Have you ever wondered how great podcasts are built and grown from scratch? If the podcasting business intrigues you, but you have some questions, settle in for some top podcasting tips from Jeremy Slate.
A Top 100 Podcast Host and co-founder of Command Your Brand, Slate demystifies the process of getting your podcast off the ground with three straight-forward tips.
1. Differentiate and be ‘you’
One of a podcast’s main features is the host’s tone and delivery as it connects with the audience. As a podcaster, you must develop this ‘voice’ as your own. Slate warns that you can use others as inspiration; however, to be authentic, you must make every aspect of the project exude ‘you.’
Therefore, the first step in this process is to identify your purpose. From your purpose, you can develop your authentic tone and content. Slate says that having something different than everyone else automatically makes you interesting. Creating something special into a full-blown podcast show with your essence is critical to being found and loved by the masses.
2. Subscribers are the key
Podcasters’ popularity and success hinges on the number of subscribers they acquire. Subscribers are people who commit to having your podcast show up on their feed regularly. Getting such direct access increases the chances that these subscribers will listen. Slate says many times podcasters mistakenly think getting reviews is the holy grail of popularity when this is not the case. “Reviews are great, but they really don’t do much. They actually do very little to move your needle.”
Slate explains that the hierarchy of statistics begins with reeling in subscribers, then jumps to having actual listeners, and getting reviews is a distant third. Just starting, Slate says to focus on getting people to subscribe, and you’ll see a much more significant jump in rankings. He says confirming ten subscribers can sometimes mean a leap to the top 200 on the charts.
3. Be patient and go the distance
You know the saying ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day.’ Its message of patience and persistence rings true with just about anything you start from the ground up—including a podcast. It takes time to build a voice and an audience. It takes persistence to keep going when you don’t see the gains you wanted or expected.
Slate recommends newbie podcasters be prepared to go the distance and give the venture a whole year to see some measurable growth. This news might take the wind out of your sails, but just remember, you have to have some experience and some failures along the way to push you in the right direction. Staying the course and being malleable along the way to adjust to your audience will pay off in the end.
Slate also offers that people, as a whole, are just not as likely to ‘share’ anymore. For whatever reason, podcasters must offer some great content from stellar guests who want to go the extra mile to ‘wow’ the listeners. Slate says when you achieve this ‘wow factor,’ your audience is more likely to share.
That’s a wrap!
Like everything else in business, there is no ‘get rich quick’ plan in podcasting. It takes hard work, patience, and persistence.
Top 100 Podcast Host JeremySlate has been down that road and knows how it winds. By developing your authentic style and voice, you have something to offer no one else has. And by concentrating on gathering subscribers as your key statistic, you’ll get the boost on the charts that reviews just can‘t supply. Finally, patience must be your best friend because it’s not unusual for it to take a year to start getting the audience you want.
Being a podcaster is a somewhat glamorous job that can bring superstar popularity. Getting to this point will be much smoother by following the expert advice above offered by one of the best in the biz.