Podcast Audit: Simple Tweaks to Add More Sparkle to Your Show Using My 5S Framework for Podcast Success
With more than 1 million shows in Apple Podcasts, how can you make sure your show stands out?
On Podcasting Step by Step, I talk you through my 5S framework for creating the kind of irresistible podcast that builds your brand, increases your influence, and connects you to your community on the deepest level.
Use my 5S test to audit your existing podcast or as a pre-launch blueprint for creating a bingeworthy, brand-building podcast.
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Does your podcast pass the 5S Test?
My 5S recipe for podcast success includes five key ingredients. Your podcast needs to be specific, seductive, searchable, sound good, and systematized.
I thought about adding a sixth S related to sales, but selling does not make a podcast irresistible. Selling is something you earn the right to do after you’ve got the 5Ss in place.
Specific
You need to know exactly who you’re podcasting for, and why. What is your niche? Who is your ideal listener? Has this changed over the years? Doing a podcast audit will help you nail your current niche.
There’s so much alignment with my other podcast, the Postcard Academy and other work I’m doing, that I felt like the story of who my ideal listener is could use a refresh. So, I re-wrote the story of my ideal listener, and had a ton of fun with this storytelling exercise.
Who is your ideal podcast listener and why do you want to talk to them?
Seductive
Create content that your listener wants to return to again and again. Your fans subscribe to your show to be entertained, inspired, and/or educated and what they want is so subjective.
Remember, you’re not creating content for the masses. You’re creating content for your ideal listener, the person who wants to work with you.
As part of my refresh/ audit I updated my music. When you turn on my podcast, I want it to feel like I’m welcoming you into a party.
Fav sites for podcast music
What vibe do you want to welcome your ideal listener with? More importantly, what is the content you’ll be delivering once they get there?
What burning questions haven’t you answered on your podcast yet? What is keeping them up at night? What is going on in their life that they need help with right now?
When I talk about seduction, I’m talking about the desires of your specific ideal listener. Maybe you’re designing luxury honeymoons for people who marry late in life. Maybe you’re helping women in corporate deal with performance anxiety. Whoever you’re helping, remember the specific needs of your specific audience.
This also goes for the calls to action in your podcast. What freebie does your ideal listener want in order to join your email list? You might be interested in my ‘launch a legendary podcast’ checklist.
Finally, doing a podcast audit allows you to reflect on who you serve and how best to serve them.
I am now offering podcast launch VIP days because I know my ideal person wants to launch her show NOW. She’s been dragging her feet for too long and wants 1:1 support so the process is fun, collaborative, and fast. She worries she might lose momentum with a course or an ongoing coaching package, and so a podcast launch VIP day is perfect for her.
While you’re reviewing the story of your ideal listener, also review the products and services that you’re offering them. Is there anything you want to add or subtract based on what they need?
Searchable
Make sure your ideal listeners can find your show.
In Apple podcasts, show titles, episode titles, and your author name are all searchable. So make sure you’re using the right keywords that your ideal listener is looking for. Same goes for optimizing your website for what your ideal person is searching for.
And make sure that your podcast and your website are still in alignment when it comes to messaging. Sometimes we tinker around on our sales page, on our home page, but then these updates are not reflected in our podcast or vice versa. So when you do a podcast audit, look at the big picture.
Are you creating a consistent message and a consistent story throughout all of your platforms? Your podcast is part of your whole ecosystem that you're sharing with people: Your podcast, your website, how you're showing up on social media.
On social, when people read your bio, do they understand what you do? Do they care? Do your posts and videos, make it clear what you do and how you can help people?
Pinterest is a visual search engine that can help people discover your podcast and your business.
Also make sure that you have subscribe buttons on your website so people can automatically subscribe to your podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify (learn how to create podcast badges).
Sound good
Of course you want your podcast to sound good, and, lucky for you, this is quite easy to do.
It all begins with a good recording environment.
Find a quiet room in your house, hopefully with some sound absorbing material, like rugs and carpets. If you've got furniture, that's wonderful. Bookshelves filled with books will absorb sound.
Draw the curtains. Cover your desk with a blanket. Sound bounces off hard surfaces, which cause an echo-y sound.
This is why the bathroom is typically the worst place where you can record a podcast.
After you record, you need to edit your podcast. You don’t need to go crazy and delete every ‘um,’ but you do need to make your show sound pleasing to listen to. Delete mistakes and distractions and tighten up excessively long pauses and boring tangents.
Edit for pace and flow and by the sentence or section. Don’t spend hours editing by the word.
And finally, you need a microphone. Your computer microphone just won't cut it. My favorite is the Samson Q2U. You can plug it right into your computer.
Systemized
Have a plan to produce your podcast in a consistent way so that it's fun for you and doesn't make you feel like you're on a content hamster wheel.
Have a plan for your podcast production. When do you interview? When do you record? When do you edit? When do you publish? Do you have a system for reaching out to podcast guests? Are you editing yourself or are you outsourcing and what is your process for that?
Think about how you can make your life easier by getting time on the calendar to batch certain parts of your podcast. Maybe this means you only record on the second Wednesday of the month.
And what’s the process you want your listeners to follow after they listened to your podcast?
As part of my podcast audit/refresh, I started mentioning downloadable freebies in both the intro and the outro. That’s my call to action in my show: to download a valuable freebie like a launch checklist and to visit my website to learn more about podcast launch VIP days and my online podcast courses.
Alright, so there you have it, my 5S Test for podcast success. Specific, seductive, searchable, sound good, and systemized.
If you are planning your podcast or want to do an audit on your existing podcast, you can use this framework to make sure you’re creating a podcast that will build your brand, connect you to your community on the deepest level, and increase your impact, influence, and income.
If you feel like you've started a brilliant podcast, but need fresh eyes to make sure it's fully optimized for discoverability, engagement, and growth, book a Polish Up Your Podcast strategic review of your show.
Are you about to launch your podcast and are looking for a media host? Buzzsprout is my top recommendation. As a listener to Podcasting Step by Step, you can try it for free and get a $20 Amazon gift card if you sign up for a paid plan using my partner link.