Prologue
Less is More
If you want more subscribers, try appealing to fewer people.
You've heard it before – "when you try to please everybody, you please nobody." And this is absolutely true when it comes to podcasting.
The most profitable podcast I've done per listener was a short "audio newsletter" for a neighborhood of around 1200 houses. I secured a $5000 ad deal before the first episode was even recorded.
Why? Because this podcast was very specific and the people in those 1200 houses were very important to the sponsor. By reaching them, he could have easily made 10x on that investment and he knew it.
If you can saw the same about your podcast audience, sponsors will come to you.
This issue of Big Podcast Insider is all about attracting the right audience. When you have that together, you can go anywhere you want with your podcast.
Podcast Marketing
How to Grow Your Email List with Twitter
When you think of social media, Twitter isn't usually the first thing that comes to mind. But the truth is, Twitter is still one of the best ways for guest outreach and it's definitely the best way to have one-on-one conversations with listeners of your podcast.
But it's also an excellent tool for building a mailing list.
Definitely jump back in, if you haven't been on Twitter for a while. And if you have any questions, reach out to me via Twitter.
Instagram Enables Businesses in the US to Designate Themselves as Black-Owned
Forget Instagram for a second... What they are doing here will work for any type of business and on any platform because demographics, whether they have to do with race, gender, age, or anything else are a quick way for people to feel a sense of camaraderie and being understood.
Will doing this piss somebody off? Yes. Some people are mad I'm even mentioning this here.
"BY GOD!!! I DON'T SEE COLOR!!! YOU NEED TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER INSTEAD OF TALKING ABOUT DIFFERENCES!!!"
Good. Put that up on your IG profile, right behind "40-something white Christian patriot."
I kid, I kid. #notkidding
Seriously. Consider this. It works for everybody.
Podcast Hosting Skills
Want to sound smarter? Avoid these 24 words and phrases that make you sound pretentious
This is a good list, but the concept is more important – especially for podcasters.
The words you use matter. Choose them carefully and never use two words when one will do.
Podcasting Deals
Holographic Stickers – 50 for Only $9
This is a cheap (and easy) way to reward listeners. It's also a great way to help them start a conversation about your podcast.
I've been using the same clipboard in the studio since 2005 (see a photo here) and it is full of stickers. When you get yours, make sure you send me one, so I can add it to the collection!
Podcast Monetization
What makes a good podcast subscriber?
This is from Convertkit, so it's focused on email subscribers, but the same rules apply to any subscribers, including your podcast subscribers.
The Main Takeaways:
For email subscribers:
[08:55] Disposable domains, role-based accounts, and spam traps are emails to weed from your list. These can often, if not always, be classified as “bad subscribers.”
[20:00] Clean your email list! The longer you go without cleaning out cold subscribers, the harder it will be to clean out your list down the line, and the longer your deliverability will suffer.
For podcast subscribers:
[29:30] Someone can subscribe to your podcast as a highly engaged, high-value subscriber, but they can quickly become a cold subscriber if you don’t deliver value. There are plenty of podcast "subscribers" who download every episode, but never listen to them.
[31:52] Rather than focusing on the number of subscribers you have, treat your subscribers like real people and focus on providing consistent value.
The Wrap Up
Like this newsletter? Tell a friend...
My goal is to better empower podcasters to be more successful spreading their messages and make more money with their podcasts.
I'd love it if you'll help me spread the word about this newsletter by sending your podcasting friends to bigpodcast.com/newsletter.