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How To Increase Your Podcast Downloads – Episode 209

Most of us want to grow our audience, increase podcast downloads and become more influential in our niche. I recently conducted a survey asking about your biggest challenges with regard to your podcast. The most frequent response revolved around ways to increase podcast downloads.

If you were to list your top three struggles with your show, would one hurdle you list be getting more listeners and engagement?

A few weeks ago, I created a download challenge for a small group of people. For the few that took action, the results were impressive.

When podcasters reach out to me for their free strategy session, I ask them how I might help with their podcast. Promoting the show, gaining listeners and increasing podcast downloads is most always part of the answer.

You are not alone. We all want a bigger audience. Whether you have 100 listeners or 10,000 listeners, I’m sure you would like a few more.

Before we jump into the ideas and a couple case studies, I’d like to invite you to take me up on my offer to you of a free podcast strategy session. It is my goal to directly help 1,000 podcasters reach their goals in 2019.

You and I will get on the phone and discuss your podcast, your challenges and your goals. Let’s create a clear plan of action to help you get where you want to go in 2019 with your podcast and business. It’s free. What do you have to lose?

Find the details at PodcastTalentCoach.com/coaching.

This isn’t a big sales pitch in disguise. I’ll help you create a plan. At the end of the call, if you want information on how I might help you with that plan, we can discuss it then. If not, no problem.

Will you be one of my 1,000 over the next year? Go watch the video at PodcastTalentCoach.com/coaching. I’d love to talk with you.

 

THE TRUTH

Let’s start with a few truths.

First, you are not alone. Growing your audience to increase podcast downloads is usually somewhere in our goals regardless of the length of time we have been podcasting. We are all in this together.

Next, it will not happen overnight. Your podcast growth will take time. If you take consistent action over time, the number grows. Keep your head down and do the work required.

You also need to realize that the average podcast episode gets about 214 downloads per episode. That is the median number according to Rob Walch over at Libsyn. Only 20% of all podcast get over 2,000 downloads after they have been out for a month. Therefore, don’t sweat your numbers. Most people are lying to you.

Finally, it is simple, but not easy. As you will see, the concepts are simple to understand. Being disciplined enough to do the work is not as easy as it sounds. We’ll help.

 

CONSISTENCY

In the episode where I introduced the download challenge, we talked about creating habits. It takes consistent action to build an audience.

In 1960, Dr. Maxwell Maltz said it takes patients “a minimum of about 21 days for an old image to dissolve and a new one to jell.” Dr. Maltz published that theory and his thoughts on behavior change in a book called Psycho-Cybernetics.

As with many quotes, over the years it was taken out of context. The stat was eventually quoted as, “It takes 21 days to form a new habit,” leaving out the important “minimum”.

A new studyby colleagues at University College London and published in the European Journal of Social Psychology says it takes an average of 66 days to form a new habit.

That is why consistency and accountability are important. If you want people to remember your brand, it takes frequency to the target.

 

6 STEPS

In our download challenge, our goal was to hold each other accountable and take daily action. Let’s run down the six steps we used to increase podcast downloads.

 

1. ENGAGE

As we went through the month, we wanted to reach out and engage in our niche on a daily basis. We saw results. Spend 15 minutes a day being active and present online. Leave feedback for other shows. Everybody loves attention.

The best way to grow your network is by making contact with others. Start by commenting on podcasts, blogs and discussions of influencers.

Don’t simply be a lurker, reading all the other posts. Get involved. Take action. A small “congratulations” or other acknowledgement is just fine.

You want to be seen as someone who gets things done. By taking action and engaging with others, you send the message that you are active.

 

2. NETWORK

Next, network with other shows in the same genre. Help each other. Other influencers in your niche probably have similar goals.

Find people in your niche who compliment what you do. Team up to help each other grow. Look for ways to share each other’s content.

 

3. HELP OTHERS

Help other people. This help is intended for your listeners. Be seen as someone with the answers, or at least someone who knows where to get the answers.

Do Facebook Live “ask me anything” sessions. Prove that you are willing to help them achieve their goals. Give them direction.

If you become the go-to resource who knows where to find the answers, you become the authority in your space.

 

4. BE SOCIAL

Use social media to spread your message. Be active on Facebook & Twitter. Don’t simply lurk around. Post positive comments and be helpful.

Consistently interact with others on social media. Avoid always asking and taking. Offer to help. Don’t simply look around. Get involved. Be active.

 

5. FIND GROUPS

Get involved in online groups. Find people who are interested in your niche and start getting involved.

Groups are a great place to find like-minded people. If you want to create brand awareness, these groups are a great place to start.

Again, be active. It does you very little good to be a member of a group if you are not going to actually participate. Members won’t know you are there unless you speak up.

 

6. BE CONSISTENT

You need to be consistent if you want to build brand awareness. This involves interacting online on a daily basis.

 

CASE STUDIES

So, how did it all work? I would like to highlight three members of the download challenge. These will help you see the power of consistent engagement.

Andy was part of our group. He is host of the Veteran Gamer Reenlisted podcast.

This podcast isn’t for the meek. I’ll tell you that right now. That’s what I love about it. Andy and Ray are two military veterans who talk about Warhammer 40K and other table top games. They talk a lot of trash and have a lot of fun.

Andy and Ray are about 64 episodes in. They know exactly who listens to their show. Looking at their website, you will know as well.

When Andy started in the group, he was hoping to grow his audience by 10%.

At the end of the month, Andy was up 46% by taking consistent action.

Andy says, “It works if you work it.” He told me, “Between myself and my co-host, we engage with our community everyday. We like to invite our listeners to feel like they are part of the group and we encourage engagement and they respond. We reward the engagement by sharing much of it on the show. We also belong to many other groups in the related community and are seen as influencers in some of those groups. Its just a part of our everyday business.”

His growth was four times what he had hoped. It all came down to being present and active every day.

Tim does a show with his wife called “The He Said, She Said Movie Reviews Podcast“. As you can tell from the title, they review movies.

April and Tim have only been doing the show for a few months. They have just over 30 episodes published. They have seen over 3,500 movies together and love talking about films.

Since the podcast is new, Tim wanted to see a big increase with the download challenge. He wanted to see his podcast downloads grow by 30%, which equated to about 125 downloads for the month.

The pair took daily action. They got involved and saw their downloads increase by not 30% but 61%. Their podcast received an increase of 226 downloads. Nearly twice the 125 goal.

Tim says, “We had great results. It really works.”

When I asked him about taking action, Tim said, “I’ve taken action every day. I joined two Movie groups on Facebook and have been commenting on them both. Also, in Instagram someone created a Group Message of about 40 movie people and we have been talking movies daily. Still have not hooked up with other movie podcast yet. Just have not had the time (bad excuse) but it’s on the list to do.”

The key is daily action. Tim only did half of what he had planned and nearly doubled his downloads. Be present and active.

One of our other members reported that his podcast downloads actually decreased over the course of the month. He said the results were not as good as he had hoped.

We dug in a little bit. I asked him if he was active daily. He said, “Not often enough. I haven’t built that habit muscle very well yet. And I’ve been pretty scattered.”

That is the tough part. Easy to understand. Difficult to execute. Consistent action is tough when you are doing it alone.

Consistent action is like going to the gym. You go for a few days and stop. You start again for a little longer and stop again. Eventually, as long as you keep going back, it becomes a habit. You have to keep at it.

When you are going to the gym, it is easier to do it on a regular basis if you are going with an accountability partner. You make sure each other is going regularly. You can’t let your partner down.

It is the same with your consistent action with your podcast. If you have someone there holding you accountable, it makes it much easier.

That is part of Podcast Talent Coach coaching. We talk every week. I hold you accountable to the plan. We make sure you are consistent with your actions.

It is tough to do it alone. I get that. You are not alone. You have many other things going on in life and business. Take focused action on a regular basis to reach your goals.

Check out the video at podcasttalentcoach.com/coachingand see what it can do for you. The strategy session is absolutely free. Be one of the 1,000 podcasters I help over the next year. Let’s lay out your plan.

The video is at podcasttalentcoach.com/coaching. It explains the whole process to you.

Let’s turn your information into engaging entertainment.