Where do listeners come from?
As of June 2022, there are over 2.4 million podcasts out there. So how are people finding yours, and how can you ensure that they stick around once they do?
These are the questions we’re answering today as part of our Listener Lifecycle series, starting with Stage 1 – Curious.
People who are Curious about your show have only just discovered it. They haven’t pressed play or subscribe yet, but they may have:
- Gotten a recommendation from a friend
- Seen one of your posts on social media
- Watched a podcast you were a guest on
- Found your podcast through their podcast player of choice
- Seen an ad for your podcast
When any one of these things happen and curiosity strikes, it’s imperitive that your podcast is set up to win the hearts and minds of the Curious. Without the right systems in place, they may move on having never even heard an episode.
How to attract the Curious to your podcast
In order to attract as many people as possible to become Curious about your podcast, there are two rules.
- Always talk about your podcast.
- Always talk about your podcast.
If it sounds simple, that’s because it is. Yet it’s one of the most common mistakes we see podcasters make. You simply have to have a professional-looking website for your podcast, and ensure that your socials are all branded and up to date. As you’ll see throughout the lifecycle, social media content is vital for getting people interested in your podcast. At this phase, there is no “magic content” that will attract curious folks to your show. What’s important here is that you are posting. Making social media posts that promote your show and talk about your show matters most. We want to show that the podcast is active and currently being produced.
Okay, they’re Curious. Now what?
Being present matters. If it appears that you only “happen to have” a podcast, you’re way less likely to see a conversion than if your podcast is integrated into your business or personal brand (or both). People desire authenticity, and knowing you care about your show is important.
Ensuring your show is visible also allows other people who may be Curious to find your show and eventually drive more listeners and downloads of the episode. Since the audience at this stage can seemingly come from anywhere, you want to be sure that people can discover it wherever you are online, so always include links! A good suggestion here is to have a simple one-link solution like LinkTree where people can learn more about you and have direct links to your online presence.
The Goal for Curious Potential Listeners
The goal for this stage of The Listener Lifecycle is to attract and direct people to your podcast, build their curiosity, and prompt them to move into the next stage – Explorer. Stay tuned for the next episode of The Humble Podcaster which comes out biweekly on Thursdays to find out more!