What is your podcast audience? What would his “normal audience” be? How to make her grow?
These questions are often very common among brands that advertise on podcasts or have their show. Of course, the more people who listen to a podcast, the better it will be to get results. But what is a good result?
The first factor that must be analyzed is the time of existence of the podcast: the older it is, the greater the chances of being known by people. Then, it is necessary to analyze the niche: topics related to entertainment or broader subjects, such as news and current affairs, will certainly have more audiences than podcasts about investing in the stock market or craft beer production.
Another important factor to think about the “normal audience” is the structure in which the podcast is located: if it is part of a news portal, a group of existing podcasts, or is presented by someone already known, it tends to reach more people than in the case of a project started “from scratch.”
Therefore, we can say that a specific podcast with a few hundred listens is more successful than a news podcast with only a few thousand plays.
STILL, IT’S IMPORTANT TO HAVE SOME IDEA ABOUT THE AUDIENCE OF SOME PODCAST, RIGHT?
According to the Bicho de Goiaba studio website, half of the podcasts have less than 125 downloads after listening to a podcast 30 days after their release.
The site indicates that podcasts with more than 1,000 downloads after 30 days are among the 20% most listened to, while more than 3,000 downloads place it among the 10% most listened to. Only 1% of podcasts get more than 32,000 downloads after a month of launch.
This data probably does not consider the so-called video interview “podcasts” that have become famous in recent years on YouTube.
HOW TO INCREASE THE “NORMAL AUDIENCE” OF THE PODCAST?
It doesn’t matter your podcast’s niche or specifics: the bigger the audience, the better. Therefore, it is important to understand some ways to increase a podcast’s audience.
1- Always disclose with link or player
Many podcasts advertise their new episodes by announcing that they are on the air. This requires the listener to use their apps to find the new episodes. That’s why it’s important to add the direct link to the podcast page in the post on the social network or when sending a newsletter, for example.
2- Make publicity where possible
Many podcasts are content to share their new episodes on social media. And nothing else. However, you may have an email list, groups on Telegram or Whatsapp, and even a website as support. Publish where possible and make sure as many people know about the new episodes.
3- Write texts to accompany the episode
Many podcasts are released in the feed and publicized. But how will Google’s search engine find it? The best way for this is to have a text supporting the podcast on its page (which can be a simple blog, depending on the project in which it is inserted).
The more search terms, details, and links the text has, the easier it will be found by those searching for the topic.
In addition, the best way to have new listeners is to bring quality information (or entertainment) to listeners, always bearing in mind the importance of the podcast as a means of building audience loyalty.