Fascinated with refreshing your podcast branding? Earlier than I talk about the “when,” let’s contemplate how your podcast would possibly profit from a branding refresh.
What’s “podcast branding”?
Your “podcast branding” is a number of options that uniquely determine your podcast. It is the primary impression for brand new audiences, and it is how your loyal viewers acknowledges your podcast distinctly from others.
Podcast branding is greater than solely your cowl artwork. It might be the emblem inside your cowl artwork (and that brand can be utilized for every kind of issues)—and a brand is distinction from cowl artwork. It is the audio and video parts you employ all through your episodes. It is your podcast description. It is in your repeated phrases. It is even in how you talk and host your podcast.
A “branding refresh” would then be updating all or any of those parts, however protecting the core of your podcast the identical. A “rebrand” could be for those who change far more of your podcast, together with what you speak about and whom you attempt to attain.
1. Entice a brand new viewers
Refreshing your podcast branding would possibly enable you to seize the eye of extra individuals by standing out or showing extra related. This would possibly enable you to enchantment to new demographics and even recapture the curiosity of people that beforehand scrolled handed your podcast, for no matter cause.
For instance, in case your podcast focuses on serving to Asian entrepreneurs, then you’ll most likely be extra prone to appeal to that ultimate viewers by exhibiting an Asian in your cowl artwork (and that is likely to be your fairly/good-looking face!). It may be a robust factor when your potential viewers can “see themselves” in your branding or messaging.
Or possibly the outline of your podcast is not speaking your content material or objective very properly, so a refresh of this side of your podcast branding can higher persuade individuals to hear after they’ve already been attracted by the title and canopy artwork.
2. Improve your perceived high quality
I’ve come to detest the phrase, “do not decide a ebook by its cowl.” I feel that basically solely applies to individuals, whose character might be utterly completely different from their unchangeable look (however will be mirrored of their willful changeable look). However we are able to, do, and I feel ought to decide different issues by their covers! As a result of if the quilt is not good, how are you going to belief that the contents might be higher? As my good friend Mark Des Cotes says, “In case your podcast cowl paintings appears low cost and amateurish, individuals will assume your podcast is reasonable and amateurish and select a distinct present to hearken to.”
As an alternative, a well-executed model refresh could make your podcast look or sound extra skilled, which is nice even for passion podcasts! (Please do not assume that “skilled” is a unfavorable factor for hobbyists! Hearken to “Labeling Podcasters: Beginner vs. Expert” for some extra ideas on that.) This will enhance your potential viewers’s first impression and entice them to proceed exploring your podcast.
Some individuals or locations (together with Apple Podcasts) could also be extra to function your podcast when it has higher branding, and fewer when your cowl artwork is ugly or the remainder of your branding expertise is unfavorable.
3. Adapt to the most recent developments
Industries change on a regular basis. What’s scorching or “commonplace” now is likely to be radically completely different in a number of years. For instance, take a look at the rise and fall of designing apps and web sites to appear like objects from the bodily world (this design precept is named “skeuomorphism”). Apple very publicly moved away from skeuomorphism in 2013 with the discharge of iOS 7.
Or take a look at how a lot wider the choice is for reasonably priced audio branding parts now in comparison with 2005. Updating your branding can assist your podcast meet up with these developments so you are not one more podcast utilizing music from GarageBand, the image of headphones round an RSS icon, or anything cliché!
4. Strengthen or reset your podcast’s id and message
After you’ve got been podcasting for some time, you most likely have a greater grasp on what makes your podcast distinctive and the way you wish to do issues. That would imply rebranding to match your podcast’s new course, or updating your current branding to strengthen what you’ve got realized your strengths are. For instance, purple is usually seen as a unfavorable design colour, however it additionally has highly effective meanings that I noticed align completely with an audacious perspective. So once I redesigned The Audacity to Podcast‘s visible branding, I deliberately selected purple as a branding colour as a result of it matches so properly. Then, I mixed that with strongly contrasting white and black.
I did this as a result of I needed to strengthen the core that my branding has had from the start in 2010: providing you with the center, the braveness, the ability, the audacity to podcast!
A part of my branding was in a hidden exclamation level in my brand. However that was too hidden in my previous design. (Did you even realize it was there?) My new design makes it extra distinguished.
Plus, the previous font appeared extra playful and labored nice for the Ramen Noodle (my first podcast, a clean-comedy present, now offline). The brand new font is bolder—each in model and emotion.
All of this stuff mixed for me to strengthen the id and message I already had. And but I feel I used to be in a position to maintain the emblem comparable sufficient to look as an evolution as an alternative of one thing utterly completely different.
A superb branding refresh can assist you visually and audibly reinforce what your podcast is about and who it is for, all with out your saying a single phrase!
5. Infuse new vitality on your viewers and your self
Have you learnt the nice feeling of that new automotive odor, studying a brand new ability, carrying new garments, reorganizing your stuff, or repainting your room? Just like this stuff, a contemporary model can breathe new life into your podcast, each on your current viewers and even for your self. After I redesigned The Audacity to Podcast‘s video branding, it made me far more wanting to publish new video content material as a result of I used to be so happy with what I made!
Equally, I am a type of varieties who reads replace notes (or “changelogs”) and will get excited when there are user-interface (UI) modifications in apps. It feels “contemporary”!
Name it no matter you need, most individuals get enthusiastic about new issues (even when solely in sure contexts). Refreshing your podcast branding is likely to be simply the trick it’s essential re-enthuse even your self about your podcast.
6. Stand out from others
By refreshing your podcast branding with distinctive visible and audio parts, you’ll be able to set your present aside from its “rivals.”
Think about, for instance, if all of the podcasts in your area of interest have predominantly blue cowl artwork. Then making your cowl artwork something different than blue will make it stand out. Or possibly the opposite podcasts use photographs of their cowl artwork, so that you follow flat icons or solely styled textual content.
Since your podcast branding can even embody your content-presentation format, that provides one other method to stand out from others. Again when As soon as Upon a Time was airing on ABC, there have been greater than a dozen fan podcasts concerning the TV present. Whereas my very own, ONCE podcast, stood out for being in-depth, there have been another podcasts that stood out by having a decent “5 issues” format and even one which existed solely to make enjoyable of the present. One other of the podcasts stood out by together with a rhyming recap of every episode.
It is like that saying, “After they zig, you zag.”
Prime sources to assist refresh your podcast branding
There are lots of locations you’ll be able to rent designers that will help you with a branding refresh. The 2 I like to recommend most extremely are my good friend Mark Des Cotes from Podcast Branding, who’s a extremely expert designer and a podcaster (I earn a fee from referrals who point out they heard about Mark from me or The Audacity to Podcast). I additionally less-frequently advocate 99designs (I earn commissions from qualifying purchases right here, too), the place you will get designers to compete for what you are promoting. 99designs gives you extra choices, however possibly not from individuals who perceive podcasting; and Podcast Branding will work with you to grasp your entire podcast’s branding.
I normally advocate in opposition to Fiver as a result of I’ve seen an excessive amount of low-quality work and even intellectual-property theft.
I am accessible that will help you podcast!
For those who want one-on-one assist or you have not launched your podcast, but, click on right here to request a private teaching and consulting session with me and I would love the chance that will help you podcast higher!
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Disclosure
This put up could include hyperlinks to services or products with which I’ve an affiliate relationship. I could obtain compensation out of your actions by means of such hyperlinks. Nonetheless, I do not let that corrupt my perspective and I do not advocate solely associates.
