Being seen as a commodity is a bad place to be when you’re in business.
With nothing to differentiate you from your competitors, the only tools you’re left with to attract more customers are lowering your prices and desperate brand advertising campaigns.
As bad as it is for a business, being seen as a commodity when you’re a podcaster might be even worse.
In this case, you have no tools with which to bring in more listeners. Podcasts are already free so you can’t compete on price. And you likely have little to no advertising budget for your podcast, so the Super Bowl ads are off the table as well.
This leaves you with only one option:
Do everything in your power to assure that your podcast is not seen as a commodity.
Under no circumstances should anyone be able to label your show as “just another show on [insert your topic here].”
Your job is to make it absolutely, aboundingly clear to anyone who listens to your show for even ten minutes that you are offering something that isn’t available anywhere else.
Of course, this was probably your goal from the beginning, but how do you know where you stand?
Moving Away From Commoditization
First, get crystal clear on who you serve and how you serve them. Identify the small group of people for whom you can become the best in the world, and then do everything you can to become that for them.
Next, understand that it’s not information that will set you apart, but your insight, and your perspective.
Your ability to take widely available information and common knowledge and then connect the dots to create a novel and coherent narrative around it is your greatest asset, and one that you should spend significant time developing.
Lastly, inject more of your personality into your show than you think you should. People don’t come back to podcasts because of the guests. They come back for the host.
Share your worldview, beliefs, opinions, likes & dislikes beyond your topic, quirks, warts and all, and do it unabashedly.
Sure you’ll probably turn some people off, but you’ll also turn some people on.
Sharing yourself is necessary to establishing a shared identity with your listeners, and a shared identity is necessary for building advocates of your show and your brand.
One advocate, someone who will talk about your show with everyone they meet, is worth a hundred disengaged listeners who are turned off by your personality.
Building a commodity podcast is easy. All you have to do is regurgitate the same information everyone else is already sharing.
Building something truly unique, something that people truly can’t find anywhere else is hard. But it’s possible, and it’s the best chance you have to build up a loyal, engaged, raving fan base as a podcaster.
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
