Why Your Audience Hates Your Podcasts And What You Can Do About It

So you've noticed your podcasts are falling in the ratings. You're getting less and less traffic from them. Or worse, people are listening once and then never returning! Continue this pattern and you may as well stop creating podcasts. In fact, you might be better off not having them at all!

What are you doing wrong and how are you going to fix it?

Well, the good news is that you can fix most of the problems. The bad news is that some of them are unfixable.

So how do you fix your podcasts so your audience starts listening to them again?

In this article I'm going to identify seven reasons that your audience might hate your podcasts and give you ways of fixing the problem.

1. You aren't listening to your audience.

This is probably the biggest mistake you can make. Your audience is different from every other audience out there. To keep them you need to give them what they want. Not what you want. What they want. And that means you need to listen to them. Better still ask them what they want.

2. People can't find your podcasts.

One of the common problems for new people to podcasting is that they don't know where to look for podcasts. You need to help them find your podcasts. That means using a host and your own site. That means using SEO and other traffic techniques.

3. You aren't sending traffic to them.

Traffic doesn't just happen. That includes traffic that listens to podcasts. You need to drive traffic to the podcast. Yes, your host will account for some of the traffic but you need to be active about it as well.

4. You're boring them.

Now this is a personal problem. Which really is good when you think about it. That means you can fix it easily. Want to switch from boring to exciting. Let a little passion into your speech. You know how your topic excites you. Well let a little of that excitement into your voice. Stand up. Gesture when talk. Pace. Jump up and down when you're angry. Move your audience.

5. They need more information than you're giving them.

One of the problems with podcasts are that they're so short. You don't have a lot of room to squeeze information in. So you need to be very focused when you record your podcast. Be real. Be yourself. But don't waste time. However, even if you aren't at fault your audience is going to want more information. That's good. So give them a place where they can get more information.

6. You forgot why you're creating podcasts.

I have a friend who creates learning content in all forms of media. But he never manages to make it succeed. Why? Because he keeps trying to sell during the presentation. He's lost sight of the real reason for creating the media -- to establish a reputation that makes people want to listen to you. Selling is for later... when your audience actively wants to buy.

7. They believe that podcasts are obsolete.

Okay, you know how I mentioned that some things you can't fix? This is one of those problems. Many people believe that podcasts have become obsolete. You're not going to change their minds. The only choice you have is to create other types of content that they don't believe is obsolete. That will attract them. Not everyone is going to be your customer. Keep your podcasts for those people who realize that they are still valuable.

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Producing A Podcast - Start With The Audience

Every once in a while someone will come up to me and say something along the lines of "I want to have a podcast but I don't know where to start."

My response is usually "Great. Who's your audience and what are you going to say?"

And usually the response is something like a blank look and "Well, I figured I'd talk about... since that's what I'm selling." At which point I have to stop them and explain that they are ahead of themselves.

You've got to start with your audience.

You see that's one of the biggest mistakes that new internet marketers (especially information marketers) make -- they start with their product. But information marketing needs to be a niche marketing endeavor. And the word niche refers not to your product but to your customer.

When creating learning content (aka an information product) -- and a podcast is a form of learning content -- you always need to start with the audience.

Why?

Because your audience is going to be buying your podcast. They may not be paying for it with dollars (although that would be nice). But they will be paying with their most valuable asset -- their time. And you need to provide them with value for their time. Or they aren't going to be interested in downloading or listening. And they shouldn't be.

You also need to be able to motivate your audience. You need to convince them not only to download your podcast but also to listen to it. You need to convince them that this is a must have, must listen podcast. You need to convince them that not only is it valuable to them but it's absolutely necessary for them.

The way to motivate your audience to listen is by picking topics based on what motivates them. It sounds simple. And it is. You need to identify what their biggest and most immediate problem is. You need to identify what they are afraid may happen. And you need to identify what they are hoping will happen. And you need to identify what is at the front of their minds at the moment. What has their immediate interest.

But of course, that's not all you need to do.

You also need to solve, avoid or achieve. That's right you need to solve their problem with your topic. Or you need to show them how to avoid the pain that they are afraid of. Or you need to show them how to achieve their dreams.

But to do that means you need to know them.

The Benefits of Starting a Podcast   Podcast Transcription: Converting the Spoken to the Written   How to Begin Podcasting the Right Way   The Art of Podcasting