Big Tech Doesn't Care About Your Podcast

Big tech provided podcasting's first shot in the arm in the early days. In fact, big tech often provided the catalyst for several inflection points in podcasting. But that was then. Things have changed.

Hello, and welcome to another Podcast Pontifications with me, Evo Terra.

Big tech doesn't care about your podcasting goals or your podcasting objectives. No, seriously. They do not. Worse, big tech, for the most part, doesn't really care about podcasting. At least not the way that you and I care about podcasting.

And yeah, I'm lumping all big tech into this blanket statement. Yes, even the ones who have a vested interest or a leadership position in podcasting. They do not care the way we care about podcasting.

Remember just a few weeks ago, when we were eagerly analyzing the hidden Twitter code someone found in Twitter? And we thought these are going to be their big podcasting plans. We followed that up with some breathless speculation about what all of that might mean. A combination of Twitter spaces and podcasting maybe? Would we be able to actually upload an MP3 file finally? Could people subscribe to podcasts with Twitter?

Well, that's a pretty safe bet that those plans are all out the window as Twitter tries to figure out what its priorities actually are now that there's a new sheriff in town. And I can't imagine that "integrate podcasting" is high on Elon's list of ways to earn back $44 billion.

And remember a few months ago when Facebook gave us the ability to finally link our RSS feeds to our Facebook pages? And all the suggestions from pundents, like myself, we had about the need to follow up with that while we speculated on what might be the next steps on what podcasting will happen like inside of Facebook? You know, this platform that has reach we can only dream of in podcasting and how great it was going to be now that we could finally have just audio playing on Facebook for the entire world to see?

Yeah, well that fizzled out, didn't it? As did Facebook's attention on podcasting, right? Cause it's now Metaverse or bust. And audio first? It's kind of going in the opposite direction of the immersive 3D world that Zuckerberg is betting his entire fortune and your dog photos on.

And remember how disappointed we were by YouTube's nothing burger event at Podcast Evolutions last month? Only then to be reenergized a few days later by a leaked slide deck that was detailing Youtube's plans to really utter podcast domination? As if we all conveniently forgot about all the times that Google disappointed podcasters since, well, since every time they made a podcast announcement.

But maybe we won't be disappointed this time, maybe. I'm not betting on it. Past performance remains the best predictor of future behavior. And it's the same for podcast specific big tech, too. Apple and Spotify both have monetization opportunities for podcasts through their subscriptions. And I'm sure some podcasts are making really good money from those programs. But are most?

And let me get more specific than that, how's that working out for your show? Are you even using those options? And if you are, do you rely on them? Can you rely on them? Or, for podcast adjacent, audio-specific technology like smart speakers and social or drop-in audio?

And I mean, yeah, sure, a few podcasts are still on those trying out things, but the attrition rate and declining user rates on those services is appauling. Spotify is pulling back their efforts and I expect Twitter to fully do the same. And I don't know that the standalone apps like Clubhouse, Wisdom, and Fireside can really exist for all that much longer. Fun while it lasted, I guess.

All of this reinforces my comment that big tech does not care about podcasting. At least not the way that you and I care about podcasting. So what do we do about it? Well, I have two ideas.

So here's what you can do. You can recognize that fact and start doing things to put you in the driver's seat, not big tech. That means understanding that podcasting apps and directories, including but not limited to, to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, Amazon, Pandora, name them all. Understanding that having your podcasts listed there is not enough.

Here's a litmus test for you. Google the name of your show and if one of those platforms, the link to one of those platforms, comes up before a link you actually control - I mean, your website - then big tech is beating you. And that's the first move you should start working on. Build a web presence that you own that outranks every other listing.

Now, if your network owns your show's website, well, that's going to be a problem for you. But make it a problem for them. Change it if you can. Renegotiate so that you can build your own web presence, or at least make sure that whatever you're getting out of the deal is enough so that it sits well with you because you can't control your show's presence.

Look, I highly doubt you're going to get there by just letting your RSS feed populate a website. But sure, you can try that. But again, I have my doubts. I've seen time and time again where an actual website for a podcast with built out episode pages and lots of other information outranks even powerhouses like Apple Podcast listings.

Now, no, it's not going to happen overnight. It might take several months, and, yes, it is going to require you to post more than just a paragraph and some links per episode. Look, you don't have to know a damn thing about SEO to do this. Just write good content, make a good onpage experience and share those links every time you're sharing, rather than a link to your directory listing. Don't link to a Linktree or anything else. Stick with that domain you own.

The second thing you can do, which I think you should do at the exact same time, is start owning the relationship with your audience. That means more than just asking them to subscribe to your show in their preferred listening app. Look, they already do that. And it also means more than just getting them to follow you on social media, join a Discord server or some other community that you built.

I mean get their email addresses, which means you have to give them a reason to give you their email addresses. And no, sending out a monthly roundup of your episodes probably isn't enough. Nor is emailing them random recipes because you feel like you need to give them some content from you.

Look, it requires you to figure out what you can create that's worthy of getting them to sign up and also getting them to look forward to receiving this stuff in their inbox in a regular basis.

Whatever you're producing, make it mission critical to their success if at all possible. Make it something more than they can get just by listening to your episodes. You have to make it valuable for them. Because once you have that direct communication line with your audience, that email, it can't be taken away from you. Well, I guess they could change your email address or you could have the privilege revoked if, you know, by them reporting to spam, if you are, you know, doing wrong things.

So be smart. I've seen other podcasters actually do this with text messages. And that works. Um, but then again, I'm not the kind of guy that oftentimes answers my text messages, so I'm not qualified to talk about the success of those or not. But that does actually count as a direct line of communication, so if you're inclined to do that, sure, sure. Yeah, go for it.

That's just two things, two things you can start working on right away to keep you from being at the whims of changing priorities, tantrums, governmental overreach, or anything else these big tech companies are going to do. Two things you can do to keep you in control of your podcast success. Because big tech isn't going to do it for you.

With that, I shall be back next week with yet another Podcast Pontifications.

Cheers!

Podcast Pontifications is written and narrated by Evo Terra. He's on a mission to make podcasting better. Links to everything mentioned in today's episode are in the notes section of your podcast listening app. A written-to-be-read article based on today's episode is available at podcastpontifications.com where you'll also find a video version and a corrected transcript, both created by Allie Press. Podcast Pontifications is a production of Simpler Media. Find out more at Simpler.Media.