The Audience Is Listening: A Little Guide to Building a Big Podcast

The only way to get people to recommend your show is to have a recommendable show.

There are two things you can master on your journey to the next level of podcasting: knowledge of your craft (audio editing, software, marketing, etc.) and knowledge of your audience. And the harsh reality, my friends, is that nearly every podcaster I talk to spends all their time in column A and none at all in column B.

The problem isn’t how to make more people want your podcast. The problem is how to make a podcast more people want.

fill the promise of your podcast by helping you understand your audience almost as well as you understand your family members. At least, your immediate family. I mean, there’s a lot of stuff you don’t know about your uncles.

if you want to earn an audience, you can no longer make the podcast you want to make. You have to make the podcast they want to hear.

when people are asked how they discover new podcasts, the number one answer is recommendations from friends and family.

hotelier Ian Schrager calls it “one plus one equals three.” You build something most people will hate but a few people love—and love enough to tell their friends about. For a podcast, that means having as clear a picture about your topic area, point of view, and ideal listener (yes, listener—singular) as you possibly can, and making the podcast tha

sometimes you have to lose an existing audience to make these kinds of creative choices. That’s tough to take, especially when downloads go down and unhappy emails roll in. It requires some bravery, a strong stomach, and, most importantly, the knowledge that there is a “there” there with the audience segment you are ultimately trying to attract.

we rely more and more on the recommendations of friends and family for nearly everything we intentionally consume.