Why do some podcasts grow while others do not?

Jeremy Enns asked himself this question after seeing 50% of his clients thrive while others stagnated, even though they were all producing great content.

As CEO and Storyteller In Chief of Counterweight Creative, a podcast strategy and marketing agency, he went looking for answers and shares them with me on Podcasting Step by Step.

We discuss: 

1. How Your Podcast’s Positioning Can (And Will) Make Or Break Your Show

2. What Most Podcasters Get Wrong About The Role Their Podcast Is Best Suited To Play In Their Marketing System

3. How a 200 Download/Ep Podcast Pulled Off A $300K Launch

If you’re interested in podcast sponsorships, Jeremy is holding a free 5-day workshop on how small shows can land big sponsors. If you’d like to sign up for that, you can use my partner link sarahfmikutel.com/jeremy This is happening March 29-April 2 2021, after which I’ll link to something else cool Jeremy has going on :)

Jeremy’s also about to re-open his course Podcast Marketing Academy. I’m an affiliate partner for Jeremy because I admire his work.

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You still need to market your podcast

The following is an excerpt from my interview with Jeremy on Podcasting Step by Step:

“Thinking about your podcast as the way to grow your audience is not really effective because, while podcasting is a marketing tool, you actually still need to market your podcast in order to get people to it.

We need this exposure system for our content, our businesses, whatever we're looking to get attention for. The ultimate goal, whether that's selling a product or service or being able to sell sponsorship spots or whatever…We need that exposure system to get people aware of us. But in order to take action, in order to get people to convert into customers or clients or whatever that might be, we also need this trust system in our businesses.

And so this is where podcasting really shines unlike any other platform out there. I'm guessing anybody who is a podcast listener themselves, you have at least one show that you finished through the entire back catalog. And spent countless hours listening to the host with them in your ears, and probably you really trust this person.

And if they come out with an offer, you're, like, first in line to buy it. And so I think that we need this reframe as podcasters: The podcast is not necessarily meant to grow our audience. It's meant to nurture them and build trust with them over time.”

The way most podcasters try to grow their show is backward

Jeremy’s explanation of why some of his clients had so much success in growing their podcast audience:

“They were so committed to their audiences. They were so engaged on social media, through all of their different platforms. It was clear that was a focus of theirs.

I started to see it play out time and time again, where you can tell that they're excited to engage with and talk with their audience. It’s really, like, this ‘audience first’ mentality. Those are the people who end up growing.

Sometimes you just need to find those initial group of people. Those first, like five or 10 people. If you can build a super strong, intimate community of 10 people who you engage with super regularly, those people are going to spread the word.”

In other words, instead of hustling to find new listeners, treat your existing listeners like gold.

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.

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