“I am constantly stumbling across podcasts produced by organizations, companies, and brands that I love, and I get so excited… and then I listen to it…. Boring.”
~Andrea Klunder, Your Podcast Boss
We need to have a little heart-to-heart conversation. Now, this may be difficult to hear, so sit down and take a deep breath…
Your podcast might be a little boring.
What? Gasp. “There’s no way,” you say defensively. “My podcast can’t be boring. I plan out important topics to talk about in advance. We have the most amazing guests on the show. We have an awesome editor and we have listeners. I see the numbers in the podcast stats from my podcast host. How dare you call my podcast boring?!”
It’s nothing personal, but just because you see some numbers on the screen in your podcasting host stats doesn’t mean that your audience is really listening to each episode all the way through and engaging in a way that moves them to take the desired action. And it certainly doesn’t mean that they love your show so much that they’re telling other people in their circle about it in conversation.
I’m not saying that you’re doing a bad job at podcasting. Not at all. I simply want you to consider a few ways that you could make your show more effective.
Continued below…
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Article Continued
Let’s start by forgetting about being a podcaster, a show host, a thought leader, or even an expert in your field. For a moment, I want you to imagine yourself as your listener. When you have some free time in your day to consume content, what do you choose and why? Do you take out your phone, open your podcast app, and look for a show to listen to? Or do you scroll TikTok? Do you turn on Netflix on your TV or YouTube on your computer? Or do you read something? Maybe you’re over content for the moment and you really just wanna listen to some music.
Now, generally speaking, regardless of which answer you gave, you are probably looking to consume content to either:
A: Learn something new, or
B: Be entertained.
And the data backs this up in recent studies from Edison Research and The Infinite Dial. The other reasons could even fall under those top 2 like: to stay up to date with the latest topics, to relax, to feel inspired, to escape, or for companionship.
It also showed that podcast fans listened to an average of eight podcast episodes throughout the week, and more than 10 different shows per month. And while Netflix or YouTube may be more entertaining for some folks than listening to podcasts, the research also shows that podcasts have a few advantages over something like Netflix or YouTube.
The survey prompt was “You enjoy listening to podcasts because…”
The responses:
- 87% you can do other things while listening;
- 80% they’re portable;
- 78% you can listen wherever you are.
Remember, we’ve got our podcast fan hat on. I want you to consider: What are you doing while you’re listening to your favorite podcasts?
I can speak from personal experience. I might be…
- driving
- somewhere in public waiting
- doing household chores like cleaning or putting away laundry or doing the dishes or cooking.
- eating
- doing admin work or emailing.
- in bed falling asleep.
- taking a shower or getting ready for the day.
There are any number of activities that I might be doing while I am listening to podcasts, but most of them are pretty mundane and boring… so if I’m turning on a podcast, it’s because I don’t want to feel bored.
Equally important to understand why people don’t listen to podcasts, to understand why someone might not choose that. Almost 50% of non podcast listeners say that they don’t know where to find them. But others reported being overwhelmed by the number and choice of shows out there.
So if you ever have gone to your podcast app to look for a new podcast to listen to about a certain topic, you will know that it’s sometimes a little bit like shopping through the Bargain Basement sale to find the hidden gem. And chances are, if you are actively looking for a new podcast to listen to on a particular topic, it is because you want to learn something new about that topic or to be entertained.
So how do we make sure that YOUR show is the one that they are choosing? The one that they listen to first when there are 10 new episodes popping up in their feed on Wednesdays?
The key: You’re gonna combine both of the top reasons that somebody listens to a podcast. You are going to teach them something. And you are going to entertain them.
We have all heard podcasts that are jam-packed, full of great information that you could learn a ton from, but you don’t look forward to listening to it. You don’t see it in your app and say, “Ooh, I can’t wait to listen!” And you click play immediately before you’ve even gotten out of bed because it’s too boring.
You should listen to it. You could learn a lot from it, but you’re not gonna choose it because it’s not also entertaining.
I am always looking for and listening to shows for my own personal use and also professionally. I am constantly stumbling across podcasts produced by organizations, companies, and brands that I love, and I get so excited when I see a podcast on behalf of an organization I love, and then I listen to it… Boring!
It’s not as good as it could be. And there is a key in the research as to WHY…
Three quarters of podcast listeners enjoy a particular podcast “for particular hosts.”
The host is the reason they enjoy the podcast! Not the content, not the guests, not the information… the host.
Now you may say, whoa, whoa, whoa. I’m not a celebrity. Fear not. You don’t need to be a celebrity in order to be an engaging podcast host. We’re going to get into this more in a future episode but here are 4 of the qualities that I find in my favorite podcast hosts: relatability, voice, storytelling, humor.
If you want to make sure that your podcast is not boring, you need it to be both
educational and entertaining. You can no longer afford to make it an either or proposition. If you do, you’re missing out on engagement, growth, and impact opportunities with your audience. Now you know the problem and you know the formula:
education + entertainment = engagement
Or put another way, people will choose to listen to your podcast when they can both learn something new and be entertained.
On part two of this Podcast Envy series, we are going to explore 1,001 ways to make your podcast more entertaining and make sure it is not boring. {Maybe not 1,001, cuz that would really take a long time…)
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