1 00:00:00,900 --> 00:00:02,640 Morgan Franklin: When you sit down to record a podcast 2 00:00:02,640 --> 00:00:06,300 episode, who are you thinking about? Are you thinking about 3 00:00:06,300 --> 00:00:08,880 the listener that's casually listening to an episode on the 4 00:00:08,880 --> 00:00:11,280 way to work while they're thinking about 30 other things 5 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:14,580 that they need to get done? Or what about the listener who just 6 00:00:14,580 --> 00:00:17,430 came across your podcast on LinkedIn and thinks that you'd 7 00:00:17,430 --> 00:00:20,100 be a great consultant to work with, but they figured that they 8 00:00:20,100 --> 00:00:22,080 should listen to a few of your episodes before they send you a 9 00:00:22,080 --> 00:00:25,440 message. Or what about the listener that is patiently 10 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:27,870 waiting for your new episodes every single time they drop? 11 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:32,910 These are three very different listeners, and if you want to 12 00:00:32,910 --> 00:00:36,120 get the most out of your podcast, you'll need to 13 00:00:36,120 --> 00:00:42,570 understand all three. Hello and welcome to podcast for profit. 14 00:00:42,570 --> 00:00:46,440 My name is Morgan Franklin. I'm a Podcast Producer, strategist 15 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:50,490 and educator. This podcast will help you create and grow a 16 00:00:50,490 --> 00:00:54,720 podcast that cuts through the noise of social media and speaks 17 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:58,080 directly to your target audience. If you're ready to 18 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:01,470 create a podcast that will align you with the experts in your 19 00:01:01,470 --> 00:01:05,190 industry, position yourself as a trusted leader and create 20 00:01:05,190 --> 00:01:08,520 another source of revenue for your business. You're in the 21 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:12,330 right place. So often we're creating our podcast without 22 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:15,960 really having an end goal in mind. Now why do we do that? Why 23 00:01:15,960 --> 00:01:20,010 would we do that? Why would we record a whole podcast episode 24 00:01:20,310 --> 00:01:24,330 without knowing what we want to come from it. Now there are a 25 00:01:24,330 --> 00:01:29,490 few different reasons. The first and most consistent I see is we 26 00:01:29,490 --> 00:01:34,050 like it. We're interested in this topic. We think it's funny 27 00:01:34,050 --> 00:01:37,230 or interesting or cool, and we want to share it with our 28 00:01:37,230 --> 00:01:40,410 audience. And you know what? That's okay. There are chart 29 00:01:40,410 --> 00:01:43,890 topping podcast made from the content of what the host thinks 30 00:01:43,950 --> 00:01:48,900 is cool, and everyone follows along. However, for most of us, 31 00:01:49,110 --> 00:01:54,510 we don't have the time and energy and money to make a 32 00:01:54,510 --> 00:01:59,340 podcast about things we just like or interested in, and hang 33 00:01:59,340 --> 00:02:02,430 around long enough to see if other people like it too. But 34 00:02:02,430 --> 00:02:05,430 it's funny, because so many people that I talk to think this 35 00:02:05,460 --> 00:02:09,990 is how podcasts are made. So if we're not creating a podcast 36 00:02:09,990 --> 00:02:13,380 from the things that we think are cool and that we like, what 37 00:02:13,380 --> 00:02:17,250 are other reasons that we might be making it? Usually it's to 38 00:02:17,250 --> 00:02:20,730 promote our brand, and whether that's a personal brand 39 00:02:20,730 --> 00:02:25,770 ourselves or a business or industry, it has something to do 40 00:02:25,770 --> 00:02:30,240 with promoting a larger vision of ourselves, and I think that 41 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:33,810 that's one of the best uses of a podcast. What better way to 42 00:02:33,810 --> 00:02:37,650 build a relationship with people and earn credibility in a field 43 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:41,850 or subject than talking about it every week, and sharing your 44 00:02:41,850 --> 00:02:45,750 thoughts and where this inevitably will go wrong is not 45 00:02:45,750 --> 00:02:49,650 understanding why the audience is listening. We talk about this 46 00:02:49,650 --> 00:02:53,130 all the time, but that's what we need to figure out. Are our 47 00:02:53,130 --> 00:02:57,330 audience members? Casual listeners? Are they die hard 48 00:02:57,330 --> 00:03:03,480 fans, or are they customers? Who are we serving and how are we 49 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:07,860 serving them? Let's talk about casual listeners. I think most 50 00:03:07,860 --> 00:03:11,010 of us underestimate the power of a casual listener, the person 51 00:03:11,010 --> 00:03:13,140 that just stumbled across our podcast from a friend 52 00:03:13,140 --> 00:03:16,560 recommendation, or another podcast that we guessed it on, 53 00:03:16,710 --> 00:03:20,460 or even just knowing the host outside of their podcast. Weak 54 00:03:20,460 --> 00:03:23,130 connections make the world go round, and I think that we all 55 00:03:23,130 --> 00:03:25,590 have to pay a little bit more attention to the person that 56 00:03:25,590 --> 00:03:28,530 randomly listened to one of our episodes from three months ago. 57 00:03:29,010 --> 00:03:32,670 You have to have casual listeners before you can have 58 00:03:32,700 --> 00:03:35,280 fans, and that's something that we tend to overlook as 59 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:39,210 podcasters. This is a relationship like any other, and 60 00:03:39,210 --> 00:03:43,710 listeners have to get to know you. They have to trust you, 61 00:03:44,190 --> 00:03:47,760 make sure that you're giving them that opportunity. A few 62 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:50,880 ways that you can speak more directly to casual listeners is 63 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:54,540 having episodes that aren't built on each other, and what do 64 00:03:54,540 --> 00:03:57,660 I mean by that? I mean when you're recording an episode, 65 00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:01,620 you're recording it as if this listener has never heard an 66 00:04:01,620 --> 00:04:05,640 episode before. This can be really easy. Things like, let's 67 00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:08,790 say that you bring up your wife Carla in every episode. So 68 00:04:08,790 --> 00:04:12,420 instead of saying something like, Carla loves baby carrots, 69 00:04:12,420 --> 00:04:16,590 you should see her scarf down a bag of baby carrots. Instead 70 00:04:17,010 --> 00:04:21,600 maybe say, my wife Carla loves baby carrots, you should see her 71 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:24,810 scarf down a bag of baby carrots. You don't have to go 72 00:04:24,810 --> 00:04:27,660 way out of your way to make small changes like that. They 73 00:04:27,660 --> 00:04:31,260 have a huge impact on someone that is listening to your 74 00:04:31,260 --> 00:04:35,130 podcast for the first time, they feel part of the conversation. 75 00:04:35,130 --> 00:04:38,280 Instead of wondering, who is Carla? Who is Carla eating these 76 00:04:38,280 --> 00:04:42,930 carrots? Another thing is having some kind of introduction for 77 00:04:42,930 --> 00:04:46,590 yourself and the host of this show. So I do this in a pre 78 00:04:46,590 --> 00:04:50,070 recorded bit in my intro. But you can also do this just at the 79 00:04:50,070 --> 00:04:53,490 beginning of your show, in the first three minutes. Listeners 80 00:04:53,490 --> 00:04:56,400 should have some idea of who you are and who is coming on this 81 00:04:56,400 --> 00:04:59,820 episode, and what is going on. And again, this doesn't have to 82 00:04:59,820 --> 00:05:03,510 be. Super formal, but have a moment to explain. Hey, I'm 83 00:05:03,510 --> 00:05:06,150 Morgan. I'm a Podcast Producer. I'm going to help you grow your 84 00:05:06,150 --> 00:05:10,020 podcast. Let's get into the episode of XYZ, just setting up 85 00:05:10,020 --> 00:05:13,380 so people know who you are and what this episode is going to be 86 00:05:13,380 --> 00:05:17,640 about. The last thing is to have everything listed in the episode 87 00:05:17,640 --> 00:05:21,090 description. Now, what do I mean by everything? I mean all the 88 00:05:21,090 --> 00:05:23,160 links that you talked about in the episode number one, 89 00:05:23,220 --> 00:05:25,680 obviously, that should be in your episode description, but 90 00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:30,300 all your social links, ways to get a hold of you, ways to find 91 00:05:30,300 --> 00:05:33,720 out more any relevant information for a first time 92 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:37,290 listener or a casual listener who might want to find out more 93 00:05:37,290 --> 00:05:40,500 about you in the show, I see some podcasters do something 94 00:05:40,500 --> 00:05:44,340 like they'll have a link that says, Did you like this episode? 95 00:05:44,340 --> 00:05:46,980 Here are two other episodes that you might like. And I think that 96 00:05:47,010 --> 00:05:52,680 is genius, and it keeps listeners listening at the 97 00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:56,280 least. Make sure people know how to learn more about you and how 98 00:05:56,280 --> 00:06:00,270 they can follow you on other platforms and ask them to 99 00:06:00,270 --> 00:06:03,480 subscribe to the podcast, and that sounds so Elementary, there 100 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:06,540 needs to be something in your sign off, or in your pre 101 00:06:06,540 --> 00:06:09,540 recorded sign off, that says, make sure you subscribe to the 102 00:06:09,540 --> 00:06:13,440 podcast. For more episodes like this, we need to remind our 103 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:18,120 audience what we want them to do, and think about how much 104 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:22,170 more likely you are to listen to a podcast that you subscribe to. 105 00:06:22,620 --> 00:06:25,320 So make sure that you're encouraging your audience to 106 00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:29,340 subscribe to your podcast. Being aware of new listeners and 107 00:06:29,340 --> 00:06:32,220 casual listeners is the best way to turn someone that would have 108 00:06:32,220 --> 00:06:35,040 just listened to one episode or a couple episodes of your show 109 00:06:35,340 --> 00:06:40,170 into a fan of your podcast. Speaking of fans, what about 110 00:06:40,170 --> 00:06:42,900 fans? I'm talking about the audience members that are 111 00:06:42,900 --> 00:06:46,200 listening to every single episode of your podcast the day 112 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:50,580 that it comes out. How are you making content with these 113 00:06:50,580 --> 00:06:54,930 listeners in mind? Because while we need casual listeners to turn 114 00:06:54,930 --> 00:07:00,660 into fans, 80% of your listens are normally coming from 20% of 115 00:07:00,660 --> 00:07:05,730 your listeners. So how do we cultivate that 20% the first 116 00:07:05,730 --> 00:07:09,300 thing is understanding why they're coming to your podcast. 117 00:07:09,300 --> 00:07:12,300 I feel like I say this on every episode, but you don't have to 118 00:07:12,300 --> 00:07:16,230 remake the wheel. Someone is normally a fan of something 119 00:07:16,440 --> 00:07:20,070 because they know what to expect. Think about your 120 00:07:20,070 --> 00:07:23,430 favorite restaurant, I bet it's your favorite, because you know 121 00:07:23,430 --> 00:07:26,130 what to expect, whether you're thinking about it or not. They 122 00:07:26,130 --> 00:07:30,630 do an amazing job. The food is consistently delicious. You love 123 00:07:30,630 --> 00:07:35,460 what they do, and they do it consistently. We have to be more 124 00:07:35,460 --> 00:07:38,250 like our listeners favorite restaurants, meaning we have to 125 00:07:38,250 --> 00:07:41,670 be consistent. If you are putting out a variety of the 126 00:07:41,670 --> 00:07:45,090 same content over and over and over and people are loving it, 127 00:07:45,420 --> 00:07:49,020 that is not a sign that they are bored or that you need to change 128 00:07:49,020 --> 00:07:52,680 something up. It is a sign that you are doing something right. 129 00:07:53,250 --> 00:07:56,640 And again, this is why it is so important to have your eyes on 130 00:07:56,640 --> 00:08:00,840 the analytics of your podcast. What are your download numbers? 131 00:08:01,470 --> 00:08:05,880 What is your episode retention rate? Are you consistently 132 00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:10,200 getting new followers on Spotify and Apple podcast and the other 133 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:14,910 platforms that you track? What do people like to hear from you 134 00:08:15,150 --> 00:08:17,910 don't be afraid of these numbers. I know so many 135 00:08:17,910 --> 00:08:21,600 podcasters that are terrified to look at their downloads. The 136 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:24,180 numbers are your friend. Because think about this. Let's say that 137 00:08:24,180 --> 00:08:28,020 you had an episode that only got 100 downloads when you normally 138 00:08:28,020 --> 00:08:31,920 get 1000 downloads on new episodes. Well, what was that 139 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:36,960 episode title? What did you talk about? What do those episodes 140 00:08:36,960 --> 00:08:41,460 that normally get 1000 downloads have in common? These are all 141 00:08:41,460 --> 00:08:44,760 things that we can find out from the analytics. And it is so 142 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:48,240 important for you to know this information when you are turning 143 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:53,880 a casual listener into a fan and keeping them a fan. If you need 144 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:57,600 help figuring this out, I have a one hour strategy call that is 145 00:08:57,720 --> 00:09:01,110 perfect for this. The information for booking will be 146 00:09:01,110 --> 00:09:04,680 in the episode description, and something else to consider is 147 00:09:04,680 --> 00:09:08,010 how you are cultivating your community outside of this 148 00:09:08,010 --> 00:09:12,270 podcast, I'm working on a full episode on building a community 149 00:09:12,300 --> 00:09:15,720 around your podcast so make sure that you're subscribed. But how 150 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:19,440 are you creating a place where people can talk about your 151 00:09:19,440 --> 00:09:23,580 podcast and get excited about your podcast. Are you connecting 152 00:09:23,580 --> 00:09:27,150 people with the podcast and with each other? Because that is 153 00:09:27,150 --> 00:09:31,770 where the real magic is. You can have fans, you can have people 154 00:09:31,770 --> 00:09:36,330 that love your podcast, but the true magic will come when the 155 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:41,880 people who love your podcast are able to find each other. Any 156 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:45,510 good brand strategist will tell you that the magic isn't in the 157 00:09:45,510 --> 00:09:49,470 brand or the company or the podcast. It's in how you create 158 00:09:49,470 --> 00:09:54,480 a community that identifies with your podcast. Listening to your 159 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:58,050 favorite podcast is a status symbol. It's something that we 160 00:09:58,050 --> 00:10:00,870 talk about with other people. It's a. Connection point, and 161 00:10:00,870 --> 00:10:04,110 that's why I say that is where the real magic happens. You need 162 00:10:04,110 --> 00:10:09,150 to know how you are creating a community around your podcast to 163 00:10:09,150 --> 00:10:13,980 have fans of your podcast. So we've talked about casual 164 00:10:13,980 --> 00:10:17,490 listeners and we talked about fans, and that leaves us with 165 00:10:17,490 --> 00:10:20,940 one group of our audience to talk about, and that is our 166 00:10:20,940 --> 00:10:24,930 customers. So working with podcasters, this is probably the 167 00:10:24,930 --> 00:10:27,900 most forgotten group of listeners, and although most of 168 00:10:27,900 --> 00:10:31,080 my clients, this is their number one priority, is to get in touch 169 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:35,820 with these customers, it's kind of out of reach. So that's why I 170 00:10:35,820 --> 00:10:40,200 go back to the beginning of this episode where I say most of us 171 00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:44,850 are not making episodes and podcast content for the true 172 00:10:44,850 --> 00:10:49,320 intention of our podcast. And I know it's scary, I know it is 173 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:53,460 not the easy road out, but if you're creating a podcast for 174 00:10:53,460 --> 00:10:57,690 the intention of growing your customer base or reaching new 175 00:10:57,690 --> 00:11:01,620 clients or making money of any kind, you need to make a podcast 176 00:11:01,620 --> 00:11:05,250 that fulfills that mission. So how can we do this more 177 00:11:05,250 --> 00:11:09,000 effectively? First of all, making content that positions 178 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:14,340 you as the authority on a subject. That's what I do every 179 00:11:14,340 --> 00:11:17,370 week with this podcast. I come in here to position myself as an 180 00:11:17,370 --> 00:11:22,050 authority in podcasting. I know for some of us, this is going to 181 00:11:22,050 --> 00:11:26,550 take some internal belief in ourselves, maybe even lying to 182 00:11:26,550 --> 00:11:29,640 ourselves. Well, let's just call it a fit, maybe even fibbing to 183 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:32,970 ourselves. We've all heard about imposter syndrome, and you might 184 00:11:32,970 --> 00:11:36,660 be patient one of imposter syndrome, but you have to get 185 00:11:36,660 --> 00:11:40,590 out there and start showing up as the person that you want your 186 00:11:40,590 --> 00:11:44,400 clients to see you as because having a podcast is such an 187 00:11:44,430 --> 00:11:48,360 outstanding tool in business and marketing and personal branding, 188 00:11:48,660 --> 00:11:52,620 but you have to use it correctly. So step one is show 189 00:11:52,620 --> 00:11:57,570 up as your authentic self and believe in that self. Step two 190 00:11:57,570 --> 00:12:01,530 is know what your audience wants to learn about and how you can 191 00:12:01,530 --> 00:12:05,160 effectively help them learn that. So let's say that you're a 192 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:09,840 leadership strategist, and you help mid to high level managers 193 00:12:09,870 --> 00:12:15,000 improve in their role. What do these executives need? What is 194 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:19,800 already being provided from podcasts in your market. How can 195 00:12:19,800 --> 00:12:24,030 you answer questions that they didn't even know to ask. How do 196 00:12:24,030 --> 00:12:28,290 you position yourself as the leader in the industry and the 197 00:12:28,290 --> 00:12:33,810 go to resource in this niche, especially that second part, how 198 00:12:33,810 --> 00:12:37,500 are you positioning yourself as the go to resource in this 199 00:12:37,500 --> 00:12:43,200 niche? Step three is have an offer. That's what so many of us 200 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:47,100 are missing. If you want to turn a listener into a customer, you 201 00:12:47,100 --> 00:12:50,730 need to have an offer, and preferably three offers, one at 202 00:12:50,730 --> 00:12:54,690 a low introductory price point, one at a mid price point and one 203 00:12:54,690 --> 00:12:58,170 at a high price point. These offers should be a natural 204 00:12:58,170 --> 00:13:01,710 extension of what you talk about on your podcast and what 205 00:13:01,710 --> 00:13:05,880 listeners are coming for. So explain a problem in an episode 206 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:09,540 and then pitch your service as the solution no matter what you 207 00:13:09,540 --> 00:13:14,130 do have an offer, and consistently pitch it on every 208 00:13:14,130 --> 00:13:18,780 episode and put it in every episode description. Our 209 00:13:18,780 --> 00:13:23,280 customers need to know what they can buy, where they can buy it, 210 00:13:24,030 --> 00:13:27,630 and why they should buy it. And you as a podcast host, you have 211 00:13:27,630 --> 00:13:30,930 so many opportunities. All three of these points can be easily 212 00:13:30,930 --> 00:13:34,470 covered in every single podcast episode. So the next time that 213 00:13:34,470 --> 00:13:38,370 you sit down to record a podcast episode, I want you to take a 214 00:13:38,370 --> 00:13:42,780 moment to think about these three listeners, the first being 215 00:13:42,810 --> 00:13:47,730 the casual or first time listener, how do we capture 216 00:13:47,730 --> 00:13:52,560 their attention and turn them into a fan? For our fans, how do 217 00:13:52,560 --> 00:13:56,970 we consistently provide them with the podcast content and 218 00:13:56,970 --> 00:14:02,130 community to keep them engaged? And then finally, what about our 219 00:14:02,130 --> 00:14:05,850 customers? How can we effectively position ourselves 220 00:14:05,850 --> 00:14:09,810 as the industry leaders and create offers that are an 221 00:14:09,810 --> 00:14:14,760 extension of our podcast? If you have questions about how to 222 00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:18,990 better reach and convert these three segments of your audience, 223 00:14:19,110 --> 00:14:22,290 I have a one hour strategy call that would be absolutely perfect 224 00:14:22,290 --> 00:14:25,110 for you. The information for booking is linked in the episode 225 00:14:25,110 --> 00:14:29,280 description, and as always, I can't wait to listen to your 226 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:33,090 podcast. Hey, thank you so much for joining me on this episode. 227 00:14:33,180 --> 00:14:36,090 If you enjoyed the podcast and you'd like to hear more episodes 228 00:14:36,090 --> 00:14:38,940 like this one, go ahead and subscribe to the show. New 229 00:14:38,940 --> 00:14:41,850 Episodes air every Monday morning. And if you found this 230 00:14:41,850 --> 00:14:44,640 episode valuable and you want to help other business owners and 231 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:47,640 podcasters, will you leave me a five star review. It helps the 232 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:51,030 show rank higher in the charts and brings more entrepreneurs 233 00:14:51,030 --> 00:14:54,300 the information they need to start making money on their 234 00:14:54,300 --> 00:14:55,230 podcast.