Milking Your Podcast's Popularity For All It’s Worth [S3E43]

People - listeners - are attracted to popular podcasts. Other people - podcasters like us - do very little to promote the popularity of the podcast we produce.

Broadly speaking and en masse, people like to do the things that lots of other people are doing. Lay the blame on evolutionary biology if you like, but humans tend to follow the crowd. It’s safer.

Content may be king, but only if the king is popular. You may not want to admit it, but you’re much more likely to watch a video with a million views than a video with zero. These showcased metrics are meant to show popularity. Or, in the case of the Podcast Pontifications Videos channel on YouTube, a lack thereof. 😢

Every social media site does the same, with indicators showing how many followers an account has, how often their content is re-shared, how many people have left a comment, and how many people liked the content. You may think you ignore these little numbers and focus on the content itself, but you’re either fooling yourself or you’re an outlier.

We’re not immune to this, podcasters. Before investing, would-be listeners want to know one thing we’re not telling them: is this podcast popular?

What about ratings and reviews collected inside a handful of podcast listening apps? I remain skeptical of the efficacy of in-app ratings and reviews. Judging by the way apps treat the display and collection of ratings and review, I think the podcast app makers are skeptical of the value of these data as well.

But we can take matters into our own hands, podcasters. We can take those public-facing ratings and reviews to spread the valuable social proof they offer. To that end, I’m going to modify a long-held position of mine and suggest a two-step course of action that I’m calling R&R Blitz and Harvest.

This strategy starts with some common advice that I’ve never felt quite right about: get a bunch of ratings and reviews for your podcast. Step two, and why I’m feeling better about this, is to harvest those reviews repurposing where they will do additional good for your show beyond the siloed app where the review was left. 

Where? Your website is an obvious place to repurpose screenshots of your reviews. Your social channels are another obvious place. Share the screenshot and, if you’re able to make the connection, tag or mention the person who left the review for you. And include a link back to your show that everyone can use! 

Resist the temptation to push meaningless metrics like “all-time downloads” on your audience. But frequently showcasing “active listener” numbers is super smart. Captivate.fm provides this info to every podcaster on their platform. (Disclosure: I’m on their advisory board.) 

Don’t forget the role you, the podcaster, play in increasing awareness and demonstrating the popularity of your own show. Actively seeking out guest spots on other podcasts (ideally in your niche) is a smart way to do this. 

And don't ignore places where non-audio content rules the day. Writing articles for publications - on and offline - that showcase your expertise or POV helps prove your popularity. As does appearing on live streams, guest lecturing in an educational setting, and even cozying up to the local news stations in your town. 

All of these and more are smart ways to milk your podcast’s popularity for all it's worth. With that, I'm going to make a rare request as I try to eat a little of my own dogfood. Please go to RateThisPodcast.com/PodPont where you will see options relevant to your current operating system where you can rate and review Podcast...

People - listeners - are attracted to popular podcasts. Other people - podcasters like us - do very little to promote the popularity of the podcast we produce.

Broadly speaking and en masse, people like to do the things that lots of other people are doing. Lay the blame on evolutionary biology if you like, but humans tend to follow the crowd. It’s safer.

Content may be king, but only if the king is popular. You may not want to admit it, but you’re much more likely to watch a video with a million views than a video with zero. These showcased metrics are meant to show popularity. Or, in the case of the Podcast Pontifications Videos channel on YouTube, a lack thereof. 😢

Every social media site does the same, with indicators showing how many followers an account has, how often their content is re-shared, how many people have left a comment, and how many people liked the content. You may think you ignore these little numbers and focus on the content itself, but you’re either fooling yourself or you’re an outlier.

We’re not immune to this, podcasters. Before investing, would-be listeners want to know one thing we’re not telling them: is this podcast popular?

What about ratings and reviews collected inside a handful of podcast listening apps? I remain skeptical of the efficacy of in-app ratings and reviews. Judging by the way apps treat the display and collection of ratings and review, I think the podcast app makers are skeptical of the value of these data as well.

But we can take matters into our own hands, podcasters. We can take those public-facing ratings and reviews to spread the valuable social proof they offer. To that end, I’m going to modify a long-held position of mine and suggest a two-step course of action that I’m calling R&R Blitz and Harvest.

This strategy starts with some common advice that I’ve never felt quite right about: get a bunch of ratings and reviews for your podcast. Step two, and why I’m feeling better about this, is to harvest those reviews repurposing where they will do additional good for your show beyond the siloed app where the review was left. 

Where? Your website is an obvious place to repurpose screenshots of your reviews. Your social channels are another obvious place. Share the screenshot and, if you’re able to make the connection, tag or mention the person who left the review for you. And include a link back to your show that everyone can use! 

Resist the temptation to push meaningless metrics like “all-time downloads” on your audience. But frequently showcasing “active listener” numbers is super smart. Captivate.fm provides this info to every podcaster on their platform. (Disclosure: I’m on their advisory board.) 

Don’t forget the role you, the podcaster, play in increasing awareness and demonstrating the popularity of your own show. Actively seeking out guest spots on other podcasts (ideally in your niche) is a smart way to do this. 

And don't ignore places where non-audio content rules the day. Writing articles for publications - on and offline - that showcase your expertise or POV helps prove your popularity. As does appearing on live streams, guest lecturing in an educational setting, and even cozying up to the local news stations in your town. 

All of these and more are smart ways to milk your podcast’s popularity for all it's worth. With that, I'm going to make a rare request as I try to eat a little of my own dogfood. Please go to RateThisPodcast.com/PodPont where you will see options relevant to your current operating system where you can rate and review Podcast Pontifications.

I will screenshot your review and put it on my website. I'm going to modify the home page and other relevant pages to accommodate this new “social proof” section, including the audience numbers I mentioned previously. I hope to have that done by the weekend, so don’t miss your chance to be featured. For free!

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Podcast Pontifications is published by Evo Terra four times a week and is designed to make podcasting better, not just easier.

Mentioned in this episode:

Support For Abortion Rights

While Americans overwhelmingly support the right of an individual to make their own decisions about abortion, unfortunately, that right is no longer protected everywhere in the U.S. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24th.

Abortion is a basic healthcare need for the millions of people who can become pregnant. Everyone should have the freedom to decide what’s best for themselves and their families, including when it comes to ending a pregnancy. This decision has dire consequences for individual health and safety, and could have harsh repercussions for other landmark decisions.

Restricting access to comprehensive reproductive care, including abortion, threatens the health and independence of all Americans. Even if you live in a state where abortion rights are upheld, access to safe medical procedures shouldn’t be determined by location, and it shouldn't be the privilege of a small few.

You can help by donating to local abortion funds. To find out where to donate for each state, visit donations4abortion.com.

If you or someone you know needs help, or if you want to get more involved, here are 5 resources:

1. ShoutYourAbortion.com is a campaign to normalize abortion.
2. DontBanEquality.com is a campaign for companies to take a stand against abortion restrictions.
3. Abortion.cafe has information about where to find clinics.
4. PlanCPills.org provides early at-home abortion pills that you can keep in your medicine cabinet.
5. Choice.CRD.co has a collection of these resources and more.

We encourage you to speak up! And spread the word.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy
Podsights - https://podsights.com/privacy