While your episode openings should be as short as possible, the length of your episode closings can be a bit more dynamic.
Similar to how I use “opening” to include everything in your episode before the unique content (including the introduction), I consider the “closing” to be everything after the episode's unique content (including the “outro”).
Answer: as simple as possible
Yes, you read that correctly! I said “simple,” not necessarily “short.”
As podcasters trying to grow our audiences and get more social-media followers and get feedback and sometimes even trying to monetize our podcasts, it can be easy to overload our audiences with too many calls to action (CTAs) all crammed into the closing.
I've heard some closings that were longer than two minutes because the podcaster had so many CTAs!
But the end of the episode is also after you've delivered the value of your podcast. So while I think having a short closing is still good, I think it's actually more important to keep it simple. And “simple” doesn't really have a length to it.
In fact, I think a 1-minute closing with only one relevant and personable call to action is better than a 30-second closing with 10 calls to action (I've heard it done before!).
So separate my previous advice about keeping your episode opening as short as possible, I think you should strive to simplify your closing so that your audience has to remember only one or two things you asked them to do.
Spread out your calls to action
Instead of loading up every call to action you have and firing it all off in your closing like the grand finale of a fireworks show, try spreading out your calls to action in your episode.
For example, instead of saving your request for questions for the end, use that CTA maybe right before you answer someone else's question. For example, “Please send me your question about [topic] by [contact method], just like [person] did! And she asked, …”
You can do a similar thing even if you're asking your audience to “buy” something you're “selling”—whether that's something from your business, supporting your podcast, or something else you're promoting. You might be able to put that anywhere else in your episode, especially if you can make it as non-interruptive as possible. For example, “By the way, thanks to [name], [name], and [name] for loving the podcast enough to give back to it! If you love the podcast, too, and want to give back some value, please visit [webpage]. Now onto number 7 …” Or, even better, when you mention something related to your call to action, give your call to action then!
Like if I was talking about voicemails from your podcast audience, that would be the perfect time for me to tell you about Podgagement, which gives you a speakable landing page you can share with your audience to collect written and voicemail feedback.
You can also spread out your calls to action across different episodes, maybe even considering a week-of-the-month schedule. For example, you promote your email list the first week, your own product or service the second week, your audience community the third week, and so forth. (Some CTAs might be too important to space them out too much.)
Give your audience a reason to stay until the end
As a fan of movie soundtracks, I always stay through the credits a movie theater. And so I love how the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has inspired more people to stay because they want to see the setup for the next movie. I still frequently make the joke about random movies that Nick Fury is going to come and recruit the main character for the Avengers. (Yes, I'll do this for any movie—Toy Story, Star Wars, even about Jesus at the end of The Nativity!)
Although you don't have to have Nick Fury recruit someone from your podcast at the end of every episode (as awesome as that might be!), still look for ways to inspire your audience to stay until the very end. Just don't make them get impatient waiting through your too-many calls to action!
That ending could be a joke or some bloopers, it could be an inspirational quotation, it could be a closing tip, it could be a quick and applicable review of the episode's contents, or anything else relevant to your show and your audience—especially if it's relevant to that episode.
Lead with value, leave with value™
In my previous episode about episode openings, I emphasized that you should start each episode jumping into the valuable content as quickly as possible. That's leading with with value.
And you should also leave your audience with value. Let the last thing they hear from you in each episode not be a self-serving call to action, but something of value to them. In The Audacity to Podcast, it's my altered version of my tagline, “Now that I've given you some of the guts and taught you some of the tools, it's time for you to go start and grow your own podcast for passion and profit!” Then I say my name, say thank you, and end. Sometimes, that is my entire closing!
The whole point is like the campground rule: leave your audience better than how you found them. Make sure you've delivered value to them, whether that's education, information, inspiration, or even simply entertainment. You could even say that it's something that leaves them with “positive energy.” And I don't mean that in a mystical sense, but that they actually feel more energized towards something positive. Maybe they have a smile now, maybe they learned something useful, or maybe they're inspired to put into action what they heard from your episode.
As much as I talk about P.R.O.F.I.T. (popularity, relationships, opportunities, fun, income, or tangibles), always remember that it's also about what you help your audience get from your podcast!
value4value community corner
- Bryan Entzminger from Top Tier Audio sent 406§ on my previous episode. He didn't include a comment, but I was curious about the meaning of that number, so I asked inside my favorite AI toolbox, Magai. And I got suggestions that it could be related to an “angel number,” an area code in Montana, maybe April 6, or my favorite thing from AI was the reminder that 406 is an Internet error code meaning “not acceptable”! 🤣
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Disclosure
This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship. I 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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