What Makes a Podcast Successful?
From search engine optimization to collaboration, here are 12 answers to the question, “What is one thing that makes a podcast successful?”
- Make the Name Epic
- Invite Engaging Guests
- Shape Your Schedule on Your Audience
- Invest in Quality Podcast Equipment
- Remember, Marketing Can Make or Break Your Podcast
- Avoid Being Too Scripted and Encourage Fellow Producers
- Provide Valuable Content to Listeners
- Center the Theme on a Unique Niche
- Increase Brand Awareness With Word-of-Mouth Marketing
- Improve Accessibility With Search Engine Optimization
- Connect With Your Audience
- Have an Interesting Host
Make the Name Epic
There are no visual effects in podcasts. Everything relies on the words, and to increase the chances of success of your podcast, you need to make it sound epic so people will remember its name. It should express what the program is about and be visually pleasing and easy to write.
Bartek Boniecki
Head of People, US Passport Photo
Invite Engaging Guests
A podcast that consistently features guests with unique perspectives, experiences, and expertise can attract a wider audience and keep listeners engaged. For example, the popular podcast “Armchair Expert” with Dax Shepard features in-depth interviews with celebrities, experts, and everyday people, discussing a wide range of topics, from mental health to social justice.
The fascinating guests drew in listeners by sharing their insights and stories, which partly attributed to the show’s success. With each new guest, the opportunity to learn something new and gain a fresh perspective on the world draws listeners in.
Adrian Pereira
Co-Founder, Eco Pea Co.
Shape Your Schedule on Your Audience
This will help you maximize the number of listeners you have during any episode. If you have the ability, consider reaching out to your audience for feedback so that you can understand when your peak listening times during the day will be.
You can adjust your podcast schedule to best match your audience and ensure that most of those who want to catch your podcast in real time won’t struggle to do so. Sometimes, creating a backlog of podcasts can be the best way to ensure that you can meet your scheduling demands.
Try to get yourself a few weeks ahead by ensuring the content is ready for broadcast. This will save you both time and effort and help maintain a consistency that your listeners can trust.
Max Schwartzapfel
CMO, Schwartzapfel Lawyers
Invest in Quality Podcast Equipment
Quality equipment is essential for any successful podcast. Investing in high-end microphones, audio interfaces, and recording software allows you to produce an audio product that stands out amongst other podcasts.
With this, you can set your podcast apart and encourage people to tune in because they know they will hear the best sound quality available. Investing in high-end recording gear also gives your listeners an added level of professionalism, which is essential to any successful podcast.
Jim Campbell
Owner, Camp Media
Remember, Marketing Can Make or Break Your Podcast
Podcasts are one of the fastest-growing and most popular mediums in the world today. With so many podcasts available, it’s challenging to stand out from the crowd and create a successful one. However, there is one thing that makes a podcast successful—marketing.
Marketing is a critical factor in creating a successful podcast. You should promote your podcast on social media, email, and other channels. You should also reach out to other podcasters and bloggers in your niche to promote your podcast to their audiences.
One way to market your podcast is to create a trailer or teaser for each new episode. This can generate excitement and anticipation for your podcast, increasing the number of views.
Madhurima Halder
Content Manager, Recruit CRM
Avoid Being Too Scripted and Encourage Fellow Producers
It’s crucial for interview shows to not just have pre-written questions, but also to let guests tell the tales they’re passionate about. We’ve discovered that this increases listener engagement with our shows. You must cultivate your relationship with your audience and reassure them they can count on you to release new episodes at all times.
With building a dedicated audience, nothing beats trust. Promote your show when you appear on other podcasts. In order to assist our audience and choose shows they would love, we producers need to encourage one another.
Samantha Odo
Real Estate Expert and Chief Operating Officer, Precondo
Provide Valuable Content to Listeners
One of the most critical factors for a successful podcast is providing value to listeners. This means understanding the target audience and crafting content that speaks to their needs and interests.
It is important to learn about the people you are trying to reach, pay attention to what they have to say, recognize the challenges they are facing and their goals, and provide content that is meaningful and applicable to their lives.
Whether through entertaining stories, educational insights, or thought-provoking discussions, a successful podcast resonates with its audience and provides them with value in every episode. It’s about the listeners, not the host, even if you do it for content marketing.
Matt Artz
Business Anthropologist, Matt Artz (Consultant)
Center the Theme on a Unique Niche
A niche topic can make a podcast successful. Podcasts that differentiate themselves perform well. The best way to do this is to listen to other podcasts related to your industry or expertise. What aren’t you hearing about? Once you figure that out, you’ve found your niche and can market to the right target audience.
Kim Walls
CEO and Co-Founder, Furtuna Skin
Increase Brand Awareness With Word-of-Mouth Marketing
This is a brilliant strategy to increase brand awareness and connect with your target audience through existing listeners.
Consumers trust the opinions of their friends and family more than anyone, so if a friend recommends a podcast, they will be more likely to try it on their own. It creates loyal listeners and builds a community.
Lindsay Malu Kido
CEO, Empower Pleasure
Improve Accessibility With Search Engine Optimization
One of the key things that makes a podcast successful is SEO (Search Engine Optimization). SEO is a set of strategies that help to ensure that a podcast is visible in search engine results and accessible to potential listeners.
SEO involves optimizing the podcast’s content, titles, and tags to ensure that the podcast appears in search results and is easily accessible. Having a strong social media presence and engaging with listeners can also help to make a podcast successful.
Jaya Iyer
Marketing Assistant, Teranga Digital Marketing
Connect With Your Audience
One thing that makes a podcast successful is connecting with your audience. I know from experience when I started out creating my podcast about entrepreneurship; it was important to connect with the people who were listening.
Before putting out content to the world, I got to know my core demographic and understand what topics they wanted to hear about. I also included personal stories in order for listeners to relate.
For example, one of my first podcasts focused on how I overcame challenges in starting up a business and how it could help other entrepreneurs going through similar experiences. I believe this connection allowed me to build trust with listeners and strengthened the loyalty of my fanbase, which will eventually lead to success.
Stephanie Jenkins
Founder, Stephanie Jenkins Photo
Have an Interesting Host
Many elements come together to create a successful podcast, but there is one common factor: interesting hosts. When podcast hosts speak with expertise, knowledge, enthusiasm, and an interesting twist, they can bring the topics being discussed to life and make them easier to understand. A good podcast host can capture their audience’s attention, build rapport with their listeners, offer thoughtful insights, and facilitate conversations on the topics at hand.
Not only do interesting hosts keep the listener engaged in the content they are discussing, they often give valuable insight into the topics being discussed and offer new perspectives. Having an interesting host can increase the chances of creating a successful podcast and take it above the rest. Even for podcasts with great content, it’s always important to have a presenter that piques the audience’s interest, as that makes it easier to keep them coming back.
Jamie Irwin
Head of Marketing, Privasee
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