Top Ways to Make Your Podcast Unique and Successful

The age of podcasting is fully-fledged, and it looks like it is here to stay! The number of individuals who regularly enjoy podcasts has skyrocketed in the last few years, with the latest podcast research trends that new audience members are actually coming over from the radio audience, not from music listenership.

Starting a podcast is easy. But, with more than 850 000 active podcasts currently available, the difficulty comes in when you want to gain more traction and grow your following. We’ve put together some top tips to help you grow your podcast audience, so let’s take a look!

Get Unique Experts to Chat

This may sound obvious, but it is a true challenge to get experts or guests on your show who can offer a unique perspective. Though most people would think they are interesting, you would need to ask yourself a few questions. Is the guest you want to bring on the show going to offer your listeners a perspective they cannot attain in their daily life? Does your guest have a unique story or insight into the topic your podcast focuses on? Ask critically and consult some friends if you’re uncertain. 

Select Music Carefully

Most people underestimate the impact that musical sounds have in their experience of a podcast. Whether it comes to the introduction theme of your show, music interludes or segment changes, or how to exit the episode, selecting podcast music is essential to the feel of your show. Find music from your show’s launch that complements the mood of your podcast, this will enhance the atmosphere you’re creating for your listeners. 

Engage Personally With Your Audience

A challenge with podcasts is creating content that allows your listeners to relate to you authentically. You want your audience to feel like they are part of the conversation, and one way of doing this is to actually make them so. You can ask your listeners questions and find interesting ways of reporting their responses, whether this is through comments, emails, or even via social media. Use direct access to your audience members wisely! 

Be Yourself

There is nothing worse than feeling like presenters, hosts, and guests are uncomfortable. And though this can happen for various reasons, inauthentic relating is common when hosting a show in which you are not fully yourself. Relax into your role as host and allow the natural rapport you build with your guests to translate into comfortable, interesting, and real conversation. If you want your listeners to honestly connect with you, make your guests feel like they are listening in person by finding ways to let your personality shine through the microphone. 

Consider the Episode Length

Another top tip is to carefully decide how long is appropriate for the episodes to run for. If your episode is too short, such as a 10-minute show, listeners may not feel that they will leave with enough value.

The average time of podcast episodes is just under 40 minutes. Your show should not be too long, and it is a great idea to give the audience the ability to listen to an entire episode during their lunch break. If the episode recording runs too long, remember, you can always delete unwanted material and edit down the content until the length is more suitable for your show.

Always Leave With Value

One is never certain how long your audience is going to continue listening. But, even if listeners do not stay for the entire episode and have to switch off the episode prematurely for some reason, it is worth creating content in which the audience will learn something from each segment. Try to always offer listeners valuable insights or conversation. 

Find Your Content Niche

With so many excellent podcasts already out there, a challenge to create a successful show is to produce content that is not already available (at least in the way you plan to present it). You want to offer your audience dialogue that they can’t get elsewhere! 

Stay Passionate About the Content

If you are passionate about the content, your enthusiasm will translate well into a host that enjoys the show! People want to spend their time listening to great dialogue and information, and if you are driven to deliver this, your audience will stay. Plus, if you talk about things that really interest you, you’ll never run out of things to discuss.

It can be very awkward when people on a podcast are talking about things that aren’t natural or enjoyable for them, and with little other to focus on than content and intonation, listeners will pick up when guests or the host are not comfortable. Enjoy creating the show and as much as possible, have public conversations that you would likely be enjoying in your personal time. This is the best way to naturally and honestly enjoy your time and your show!

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