There are a million different podcasts on the internet today. With so many platforms facilitating the process of recording your thoughts, experiences, etc. you can tune into any kind of channel to listen to something new each day. But one thing is for sure, in these mountains of content only a few manage to truly grab your attention. It is not always easy to engage an audience, but with the help of these basic podcasts do and don’t you can take your content to the next level.
Do: Find a niche.
Let the audience know your field of expertise and what they can expect by tuning in to your channel. This will attract the right kind of audience your way, and it will be easier for you to establish your authority. And the niche doesn’t have to be highly technical. It can be anything as long as it is clear. There are many options. You can give out advice on how to make money with a side hustle, or the best way to grow your Instagram account, it can even be your shower thoughts after a doobie. As long as you consistently show up in your niche, people will begin to notice you.
Tip: avoid niches that are already saturated.
Don’t: mention references from your personal life.
Loads of podcasts make this amateurish mistake. Remember that at the end of the day you create content to add value to your audience, whether it is educational or entertainment. But if you start making inside jokes with your podcast guest that no one else understands because of the personal context, then your audience might be put off or less engaged. It is best to avoid such a blunder.
Do: Keep it short.
People these days have an ever-shortening attention span. And as a purely audio medium, it will be hard to grab the audience’s attention for longer than 30 minutes. Of course, there are some very famous podcast channels that talk for over an hour on a regular basis. But they have already established names in their niche and the audience trusts them with their time and energy.
But if you are a newcomer to the podcast world, it would be smarter if you start off with shorter podcasts. This will mean that people won’t hesitate to try out your content because it is short enough for them to feel like it is not a waste of their time. And once they have heard many of your contents, then they’d feel more confident to try out longer podcasts, if you choose to make any.
Don’t: Oversell yourself.
Over promoting your own content and podcast is the best way you can ensure to never succeed. People visit your podcast to learn something, to laugh, or hear interesting stories and thoughts. No one wants to spend their time listening to how great your content is. Let your work speak for itself.
Do: Be Consistent.
You cannot expect any result unless you have consistency in your work and regularity in your posting. Set dates, or fix days of the week when you post your podcast and record one live. This is a good way to engage with your audience who know when they can expect to hear from you next. Let us say you post every Monday and Thursday, this gives your consumers a steady flow and good content coming in regularly. Fixing days will also help give you the structure needed to plan your content intelligently. But remember, there needs to be a balance between regular content and good content. One shouldn’t be sidelined for another.
Don’t: Improvise.
Sometimes, improvisation can lead to golden content. There is nothing like good old spontaneity to give you something unexpected. But improvisation is a hit or miss kinda strategy and therefore is unsustainable in the long run. That is why we recommend using a script and sticking to it. You can put an improvisational tone and feel to the script to make it look effortless. So many podcasts lose listeners because of their lack of eloquence and clarity of thought. Many also have horrible enunciation making the whole podcast very difficult to understand. This is one of the rules of a good podcast.
Do: Edit, edit, edit.
One cannot emphasize enough on this point. Good editing can literally take your podcast to the next level and give it that professional finish that most of these popular ones have. Podcast editing services can be a very laborious and extensive process. Sitting and sifting through a 40-minute podcast and removing sections and sentences that you mispronounced, can be very boring. But the post-production crispness will be worth it. There are a bunch of things to be on the lookout for while editing. Coughs and sneezes (though some prefer to keep it to give the podcast an authentic feel), long periods of silence and awkwardness, sections of digressed conversation that add nothing to the main topic, the occasional swear words.
Don’t: Ignore your listeners.
Once your popularity builds, the audience will begin to send you messages with suggestions and questions about what you spoke about. They will leave behind comments. It is a good idea to engage with them and build a rapport with your audience. Sometimes you will notice there is an overwhelming demand for a particular topic. You could make a podcast about it! Always gauge what the audience wants, because finally, they make up your viewership.
If you follow these basic do’s and don’ts then you are certain to gain more and more listeners as you implement them into your podcasts. The key is to be patient and to understand that results take time. Just because you have great quality and good work ethics does not mean you will become an overnight success. These are the podcast rules and regulations that one should follow. There will be days when no one downloads your podcast but you still have to show up. But remember, if you keep at the grind regularly and develop the natural effortless authority in your niche, your brand and subscription base will grow.