How to Get More People Listening to Your Podcast
Published on Wednesday 2 October 2024
In his previous guest-blog, radio DJ Sander de Heer explained how you can get into podcasting. If you’ve come up with a plan in the meantime, then you’re ready for the next step: getting more people to listen to your podcast. Sander points out a number of important things you need to pay attention to.
The Format
First of all, you need to give your podcast episodes the same clear-and-recognisable structure. There are still people who are only getting into The Magnus Archives now, years after the first episode was released, and the format of every episode has remained the same since the show first started. Not every format is equally timeless of course, but with storytelling podcasts, listeners naturally like to start out with episode one. Give your listeners a menu, roadmap or table of contents up front so you can take them on a journey.
The Trailer
Don’t forget to put out a good trailer so that potential listeners can get the gist of your podcast in a minute or so. Include interesting snippets of things that guests on your podcast have already said, and some tantalising questions without including the answer. Since there’s so much on offer when it comes to podcasts, interest-piquing trailers are getting more and more important.
Tension and Sensation
You’re also going to want to hold your listeners’ attention during the actual episodes. TV series and films use tactics like time jumps, where you get to see certain events in advance or discover something you didn’t know yet. Jumping between moments, timelines and places is an age-old technique that dates back to the stories written centuries ago, but this can also be applied to podcasts, where you get to play with the point of view, the timeline and information omissions. Not spoiling certain things just yet, adding timeline jumps and harking back to earlier moments, as well as ending episodes with a good-old cliffhanger can go a long way towards keeping your listeners locked in.
Discoverability
Turning a podcast into a household name is no easy feat. If the name of your podcast is too generic, no one’s going to remember it, which makes it harder to create buzz. As such, you want to come up with a short, clear and intriguing title that more or less covers the content. The Magnus Archives is a great example.
Which podcast series did you finish in one sitting and would you recommend when it comes to learning how to build up tension? Leave a comment below!
See also
» Audio Interfaces
» Mixers
» USB Microphones
» Condenser Vocal Microphones
» Dynamic Vocal Microphones
» Portable Recorders
» Pop Filters
» Reflection Filters
» Studio Headphones
» Absorbers
» Broadcast Microphone Stands
» Microphone Floor Stands
» Microphone Desktop Stands
» XLR Cables
» What’s the Best Audio Recorder for Me?
» What’s the Best Audio Interface for Me?
» What’s the Best PA Mixer for Me?
» What is the best USB microphone for me?
» What is the best studio microphone for me?
» What’s the Best Speech or Vocal Microphone for Me?
» Podcasting Tips and the Gear You Need to Make it Happen
» Podcasting Tips and the Gear You Need to Make it Happen
» Teaching Online – How to Improve Live-Stream Audio Quality
» Live-Stream Your Gig with Great Sound!
» Recording and amplifying vocals for beginners
» How to record a great-sounding demo
» What Does a Producer Do?
» What do you need to produce music?
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