest to post about your appearance, ask them to give you 15 minutes the week of their episode release to discuss the recent episode. You could also bring in your audience in an interactive sense by hosting an AMA to encourage questions in the chat, or even prompting them to join your live and passing them the mic to ask you face to face. How nice that they get to interact with you after feeling like they already know you so well after listening to your every episode?
If you’re able to make this scheduling consistent, that is key. Lauren D from our team shows up to watch her favorite drag performers go live on Instagram every Wednesday at 7 pm, and she plans ahead to make sure she can be there to chat with them as part of her social calendar. Your audience considers you a friend, so make them feel welcome and extend that friendship! This conversation will entice listeners to want to support your work by heading over to their favorite podcast streaming app for more.
Pro-tip #2
Having somewhere for your audience to go at any time that suits them to connect with you and the rest of your community is a great tool. By doing this, you exist in their lives, even when you’re busy living your best life or perhaps live in a completely different timezone to some of your biggest supporters.
Slack or other community platforms like Discord and Circle are great places for you to create channels, events, conversation threads, shoutouts, and more. You can really get specific to your audience and what resonates with them to curate a space that feels like they’re with you, inside an episode, even when they’re not. And also for them to share that love with other fans who feel that same familiarity with your podcast.
People crave community, and when you can help them talk not just to you but to each other, that’s how you build something bigger than yourself. If you want to start small and test the waters, take a page out of Florence Given’s book. Every so often, she will post a photo to her Instagram and encourage via the caption, her followers to introduce themselves and make friends in the comments. When followers meet each other in real life, they tag her, and she shares it to her stories. It makes them feel seen and special and part of something bigger than just her, and instead, a part of this amazing community she has created.
My co-worker was new to a city and met someone else who was also new to the city in the comment section, and as a result, they attended pride together and have been friends ever since. They owe this magical friendship to Floss. Imagine you being the person that brings BFFs together because they already share common values and interests based on your podcast topic. They just needed you to make the introduction, and now you’re the common thread in their relationship. So cute and special!
Pro-tip #3
Let me start this third tip by saying I prefer encouraging podcasters to build out communities you have ownership of, like email lists; however, messages on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok are accessible and sometimes the preferred communication channel for individuals. So don’t discount or neglect those who come to you via your DMs.
If, like me, you are trying to create better boundaries with your social media time, you can set up your account with a generated response that comes to people when they write to you. This will be an acknowledgment of the message received, with a genuine thank you for their time and how grateful you are for it, and the promise to reply soon as you only check your messages on specific days. You can be as open with your reasoning as feels good to you, but either way, this means you can establish a schedule that suits you and your limitations to sit and give your messages a genuine reply within your means. Just make sure you don’t leave them on read. Check out our reels for a demo of how to set up this feature on Instagram.
✦ As promised, here is one of my favorite tips, as an extra bonus for you, pod pals!
In order to get people to start a two-way conversation with you outside of your show, you might need to incentivize them. I suggest that you try reading out reviews or comments or even playing voicemails that your listeners have shared on your show. Hearing their name or their message on an episode of a show they love is beyond exciting, and hearing them encourages others to write or call in themselves. People love receiving this kind of public acknowledgment, and more so love the idea of being featured on their favorite show.
Additionally, you can also use polls, riddles, or questions at the end of your show to prompt people on topics to communicate with you about and steer the conversation to where you want it to go. As this grows, you could consider adding mailbag episodes that are dedicated to just your audience — their mail, voice messages, reviews, and emails — getting other voices into the space.
✦ Okay, podcasters, let’s recap your steps for success!
Use the live feature on Instagram to engage with your audience in real time, making it a conversation rather than one-sided
Build a community that can bring your audience together between episodes
Don’t leave your messages on read. Be sure to respond to those who take the time to reach out to you!
And lastly, my bonus tip is to incentivize your audience to engage with you by reading their comments, reviews, and emails in mailbag episodes or at the end of your episodes — making your audience an integral and meaningful part of your podcast.
Podcasting can feel like a solo journey when you’re in the weeds editing audio, writing show notes, or recording back-to-back episodes in a day. Don’t forget that without your audience, you’re just talking out into the universe, hoping someone will hear it.
Remember how important your listeners are to your success, thank them for it by returning the engagement, and as a result, watch your listenership grow.
Because we can’t resist bringing you even more value, here is one more thing! If you want to discover the many other ways to grow your podcast audience besides guest podcasting, download our free growth guide.
This highly detailed mini-guide includes the best strategies for growing your listenership through organic marketing and choosing the right monetization strategy based on your podcast size and niche. It’s the perfect partner for your pod.
Computer-Generated Transcript with Time Stamps
[00:00:00] We know that more listeners mean more opportunities for monetization, sponsorship, and high profile guests, but how do we actually get those listeners? If you've tried every marketing trick in the book, then keep listening. We are breaking down the unique tips for building an engaged listenership that is willing to spread the word about your show for you. Stay tuned.
[00:00:30] Hey, my name is Lauren Popish and I'm obsessed with podcasting. A little meta, right? I started podcasting after a public speaking event. Gone wrong. Sparked a phobia of public speaking that almost ended my corporate career. Now I help women use podcasting to share their ideas, grow their businesses, start movements, and leave their unique marks on the world.
[00:00:57] My company, The Wave produces [00:01:00] shows for some of the most influential women in health, business, spirituality, beauty, and more. And in this show, I'm taking all of the strategies I've used to help my clients top the podcast charts and I'm bringing them to you. If you're hoping to start, grow, or monetize a podcast, you're in the right place.
[00:01:22] This is Podcast Like a Girl.
[00:01:30] Every podcaster, no matter if you're just starting out or you've been releasing episodes for a while, wants more listeners, right? Yeah, I, I see you. I'm willing to bet money on the fact that you would never say, Oh yeah, I'm good here. Thanks. After hitting the listenership goals you set for yourself. No. You want and are worthy of, by the way, continuous growth.
[00:01:56] First of all, remember that like other digital marketing [00:02:00] platforms, quality is always, always better than quantity. However, other than the very validating and delightful ego boosto you get when your listenership grows, there are other benefits too. Tons of them, like the fact that a large audience will help you attract sponsors, may help you approach a podcast network if that's something you're interested in.
[00:02:24] And ultimately attract more options for community engagement and monetization. Seeing a podcast with a huge following tells people there is something worth their time at the end of the follow, subscribe, or push of the play button. But how do you get there before you are, you know, there? How do you build your podcast audience in an ongoing and sustainable.
[00:02:48] Yep. I'm about to tell you all that right now. Be sure to stick around after my step-by-step for one of my personal favorite bonus tips, which also happens to be super fun [00:03:00] for growing your listenership and keeping them around. That's key too. Alright, here we go. How do I grow my podcast audience? Building an audience is not the.
[00:03:12] You heard that right? Building an engaged audience is engaged. Listeners are the ones who act. They take action on what they hear, and they're quicker to come back for more. They wanna spend time with you, their friend, every week. Heck, they may even wanna hang out with you every day. Although you may not be releasing an episode every day, it's good to remember that your engaged listeners are the ones who are following you on other social.
[00:03:40] To get more of you in their life. So there are ways to reach them daily. Not only that, but engaged listeners by your products and services and tell others to listen to your show. In that sense, engaging listeners can also help grow your listenership just as much as any other marketing technique. [00:04:00] To develop engaged listeners, you have to change the communication channel from one.
[00:04:06] To two way. In other words, instead of simply talking at them from your podcast, you need to open up a communication channel for them to be able to talk with you. Make it about them as much as it is about you. Make it a chat. Have a chinwag, something my English husband says. It's a thing I promise. Pro tip number one, with so many distractions and apps, enticing people away from one piece of content to the next, living in the here and now is really where you wanna be.
[00:04:39] A way to utilize this here and now mindset. To your podcast's advantage is to employ the live feature on Instagram or any other social platform that has that feature. Any of them of your choice. More specifically, promote recently released episodes using Instagram Live instead of just [00:05:00] post stories and reels.
[00:05:02] As a podcaster, you may be really tempted. Tease items and mention up and coming releases or features. And while this can absolutely help with the more exciting portions of your podcast, it can quickly lose the interest of your audience who are fast to move on to the next thing in their feed that is ripe for the picking.
[00:05:22] This means they soon forget that release date or upcoming guest you mentioned two moments ago. Going live lets your audience join you in real time. It quickly snaps them into the here and now breaking up the endless scrolling to bring them to the present with you by joining you on your live feed. They are no longer seen the rest of those items that could be tempting, distracting, waving at them to come over and say hi.
[00:05:50] It's just you and. Going live feels more like a conversation because you can actively engage with viewers when they join the broadcast by [00:06:00] welcoming them in and responding to comments as they float across your screen in real time. This gives your audience immediate acknowledgement and investment in seeing what's happening next to take these lives to the next level.
[00:06:14] You can consider inviting a guest to join you and automatically reach their audience as well. This is an excellent technique. If you found it difficult to get guests to post about their appearance on your show, all of us struggle with this. This is like a universal problem instead of asking your guests.
[00:06:32] To post using some piece of branded content that you made for them. Instead of asking them to post about their appearance, ask them to give you 15 minutes the week of their episode release to discuss the recent episode. You can also bring in your audience in an interactive sense by hosting an ask me anything to encourage questions in the chat, or even prompting them to join your live and passing them the mic every once in a while to ask you [00:07:00] questions face-to-face.
[00:07:01] How nice that they get to interact with you after feeling like they already know you and hang out with you on a regular basis. After listening to all of your episodes, if you're able to make this scheduling consistent, that's the key. Lauren D from our Wave team shows up to watch her favorite drag performers go live on.
[00:07:21] I. Every Wednesday at 7:00 PM she literally plans ahead to make sure she can be there and chat with them. As a part of her social calendar, your audience considers you a friend, so make them feel welcome and extend that friendship. This conversation will entice listeners to want to support your work by heading over to their favorite podcast streaming app for.
[00:07:47] Hey, I hope you're enjoying this episode. I'm taking a quick break to remind you to subscribe to podcast like a Girl. I know. I know. When will Podcasters stop asking that? [00:08:00] Subscribing means that you get the latest episode delivered directly to the top of your Apple Podcast app. But more importantly, it actually just helps me prove that I'm legitimate and reach more listeners if you've.
[00:08:13] Any value in this episode so far? Please consider picking up your phone, opening Apple Podcasts, going to the podcast like a girl main page, and clicking the plus sign in the upper right to follow our show. Thank you very much in advance. And now back to the episode.
[00:08:35] Pro tip number two. Having somewhere for your audience to go at any time that suits them to connect with you and the rest of your community is a great tool. By doing this, you exist in their lives. Even when you're busy living your best life or perhaps live in a completely different time zone to some of your biggest supporters.
[00:08:56] Slack or other platforms that you might have heard of, like [00:09:00] Discord, that's the one we use for our community. There's also platforms like Circle and Mighty Networks. These are great places for you to create channels, events, conversation threads, shoutouts and more. You can really get specific to your audience and what resonates with them to curate a space that feels like they're with you inside An.
[00:09:21] Even when they're not. And also for them to share that love with other fans who feel the same familiarity with their podcast. People crave community. You do. I do. It's human nature and when you can help them talk, not just to you, but help them find each other, that's how you build something bigger than yourself.
[00:09:41] If you want to start small and test the waters, take a page out of Florence Gibbon's book. Every so often she'll post a photo on her Instagram and encourage via the caption, her followers, to introduce themselves to make friends in the comments. When followers meet up with each other in real life, they tag [00:10:00] her and she shares it to her stories.
[00:10:02] It makes them feel seen and special and part of something bigger than just her, and instead a part of this amazing community that she has created. My coworker was new to a city and met someone else who was new to that. In the comment section of a post just like this, and as a result, they attended pride together and they've been friends ever since.
[00:10:24] They owe this magical friendship to floss. Imagine you being the person that brings BFFs together because they already share common values and interests based on your podcast topic that. It's so cool. They just needed you to make the introduction and now you're the common thread in their relationship.
[00:10:45] So cute and special. Pro tip number three. Let me start this third tip by saying I prefer encouraging podcasters to build out communities. You have ownership over like your email list or [00:11:00] private communities where you take people's email. These are areas that you actually have a little bit of ownership.
[00:11:05] Over. However, messages, dms on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok are accessible and sometimes the preferred communication channel for individuals and maybe your audience in particular. So don't discount or neglect who comes to you. Via the dms. If like me, you're trying to create boundaries with your social media time, you can set up your account with a generated response that comes to people when they write to you.
[00:11:32] This will be an acknowledgement of the message you've received with a genuine thank you for their time and how grateful you are for it, and the promise to reply as soon as. Check your messages, which may be on specific days or specific times. You can be as open with your responding as feels good to you.
[00:11:49] But either way, this means you can establish a schedule that suits you and your limitations to sit and give your messages a genuine reply within your means. [00:12:00] Just make sure you don't leave them on red. Check out our reels for a demo on how to set up this specific feature, this away message type thing on Instagram.
[00:12:09] We're posting that this week as promised here is one of my favorite tips, an extra bonus for you pod pals in order to get people to start a two-way conversation instead of the one-way. That we talked about with you outside of the show, you might need to incentivize them. We all need a little incentive.
[00:12:30] I suggest that you try reading out reviews or comments or maybe even voice messages that your listeners have shared with you. On your show, on the episodes, hearing their name or their message on an episode of a show they love is beyond exciting and hearing them encourages others to write in or call in themselves.
[00:12:51] People love receiving this kind of public acknowledgement and more so love the idea of being featured in their favorite show. [00:13:00] Additionally, you can also use polls, riddles. Questions, journal prompts at the end of your show to prompt people on topics to communicate with you about and steer the conversation to where you want it to go.
[00:13:14] As this grows, you could consider adding mailbag episodes that are dedicated to just your audience, their mail, voice messages, reviews, and emails, getting their voices into this. Okay, podcasters, let's recap your steps for success. Use the live feature on Instagram to engage with your audience in real time, making it a conversation rather than one-sided.
[00:13:41] Build a community that can bring your audience together between your episodes. Don't leave your messages on red. Be sure to respond to those who take the time to reach out to you. And lastly, my bonus tip is to incentivize your audience to engage with you by reading their comments, reviews, and emails in mailbag [00:14:00] episodes or at the end of your episodes, making your audience feel.
[00:14:04] Integral and like a meaningful part of your podcast because we all know that they are. Podcasting can feel like a solo journey when you're in the weeds. Editing audio, writing those show notes, recording back to back episodes in one day. Don't forget that without your audience, you're just talking out into the universe, hoping someone will hear it.
[00:14:26] Remember how important your listeners are to your success. Thank them for it by returning the engagement and as a result , watch your listenership grow. That's all for today, pod broads. Thanks for listening. Keep podcasting and enjoy the ride.
[00:14:46] I know just how many podcasts you could have been listening to, which is why I'm so grateful you decided to spend the last 20 minutes with me. Speaking of. If you're a podcaster and you've ever [00:15:00] wondered what else you could be doing with your week, if you didn't have to edit, write show notes, and create marketing materials for every podcast episode, then let the lady pros at the wave treat you to some me time.
[00:15:12] Get 15% off your first month of a production package by going to the wave podcasting.com/podcast. Any means services, and enter podcastlikeagirl, all one word, lower. At checkout. Now the only question is which podcast you're gonna spend all your newfound time binging. See you back next week.
