Noodle.mx Network More podcasts
  • Think
    • How to podcast
    • Personal productivity
    • Productivity for women
    • Once Upon a Time
    • Resurrection
    • Marvel's Agents of Shield
    • Under the Dome
    • Christian movie reviews
    • Christian worldview
    • Sci-Fi & philosophy
    • Once Upon a Time in Wonderland
  • Laugh
    • Clean-comedy
    • Once Upon a Time
    • Resurrection
    • Marvel's Agents of Shield
    • Under the Dome
    • Once Upon a Time in Wonderland
  • Succeed
    • How to podcast
    • Personal productivity
    • Productivity for women

The Audacity to Podcast

A how-to podcast about podcasting and using Audacity

Award-winning "how-to" podcast about podcasting for passion and success

  • Home
  • Get Started
  • Consulting
  • Episodes
  • Gear
  • About
  • Contact
  • Login

Enjoy the blog and podcast? Subscribe here!

  • iTunes
  • Android
  • YouTube
  • Stitcher
  • RSS
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
You are here: Home / Audio / Is Your Podcast a Reference, or a Habit for Your Audience? – TAP290

Is Your Podcast a Reference, or a Habit for Your Audience? – TAP290

November 15, 2016 by Daniel J. Lewis in Audio • 3 Comments

Tweet11
Share7
Pin
Reddit
Share1
Buffer4
Shares 23

is-your-podcast-a-reference-or-a-habit-for-your-audience-wide

Reference or habit? These two approaches to your podcast could make a huge difference in engaging with your community and growing your audience.

Play / pause
1x
1.5x
2x
0:00
0:00
0:34:07
volume
  • Is Your Podcast a Reference, or a Habit for Your Audience? – TAP290
Apple PodcastsAndroidGoogle PlayShare
Leave a ReviewClammr ItListen in a New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe via RSS

This topic was inspired by a conversation with Clay Lamb from Home Contractors HQ (current name).

Why “reference” versus “habit” matters

What I'm about to share with you could be the key in understanding why your podcast promotion may not be working, why your podcast audience may not be growing, and why you could be struggling to keep your podcast going.

What is a “reference” podcast?

A “reference” is something you use when you have a specific need. For example:

  • YouTube video on how to weld plumbing
  • Dictionary definition of a word
  • Encyclopedic resource to understand a subject
  • An answer to a question

Generally, these are things you might not consume on a regular basis; people rarely read the dictionary page by page!

You might have a “reference” podcast if each episode is serving only one or more isolated needs.

There are cases where all of those combined needs may form a habit. For example, understanding how to maintain a car requires knowing how to check oil, tire pressure, change a flat tire, read indicator lights, add windshield-washer fluid, and more.

Even then, when the need is met, the consumer might not stay.

What is a “habit” podcast?

A “habit” is something that becomes part of your life. Some habits are by choice, some are by necessity, and some are unintentional. Habits often connect to passions and lifestyles. For example:

  • Movies, novels, and comedy feed an ongoing desire for entertainment.
  • Self-help and spiritual materials feed an ongoing desire for improvement.
  • Topic/industry-specific content feeds an ongoing interest or passion.
  • Education feeds an ongoing need for knowledge and understanding.

Note the theme of “ongoing” in each of these. A habit is ongoing.

You might have a “habit” podcast if all your episodes are serving a bigger need, and people want to consume your episodes regularly because the podcast feeds an ongoing need or desire.

A “habit” contains many needs. You may not be able to distinguish or even see all of your needs. Consider this very content for example! You may have never considered whether your podcast is a reference or a habit, but it's something that is feeding your ongoing interest in improving your podcast.

How “reference” and “habit” affect your podcast

Think of it this way. “Reference” generally means “one time,” and “habit” generally means “ongoing.”

I believe for your podcast (a series you want people to subscribe to), you should seek to make it a “habit” podcast—fulfilling the ongoing needs or desires of your audience.

“Reference” and “habit” may not be immediately evident from any particular podcast. For example, Mignon Fogarty's Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing could seem like a reference podcast, but it actually makes a habit out of reference. Each episode shares valuable information you might be searching for, and the overall podcast feeds a bigger desire (and need) to get better at communicating in English. I have listened to every episode since the show's beginning, and I sometimes search the archive as a reference.

Timely versus timeless content

I think reference and habit are separate from timeliness and timelessness. Habit content can be timely or timeless, and reference content can also be timely or timeless. So I don't think you should see only timeless content as valuable and timely as a waste. Instead, you can choose the timeliness or timelessness of your content based on how well it feeds the habit for your audience.

Audience growth

If your podcast is purely reference content, then you could struggle to grow your audience because people don't think your podcast meets an ongoing need or desire.

When you can design your podcast to provide habit content, then it's easier to grow an audience because they'll want to keep returning for more.

Presentation perspective

Even if you provide reference content, how you approach and communicate the content could make it also habit content.

Movie-discussion podcasts are good examples of this. Each episode could be a self-contained discussion and reference about a one particular movie. But if the hosts integrate their unique perspectives (or an overall perspective of the podcast, such as music, philosophy, a specific actor, etc.), subscribers will become more interested in what the hosts think about any movie than simply wanting a reference about a particular movie.

Interview-based podcasts can be both reference and habit, too. People will listen to your interviews not always because of the guest, but because of the conversations you create. Even for John Lee Dumas's template approach to EOFire (an approach overly imitated), people listen because of the expected value John designed his template to provide.

Consider this example. You may have hundreds of recipes you want to share. If you have no authority or influence yet, people probably won't care about receiving recipe after recipe. But if all those recipes support the same diet, then each recipe becomes a reference to feed a habit.

These approaches are more about how you present the content than the content itself.

Focus on making “habit” content

I think your best results will come from making your podcast feed a “lifestyle.” That is, an ongoing need or desire, either in the content itself or in your approach to the content—even if you offer “reference” content!

This approach is what makes your audience put your podcast in their regular routine, instead of putting it on the shelf to reference only when necessary.

(Personal aside to my fellow Christians: apply all of this to your perspective of the Bible and accountability and encouragement from fellow believers. These should not be merely “references,” but habits and part of our lives!)

What kind of podcast are you creating? What kind of relationships, if any, are you inspiring by how your present your message?

Thank you for the podcast reviews!

  • Jason (AKA “SkepticSmash”), from Skeptic Smash Talk Podcast, said in iTunes UK, “Brilliant and Informative. Really enjoy the tips and strategies, particularly when it comes to listener engagement and how to respect listeners, I wish more podcasters would pay attention to this.”

Your written iTunes 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 iTunes or Stitcher!

Check out My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically emailed to you and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements

  • Listen to my first episode of The Audacity to Podcast and send me feedback and critiques for my upcoming 300th episode!
  • Join Podcasters' Society for encouragement, training, and support to improve and grow your podcast from average to amazing!

Need personalized podcasting help?

I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback

  • Comment on the shownotes
  • Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221
  • Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me

  • Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android.
  • Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET)
  • Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more
  • Follow @theDanielJLewis

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.

Tweet11
Share7
Pin
Reddit
Share1
Buffer4
Shares 23

« How to Stay Safe and Secure in Podcasting – TAP289
Podcast SEO for iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, and More – TAP291 »

Limited-time sale!

  • How to Make Your Podcast Findable and Grow Your Audience with SEO for Podcasters
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $297.00 $149.00

20 things you should do before every podcast episode!

Download your FREE checklist

My products

Search Engine Optimization for Podcasters
Zoom H6 for Podcasters video course
Social Subscribe & Follow Icons WordPress plugin for bloggers and podcasters

About Daniel J. Lewis

As an award-winning podcaster, Daniel J. Lewis gives you the guts and teaches you the tools to launch and improve your own podcasts for sharing your passions and finding success. Daniel creates resources for podcasters, such as the SEO for Podcasters training, the My Podcast Reviews global-review aggregator, and the Podcasters' Society membership for podcasters. As a recognized authority and influencer in the podcasting industry, Daniel speaks on podcasting and hosts his own podcasts covering how to podcast, clean-comedy, and the #1 unofficial podcast for ABC's hit drama Once Upon a Time, all under the umbrella of Noodle Mix Network and having received nearly 20 award nominations. Daniel and his wife, Jenny, live near Cincinnati with their newborn son, "Noodle Baby."

See Daniel speak

Notice

The Audacity to Podcast and Noodle.mx Network are trademarks of D.Joseph Design LLC™.

Unless otherwise indicated, all images, content, designs, and recordings © 2010–2015 D.Joseph Design LLC. All rights reserved.

Disclosure

This website contains links and references to products and services that may include affiliates, sponsorships, or other business relationships in which The Audacity to Podcast and D.Joseph Design LLC may receive compensation from referrals or sales actions.

Design by Daniel J. Lewis | D.Joseph Design • Built on the Genesis Framework