Despite investing heavily in time, resources, and energy, people are not listening to your podcasts. You have fixed hundreds of listener woes identified, but still, there is little or no success.
Before you lose hope, you need to know that a podcast is like a car. When it’s new, it attracts a lot of attention and excitement. If you don’t maintain it properly, it will depreciate significantly, and no one will find it interesting!
Similarly, no one will listen to your podcast if it doesn’t provide the value they are looking for. See – even the best podcasters have been immersed in a pool of obscurity by minor things. You are not alone in this. Instead of whining, read on to find out some of the reasons why you have lost listeners and how you can fix each fault.
1. You are doing long-winded episodes!
Last week, you recorded a five-hour podcast and felt like a hero. One week later, you can only take pride in a handful of listeners. Heart-breaking, huh?
Look – even if you create the best scripts, a long-winded podcast will always be perceived as boring.
Although you might have a lot to talk about, remember to think about your target audience’s attention span. Script out your shows and scale down long pieces to keep things laconic and exciting.
2. Your podcasts are not getting discovered
People find it challenging to find your podcasts, which is why you are not getting listeners despite how hard you try.
You need to adopt a myriad of ways to give your audience an easy time finding your podcast. First, recognize the fact that your listeners are not enshrined in one app. They are spread across all platforms; hence you need to establish your presence in all of them.
Of course, you might be tempted to focus on major apps like Spotify and Stitcher. If you want to expand your reach, however, consider using as many directories as you can.
Secondly, don’t ignore social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Promote your podcasts on these social sites, engage potential listeners, keep them informed, and encourage them to listen. This will result in success in no time.
Finally, endeavor to get to iTunes top 100 charts. Doing this is not easy, but if you do, you will grow your influence and ultimately get more listeners for your podcast.
3. Your episodes are too scripted
Obviously, you need to script out your podcast to make it short and valuable. However, if you over script it, you will sound unnatural, and people will lose interest!
Jot down your ideas before you record an episode and make sure you sound as natural as possible. You can even rehearse it loudly and ensure it sounds great. If listening to yourself sounds funny, get a friend or family member to listen to you, and proceed with the recording ones, you are sure you sound okay.
4. You sound disorganized
You might have the sweetest story in the world, but if you don’t make it interesting at the beginning, middle, and end, no one will enjoy it. Even yourself!
Don’t tell your listeners disorganized stories because your message will be lost in the process. When they lose interest, they will leave – most of them for good.
To fix this, script out your podcasts and write notes that will help you stay on course. With a good structure and flow, rest assured you will capture listeners’ attention.
5. Your podcasts aren’t tailored for the listeners
People love podcasts that directly address their needs and offer solutions to their problems. If you lack a sense of personalization in your podcast, a huge section of your target audience will switch off, leave, and never come back!
To keep you engaged, develop episodes that speak to the listener. If you exude the right emotions when you speak, you will enjoy high levels of engagement, and this will make you a star in no time!
Nowadays there are podcasts for every niche, even if you are looking for betting advice on the Kentucky Derby odds or to improve your poker skills.
People have different goals when listening to podcasts. Nonetheless, they all have one thing in common – they are constantly looking for something to enjoy. Most of them want something to keep them entertained as they do other things like working out, cooking or walking the dog.
As long as you fix all the issues outlined above and make your podcast fun and valuable, you will be on the right path to becoming one of the most celebrated podcasters of all time.
