What are the guarantees your podcast makes to your viewers? Extra importantly, are you protecting them?
Some guarantees are apparent since you say them out loud. Others are implied by means of your branding, your format, your descriptions, and the expectations your viewers develops over time. Neither type is dangerous. However each matter.
Your viewers will normally be understanding when life occurs. Emergencies, household points, holidays, and surprising disruptions are a part of being human. However it’s nonetheless value asking what guarantees your podcast is making so that you will be extra intentional about protecting them.
Listed here are three questions that will help you assume by means of that.
1. What may your viewers count on? [01:56]
Not each promise is one thing you explicitly say. Typically, your viewers kinds expectations primarily based in your podcast title, branding, matter, format, or the sorts of belongings you repeatedly speak about.
Again in my first episode of The Audacity to Podcast, I defined that the title was not primarily in regards to the software program Audacity. It was in regards to the broader that means of audacity: guts, braveness, and the facility to talk up and share your voice. That was and nonetheless is a large a part of what the podcast is about.
However I additionally stated I might speak about Audacity greater than most podcasters. Though I didn’t say the present could be completely about Audacity, that was sufficient to create an expectation for some listeners, particularly with a reputation like The Audacity to Podcast.
And I didn’t actually fulfill that expectation straight away.
That was my fault, not the viewers’s. I might have opened with one thing instantly sensible, like a tip for making your podcast sound higher in Audacity. That will have matched what some folks assumed they have been signing up for and higher linked the branding with the content material.
That’s the query for you: what may your viewers count on out of your podcast earlier than you ever state a promise straight?
Typically that expectation comes from the title of your present. Typically it comes from the area of interest you serve. Typically it comes from the tone you create across the content material.
I noticed this clearly with my As soon as Upon a Time podcast. I typically reminded my cohosts that we have been curators of fandom. Individuals got here to that podcast as a result of they cherished the present. Even when an episode of the TV sequence upset us, our job was to not drag the present endlessly. Our viewers anticipated us to have fun what they cherished, have interaction thoughtfully, and assist make sense of it.
That didn’t imply pretending every thing was nice. It meant remembering who the podcast was for and what the viewers got here to obtain.
So ask your self: what does your viewers naturally count on out of your podcast due to its branding, focus, or type?
You shouldn’t have to fulfill each demand. However you have to be conscious of the expectations you’re creating, as a result of these expectations operate so much like guarantees.
2. What does your description promise? [11:10]
Your podcast description makes guarantees.
So do your episode titles, episode descriptions, and even the way in which you promote your content material.
Have a look at your present in your favourite podcast app. What does the outline say listeners will get? Then ask whether or not your episodes truly ship that.
In case your description guarantees a selected sort of assist, a sure matter, or a transparent consequence, that isn’t simply advertising and marketing copy. It’s a dedication.
The identical factor applies on the episode stage.
In case your title says you’ll clarify easy methods to do one thing, then your episode ought to truly clarify easy methods to do it. In case your episode description guarantees steps, readability, progress, or transformation, then the content material ought to assist that promise in a significant approach.
That is one cause deceptive titles and hype can turn out to be an issue so shortly. They could appeal to consideration within the brief time period, however they weaken belief if the content material doesn’t match what was marketed.
Your viewers shouldn’t need to guess whether or not your title is actual, your description is correct, or your promotion is exaggerated.
So take a recent have a look at your:
- Podcast description
- Episode titles
- Episode descriptions
- Promotional messaging
Are these issues making guarantees your content material is definitely protecting?
If not, you’ve gotten two choices: enhance the content material or revise the promise.
3. What have you ever stated in your podcast? [14:51]
Some guarantees are hidden in on a regular basis language. For instance, for those who say, “new episodes each week,” that may be a promise. Should you say, “each Tuesday morning,” that may be a promise. Should you say, “becoming a member of me as all the time is my cohost,” that may be a promise too, or no less than an announcement that creates a reliable expectation.
This is the reason your wording issues a lot. Phrases like all the time, each, and will can quietly commit you to greater than you understand.
In fact, your viewers will typically perceive when one thing uncommon occurs. Podcasting is private—even intimate—and listeners normally give grace when emergencies interrupt the plan.
However for those who repeatedly say issues you don’t comply with by means of on, even casually, that may slowly erode belief.
I’ve felt that conviction myself.
There have been seasons after I stated The Audacity to Podcast was again, launched just a few episodes, after which disappeared once more for some time. There have been actual causes behind that. Life was difficult and painful. However even comprehensible interruptions can nonetheless reveal a spot between what we supposed to vow and what we have been truly capable of preserve.
That’s the reason it’s value reviewing what you’ve gotten truly stated in your episodes.
Each time you say, “I’ll,” you make some type of promise.
That does not imply it is advisable to reside in worry of claiming something particular. It simply means it is best to discover what you’re committing to and be deliberate about it.
Should you understand you’ve gotten missed the mark earlier than, that doesn’t imply you’re caught there. You’ll be able to reset expectations, make clear your message, and transfer ahead with higher intention.
The purpose isn’t perfection; the purpose is honesty and follow-through.
And that’s the entire level of a promise.
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Disclosure
This submit might include hyperlinks to services or products with which I’ve an affiliate relationship. I’ll 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.
