Does your audience love your podcast? Do they love you? Here's how to earn the love of your podcast listeners to grow your podcast.
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1. Be yourself
Some people will like you, some will hate you. That's okay! The most important thing is to be yourself.
I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not.
—Kurt Cobain
We must all accept that, sometimes, there are things about ourselves that truly should be changed. So while being true to yourself, don't forget to improve yourself, too!
2. Be personable
People like relating with friendly, sociable people. Being personable can have many applications. Primarily, it's about how you connect with others.
Become a storyteller. This doesn't mean every episode needs a “Once upon a time …” kind of story. Storytelling is about great communication in relating information tied to an event. Three people can tell the same story three different ways and end up with three different results.
For example, the story is that you got a flat tire.
- Tell the story with comedy, and make people laugh.
- Tell the story with anger toward the mistake, and make people either angry, or want to leave.
- Tell the story with deep emotions, and make people cry.
- Tell just the facts with no feeling whatsoever, and make no one care.
Positivity is a powerful and contagious feeling. People generally like being around positive people. While crankiness and other negative emotions can build a following, it won't make people love you.
Don't be afraid to ask for help. People will often like you more if they can do something for you. Crazy and opposite-sounding, right?
3. Know whom you're talking to
When you know your audience, you'll be able to better communicate and relate with them. If you have a geeky podcast, will your audience understand all of the terms you use? It's okay to explain them, but do it in a way that doesn't insult your audience's intelligence.
- Bad: “SEO, in case you don't know, stands for ‘search-engine optimization.'”
- Good: “Search-engine optimization, or ‘SEO.'”
Talk to your audience as an individual, because that's what they are! You're not addressing a large room of people. Yes, you may have hundreds or thousands of listeners or viewers, but each of them are consuming the content—usually—by themselves. You're often talking directly into their ears through headphones. Make them feel special by addressing them as a single person. For example, “Thank you for helping,” instead of “I'm thankful for everyone's helping”; or, “I'm glad you're listening,” instead of “Hi, podcast listeners!”
4. Include your audience
Most people love to hear themselves mentioned by others, especially by someone they respect. Thank people, by name, when they donate, send feedback, write a review, or do anything for you.
Try to include your audience's feedback as much as possible. You can be inspired by their ideas, mention their suggestions, or use their written or recorded feedback in your show.
5. Make your audience smile
Smiles are contagious. A smile could come from the confidence of understanding or applying new information, from humor, from comfort, and from many other things.
Many studies have confirmed that smiling and laughing are, literally, good for you! They trigger the release of endorphins, which boost positive emotions and help people bond with others.
Talk with a smile and look for ways to be a positive force to your audience's emotions.
Thank you for the podcast reviews!
- The LAVA Flow said, “This is the BEST podcast about podcasting out there. It helped me get my podcast off the ground to great success. Thanks, Daniel!”
- David Auge said, “Great information. Very helpful for podcasters-to-be to get started.”
- Jeff (Streetztalk) said, “… I’ve found a bunch of gems in his archived posts and current ones. The plugins suggested, equipment and mentality to be better helped me focus on the finer points of my podcast to make it better. … If you’re a podcaster who needs to get better or you just started, This podcast should be your bible!” Read the full review.
- thezdotcom said, “Need to learn about podcasting and using audacity? You're in the right place! Daniel does a great job-You should listen!”
Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!
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Disclosure
This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.
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