TPU174 – 5 Proven ways to Monetize a Podcast Even with a Small Audience

(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.)

(0:00 - 1:44)

Okay, so your podcast is live. You got a few episodes out there. But something doesn't seem right.

Maybe your downloads are stalling or your listener retention isn't what you expected. Chances are you might be making one of these rookie mistakes that is silently killing your podcast engagement. But the good news, every one of them is easy to fix.

And today I'll show you how. You're listening to The Podcasting University, a weekly podcast where I share simple, practical, and implementable podcasting tips to grow and monetize your podcast. After listening to the episode, head over to thepodcastinguniversity.com for all the show notes and the recommended resources for getting started with your own podcast.

And if you're new to podcasting and want to get started with your own podcast, then you can join my free course on how to start a podcast at thepodcastinguniversity.com forward slash free-guide. That is thepodcastinguniversity.com forward slash free-guide. And now let's get on to today's episode.

Hello and welcome to another episode of The Podcasting University. This is Dilip, your host. If you're new here, then this is a show where I share a lot of simple, practical, and implementable podcasting tips.

And if you're then you might want to subscribe to the show so that you stay updated with all of the latest episodes that I release. Now let me start this episode by saying this. Every podcaster makes mistakes in the beginning.

Even I did it. A lot of mistakes. But there are a few common ones that can have a very big impact on your engagement, retention, and ultimately the growth of your show.

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And these are some of the mistakes that you absolutely need to avoid. So today I'm going to walk you through seven rookie mistakes that can silently kill your podcast engagement. And more importantly, I'll discuss some very simple tips on how you can avoid them.

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So let's get started. But before that, a quick message for you. I used to struggle with recording interviews and video episodes.

So much of tech and so much of overwhelm that I would usually keep pushing things off every week. That's when I came across Zencastr. Zencastr is super easy to use.

All you need is a browser and you can start recording video episodes up to 4K, including interviews. Not only that, Zencastr is an all-in-one platform that gives you recording options, post-processing options, hosting, and even monetization options. So why look for anything else when you have Zencastr? Go to zencastr.com forward slash pricing and use my code TPUBIS and you will get 30% off your first month of any Zencastr paid plan.

I want you to have the same easy experiences I do for all my podcasting and content needs. It's time to share your story. And now let's get back to our discussion.

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Number one, weak or overly long intros. I've seen a lot of podcasters do this mistake. Keep in mind that the first impressions matter and it really matters.

And your intro is where most new listeners will decide if they want to stick around or not. You might want to ensure that your intro is not unnecessarily long or weak and is leading to a drop in engagement from your listeners. You might want to avoid rambling intros that take forever to get to the point.

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Keep your intros short, avoid overproduced segments that sound typically like an ad, and also avoid long self-promotions in the beginning itself. Instead, open with a strong hook. You might want to open with a short sentence that talks about what your listener is going to gain from that particular episode that helps them decide if that episode is for them and if they want to listen to that episode.

Clearly state what the episode is about and then get into the content as quickly as possible. Number two, using jargon or technical language without really any explanation. Every niche has its own set of buzzwords.

Like for example, podcasting too has a lot of buzzwords. But I try to avoid using them in my episodes. If you assume your listener understands all of those buzzwords or jargon, then you will lose people quickly because not necessarily everybody might know what those jargons mean.

Remember that some of your listeners might be absolute beginners. So keep it simple and conversational. And if you must use technical terms, explain them clearly the first time you're talking about them.

Number three, poor editing and inconsistent audio quality. Now this is something that is an absolute non-compromisable. Nothing turns off listeners faster than distracting background noise, long pauses, filler words, and inconsistent volume levels.

Now, volume levels is something that a lot of podcasters ignore. They don't level their audio, which can lead to inconsistent volume levels, which is a little too bad from a listening perspective. You don't need a studio, but all you need is some basic editing that can make a world of difference to your podcast.

And some of these tools out there like Audacity, Descript, these can help you clean things up without needing to be an audio engineer. Make use of these tools. Learn some of the basics of audio editing.

You don't need to be an audio engineer. Some basic audio editing techniques is all that you need. Learn them and ensure that your audio is of listenable quality.

Number four, forgetting the listener experience. Now this is something that is non-compromisable. Too often, podcasters talk at their mic instead of talking to their listener.

Imagine you're speaking to one person. Use language like you instead of you all or you guys. Address the listener directly, acknowledge their problems, and speak to their journey.

Now when you're recording in the corner of your room or corner of your bedroom, it is natural for you to feel like you're talking to the walls and that natural conversation might not come. But that is where the entire practice comes in. Keep creating, keep practicing so that that natural conversational style comes and your listener feels as if you're talking to that one person, that individual.

This helps create connection and keeps people listening to your episode. Number five, no clear CTA or next step. You have delivered a great episode, but what should the listener do next? Most podcasters, they forget to ask listeners to subscribe to their show or invite them to download a lead magnet or maybe encourage feedback or comments.

All that you need is that one clear call to action. Make it easy to follow. Don't ask people to do five different things.

Instead, ask them to do just one thing because when you give them multiple CTAs, there is a tendency for people to get confused and not take any action at all. Instead, focus on just one action. Number six, inconsistent publishing schedule.

Now if you want to build trust with your audience, show up when you say you will. Whether it is weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly, pick a schedule that you are comfortable with and then stick to it. Inconsistency is one of the top reasons people stop listening to a show, no matter how good the content is.

And especially when you're starting off, you absolutely need to be consistent with your publishing schedule. When you've built your podcast listenership over maybe 100 to 150 odd episodes, you can maybe change your frequency. You can afford to maybe skip an episode.

But the best practice is to ensure that there is a consistency in your publishing schedule. Don't skip without giving a reason to your audience. Number seven, and the last one, failing to tease what's coming next.

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Now listeners love anticipation. And at the end of your episodes, you might want to give them a sneak peek of what's coming next. Now this is a strategy that has really worked for me.

I've done that in a lot of my episodes. I don't do it in all of my episodes, but I do it in some of my episodes. And this has really worked.

And I do it specifically in episodes, which I create in the form of a series because they're teasing the audience really builds their anticipation and they come back the next week to listen to that next part of the podcast or next part of the episode. So use these teasers towards the end of your podcast. It builds curiosity and gives your audience a reason to come back.

Even a simple line like next week, I'm going to show you how to land your first podcast guest that can also work really well. So ensure that you're teasing your audience. You're telling your audience what they can expect in the next episode.

Podcasting is a journey and a long one and making mistakes is part of the learning curve and every one of us do that. But these seven rookie errors are easy to avoid once you're aware of them and can help a lot in building engagement for your podcast. Keep your intros tight, speak your listeners language, polish your audio and always guide your audience to take that next step.

Remember, small changes can lead to big improvements in listener engagement. That is all that I have for this episode. If you're new to this show, then please do subscribe to this show.

The Podcasting University is available on pretty much all podcasting platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, Jio Saavn, Ghana, Amazon Prime Music and on GoodPods as well. So pick your favorite platform and give it a lesson in there and wherever you're listening to this show, please don't forget to rate and review the show there. Don't forget to subscribe to this show.

The next week, I'm going to share three beginner-friendly strategies on monetizing a small podcast. So you might want to come back next week because that's going to be an episode that will help you monetize your podcast even if your show has a low listenership. That's all that I have for this week.

Thanks for listening. Keep podcasting and keep enjoying your podcast. Until the next episode, this is goodbye from Dilip.

(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.)