A podcast is a great way to bring new users to your business, but how can you build an audience for your podcast, especially in the beginning? While it’s great that the industry is booming – it means more potential listeners – it also means more competition. Luckily, it’s still possible to turn your listeners into loyal followers.
Transcribe It
You might think that it’s pointless to transcribe your podcast because people are supposed to be listening to it. But it should actually be a key part of your marketing strategy. First, those who are hard of hearing might find it hard to grasp your message if they have to listen to it. Others don’t share your primary language and might benefit from reading the material. That’ll bring a larger number of potential listeners to you.
By transcribing the audio, you can also improve search engine optimization (SEO) on your site. Search engines are looking for written words, not spoken ones. If you include keywords in the transcript, it’s easier to be found on the web. The description and title are only summaries of the podcast and won’t give you an SEO boost. You might be thinking that transcribing your podcast is the last thing you have time for. But with a transcription service, it only takes seconds, and it helps you be more productive. Plus, you can easily correct any errors, especially if you want to make it grammatically correct for a blog.
Improve the Quality of Your Podcast
This is often the hardest tip to implement, but it’s also vital. Quality could mean many things. It might be who you have on the show, your interviewing skills, or the technical aspects, such as what equipment you used or the podcast platform you’re hosting on. Don’t be afraid to ask your audience how you can improve. If you don’t have enough listeners yet, ask family and friends how you can improve. You might find that you need to devote more time to creating a script or finding interesting guests. Creating partnerships is one way of encouraging others to listen. Look for another podcaster in a similar niche who has a decent audience and is willing to host you as a guest or come on your show.
Get People to Act
It’s not enough to just get people to listen to your podcast. They could easily listen and never come back. For sustainable growth, you need them to rate your show highly, subscribe, and review it. Even if someone only does one of these things, you can see growth. With ratings and reviews, others will be convinced to try your show. And subscribing means that your audience won’t forget about new episodes. To convince people to do these things, add a call to action (CTA). You’re inviting them to do these things since they’re beneficial to you. Now, you don’t want to overdo it and spam people with a CTA every minute. But adding a couple of reminders in strategic places might work. If your audience appreciates your show and the content, they’ll likely be happy to give you a review and listen to future episodes.
