Tag Archives: Podcast

Do You Have The Magic? …

Do you have the magic?

(photo by Maa-Illustrations)

Production elements create the magic of the podcast. If it is missing, your show will sound flat. Solid, well-placed production elements add that element of show biz.

You can add production elements at various points within your show.

The most common production element is the show open. A well-produced show open will make your podcast sound big time. Cliff Ravenscraft has a very strong show open for “Podcast Answer Man“. His introduction incorporates the show network, explains exactly what the podcast is about and contains some great music and sound effects.

You don’t always need a big voice guy to produce your show open for you. Dave Ramsey does his own show open on a daily basis for four or five million people on “The Dave Ramsey Show”. His theme music provides solid consistency and familiarity for his show.

You can also incorporate production elements within your show to add depth. Adam Carolla has a great producer for his podcast. His guy adds sound effects, audio clips and production elements throughout “The Adam Carolla Show”. It sounds just like the big talk shows. Carolla’s show always delivers.

To incorporate sound effects, you don’t need a full-time producer. You don’t even need to add the effects in real-time. This is show business. Sound effects can always be added in post-production.

A solid show close will put a nice bow on the podcast. The elements of your show close should be similar to those of your open. Dan Miller simply uses the same theme music in his show closing as he uses in the opening of “48 Days To The Work You Love”.

Take the time to find some great production elements for your show. Put in a touch of show biz. Production elements create the magic of the podcast.

I’d love to help you with your podcast. Post any questions or comments you might have, or e-mail me at Erik@PodcastTalentCoach.com. Let’s turn your information into engaging entertainment.

Do you have the magic?

Is That You Calling? …

Is that you calling?

(photo by erwinova)

To create a successful podcast, you need to create an effective call-to-action within your show. So, how do we measure success? If we are trying to get our audience to do something by using a call-to-action (listen again, buy our product, visit our website, support our cause), our call-to-action should be our determining factor of success.

When you create your podcast, you should measure your success not by the number of listeners or downloads, but by conversions to whatever you want them to be or do.

Let’s say your goal is to get people to visit the store on your website. If you have 1,000 people listening to your show, but you only get 2 of them to act and actually visit the site, you really haven’t been successful.

However, if you only have 200 listeners, but 100 love everything you do and visit your site regularly, I would consider that a success. Having 1,000 listeners may sound better than 200. By closer evaluation, I would much rather have 100 fans than 2.

Don’t get fooled by measuring the incorrect statistic. Measure what counts. Measure your call to action.

— I’d love to help you with your podcast. Post any questions or comments you might have, or e-mail me at Erik@PodcastTalentCoach.com. Let’s turn your information into engaging entertainment.

Create an effective call-to-action, and measure it. Is that you calling?

Selling Is Easy, Right? …

Selling is easy, right?

(photo by friday)

I was listening to the latest interview CD that accompanies each issue of Success magazine. Publisher Darren Hardy was talking with Founder and President of Piranha Marketing, Inc. Joe Polish. During that interview, Mr. Polish proclaimed great marketing makes selling easy and unnecessary.

You may not be selling in the traditional sense of products or services in exchange for money. However, you are making a call-to-action within your podcast. It may be selling for money. It may also be inviting your listener to come again, asking him to visit your website, requesting that she join your mailing list, inspire him to get involved with a cause or any other action. It all involves selling yourself.

Polish’s statement was bold. As he went on to explain himself, Polish made perfect sense. In fact, his comments were very similar to the marketing and branding information we’ve been discussing with regard to your podcast.

In summary, Polish said great marketing gets people properly positioned, so they are pre-interested, pre-motivated, pre-qualified, and predisposed to do business with you (or act on your call-to-action). Great marketing therefore makes selling easy and unnecessarily.

If you have truly engaged your listener and created that strong relationship we’ve been discussing, the selling should take care of itself. Selling becomes difficult when you are trying to get your listener interested. Selling before your listener is motivated is a challenge. Trying to sell to a listener that isn’t qualified is hard work. If your listener isn’t predisposed to taking action, you will need to sell hard.

When you have taken the time to build the relationship, your listener will be pre-interested, pre-motivated, pre-qualified, and predisposed to do business with you. They will be ready to buy. Selling, in terms of convincing your listener to buy, will be unnecessary. The marketing and engaging relationship created with your podcast will have your audience ready to act upon your call-to-action.

— I’d love to help you with your podcast. Post any questions or comments you might have, or e-mail me at Erik@PodcastTalentCoach.com. Let’s turn your information into engaging entertainment.

Selling is easy, right?

Do They Remember? …

Do they remember?

(photo by lesscholz)

When you consider the options podcast listeners have, the importance of creating a powerful brand really becomes apparent.

I searched iTunes for podcasts about hockey. There are hundreds of hockey podcasts available. Thousands and thousands of episodes exist that deal with hockey. You can find various topics, including drills, NHL teams, coaching, fantasy hockey and many more.

How do you stand out? How do you get noticed?

Your listener needs to remember your podcast, so they can return and listen again. That is the way to build a following. It really doesn’t matter how many people listen today. What builds a strong podcast is the number of listeners that come back the next time, and the next time, and the time after that. You build your audience slowly by getting more people to listen to this episode than listened to the last episode. Get your listener to remember to return.

Using your brand to create strong relationships with your listeners is critical to the health of your podcast. If you are bland, you will get lost in the sea of average. There are over 100,000 podcasts available for consumption. Most of them are average or worse. If you refine your content, turn your information into entertainment, and transform your podcast into powerful relationships, you will easily stand out from the crowd. It is a must not only for your success, but your mere survival. Begin your brand today.

— I’d love to help you with your podcast. Post any questions or comments you might have, or e-mail me at Erik@PodcastTalentCoach.com. Let’s turn your information into engaging entertainment.

When it comes time for your audience listening again, do they remember?

Emotionally Powerful? …

Emotionally Powerful?

(photo by hvf)

A successful podcast is built on a strong relationship with the listener. It could be called a tribe as defined by Seth Godin in his book of the same name. The strong relationships with your listeners begin to develop your brand. You can then monetize your brand and associated relationships with an effective call-to-action. But it starts with the brand.

Powerful brands are more than just recognizable names. Powerful brands are full of emotion. A brand is a collection of perceptions, creating emotional connections, while consistently delivering on a promise. The more powerful the emotional connection, the more powerful the brand.

Take a moment to think of some very powerful brands and the associated emotions of the rabid fans of those brands. Nike. Volkswagen. Star Trek. Starbucks. Apple. Harley Davidson. Fans will go out of their way to interact with their favorite brand. These brands are unique, because they create powerful emotions within their fans that are not found in ordinary brands.

Ordinary brands lack emotion. Keds. Buick. Battlestar Galactica (either one). Dunkin’ Donuts. Hewlett-Packard. Honda. The powerful emotions are not present for most people in these brands.  Even the websites of these brands lack the emotion of the powerful brands.

An amazing book entitled “The Power of Cult Branding” by Matthew W. Ragas and B. J. Bueno describes the Seven Golden Rules to cult branding. Emotion is the key to all seven. Social Groups, Courage, Fun, Human Needs, Contribution, Openness, and Freedom. All emotional, not functional. It’s not the best, biggest, brightest, loudest, or #1 product. Cult brands are focused on emotion, not hype.

If you want to turn your podcast into a powerful brand that you can monetize with a strong call-to-action, stir emotion every time.

— I’d love to help you with your podcast. Post any questions or comments you might have, or e-mail me at Erik@PodcastTalentCoach.com. Let’s turn your information into engaging entertainment.

Is your podcast emotionally powerful?

Are You Shouting? …

Are you shouting?

(photo by Tobkatrina)

You can’t shout your way into a person’s trust circle. They only way to gain trust is to add value. Give them something they can use. Building trust is the foundation of revenue generation for your podcast.

As you build trusting relationships with your podcast, continue to ask yourself, “How am I helping my listener?” Continue to give, and the trust will develop over time.

When you begin every discussion with your products, needs or wants, people will tune you out. You will begin to sound (and be treated) like advertisements for used cars. Shouting doesn’t work. Your listener won’t care and will rarely return.

Serve first, many times over. Then and only then can you effectively sell.

Shows like the “Dave Ramsey Show“, “48 Days To The Work You Love” and “No More Mondays” are all designed to help their listeners first. Sure, they all have products to sell as the end result. However, they never begin with their product. The discussions on these shows always begin with the listener’s needs in mind first.

As you prepare for your show, find great ways to help. Your help may simply come in the form of entertainment. You may serve as companionship for your podcast listener. Help them find other forms of companionship as well. If your podcast is only one hour weekly, there are 167 more hours in the week that aren’t occupied by your show. Your listeners will surely need more companionship to fill a few of those hours.  Help your audience fill those hours, too.

— I’d love to help you with your podcast. Post any questions or comments you might have, or e-mail me at Erik@PodcastTalentCoach.com. Let’s turn your information into engaging entertainment.

Are you building trust, or are you shouting?

Is It An Ad For Everything Else? …

Is it an ad for everything else?

(photo by crystalvenus)

Media consultant Mark Ramsey had a fantastic blog post this week regarding the monetization of podcasts.

Mark says:

“In the world of these upstarts (the world we all now reside in), anyone can create media and the goal isn’t necessarily for the media to be monetizable but for the media to enable the monetization of other things.”

As long as podcasters see their show as entertainment first and advertising second, a podcast can go a long way to building a brand.  Adam Carolla does an amazing job at this.  He is very entertaining and uses his podcast to promote all of his other ventures.

Entertainment could mean companionship, advice or any other form.  If podcasters make the mistake many advertisers make by beginning with the product features rather than product benefits for the listener, their podcast will be no more effective than their advertising.

A great podcast can help build a great brand if the intent of the podcast is to help the listener in some way.

Read Mark Ramsey’s great blog here:  www.MarkRamseyMedia.com.

I’d love to help you with your podcast. Post any questions or comments you might have, or e-mail me at Erik@PodcastTalentCoach.com. Let’s turn your information into engaging entertainment.

Is it an ad for everything else?

Are You Building Credibility? …

Are you building credibility?

(photo by bakalusha)

Just the other day, I heard a podcast host answering a listener question about a website. The host said, “Click on the ‘FAQ’ tab. I’m not sure if it is above or below the video.” Now, let’s think about this answer. Before the show began, the host knew he was going to answer this specific question. He knew the steps to take in order to solve the listener’s problem. In preparing, he apparently stopped there.

Instead of taking notes and knowing the exact details regarding the answer, he just freestyled and sounded uninformed. In doing so, he sounded like he wasn’t quite sure of the answer. It would have taken him 2 minutes to pull up the website before he began to record and jot down a few notes regarding the answer.

Listen to a podcast like “48 Days To The Work You Love” by Dan Miller. In the show open, Dan lays out the exact e-mail questions he will answer. He has all of the information at his fingertips for each detail he intends to give. He doesn’t stumble. He doesn’t guess. Dan knows exactly what he is going to deliver to his audience. He is prepared and sticks to his plan.

That is what I mean when I say “be prepared”. Get the details down. Stumbling makes you sound unsure of your answer. Nailing the details will give you credibility and make you sound like the expert you are.

— I’d love to help you with your podcast. Post any questions or comments you might have, or e-mail me at Erik@PodcastTalentCoach.com. Let’s turn your information into engaging entertainment.

Are you building credibility?

Are You Using Cows? …

Are you using cows?

(photo by lisavan)

The unexpected is amusing, delightful and memorable. Being direct assumes your listener cares about your marketing message. They don’t. Your listener cares about his or her needs, wants and desires. Attract their attention by doing the unexpected.

To engage your podcast listener and create a relationship, you need to be memorable. In order to be memorable, you must be unique. Be distinct, unusual, and unexpected. If you sound like every other show, you will not stand out and get noticed.

Chick-fil-a could have easily become another fast food restaurant lost in the sea of mediocrity. Founder Truett Cathy wouldn’t let that happen. The company pays great attention to the details and does the unexpected at every turn.

The Chick-fil-a mission statement is “Be America’s Best Quick-Service Restaurant.” Sure, every fast food joint wants to be the best. Few are willing to put in the work.

One Saturday, we were on a road trip. We were passing through Des Moines, IA at 8:45p as we pulled into the mall to grab a quick bite. We discovered the mall would be closing at 9p. As you can imagine, most restaurants in the food court were cleaning up. We were one of two parties there to eat.

We stepped up to the Chick-fil-a counter and apologized for cutting it so close and causing them extra work. The gentleman behind the counter assured us it was no trouble at all. We received our (fresh) food quickly and grabbed a table in the middle of the food court.

About five minutes later, the same Chick-fil-a employee (a teenager) came to our food court table to make sure everything was alright. This was a mall food court. Few fast food restaurants ever check on you in their own establishment, let alone a mall. You especially do not receive this sort of attention 10 minutes before closing.

That wonderful and surprising level of service is the norm at Chick-fil-a. They always take the extra step to surprise and stand out. The unexpected effort is carried through to the careers they offer, the scholarships they provide to their employees and the process of accepting partners and franchisees.

The company uses cows in their commercials to promote chicken sandwiches. The Chick-fil-a website even has a special section devoted to the cows. When a cow parachutes into a football game promoting chicken sandwiches on a commercial, it us unexpected. Chick-fil-a is memorable.

If you can create unique, memorable experiences for your listener by incorporating the unexpected, you begin to create powerful, meaningful relationships.

I’d love to help you with your podcast. Post any questions or comments you might have, or e-mail me at Erik@PodcastTalentCoach.com. Let’s turn your information into engaging entertainment.

Are you using cows?

Are You Spending Time On The Right Things? …

Are you spending time on the right things?

(photo by Alancrosthwaite)

Many podcast hosts work to spice up their podcast with big words. They try to sound important and impressive. Self-aggrandizing words like “best”, “most” and “number one” usually go in one ear of your listener and out the other. Most people are too skeptical to believe statements of that nature.

People will only pay attention when they care. Focusing on you will not make them care. You need to begin with your listener. Pay great attention to their wants, needs, fears and desires. Tie those basic desires to your content.

When creating your show, you should spend time on what your listener is hearing rather than what you are saying. You don’t need big words or oversized claims to get your point across. You simply need to entertain your listener with wonderful stories.

On his show, Dave Ramsey uses listener calls and e-mails to address the concerns of his audience. He dispenses financial advice with words and concepts that are easy to understand. He has given memorable names to the elements of his strategy, like “baby steps” and “emergency fund”. He makes his listeners care by starting with their fears and desires. He then makes his information easy to understand. Dave is focused on what his listener is hearing.

Make sure you listeners are receiving your message. Say it in different ways. Use common language. Engage your listener with vivid yet familiar words.

Work to refine what your audience is hearing.

 

– I’d love to help you with your podcast. Post any questions or comments you might have, or e-mail me at Erik@PodcastTalentCoach.com. Let’s turn your information into engaging entertainment.

 

Are you spending time on the right things?

What Did You Reveal Today? …

What did you reveal today?

(photo by photoblaz)

When you tell stories on your podcast, you reveal things about yourself. Vivid details are critical elements of great storytelling.

Details are more believable than generalities.

Details reveal specifics about your thoughts, beliefs and character.

Details put your listener in the moment helping them envision your story in their mind.

Garrison Keillor, in one of his “Stories From Lake Wobegon”, describes a woman who endures crushing loneliness and town gossip. Keillor says, “She got into bed with a dying man – so she could sing ‘Abide With Me’ in his good ear”. You can see the details in your mind. Envision the man’s hearing aid. Can you hear the song? There are so many details in that one sentence, many of which aren’t even described.

Lake Wobegon is a fictitious place, yet is believable due to the details. The story details reveal what Keillor finds amusing. The story is also vivid enough that you can see it in your mind.

That’s the wonderful thing about audio. Everyone sees their own personal, mental images in their own way. Those differences add to the enjoyment and entertainment of the story. Each listener can enjoy the unspoken details in their own way. They are not at the mercy of the interpretation of a movie director.

Tell great stories. Use vivid details. What did you reveal today?

Are You Delivering What They Seek? …

Are you delivering what they seek?

(photo by VITALIJLANG)

People listen to podcasts, the radio and other audio for companionship. They don’t want to drive alone. People have an inner desire to be around other people. Companionship is the reason people listen to your podcast, even if you are selling something. Your listener will always ask, “What’s in it for me.”

Make your listener feel comfortable, as if she is spending time with a friend. When people listen to guys like Adam Carolla, they feel like they know him. Women feel like they could actually hang out with Ellen DeGeneres when they watch her show. Leo Laporte comes across as your friend when you listen to his tech podcast. Each of these shows are about that comfortable connection.

When you make your listener feel comfortable, they will come back time and again. You are their companion. Are you delivering what they seek?

Are You Defending? …

Are you defending?

(photo by Sloth92)

When you defend the status quo, you never do anything new. You will also find it hard to get noticed. You are doing the same thing everyone else is doing. You will blend in. You won’t stand out.  You won’t truly engage your audience.

Creating meaning relationships with your podcast audience requires that you be remembered.

Be different and bold. Instead of looking for reasons why your idea won’t work, find all of the reasons your idea will be great. Get inspired. If your reason to avoid the challenge is the fact that no one has done it before, you’re drawing the wrong conclusion. The fact that it hasn’t been done before is exactly why you should be doing it. Be different.

Oprah Winfrey had done her show for years as “the father of my child left us / I need a paternity test / crying on tv” show. Once everyone else began doing the same thing, Oprah flipped it. She even created a book club … on television! Who would have ever given that a shot at success? Her status quo went right out the window. She rode it all the way to the bank.

Jerry Springer, on the other hand, just added some chair throwing and hair pulling and took the whole thing in the opposite direction. Bigger, better and bolder than anyone else. He too stands out.

Your experience makes it even harder to avoid the status quo. Your preconceived notions created from everything you’ve seen in the past makes it difficult for you to see things in a new way. You only know what you’ve seen in the past. suddenly, you are telling yourself, “That will never work. It didn’t work then, and it won’t work now.” Avoid your past.

Be creative and get noticed. Are you defending?

Risky Stands Out …

Risky Stands Out.

(photo by Hurricanehank)

As we develop meaningful relationships with your podcast, we in turn build credibility that will support your call-to-action within your show. To develop strong relationships, you need to create engaging entertainment that will get you remembered by your listener. To be remembered, you must stand out.

You stand out when you are loved. You are remembered when you are hated. You fade into the background when you are plain, vanilla and trying to not upset anyone. If you don’t stir strong emotions, you are easily forgotten.

When we create, we expose our perspective. We open ourselves to criticism. It is natural to want your thoughts, views, art and creation to be accepted by everyone. To avoid being disappointed, we often play it safe.

The fantastic, memorable personalities are usually both loved and hated. Rush Limbaugh is loved by the conservatives and hated by the liberals. Dave Ramsey is loved by the conservative investor and hated by credit card companies, whole life insurance salespeople and high-risk investors. Dr. Laura is consistently critical of her callers. Yet she receives more callers than she could ever handle on any given show.

Safety lacks creativity. It is risky to be truly creative. However, that is really the only way to get noticed. Safe blends in. Risky stands out.

People Buy Benefits …

People buy benefits.

(photo by Studio)

Your podcast should contain some sort of call to action. You might ask the listener to visit your website. You may ask them to contribute to a cause. Selling your product is a definite possibility. Simply tuning in again is a call to action. Whatever it happens to be, the call to action is part of the relationship building process with your listener.

In your call to action, be sure to sell benefits, not features. If you are selling a cookbook, the large print, stain-free cover and fact that it will stay open are all features. The ease at which the cook can read the book at a distance, the way it will stay clean to hand down to the next generation and the time they will save with the hands-free help it provides are all benefits. People don’t buy products. They buy what the product will accomplish.

How often does Starbuck’s promote their fine coffee bean. The answer is very little. Starbuck’s spends their time creating the Starbuck’s experience. They market the way Starbuck’s makes you feel. They aren’t promoting the warmth, color and robust flavor of their coffee. They create a relationship and true experience. They sell the way the coffee experience makes you feel. It is the barista, the smell, the music, the drink names, the cup, the sleeve, and even the lid. It isn’t warm, dark caffeinated beverages.  Their story says, “Every day, we go to work hoping to do two things: share great coffee with our friends and help make the world a little better.”  Benefits, not features.

Find the true benefits of your podcast and product. Then, promote them heavily. People buy benefits.

Their Voice Will Always Be More Meaningful …

Their voice will always be more meaningful.

(photo by Yanc)

One major purpose of your podcast is to foster relationships with your listeners. Many use e-mail, texts, tweets and posts to interact with the audience. The podcast host will read these on the show.

Unfortunately, these methods of communication put distance between you and your listener. It is much more compelling to hear the words of another individual in their own voice than it is to hear someone else tell the same story (or ask the same question). Written word loses the passion when it is read from an e-mail. The inflection, meaning and emotion is always different when read by another individual.

A scripted e-mail lacks spontaneity. When read, an e-mail will always make less of a connection than your listener actually asking the question in their own voice. Less of a connection equals less of a relationship.

Be creative in finding ways to use the voice of your audience. You might use voicemail or ask listeners to submit audio questions through your website or by e-mail. Similar to the way Clark Howard occasionally answers financial questions on “The Clark Howard Show“, you could record questions using a “man on the street” style with a quality, handheld recorder.

There are various ways to capture the voice. Be creative. Stockpile some great questions that you can use over the course of a few shows to cut down on the work it takes to collect the questions. Begin truly engaging your audience and creating meaningful relationships by using their voice. Their voice will always be more meaningful.

Are You Following The Four Steps? …

Are you following the four steps?

(photo by Rcaucino)

I listened to Chris LoCurto’s “Entreleadership” podcast today. He made a great point that everyone is a salesperson. You’re always selling something. You could be selling your product, your service, your ideas, or yourself. You are selling to your clients, your boss, your employees, your future date and your kids.

What caught my ear was the four essential steps present and necessary in every sale. The four steps must be followed in order for the sale of everything. If one step is skipped, it will derail the entire sales process.

The four steps in the sales process are qualify, rapport, educate and close.

I began to wonder how many podcasts view their show as selling. Beyond that perspective, I wondered how many actually understand and use the four selling steps. The answer is probably not enough.

Your podcast is selling something. It could simply be your ideas. You could be selling an actual product. You are most likely at least selling your listener the idea of listening again. Be sure you follow the four steps.

The qualification step will probably occur in the description of your show. If your show is about gardening, you probably will have a difficult time attracting someone not interested in gardening. They are not a qualified “buyer”.

When you get your listener to tune into the show, begin building rapport. Friendship comes from self-revelation. Help your audience where you can.

Next, education your listener. Explain what problems are solved by your “product”. Explain the importance of solving those problems. Explain how you have succeeded in that process in the past. Help your listener solve their problems.

If you have completed the first three steps successfully, the close should be easy. It should handle itself. The first three steps have found a qualified “buyer”, developed a relationship with that individual, and explained to your listener how you can help them. If the close is difficult, you have probably made a shortcut through one of the steps. Make sure each step is fully executed.

Are you following the four steps?

Out Of Self-Revelation Comes Trust …

Out of self-revelation comes trust.

(photo by Vatikaki)

If you wish to have your audience/listener/customer act on your call-to-action (sales pitch, invitation, read your blog again), you must first create trust. People buy things from people they trust.

A person will only trust you if 1.) they believe you have their best interest at heart and 2.) they believe you trust them.

A relationship moves beyond acquaintance to friendship when trust is developed.

People will believe you trust them when you reveal things about yourself to them. Your revelations show you trust the other person to hear you without judgement.

If you give first, your counterpart will be more likely to give in return. If you show trust, they will eventually show trust in return.

When you tell great stories in your podcast, you begin to develop strong relationships with your listeners by revealing details about yourself and trusting your audience with those details.

Howard Stern reveals his inadequacies often on his show. Domino’s Pizza revealed their missteps in their latest ad campaign. When Oprah Winfrey revealed her personal issues and troubles, people loved her even more.

Create a trustworthy, solid, effective brand by telling great stories. Out of self-revelation comes trust.

Raw Talent vs. Passion – And The Winner Is…

Tim Mushey has created a fantastic blog post on caring for your customer. The experience is centered around seeing Van Halen in concert. Tim makes a great point.

It is unfortunate in business today that “going the extra mile” isn’t even necessary to stand out most of the time. Being consistent and delivering on your brand’s promise will usually make you better than most of the competition.

It amazes me that delivering a simple recap after the job is complete to one of our clients can create astonishment on their part. They are so numb to the average lack of care from their other suppliers that any sense of attention will get them to take notice.

I’ve seen many, many bands go through the motions. Not to make excuses. However, It’s like a couple trying to get back together after a breakup. The relationship ended for a reason the first time. Getting together again may be good for a beer. Any longer will probably only make you realize why you broke up in the first place … even when you’re making hundreds of thousands of dollars to do it.

Tease Me …

Tease me.

(photo by Ersler)

Anticipation is a key feature to storytelling. Your story should build just like a good plot builds in a movie. You need to make your audience anticipate the content that is on the way. It is like a vacation you are planning to take. The fantastic anticipation for the trip is almost as pleasurable as the trip itself. You can’t wait for the trip to arrive. You want your listener to feel the same way about your content. When they can’t wait for the story to arrive, you have created some great content.

Teasing is the art of creating anticipation for your audience to entice them to stick around for the payoff to your setup. It is a critical element of your show. Teasing helps create momentum for your podcast.

When you promote parts of the show that are coming up, you must creatively tease your audience. You must give them a reason to stick around. It isn’t enough to simply say, “A great story about this weekend is coming up.” Few will stick around for the payoff. Tease. Create anticipation. Instead, use something like, “You’re never gonna believe what I found in the attic this past weekend.”

Television news does a wonderful job at teasing. Create anticipation. Tease me.

Unique, Vivid, Mental Images …

Unique, Vivid, Mental Images.

(photo by Chris Harvey)

When someone tells a story, on the radio or in a podcast, it is theater of the mind. When you hear the old-time radio show describe the dim light in the servant’s quarters, the scenery is playing out in your mind in a unique way unlike the way anyone else could envision it. No other person is imagining the clothing of the characters the exact same way you are imagining them. That mental theater is unique to you. You are listening and imagining by yourself.

Podcasts make the one-on-one approach even more important. Podcasts are often enjoyed through headphones. Your audience is truly listening by themselves. The headphones block out all other sounds and distractions. You have multiple “one person” audiences at the same time. Yet, it is still always one person and their imagination.

Connect with your “one person” audience by creating a great theater. The theater will be different for each listener, because they are using their individual imagination. Create a movie, and put the listener in it. Make the story an individual experience for the listener. Engage the listener with vivid details and a fantastic storyline. Make them forget they are listening to a podcast.

Create great theater of the mind. Create unique, vivid, mental images.

Don’t Just Fill Time …

Don’t just fill time.

(photo by Hornpipe)

When you fill time, you waste time. Your listeners have come to your podcast, because you have made them a promise with your brand. They believe they will receive some sort of information and entertainment from your show. Your listener will only give you a few minutes to begin delivering, or they will be headed to the next podcast.

Consistently add value for your listener at every opportunity. Either make the show shorter, or prepare better. It is usually a solid rule of thumb to prepare more content than you will need. This will allow you to always deliver valuable information.

Seth Godin does a fantastic job delivering brief bits of valuable information with his blog. He even carries this through to the manifestos published by his Domino Project. Seth wastes very little time. Once he has made his point, he wraps it up.

Your listener is expecting something from your podcast. Deliver continuously on the promise of your brand. Don’t just fill time.

You’re Damaging Your Brand …

You’re damaging your brand.

(photo by Lastdays1)

Three comments doesn’t equal success.

I really wanted to scream. It is frustrating to see people blindly damage their brand. Today, I read a blog post by a gentleman who is willingly doing just that.

Recently, I wrote a blog post entitled “I think we’re lost”. I described how the two hosts spent the first 10 minutes of a 30-minute business podcast discussing the weather instead of their podcast topic. Wasting time like this damages the credibility of their show. The hosts are not delivering what any new listener would expect to receive from a business podcast.

As of today, they have received three comments on that particular show. The host has written a blog post proclaiming success with his show, because his tangent received three comments. In the past, he would typically jump right into pertinent content and receive no comments.

Lately, he has been opening the show with these tangents. He received one negative message from a listener who felt these musings before the true content were a waste of time. He feels his “new” approach is justified, because he received three positive comments on the show.

The host stated that since the prior method wasn’t receiving any comments, good or bad, this new strategy must be better. This thinking is flawed. Three comments only means three people thought it was amusing enough to comment. That’s it. It means nothing more. The fact that nobody commented on the previous shows with the direct content method also does not mean no listener found the shows entertaining or valuable. It simply means the content wasn’t special enough to elicit a comment.

This host should judge the success of his podcast by the growth and overall listenership of the show. I think if he continues with this tangent strategy, he will surely see his growth stagnate. He will also probably see the size of his audience shrink, because he is no longer living up to his brand’s promise.

If you want more comments, deliver better content that stirs emotions. Comments for the sake of getting comments really proves nothing. Sure, I love comments. However, I’ll take a growing, engaged audience over comments every time. Audience growth and engagement will move you forward.

Three comments doesn’t equal success. You’re damaging your brand.

Make ‘Em Look Good …

Make ’em look good.

(photo by Piksells)

When you have a guest on your podcast, it is your job as the interviewer to make the interviewee look good. You are the professional. You know everything there is to know about your podcast. Your guest is new to your show. They may even be new to interviewing. Help them.

When you help your guest get comfortable and look good, you help them successfully promote whatever it is they came on your show to promote. They will be grateful for that. Your guest will see the benefit of being a guest on your show. You will develop a reputation. That success will help you book even better guests in the future. Word will spread.

There are a three steps you can take to help your guest look good.

First, ask open-ended questions. This will allow your guest to convey the information they have come to share. If you ask yes/no questions, your guest will be stuck trying to figure out how to get his point across. It will also be easy for him to simply say “yes” and leave it at that. You will then be the one trying to find the next point to make. Open-ended questions allow your guest to elaborate on their subject.

Second, know why your guest is on your show and help them make their point. Do a short pre-interview before you start the show. Ask them about the important points they would like to hit. Then during the show, ask them questions that help them make those points. If your guest tells you their spouse really had a huge impact on their success, ask them about their biggest influences in their success. Make it easy for them.

Lastly, get out of the way. You don’t need to show your guest or your audience how much you know about their topic. It is their topic. So many hosts ask long, elaborate questions proving just how smart they are and how much they know about the subject. If the host knows it all, there is really no reason to have a guest. (see “One Of You Isn’t Necessary“.) Ask great questions because you know so much. That ability will make you look much better than actually knowing.

Using our previous example of spousal influence, you do not want to say, “Your wife played a huge role in your success with her support. That must have been a real help to you.” You just stole his thunder. You’ve only left him the option to say, “Yes” and make some menial points.

Instead ask, “Who was the one person other than yourself most responsible for your success?” You’ve created some anticipation for your audience. You’ve also just thrown him a softball that he can knock out of the park with a fantastic answer about his wife. He looks great for having such a stellar answer. You also look great for asking such a brilliant question. Everybody wins.

Help your guest succeed. Allow them to answer great questions. Most of all, make ’em look good.

Sorry, One Of You Isn’t Necessary …

Sorry, one of you isn’t necessary.

(photo by Angie68)

When you have two hosts with the same opinion, one isn’t necessary.

Many shows have two hosts. It seems like one person grabbed their friend with similar interests and decided to create a show. Unfortunately, similar interests mean similar points of view. If both hosts have the same point of view, the second host isn’t adding anything new. The second host is usually just restating the same position as the host.

When both hosts have the same point of view, you’re just wasting the time of the listener while you are trying to get each personality mic time. It would be very similar to debating yourself.

The Mike and Mike Show” demonstrates solid, differing points of view when discussing sports. On “The Howard Stern Show”, Howard Stern and Robin Quivers usually have opposing thoughts. In both shows, the different opinions add to the discussion rather than simply stating the same positions again.

There must be contrasting points of view between the personalities to justify the existence of each on the show. When you have two hosts with the same opinion on a podcast, sorry, one of you isn’t necessary.

Natural Is Better …

Natural is better.

(photo by Dmccale)

When recording your podcast, use the voice of the individual asking the question whenever possible. Natural sound is always better than a story recreated by the host.

The additional voices will give your podcast an element of show biz. It will add depth to the sound of the show. Your podcast will also sound much more engaging.

There are various ways to include others in your show. You can field questions from your audience in many ways. You could answer e-mail like Justin Lukasavige does on “Coach Radio”. Listeners could leave you voicemail to include in your show similar to “The Art of Podcasting”. You could take live phone calls similar to Dave Ramsey on “The Dave Ramsey Show”. Guests could also join your show live in the studio as happens on “The Adam Carolla Show”. Each version is a little stronger than the previous.

The second voice makes the show much more personable. It allows the listener to feel that they are part of the conversation. The additional voice also adds credibility to the question. Your listener will hear the authenticity in the question or comment.

Other voices bring a depth to the show. This is the reason radio stations use callers on the air.  It may not always be possible to include that audio. However, if you can swing it, your show will definitely gain that showbiz quality when using multiple voices.

Use the voice of the individual asking the question whenever possible. Natural is better.

Be On The Same Level …

Always be on the same level as your audience.

(photo by Hornpipe)

When you’re creating a relationship with someone, you never want to act as if you are better or above the other person. Even if your position allows you opportunities that your counterpart may not receive, you must be humble about those experiences. People like other people who are similar to themselves.

Because I am on the radio, I am incredibly fortunate to get the incredible opportunity to meet many musicians. I am very lucky.  If I were to brag about these fantastic experiences, I would appear arrogant. It would sound as if I believe I am better than you. I would not be very likeable.

Maintain your humility during your podcast. Keep yourself on the same level as your audience. If you have an opportunity to interview someone famous, be as honored and excited as your listener would be.

You are building a relationship with your listener. Be likeable. Be on the same level as your audience.

Let’s Help Each Other …

Let’s help each other.

(Photo by Grafvision)

I would love to answer any question you might have about your podcast. I have been in broadcasting for well over 20 years. Coaching on-air radio talent has been part of my day-to-day role since 1995. Studying and developing marketing and promotional campaigns for our radio stations and clients is also something I do on a regular basis.

If you could use some help in any of these areas, please shoot me an e-mail at Erik.Johnson@Cox.net.

Your questions will help me refine my blog. You will help me select topics. It will also make the blog much more enjoyable for you. I would love to hear your questions.

If you could take a minute to shoot me an e-mail, or even comment on any of my posts that may have helped you, I would truly appreciate it. Making this blog better is always my goal.

Let me know how I can help you. In turn, let’s help each other.

Prepare For Your Show …

Prepare for your show.

(Photo by June-plum)

Before you begin to record your show, you should spend just as much time preparing for the show. It is very similar to mapping out a trip. You not only need to know where you are going, you need to know how to get there.

Many hosts will have an idea of which topics they hope to address on the show. They may have a few e-mail questions to answer or a current event to discuss. That is where most quit. They think, “Well, I have our ideas. Let’s do this.” They then begin recording.

This is a big mistake. You must plan what you hope to do with each topic. How do you hope to answer the questions? What will your opinion be on the current event? Most importantly, how will you present it to your listener?

If you plan to answer an e-mail question only because you think it is a good question, but you do not plan out your answer, you will wade through the answer. It will take you much more time to answer the question than is necessary. Your show will therefore lack momentum. Your listener will become easily bored. When you stumble your way through your answer unprepared, your listener will wonder if you actually know where you are going.

Before you open the mic, plan out your show. Jot down some notes. Write down the few important points you need to mention as you’re answering the question. Then, make sure you stick to your plan.

Dan Miller does a wonderful job of this in his podcast “48 Days to The Work You Love”. He knows exactly which questions he wants to answer in his show. He knows exactly how he wants to answer them. He also has a few solid examples for each answer.

Dan tends to over-promise at the beginning of the show with the questions he hopes to answer. He should either stick to a time limit for each answer, or promise fewer with the potential of a few “bonus” answers at the end if time permits.  Either way, he still has a plan.

Give your show more momentum and energy. It will happen when you prepare for your show.

Develop A Goal …

Develop a goal for your show.

(photo by Epixx)

As you develop your podcast, you need to determine what you hope to accomplish with the show. What will the show be about? What do you hope to make your audience feel? Is there some call to action you wish to make your listener take?

After you have developed the goal for your show, stick to it. All content on your show should support your goal.

If your goal is to help consumers get out of debt, don’t spend a lot of time discussing your favorite, new CD. Your listener has come to your show expecting you to deliver on your promise. If you tell her you help people get out of debt, deliver that content to her. When you start discussing anything other than that, your brand promise is tarnished. She will be headed elsewhere.

In Correy Webb’s “My Disney Podcast”, Correy discusses all things Disney. He discusses cruise adventures, visits to the parks and other traveling tips. If Correy suddenly began discussing the poker game he had with his buddies last weekend, you would be disappointed. Poker isn’t the reason you’re listening. His Disney promise would be broken.  You are now unsure what you will receive next time you listen.

A great brand is built slowly with strong consistency. Deliver on your brand’s promise. However, before you can deliver, you need to develop a goal for your show.

I Think We’re Lost …

I think we’re lost.

(photo by Dreef)

While listening to the podcast described below, I just about gave up and moved onto another show. I had to force myself to stick with it. I honestly thought they may have uploaded the wrong show.

Here is the opening of the podcast. (I’ve eliminated the names and other identifying parts.)

Show host: Welcome to (show name). I’m your host (host name). (website). We’ve got a couple people hangin’ out in the live chat with us. (chat link) And you know, I shouldn’t say that, because I’ve taken the link down from the site. But if you’re listening and wanna see the schedule, it is fairly current. Although, not exactly throughout the summer. I am joined today, as I frequently am lately, by (co-host name) of (other show name). How’s it goin’ (co-host name)?

Co-host: It is wonderful up here.

Show host: Is the … uh … now you guys probably didn’t have a lot of snow like we didn’t have a lot of snow, which I’m still bummed about. But, I’m trying not to talk about it. How’s your … how’s your weather in (city)?

Co-host: It’s pretty good. It’s, uh … it’s been a pretty warm winter.

They proceeded to discuss the Celsius to Fahrenheit conversion for the first 10 minutes of the 30-minute show. At 10:45 into the show, host says, “Should we get into some questions?”

This is a show designed to coach businesses to attract more customers.

How did we get lost down some path about temperature conversions?

I’m not even sure I can say it got lost. The introduction never laid out the expectations of the show. Neither does the show title. As I’ve written before, the opening of the show must tell your audience what the show is all about right at the beginning. Let your listener know what to expect.  Assume they are listening to your show for the very first time.

Six minutes into the show, they actually say, “You’re safe by now skipping over the first 10 minutes” of the show.  What!?! You’ve got me, now you’re actually telling me this isn’t worth my time?

At this point they aren’t really lost. They are well aware they are wasting my time. There are over 100,000 podcasts available. These shows are all trying to attract me. These guys actually have me paying attention (the tough part) and are wasting the incredible opportunity. What are the chances I’ll actually be back?

Your show must deliver on the brand promise right out of the box. That is the key to audience engagement. Your listener has come to your show for a reason. If you get lost on some tangent, your audience will be gone in a heartbeat.

Lay out the expectations in your introduction. Deliver on those expectations immediately. If you find you’re getting off on a tangent, get back on track as soon as possible.

You will quickly find you are talking to yourself if your listener says to themselves, “I think we’re lost.”

Move Beyond Information …

Move beyond information.

The goal of our podcasts is to create strong relationships with our audiences. We can take those relationships and move our listeners with a call to action. To achieve that strong relationship, we need to move beyond information to engaging entertainment.

Dan Miller, author of “48 Days To The Work You Love” could simply explain how you might find a new job. Instead, Dan instills the belief in his listeners that there is more to work than a paycheck. He stirs emotion describing how you can turn your passion into your career. Dan uses that emotion to turn his job finding information into engaging entertainment.

Financial information is turned into entertainment on “The Dave Ramsey Show” when Dave turns debt into the enemy. He doesn’t simply walk you through the steps to become debt free. Dave helps you find that burning desire to escape the shackles of debt. He makes you envision the possibility of “living like no one else”. His help becomes engaging entertainment. That is the reason his show is extremely popular and he is very wealthy.

Our shows can be powerful when we build relationships and move our listeners with a call to action. Those relationships happen when we move beyond information to engaging entertainment.

Be Memorable …

Be memorable.

If you want to keep your listener coming back show after show, you need to make them remember to come back. You need to remain top-of-mind for your listener. That is the purpose of audience engagement. Make your listener remember you for something specific about your show.

As you build your show, make it about one thing. Find one particular thing that will be remembered. If you try to be all things to all people, you will water down the show. Everything will be nice. However, nice isn’t usually truly memorable. You will get lost in the millions of messages your listener receives on a daily basis.

Find one point that you can make amazing. Take it over the top. Make it the “goodbye” scene in “Titanic”. Make it the “I am your father” scene in “Empire Strikes Back” between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. Your particular point could be the point where you assure your caller that everything will be ok. It could be the fantastic story of your brush with celebrity.  It is your show.  Find the magic.

Stir emotion. Make it amazing. Bring your listener back. Be memorable.

Take The First Exit …

Take the first exit.

When you are discussing a topic, take the first opportunity to get out of the bit. You will keep your audience engaged. You will maintain the momentum of the show. You will also avoid repeating yourself and becoming boring. Take the first exit.

There are clues in your show that let you know you’ve missed the opportunity to end the bit. When you find yourself saying things like “as I said”, “like I was saying”, or “as we’ve discussed”, you have missed your exit. Those phrases are simply additional ways to say, “let me repeat this again”. Once you have reached that point, you are stating your introduction point again. This should be your conclusion. Move on to the next discussion.

If you miss the exit, you begin retracing your steps. You begin offering information you’ve already provided. Your listener then begins thinking of other things, because they have heard this part before. I got it. Let’s move on.

Only you will know when you’ve offered enough information to make your point. Once you hit that point, keep the show moving. Get to the next topic. Keep your audience engaged. Take the first exit.

Make Them Forget …

Make them forget.

When your audience is listening to your podcast, make them forget they are listening to a recording. Take them to another place. Make your storytelling so strong that their imaginations put your listener in another time and place. That’s what great storytelling is all about. That’s what great relationships are all about.

People seek entertainment to escape from reality. They want entertainment like movies, concerts, television, radio and podcasts to make them forget about all of their problems. Entertainment that succeeds will take the audience member to some other place and time.

When you record your podcast, you need to create that wonderful theater of the mind. It doesn’t matter if you’re reading fiction or talking about gardening, put your audience in the moment. Take them away. Make your listener forget they are listening to a recording.

Be Yourself …

Be yourself.

A great podcast is a great relationship. It is just like creating a great brand. In order to develop that solid audience relationship, you must be yourself. You can’t fake it.

When you try to be someone or something you are not, you will not sound authentic. Eventually, the truth will come out.

Have you ever met someone you had admired from afar, only to have them do something that didn’t fit with your image of them? Maybe it was a baseball player, or a movie star, or a politician or a musician. You met them with great expectations of an encounter with your hero only to find out they were rude and average. It turned out they were only being who they thought they should be for the public when really they were someone completely different in real life.

Everyone has their flaws. That is what makes them human. Howard Stern has flaws. He makes his flaws part of his radio show. Domino’s Pizza admitted the errors of their ways with their cheap, low quality pizza. They laid it out for the world to see in their marketing. Your listener will accept your flaws. They will feel like you are “one of them” when you admit to your flaws upfront. Don’t be afraid to expose yourself.

When your listener discovers you are something other than the character you portray, the bond of trust will be demolished. Your relationship will be forever damaged.

Build a solid brand. Be yourself.

Creating Theater Of The Mind …

 

Create theater of the mind.

The use of active language will stir the imagination of your listener and help you connect to your audience. Put the listener in the moment. Make the listener see the action you are describing.

“I’m walking into the bustling restaurant and shaking off the evening cold without even watching where I’m shuffling.” That is active language. In your mind, you can see me walking in.

Sure, your restaurant may be different from my restaurant. That difference is what makes theater of the mind great. You see it the way you think it fits best for you. Your scene doesn’t need to match my scene in order for the story to make sense. It is your theater.

Active language connects each listener to the story in his or her own way. It will create strong audience engagement.  Active language during storytelling is a powerful tool you can use while you’re building your podcast.

Create a great podcast brand. Create theater of the mind.

I would love to stay connected with you.  Follow my blog by clicking the “follow” button on this page.


Be Consistent …

Be consistent

To create a solid brand, you need to be consistent. Consistent with your message. Consistent with your promise. Consistent with your image.

When you think of great brands like McDonald’s, Coca Cola and Nike, you can see the evidence of solid consistency. When you walk into McDonald’s, you know exactly what you will get. You’ll get inexpensive hamburgers fast. It doesn’t matter if it is a McDonald’s in Missoula, Montana or Mexico City, Mexico. The brand will be the same. You may experience some small differences in the menu. For the most part, you’ll still get hamburgers, french fries and a Coke. And of course the Big Mac. If you head into a McDonald’s and suddenly find fish n chips or bratwurst as the main entrée, your trust in the brand will be destroyed. You won’t be sure what you’ll get next time you visit.

Your podcast must be just as consistent in order to create a great brand. Your listener must know exactly what they will get each time they listen. They come to your show to receive your promise. Deliver every time. Deliver consistently.

Consistency doesn’t mean lack of variety. It simply means that you always deliver your promise, on your mission statement. McDonald’s offers different sizes. They offer chicken and fish sandwiches. You can get McNuggets. Whichever way, it is always inexpensive food fast when you want it. And the burgers are always there.

You are creating a brand when you are creating your podcast. You need to deliver consistently each time your listener tunes into the show. Foster that strong relationship with your audience. Be consistent.

Nobody Wants To Watch Your Home Movies …

Nobody wants to watch your home movies unless they are in them.

If your entire product and marketing strategy is focused on you, it will be very difficult to retain listeners. People are interested in themselves.

Your customer is not interested in your product. She is interested in what your product can do for her. The content of your podcast must relate to your listener at all times. Make sure you position your content from the point of view of your listener.

Focus on your listener. If you are discussing a new truck, your listener doesn’t care that it can pull 10,000 pounds, is the best-selling or is the most dependable in its class. He wants to know if it can pull his boat, if he can load it up with lumber, and if he can be sure he won’t get stuck on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. Tell him why your features are important to him.

You are wasting your time and listener relationship if you are only focused on you. Nobody wants to watch your home movies unless they are in them.

Hello Everybody In Radioland …

Hello Everybody in Radioland!

To be engaging, you need to be human.  You need to be yourself.

As you record your podcast, use your natural voice and your own words. Individuals who are new to broadcasting tend to want to sound like their broadcasting idols. They try to imitate those they have heard on the radio with their voice and clichés. Unfortunately, new broadcasters tend to sound as if they are using scripted drivel done in some character voice that is forced and unnatural.

You don’t need to sound like Wolfman Jack, Howard Cosell, Don LaFontaine or Howard Stern. In fact, you shouldn’t sound like those guys. They are who they are. You should be who you are. If you are naturally over-the-top, then be over-the-top. If you are not, don’t fake it. You’ll sound like an amateur.

Be natural. Talk with a little energy, but always deliver it as you naturally speak. The days of “the voice for radio” are gone. You don’t need a big voice to be on the radio. You surely don’t need a big voice to create a podcast. Your voice becomes unique by what you say, not how you sound saying it.

Be yourself. Use your own voice instead of trying to impersonate someone else. Use your natural voice and your own words. And please, avoid all of the clichés like “Hello Everybody in Radioland.”

No Sleep ‘Til: The Best of MCA

No Sleep ‘Til: The Best of MCA.

Today, I had a post written that is consistent with my content.  I was ready to post it for you.

As I logged on to share it, I came across this post regarding the death of Adam “MCA” Yauch of the Beastie Boys.

I was saddened when I heard the news of MCA’s death earlier today.  Though I’ve been musical since my youth and long before “Licensed To Ill“, the Beastie Boys was the first concert I ever attended.  I first discovered them in the movie “Krush Groove“.  They’ve always been a big part of my musical history.

As I read this post, I realized how much MCA’s writing clicks with the philosophies I’ve been suggesting.  He is always focused, creative, witty, engaging, entertaining, surprising, and vivid with his details.  He includes words and phrases in his lyrics most wouldn’t normally consider.  I truly admire his work for that.

Even if you are not a fan of hip hop, I would still recommend the attached blog as a worthwhile read.  MCA’s style is admirable and inspirational.  He will surely be missed.

I’ll return tomorrow with another podcast post.  Until then, RIP MCA.

via No Sleep ‘Til: The Best of MCA.

They Are Never Boring …


They are never boring.

Engagement in your content is either rising or falling. Attention never remains constant. The interest of your audience is either growing or diminishing because of what you’re saying and how you are saying it.

Keep your podcast listener engaged by having a clear focus with your content. Know exactly where you are going with any particular topic. Make sure your audience also knows where you are going by leading with a clear, intriguing introduction. Then, make sure you are always building anticipation as the story progresses. Once you begin treading water by following a tangent, interest will begin to fall quickly.

Pip Hunn of “The Write Thing” blog lists “11 Ways To Be A Great Storyteller”. It is worth the read.

Keep your audience engaged by remaining focused on the point of your story. All great storytellers avoid the tangents while the plot of their story builds. That is why great storytellers are never boring.

You vs. Me …

You vs. Me

Great marketing is like a mirror. It is a reflection of the customer, not of the company. Great products that use great marketing are focused on the needs, wants and desires of their customers. To turn your podcast into a great brand, focus on your listener and not on yourself.

Scheels had a great commercial for their snowboarding gear. The commercial was completely focused on the lifestyle of the snowboarder. It didn’t feature all of the great salespeople or wide aisles in the store or sales. The commercial was a mirror reflecting the customer.

To turn your information into engaging entertainment with your podcast, focus on the listener. Use words like “you” instead of “I”, “me” or “we”. Convey your content from the point of view of your listener. They will feel appreciated. They will be engaged. Your podcast will become a relationship. Success will follow. When it is You vs. Me, always pick you.

Focus On Helping Others …

Focus on helping others.

Zig Ziglar has many great quotes. One of my favorite quotes is, “You can have anything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” How true that is.

As you turn your information into engaging entertainment with your podcast, keep in mind that helping people is part of the foundation of a strong relationship. If you take, take, take, your relationship won’t last long. If you are there to give and help, you will develop friends for life.

Ziglar is a great example of helping people. His speeches always offer great tips to improve your life, sales or attitude. He also sells great books, CDs and other products. However, most of his time is spent on helping others. There is a lot of free Ziglar information available. He helps others, and eventually sales come his way.

Get what you want out of life. Focus on helping others.

Put Your Audience In The Story …

Put your audience in the story.

If you truly want to engage your listener, put her in your story. This doesn’t mean create a fictitious part of your story where she becomes a fake character. Include details that are so vivid that your listener feels like she is right there in the moment. Stir the passion within your listener with great emotion.

You have probably seen a movie like “Silence of the Lambs” where you completely lose awareness of your surroundings as you’re sucked into the scene. It may have been a movie like “Casablanca” where Rick and Ilsa say goodbye at the very end. Those are two great stories that put you right there in the moment.

Stories told by great storytellers do the same thing. Garrison Keillor is probably one of the best storytellers of our time. When listening to this story, you can see the guy Keillor describes in a few short seconds. He includes great lines like, “… In the midst of drinking a Bombardier at the Moonlight Bay Supper Club and she’d gone off with him to the Romeo Motel.” The story is short, yet the details are vivid.

If you can create details so vivid that your listeners can almost feel them, you can truly put her in the story. Your listener will be fully engaged. That is where information becomes entertainment. Strengthen your relationship with your podcast listener at every opportunity. Put the audience in the story.

Stories Define Your Character …

Stories define your character

I’m not simply talking about your integrity. By character, I mean all of the attributes that create you, as in character in a play.  Your stories help define who you are as a person.

The purpose of your podcast is to attract an audience. Whether you want to monetize that relationship, encourage a call-to-action, or simply create an audience for your ideas, creating the audience is where you begin.

The stories you choose to tell reveal how open you are to others. Your openness is a sign of trust. Trust is a big piece of a relationship. Reveal things about yourself through your stories and you’ll begin to build trust with your listener.

The details you include tell your listener what you value. If the listener feels you value things they too value, you solidify the relationship. People like to hang out with similar people. If your values are opposite of your listener, you may also attract them. It is like a love/hate relationship. They may dislike it, but they continue to listen. For example, this often happens when talking politics.

What you find entertaining will be evident by the stories you tell. Since people like other people who have similar tastes, revealing those things you find entertaining will also build the relationship.

Stories also have the power to demonstrate your vulnerability. Stories can show that you are a real person. Your listener will see you as approachable. They also may begin to see you as a friend. That is when true relationships begin to form.

Next time you watch a late night talk show, notice how the great, memorable interviews contain great stories. Robin Williams and Billy Crystal being interviewed by David Letterman are great examples.  Interviews that focus on facts and information rarely cut through. Those guests come off more as a lecturer than as a friend. The guests that tell stories appear more personal, warm and friendly. Their stories reveal things and help you feel like you know them personally. Take note next time you watch.

Foster a relationship with your listener by revealing things about yourself through stories. Stories will define your character.

Review Your Show …

Review your show on a regular basis. Actually listen like a listener. That is the only way to improve.

Many hosts finish recording a show and think, “That was pretty good. What’s next?” They might recreate parts of the show in their head to determine what might make the show better next time. Usually, there isn’t much time spent actually reviewing a show. There are so many other duties to handle. It’s on to the next thing, which is probably editing, posting, and promoting the show.

In order to make your podcast better, you need to spend quality time listening to the show. Play it back. Grab a pad of paper and write down the parts that jump out at you. Jot down the “oh wow” moments. Take note of the sections that didn’t work exactly as you planned.

You will only find these moments when you listen like a listener. The show will sound much different to you when you listen back than it did as you were recording it. You will hear things you didn’t notice as you were focused on creating the content. Words that you overuse will suddenly become noticeable to you.

Once you have created the lists of good and not-so-good, create two more lists. First, determine how can you create more of the “oh wow” moments on the show. How might you incorporate into the show more of the great content that worked? Second, make a list of ways you can eliminate the parts that weren’t polished enough.

Get on the road to show improvement. Review your show on a regular basis.

Make It Interesting By Being Interested …

Make it interesting by being interested.

It really is the easiest way to engage your audience. When you are interested in a subject, your audience can hear it. You can’t fake enthusiasm.

When you are selecting topics and guests for your podcast, find those that really strike a chord with you. Look for material that really gets you excited. When you are truly interested, your listener will take notice. Your excitement will come through the speakers. The excitement will also be contagious.

Being authentically interested in a topic will naturally make you find interesting ways to approach the subject. As you interview that guest you’ve been dying to get on the show, your questions will have an edge of anticipation to them. You will ask great questions that elicit great answers. You will surprise your listener with content they don’t expect.

To create those great “oh wow” moments when you surprise your listener, be authentically interested. When you surprise your audience on a regular basis, they are entertained and engaged by your content. An entertained and engaged audience will keep coming back for more. Make it interesting by being interested.

Don’t Settle For The First Idea …

Don’t settle for the first idea. Work and mold your topic.

It is easy to do an interview exactly like you do every other interview. Just like you’ve heard everyone do every other interview. Unfortunately, it will sound like every other interview.

Do something different. Stand out. Make your interview different. Find new questions. Find ways to ask questions differently. Gain attention by being unique.

On her television show, Ellen DeGeneres asks fun, off-the-wall questions of her guests. She will get them talking about crazy topics you don’t hear on other shows. DeGeneres may even compete with the guest in football throwing or put them in a dunk tank. Whatever it is, her content is always different from her competition. Her interviews always contain a ton of laughs. She will always eventually get to the topic the guest is there to promote, like a movie or book. Before she does, DeGeneres will always have a lot of fun in a unique way.

If you are discussing an article, do something different. If most hosts would simply read the article and comment, zig when they are zagging. Grab the phone and call the subject of the article. Interview the author. Act it out. Create a parody of it that is so over-the-top that it becomes memorable. Find that unique way to rise above the rest.

If you continue to settle for the first idea when presenting an idea, you’ll keep delivering typical content. We want to make you memorable. We want you to stand out and get noticed. When your content is vanilla and just like everyone else, you become wallpaper that nobody notices. You also become easy to replace.

Push yourself. Brainstorm until you find something that is great. Then, run with it and make it engaging and memorable. Don’t settle for the first idea.

Include A Call To Action …

Include a call to action.

If you want to make money with your podcast, you must include a call to action. It seems logical. However, many podcasters believe, “If I build it, they will come.” It simply doesn’t happen that way.

Odd as it may sound, your podcast probably isn’t your product. Unless you are charging for your podcast, your show is only the marketing vehicle for some other product. Most podcasts are free. The show itself isn’t generating revenue. You need to create another product you can sell.

In his book “Free: The Future of a Radical Price”, Chris Anderson lists many ways to create revenue using the power of free. Many of these can be used to generate revenue from your podcast.

Some think access to the audience can be sold to advertisers as if it were traditional broadcasting. Unfortunately, audiences are not typically large enough for this model. Listeners also do not expect the traditional twelve minutes of commercials within their favorite podcast hour. Advertising is usually a very difficult path to revenue.

To generate revenue with your podcast, you need to create something else to sell.

You could make money by making your podcast a small portion of a larger show, which is available to paid members only. The free podcast becomes marketing for the member content.

You could turn your knowledge of some “how to” subject into a book, e-book, study course or other product. Your podcast could be the “why” behind your philosophy. The show would then promote the “how” that your listener will learn when they purchase the product.

There are many other ideas described in Anderson’s book. You could give away the product while charging for the service, such as consulting or coaching. Give away the content while making money referring people to retailers, like affiliate marketing. Rather than traditional advertising, you could give away the content while charging advertisers to be featured in it, similar to The Home Shopping Network. You could even take a cut of sales. You could podcast generic advice while selling specific, customized advice. There are fifty ideas in the book. To make money with your podcast, I suggest you give the book (or at least that section) a read.

If you build it, they may come. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you will become instantly wealthy. You need to create something to sell. You need to tell your listener to buy. Then, you need to show them the way. If you desire to make money with your podcast, make sure your podcast includes the call to action.

Create Your Own Style …

Create everything you do in your own style. You can only stand out among all other shows when you create your own unique style. You must then make sure everything you do is consistent with that style.

Many new broadcasters try to emulate the style of their hero or mentor. They attempt to imitate the styles they hear from other broadcasters. Unfortunately, copying doesn’t create a unique style. Copying typically creates a watered-down version of some other style. When creating your content, be yourself and find your own style.

Some of the greatest broadcasters didn’t start the ascension to the top until they abandoned the attempts to broadcast in the style they thought others desired and began being true to themselves.

Oprah Winfrey quit trying to be a traditional news anchor. She also quit doing the typical tabloid, daytime talk show. When she began to create the show she always desired, she went to the top of the game.

Howard Stern began as a radio DJ sounding like every other radio DJ. He was playing the records and spouting the lines written by management while going nowhere. When Stern decided he was going to do radio his way, he began to make a name for himself. He also went to the top.

Rush Limbaugh followed a very similar path. He had a cheesy radio name. He followed the format designed by somebody else. Limbaugh made every attempt to fulfill the typical radio DJ stereotype. He also got fired again and again. When he decided to broadcast in his style and true to his beliefs, he began his rise to the top.

Adam Corolla made his climb when he took full control over his style and show. He was climbing the DJ ladder in Los Angeles. Corolla had some decent television work. He then decided to create his own show in his own style via podcast. That began his rise as one of the biggest podcasters in the world.

All of these broadcasters made the decision to stop copying others. They all created shows that were true to their style.

They each also stay true to their style in everything they do. You will never hear Rush sound like Howard. You’ll never mistake something Oprah says as something Adam might say. Being true to their style isn’t something that takes a conscious effort. It comes easy to each of them, because it is true to who they are as people.

Be true to yourself. It will make it easy to create everything you do in your style.

Thanks For Listening …

Thanks for listening. I appreciate the help you give me.

It is such an easy way to strengthen your relationship with your audience. They have given you something they can never get back. That is their time.

Show your appreciation. A simple thank you will go a long way with your listener. If they know you are honestly grateful for their time, the chance they will listen again goes way up.

It must be honest and authentic. You can’t thank them in a gas-station-attendant-I’ll-never-see-you-again kind of way. You must deliver it from the heart. It should be the kind of thank you that you would give a stranger who stopped to help when you ran out of gas

Your listener is your lifeblood. Without your listener you have no podcast. She has many, many choices when allocating her time. Let her know you appreciate her for spending her time with you.

… And thanks for listening.  You’ve done a ton for me just by being here.

It’s Got A Great Beat, And I Can Dance To It …

It’s got a great beat, and I can dance to it. I’d give it a 57. Don’t let it happen to your podcast.

It was a common joke back in the day as a reference to the “Rate a Record” feature on American Bandstand hosted by Dick Clark. Sadly, we lost Mr. Clark this week. The broadcasting world lost a great one.

All of the tributes to Dick Clark this week brought American Bandstand back to my mind. Each week, a couple of teens would rate some new song Dick was featuring on the show. He would play the song and the kids would dance. Afterward, the two selected teens would be asked to rate the song on a 1-to-100 scale.

Often, the kids would say, “It’s got a great beat, and I can dance to it.” I would think they really liked the song. Then, they would give it a 57. It confused me. They just said it had a great beat. They can dance to it. What’s not to like? 57? Really? I didn’t get it.

Much later in life, after coaching on-air radio talent for years, it hit me. The beat and “dancability” of a song means very little. To cut through and be meaningful, the song needs to connect on an emotional level. Songs that fail to make that connection receive a 57 and fade into oblivion.

Some of the greatest pop songs of all time make wonderful, emotional connections. The angst of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana. Paul McCartney’s tender words to John Lennon’s son Julian in “Hey Jude”. The pride and power of “Respect” by Aretha Franklin. The plea for peace in “What’s Goin’ On” by Marvin Gaye. The frustration in “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones. Fantastic emotion can be found in each and every one of them.

Now, relate that to your podcast. Are you just filling your time with generic content? Is your material simply a “great beat”? Or, are you really stirring strong emotions in your listener? You need that emotion for great audience engagement.  It could be the desire for love or fame. It could be thoughts of wealth. It could be anger at the government.

Find the emotion. Stir it up. You will probably discover that emotion in the very reason you created your show in the first place. That’s a good place to start.

If you’re not filling your podcast with emotion, you’re not connecting with your audience. You’ll have a great beat. They might even be able to dance to it. But, you’ll still get a 57.

And Now It’s Time For …

Exit

And now it’s time for …

This phrase seems harmless. It looks like a logical transition from one segment to another during your podcast. Unfortunately, this phrase gives your listener permission to leave the show.  It is detrimental to your audience engagement.

When you use “and now it’s time for…” or some similar phrase, it tells the listener that one segment is over and we are moving on to something else. It also signals a natural break in the show and the perfect time to exit. The transition is a lot like a commercial break in a television show. It is time to grab the remote to see what else is available.

Famous American showman P. T. Barnum noticed that people were lingering too long at his exhibits. If he could get them through the exhibit faster, he could get more people through in a day. Barnum posted signs around the exhibit indicating “This Way to the Egress”. Unaware that “Egress” simply meant “Exit”, people followed the signs to what they assumed was a fascinating exhibit only to end up outside.

Take down the “egress” sign. If you truly want to hold your listener from one piece of content to the next, don’t send up the signal. Simply move to the next segment.

Imagine you are at a cocktail party. You are discussing the baseball game that you saw over the weekend. After that topic runs its course, do you say, “Now it’s time to talk about my new car”? I doubt it. You probably just roll right into, “Hey, I bought a new car last week.” It is a natural transition. Your friend doesn’t think, “Hmm, that was a pretty rough transition.” Great storytelling is captivating.  If you use an intriguing introduction, your friend moved on right along with you.

As you wrap up one segment, move right to the next. You might end the first segment with, “If you take those steps, things should be back to normal.” Roll into the next with, “Jackie has a question about teamwork,” and play the call. The next segment just starts. You’ve hooked them on the next segment without opening the door to leave.

Don’t flash the exit sign. Eliminate “and now it’s time for …” to hold your listener for the entire podcast.

Trust Can Be Monetized

Trust can be monetized.

Structure is necessary for your podcast in order to build consistency and trust with your fans. The audience expects specific elements each time they listen to your show. They expect your style to be consistent. Your audience expects the host to be the same for each show. You must deliver to that expectation to build trust with your fans. This trust is where podcast monetization begins.

Think of McDonald’s. When you order a Big Mac at McDonald’s, you expect it to taste exactly like the last Big Mac you purchased and ate. That is true whether you purchased your last Big Mac at the same restaurant, across town, in another state or around the world. You expect it to be consistent. If the Big Mac you purchased today suddenly has mustard and sauerkraut on it, you would be a little hesitant to purchase another next time. You know what you want and want what you know. You want consistency.

Your audience desires the same consistency from your podcast. The consistency gained from the show structure helps the audience feel at ease and comfortable with the program. If your listener is new, she is brought up to speed quickly when you tell her what to expect. If the listener is a returning participant, your introduction causes him to say to himself, “Oh, yeah. Exactly how I remember it. This is the right show.”

If you are watching the news and suddenly there are two new anchors along with different people doing the weather and sports, you will wonder if you’ve somehow stumbled upon the wrong channel. It will feel uncomfortable. It isn’t what you expected.

Consistency helps your audience feel at home. Work to achieve it every time. Consistent structure builds trust. Trust can be monetized.

Hey, I’m New Here …

Hey, I’m new here. What’s goin’ on?

The opening of your podcast should explain the purpose of your podcast and let your listeners know exactly what to expect as if this is the first time they have ever heard the show.  This should happen on each and every show.

A well-crafted introduction serves two purposes.

First, it tells the brand new listener who is hearing the show for the very first time exactly what to expect from the show. It is like the intro to a late night talk show. “From New York. It’s the Late Show with David Letterman. Tonight, Tom Cruise. Larry The Cable Guy. And Katy Perry. Letters from the mail bag. Tonight’s Top Ten list. And Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra. And now, former New York City Medical Examiner … David Letterman.” You know exactly what is coming your way, even if you have never seen the show before.

Second, those that have heard the show before are confident that they are in the right place. Those regular listeners will find comfort in the opening of the show they hear each time they tune in. Fans will also feel like they are “in the know”. This is similar to singing the theme song of your favorite sitcom. As soon as you hear the first few notes of the theme song, you know you’re on the right channel. Your show intro should elicit the same response.

As you create your show open, treat it as if every listener is saying, “Hey, I’m new here. What’s going on?” You’ll make everyone comfortable as the show begins.

Make Your Listener The Star

Make your listener the star.  It is your show.  You know the plot.  When listeners are involved in your show, it is always your job to lead your guest and make them the star.

There are many ways to incorporate your listeners into your show.  Live interviews, live calls, recorded voicemail messages, and e-mail are a free of the possibilities.  Incorporating listeners into your podcast gives  your entire audience a vested interest in the show.

With guests, you must remember you always know more about your show than they know.  You know the goals of your show.  You know the plot and strategy.  You are always on the show.  They are new.  Lead your guest.

Phrases like “great question”, “I’m glad you mentioned that” and “I didn’t realize that” make your guest feel they are adding to the show … as long as you are authentic and sincere in your comments.  It also make you look unselfish.

Financial guru and radio host Dave Ramsey is great at guiding his listeners.  When a caller begins to ramble on, Dave will always step in with, “How can I best help you today?”  That is a great way to say, “Get to the point.”  You need to remember that your callers are not professional broadcasters.  They are not sure how to adequately edit their question while still providing all of the necessary details.

Edit your content to make your listener look good.  Just as you do not need to answer every e-mail you receive on your show, you do not need to read the entire e-mail either.  When you are using voicemail and e-mail questions, edit them before you use them.  Keep the essence of the question while eliminating the unnecessary details.  Nobody will fault you for editing a 4-minute voicemail message to a great 30 seconds.  In fact, they will probably thank you.  The edited call is still the call as long as you aren’t changing their words and intentions.  Your show is entertainment.  Edit is as such.

When interviewing a well-known guest, make it easy for them.  Open with great questions for which you already know the answer.  Talk hosts like Jay Leno and David Letterman have producers that do a pre-interview with their guests.  They will ask their guest, “If (host) asks you about ____, what will you say?”  The producer then puts the great questions on the blue cards for the host.  The host may not know the answers, but the guest is prepared for the question.

If  you know your guest has done some amazing things, ask them about it.  Then, let them answer.  I hear so many hosts interview guests as if they are trying to show the guest how much they actually know.  In turn, they answer the question as they are asking it.  “You just released a book detailing ways to reduce your work week by half by outsourcing many of your tasks to companies like X, Y and Z.  It has already sold 100,000 copies.  That’s great.  Tell us about it.”

This poses 3 problems.  First, the guest now has very little to say.  The question was already answered.  Second, the host looks like a know-it-all.  Finally, what’s the point of having the guest on the show if you already have all of the answers?

Let your guest shine.  Lob them softballs that they can hit out of the park.  You will look brilliant for asking such fantastic questions.  Your guest will love being part of your show, because you make them look so good.

You and your show become great when you make your guests and listeners the star.

Delightful Details Dazzle

Delightful details dazzle.

Great storytellers use delightful details.

Great stories reveal things about the person telling the story. It allows the listener the opportunity to discover new things about the storyteller. Stories are how strong relationships are built.

When you’ve used an intriguing introduction in your podcast, your listener can now enjoy the details of your story. The more vivid the details, the more your listener will enjoy the story. Make them see the story in their mind. Draw the mental picture for them.

“We were walking through the woods when I lost my footing, rolled down a hill and into some mud.” Generic stories like this do very little to spark the imagination.

Use delightful details. “It was a muggy, hot lunchtime. We had ducked into the cool, dark shade of the thick woods where the sun was barely visible through the thick leaves. My eyes hadn’t yet adjusted to the leave-covered path when I lost my footing near the edge of an embankment. I ended up landing on my hip and rolling head-over-feet down the fairly steep, 10-foot drop where I promptly landed on my butt in the muddy mess below. My legs were completely covered in mud as if I had been rolling in it for hours.”

With the delightful details of that story, you can almost feel yourself in the woods. You can see the muddy mess in your mind. You can smell the thick, wooded area. Details help your listener experience the story rather than just hearing it.

Put your listener in the moment. Always include delightful details in your story.

Lead With An Intriguing Introduction

Lead with an intriguing introduction.

This is true for your podcast in general as well as each individual topic. Your intriguing introduction should hook your audience, let them know exactly what to expect, and allow them to enjoy the story.

What do you hope your audience will take away from this particular discussion? Your introduction should spell it out. It should set up what is to come.

If your goal is to make your listener laugh at your misfortune over the weekend, lead with it. “This weekend was so disastrous, I wouldn’t have had time for anything else to go wrong even if I tried.” The audience will now have time to enjoy the vivid details of your horrible weekend rather than trying to figure out what point you are trying to make.

When you begin your story with the details, your listener spends energy trying to determine the point you are trying to make. They are trying to figure out what the story is about.

Have you ever been stuck listening to someone tell a story while you’re thinking, “Will he ever get to the point?” That is what we are trying to avoid.

Here is an example of a story you might hear. “This weekend we went to the mall. It was just the two of us. We were looking for a gift for my dad.” Are we telling a story about finding gifts? Is this story just recapping the weekend? Maybe it is about my dad. You don’t know. I haven’t told you. There is no lead to this story.

To hook your audience and allow them to truly enjoy the story, lead with an intriguing introduction.

PODCAST ABOUT YOUR PASSION

Podcast about your passion.

I know that sounds like logical, common sense.  I know you probably think only a crazy person would ever put the time and effort into a podcast on a topic about which they do not care.  It’s not as crazy as it sounds.

Podcasters and broadcasters alike will often discuss topics they think interests their audience.  These may be topics in which the podcaster may have a slight interest, but not a passion.  They tell themselves, “I must discuss this.  It is what the audience expects.”

It creates a problem when you are only generally interested in a topic and  you’re only discussing it because you think the audience will be interested.  As you discuss, you will sound generally interested.  It is tough to fake interest for any length of time.  Your listeners will notice.  When you aren’t interested, they aren’t interested.

Find that topic that stirs your passion.  When you are passionate, your audience will hear your enthusiasm come through the speakers.  Your enthusiasm will be contagious.  Your passion will stir their interest.

I’m sure you’ve seen a professor who had the ability to make a dry subject interesting.  Maybe it was your trigonometry teacher.  They were passionate about the subject and created an interest with you.  There may not have been a passion in  you for trig.  But, there was some interest.

Interest works from speaker to audience.  It won’t work from audience to speaker.  For true audience engagement, podcast about your passion.

Audience Of One

As you are creating your podcast, treat your audience like you are talking to each person individually.  This is critical when creating a trusting relationship with your audience.

I hear many shows address their audience as a group with comments like “hello everyone” or “hey guys”.  Each person in your audience is listening to you as an individual.  Audio is a very personal medium.  Many times, they are listening with headphones.  It is just you and her.  Talk to her just like that.

Addressing a crowd on the radio began when radio began.  As radio was just being created, station owners needed content to broadcast.  Radio programming began with rebroadcasting live, theater events.  The person on the stage would address the crowd as “ladies and gentleman”.

As radio progressed, live audiences were eliminated.  However, people on the radio continued to address the audience as a group.  It was fitting.  The family still gathered around the radio before television was introduced to the family room.  An on-air personality could address the audience as a group and be justified in doing so.

Radio then became a personal medium.  The television replaced the radio as family entertainment.  In-car and headphones became the preferred method of radio listening.  Each listener was now creating images and visions in his or her own head that were unique to their imagination.  Their thoughts were different from those of any other listener.  The conversation was now between the person on the air and the individual listening.

Unfortunately, radio personalities continued to address the listener as a group.  “It has always been done this way.”  The disconnect began.

Podcasts are even more individualistic than radio.  Most people select a podcast because of their own tastes.  Groupthink does not play a factor as it would to select a movie or television show for the family.  It is one person listening on their own to a show that interests them.

If you are talking to your listener as if they are in a group, using plural terms like everyone and you guys and you all, your listener will wonder who you are addressing.  They will think, “You guys?  I’m listening by myself.  Who are you talking to?”  In the end, they will not follow your call-to-action, because they will think someone else in your “group” will handle it.  Talk to an audience of one and build that relationship with each listener individually.

Make Them Care

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “what’s in it for me?”

Your audience will be asking this very question every time they tune into your podcast.  Your introduction better tell your listener exactly how your topic will affect them.  You need to hook them right at the beginning with an intriguing introduction.  If you don’t hook them early, they will be gone in search of something more captivating.

When your audience knows what is in it for them, they begin to care.  Making your listener care is the only way to get them to listen and more importantly come back again.

Narrow Your Target and Focus

I was listening to The Podcast Answer Man (PodcastAnswerMan.com) the other day. He made a great point. He described his audience as podcasters who are serious about the quality of their show and serious about turning their podcast into a business.

He admits that even though he has many hobbyists listening to the show on a regular basis, his show isn’t necessarily targeted toward them. His show is for the serious podcaster.

Your target audience for your show should be just as clearly defined.

Don’t Waste My Time

Make the introduction of your show compelling. It should make your audience want to stick around for the payoff. I hear so many shows begin with their standard show open immediately followed by a bunch of housekeeping. Don’t waste the time of your audience. Your introduction should make a promise (tell the audience what to expect). You should then follow through on that promise (give them the content they expect).

When a show begins with, “I’ll show you how to make a million dollars in 4 easy-to-understand steps”, followed by, “But first, I want to let you know that my increase in speaking engagements has slowed my ability to respond to e-mail, blah, blah, blah”, you are losing your audience. Your fan tuned in to hear your secrets, not your problems.

If you have housekeeping notes to pass along, sprinkle them within the show among the content. Lead with your strongest material. Housekeeping is not it.

Your introduction should set up your podcast. It should be an intriguing introduction that tells the listener exactly what the podcast is all about. What will I get when I listen? It doesn’t matter whether your podcast is 10 minutes or 60 minutes long. You need to tell the listener what is to come.

“Welcome to Podcast Talent Coach Podcast. My name is Erik K. Johnson. Over the next 30 minutes, we will answer your questions about transforming your podcast from information into engaging entertainment and from a relationship into cash.”

With that quick introduction, I told you exactly what to expect. You know the name of my podcast. You know the name of the host. You know exactly how long my podcast will run. You know the goal we are setting out to accomplish. I’ve also put you in the mix by referencing your dreams and how my podcast will help you. In those brief seconds, I’ve given you who, what, when and why.

That content should be followed immediately by a creative tease of this particular show. It might be something like, “We will help Steve figure out how to gently end a bad interview. Shelly asks about incorporating a call-to-action without making the show sound like an infomercial. And finally, we will hear a clip for the ‘The Golden Garden’ podcast and help Chris increase the energy and forward momentum in the show. Let’s get to it. First up …” This goes right into the show content. We start delivering on the promise made in the introducion. The show is moving forward.

If I said, “Before we get to it, let me explain the new look of my website”, I would only be relevant to a small portion of my audience. Who cares about my new layout? That would assume first that most of my audience has visited my website prior to this show, and second that they can’t find their own way around the new layout. That’s a pretty big assumption. If is important enough to include, put it at the end, or somehow incorporate the information into an answer.

Don’t waste the time of your audience. Make your introduction intriguing and get to the content immediately.