We need to talk about your podcast.
Specifically, why nobody is listening (and what you can do about it).
Yes, this is a long page. But if you're looking for more listeners, it's worth your time to read it. Or at least skim it ...
Does this sound like you?
You put a ton of work into your podcast, but it's not where you want it to be—you want more.
Sure, you’ve got a few listeners, but no real fans.
And you're starting to second-guess your decisions ... Thinking things like, "Maybe I should focus on YouTube" or "Maybe I should quit."
Knock it off. You were smart to start a podcast—it's one of your best options create a meaningful, deep connection with people that will help you:
- Establish yourself as an authority and expert
- Enhance your personal brand and reputation (or do this for your company)
- Spread an important message
- Get new clients and customers for your business
- Make money
Your podcast is probably in better shape than you realize and I can help you piece-together what you're missing. So don't throw away your hard work (and your dream of a successful podcast) just yet.
Why are only some podcasts successful?
I've been in the trenches of podcasting since 2005 and I've found three "rules" that all successful shows understand (and follow):
- Listeners want to connect with other humans, not podcasts. A "podcast" is just a way to deliver this connection.
- Podcasts that matter are run by people who care. These people care about their message and also the listeners receiving it.
- "Success" in podcasting isn't instant. But if you keep showing up and applying the right pressure, it will emerge, 100% of the time.
If you understand (and live by) these three rules, you'll be fine. And you'll change the lives of the people who hear you.
If you've come here simply looking for the "magic bullet" of podcasting success, this is it – you can stop reading, because what's next, and what I have inside Big Podcast AMP, isn't for you.
On the other hand, if you're ready to dive deeper into the finer details of successful podcasting and ready to do the work to accelerate your podcasting success, there's plenty here for you to consider ...
Does this sound like you?
Even the best podcasters run into common situations that slow down the growth of their podcasts.
Yeah, you want to change lives with your podcast, but right now, you also want to:
- Make more money.
- Get more listeners.
- Gain more respect and be taken seriously.
Own it. Be "shallow." Because without these things in place, your podcast won't be heard by anybody.
If you’re spinning your wheels and not getting anywhere with your podcast, there’s ALWAYS an underlying problem.
So let's look a little deeper ...
Exactly Where Do You Need Help?
I already know, because I'm in the trenches with podcasters just like you ...
- You want to make more money with your podcast, but you feel "stuck," because you don't have a lot of listeners and you're not sure how to attract new ones.
- You're missing sponsorship opportunities due to lack of knowledge about how to effectively find and negotiate these deals.
- You want to make your podcast more profitable (through advertising revenue, bringing more clients into your existing business, etc), but the things you’ve tried haven’t worked.
- You’re not sure how to effectively leverage your podcast content to create additional income streams, such as merchandise or premium content.
- You’re struggling with understanding the true value of your audience, limiting your ability to target potential advertisers or sponsors effectively.
- You lack strategic partnerships and collaborations that can cross-promote your podcast and help you reach new audiences.
- You want more listeners for your podcast, but you’re "stuck" and not sure what to do to attract them.
- You lack strategic partnerships and collaborations that can get your podcast in front of new people.
- Your podcast is lost among countless other podcasts in the same genre or you're being ignored.
- You’re not effectively leveraging your content, skills, or relationships to promote your podcast.
- Your listeners aren’t as involved in the podcast as you’d like them to be. And they're not spending money with you.
- You're struggling to convert listeners into engaged community members, such as subscribers to an email list, active participants in social media communities, or customers for related products or services.
- You don’t get much (if any!) interaction from your listeners.
- You feel like your podcast is just broadcasting to the void, without any meaningful two-way communication with your audience.
- Your podcast doesn’t seem to be creating the impact and reach you envisioned when you started.
- Your message isn’t being heard by as many people as you want or influencing listeners as you intended.
- Despite the value of your message, there’s minimal discussion, sharing, or general buzz around your podcast on social media or other platforms.
- You feel like you're talking to yourself—your podcast is an echo chamber and your message isn’t reaching new people.
- You’re struggling to establish partnerships or collaborations with other influencers, podcasters, or thought leaders who could help amplify your message.
- Despite your efforts, your podcast’s crucial message doesn’t seem to be resonating or creating a connection with your listeners on a deeper level.
- You’re finding it difficult to manage the technical aspects of podcasting, such as audio editing and quality control, which affect the overall listener experience.
- You feel overwhelmed with the administrative tasks associated with your podcast, such as scheduling guests, managing sponsorships, or keeping up with social media engagement.
- You’re struggling to consistently create high-quality content, due to time constraints or lack of inspiration, which impacts your podcast’s regularity and listener retention.
- You’re finding it challenging to balance your podcast with other professional or personal commitments, which prevents you from dedicating the necessary time and resources to your podcast.
- Navigating audience engagement and feedback is overwhelming, which is affecting your podcast’s growth, evolution, and improvement.
Remember when podcasting was fun?
Remember the thrill of publishing your first podcast episode and seeing it online? Your artwork looked great, the show name was catchy, and even if your first episode wasn’t perfect, you felt like you'd accomplished something.
What happened?
You probably kept the excitement up as you published the next few episodes. You told your friends and family about it, hoping to get a bit of traction. Things seemed OK for a while.
Then you hit “the podcasting slump” ...
- Your podcast stopped growing.
- Your downloads plateaued.
- The marketing techniques you tried didn’t bring you any lasting results.
Most Failing Podcasters Do 1 of 3 Things ...
OPTION #1: Give up and quit podcasting.
Around 93% of podcasts are abandoned before the first 10 episodes.
Sometimes this is the right move. If you're this early in the process of building your podcast, it's usually more effective to "clear the decks" and start with a clean slate, rather than try to retool something that already isn't working for you.
OPTION #2: Keep going and *hope* things change.
This is why you see podcasts without any real traction still plugging along. It’s kind of sad, actually—especially when it doesn’t have to be this way.
If something isn't working, you need to look at it, if you want better results.
OPTION #3: Try a bunch of random marketing strategies, crossing your fingers that one works.
If you’ve tried this, you know that it only leads to wasted time and burnout. Most of the conventional podcast marketing strategies, unfortunately, aren’t very effective at helping you grow your podcast. And if you don't have a good foundation for your show in place, these "strategies" can actually hurt you.
Something About Your Podcast Isn't Working
... but you’re not sure what the problem is. Or how to fix it.
The first step is admitting there's a problem. The next is being honest with yourself about where you are with your podcast and what you want from it.
This is worth saying again ...
What most podcasters want is:
- More money.
- More listeners.
- More respect and to be taken seriously.
Own it. And follow this three-step plan to make these things happen ...
STEP ONE:
Make Your Podcast “Binge-Worthy”
A binge-worthy podcast is a podcast that listeners can’t get enough of. They eagerly await for your next episode, they tell their friends about your podcast, and they spend money with you.
You have more than just listeners, you have FANS.
STEP TWO:
Use Personalized Marketing Strategies That Work
Not all marketing strategies are effective for every podcast. You need something that works for you and will work for your podcast.
Depending on your niche, your show type, and your goals, some strategies work better than others. And you don’t want to waste any more of your time on what doesn’t work.
STEP THREE:
Get Connected with Other Professional Podcasters
Every podcaster feels alone at times, because writing, recording, and editing a podcast is almost always a solo pursuit. But there's no reason to feel alone when it comes to marketing and growing your podcast.
You want to connect yourself to successful podcasters and learn from them, so you don't have to reinvent the wheel and grow your podcast using trial and error.
You need ALL THREE of these steps to fast-track your podcast growth.
Here's why ...
Think of your podcast like a huge jug.
If you only have a trickle of water flowing into your jug, you're not going to notice a lot of the holes it has, because the holes are everywhere, and the water level never gets high enough for most of those holes to matter.
But if you start pouring lots of water into your jug, the holes become obvious. And you've got a problem.
Of course, you don't put water into your podcast, you invest other valuable resources like:
- Time
- Money
- Reputation
But "holes" negatively affect these things as well.
It's like driving a car with a flat tire. Yeah, you can go for a little while, but eventually you're going to have to pull over.
And there you'll be, on the "side of the road" with a broken down podcast that won't budge regardless of the resources you put into it.
When you finally understand HOW to grow your podcast, things get much easier.
But this isn't for everybody. In fact, it's not for most people.
Big Podcast AMP (Audio Monetization Program) is a personal coaching program that I've designed just for independent podcasters to help you do three things:
- Grow your podcast audience.
- Get people talking about your podcast.
- Make more money with your podcast.
Big Podcast AMP isn't designed for "anybody and everybody" – it's for people who are serious about podcasting and ready to do what it takes to be successful at podcasting.
I'll work with you to turn your existing podcast into something binge-worthy and give you personalized advice for not only reaching a larger audience, but also how to retain this audience for years to come and have them spread the word about your podcast for you.
We'll focus on proven marketing strategies designed to work specifically for your podcast. And you'll be connected to other podcasters who are just as serious about podcasting as you are.