No matter how robust your toolset, if you don’t use the right tool for the job, you’re not going to see the results you’re looking for.
Podcasting is an incredibly powerful tool and there are a ton of benefits to starting and sticking with one. But people often mistake its role in their toolset and as a result, struggle to get results, namely, growing an audience.
Podcasting Is Not a Growth Tool
So often, people start podcasts as a way to gain exposure to new people and grow an audience. But podcasts aren’t really great audience growth tools.
They’re not easily sharable, they’re not snackable, they’re impossible to skim, and they require a hefty time commitment that new audience members may be unwilling to grant us.
Sure, many podcasters do grow audiences around their shows, but I’d argue that simply producing the show is rarely the primary driver behind audience growth.
If I simply want to grow an audience, I’d focus all my energy on guesting on other podcasts and then following up with email marketing.
This would allow me to get in front of way more people way faster than starting my own show ever would, and if my interviews were good, a decent number of them would hopefully opt-in to my list where I could communicate with them further.
But this is where the real value of podcasting comes in. You probably aren’t simply looking to build an audience. You’re looking to build an audience and do something with it.
Podcasting Is a Trust Tool
There’s a next action you’re seeking from them, whether it’s for them to buy from you, work with you, or support you in some other way, and any of these next actions require trust.
And podcasting is the single best content platform for building trust.
What other content do we spend so much time so intimately with? The human voice carries nuance and emotion that allows us as listeners to really get to know the hosts of the shows we listen to.
When your listeners know you and align with you, trust is built. And the more they listen, the stronger that trust gets.
If you understand that podcasting’s value is as a trust-building tool, rather than a pure audience-growth tool, you can develop a strategy to get exposure using the best tool for that job (podcast guesting in my opinion), and then funnel that attention toward your podcast where trust and connection are built.
Use the right tool for the job, and watch your audience grow.
Every Sunday I send out an exclusive article on how to use podcasting to build an audience and grow your business.
No opt-in, no freebie no bribe. But hopefully a new perspective, encouragement, and maybe even some occasional wisdom. It’s something I’m proud to create and I’d be honoured to share it with you.
Jeremy travels full-time, loves long-distance cycle touring, and will always look back on the day he finally saved up enough money to buy the Millennium Falcon Lego set as one of his proudest achievements. He believes that the way to grow sustainable businesses is by leading with heart, vulnerability, and helping your people be and become their best selves.
- Why Wouldn’t They Just Google It? - March 14, 2021
- Before You Can Market Your Podcast, You Need To Create A Marketable Podcast - March 11, 2021
- Podcast Promotion & Marketing Are Different (Here’s How to Use Each Effectively) - March 10, 2021
