Podcasts have been growing steadily in popularity over the past few years, and the COVID19 pandemic appears to have given them that final push, with more people spending time at home and looking for new ways to be entertained. Today you can find podcasts that cover almost any subject whether you want to listen to true crime stories, get relationship or parenting advice, financial tips, or just listen to people joking and having a laugh. Podcast listeners tend to listen to several different shows and they like having some variety to cover all of their different interests, which is good news for anybody who is considering starting a podcast of their own. Whether you want to start a podcast for your existing brand, with a friend, or even on your own, here are some tips to help you come up with a podcast show that people will actually listen to.

Get Quality Equipment:

First of all, it’s important to have the right equipment to create a high quality show. Nobody is going to want to listen to a podcast that doesn’t have great sound or you can’t really hear the speaker clearly; no matter how interesting the subject matter might be, that can get very annoying very quickly. Choose microphones that are high-quality and make sure that you test them out before you start publishing your podcast episodes. You might also find it helpful to use other accessories with your setup for sound blocking to make sure that it is as clear as possible. Finally, good sound editing software means that you can put the finishing touches on your podcast and make sure that it sounds completely professional.

Appealing Graphics:

Whether you plan to have your podcast available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, elsewhere, or everywhere that you can post it, you will need to great a graphic to use for your podcast and its episodes. This will often be the first thing that people see when they are searching for a podcast like yours, so spend some time coming up with an appealing graphic that tells the searcher just enough about the podcast to spark their interest, but not too much – the aim is to get them curious, so they’ll press play to find out more.

Conduct Research:

Before you start recording your podcast episodes, or even before you come up with an idea for your podcast at all, it’s important to conduct research into the podcasts that are currently available, what’s popular, what there is a gap in the market for, and most importantly, what your listeners want to hear more of. Market research can be the difference between the success or failure of your podcast, so it’s more important than ever to ensure that you get this step right. Finding out more about your potential audience before you begin will put you in a position to make a better choice regarding what your show is going to be about, who you’ll target, how you will target them and more.

Be Consistent:

Despite the fact that podcasts are growing rapidly in popularity, it’s not very common for a podcast to immediately take off and gain a large audience after just one or two episodes. Because of this, consistency is key to getting your podcast off the ground and attracting more listeners. Bear in mind that building your audience could take months or even years in some cases, so it’s important that you are ready to consistently show up with new episodes on a consistent basis even when it doesn’t feel like you are getting very many listeners at the start. Because of the need for this, it is always best to make sure that you choose a podcast topic that you enjoy and are passionate about – this will make it easier for you to consistently keep going.

Keyword Research:

Keyword research isn’t just for websites – you can also help your podcast rank higher on services like Spotify or in a Google search by targeting the right keywords. Conducting research into the search terms that users are searching for when they are looking for a podcast like yours is an important strategy for getting your podcast out there in front of the right people and making sure that it gets listened to. Wherever it is possible, place the keywords naturally and organically in the titles and descriptions of your podcast and the individual episodes.

Use Social Media:

You can use social media to connect further with your audience and encourage more people to listen to your podcast. Treat your podcast like a business in its own right and set up profiles specifically for it on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Along with using social media to promote your podcast, show users what it’s about and share snippets from your episodes that can encourage users to go ahead and listen to the whole thing to find out more, it’s also a great tool for getting to know and engaging with your audience, which can help you make better podcast decisions in the future.

Get Feedback:

Finally, getting feedback from the people who are listening to your podcast is essential for helping you take it in the right direction and ensure that it is giving your listeners what they want. Checking in with your audience on a regular basis is an important habit to get into when you are running a podcast since you can use the information that they give you to make improvements over time and tailor the podcast to their preferences or suggestions, making it more likely that they will stay to tune in and listen since they feel that they have been influential in helping to shape the podcast and excited to learn more about what you have done with the information that they have provided you.

Today, starting a podcast can be an ideal hobby or a great way to help your business grow. No matter what you want to talk about, keep these tips in mind to create a podcast that people are going to listen to and enjoy.