The Gateway Drug To Podcasting Is You

Podcasting may look hot, but it’s still one of the slowest growing mediums ever. As podcasters, we’re partly to blame. Here’s how we can fix that without changing how we make our own shows.

February 3, 2021

Article

We podcasters all have a lot of jobs to do. Making content requires us to wear many hats, often stretching our abilities to learn how to perform necessary tasks along the way. That’s part of the life we’ve chosen.

So at the risk of adding one more role to your already-overflowing plate, there’s another job I’m going to ask you to perform: The job of becoming an excellent ambassador for podcasting.

Yes, for podcasting. Not for your podcast. For all of podcasting. An awesome responsibility, for sure. But one you are uniquely qualified to perform.

Your favorite podcast is likely different than my favorite podcast. And we’re both podcasters! So there’s a slim chance your favorite podcast will be a hit with a person who’s yet to develop the podcast listening habit. And at the risk of dealing a devastating blow to your ego; your own podcast likely won’t be that person’s cup of tea either.

So before foisting your show on a friend or family member who isn’t a regular podcast listener, ease them into the lifestyle with a different show that won’t cause them the moral dilemma of telling you your baby is ugly.

De-mystifying Podcasting. And Hockey. And Beer.

I know it’s tempting to let your personal tastes or the popularity of a show influence any recommendation you give. But consider the following scenarios:

I love ice hockey. If someone who’s never witnessed a hockey game asked me for a recommendation, I would not suggest they watch a match between mites—7-year-olds. I think it’s fun watching the kids having fun as they play, and their games are super short! But does that really showcase the best of what hockey can be? Nope. Then again, I’m not going to suggest they plop down $300 for an ice-side seat to watch an NHL game on their own. They’ll see thousands of excited people around them, to be sure. But they’ll be puzzled why the refs stop the game at seemingly random times, and how “icing” could possibly be a bad thing in a sport that is quite literally dependent on the stuff?

If someone's never had a beer—perhaps they grew up in a very religious community or country—their first experience with the best-selling beer in America is not going to make them into a craft beer fan. Then again, if I suggest their first pint be a super-hoppy double IPA, they’re going to wonder if it’s their taste buds or mine that are clearly defective. Either way, their first experience will be a bad one and they’re not likely to come back and sample the wide range of choices available to them.

Make Their Next Podcast Listening Experience An Amazing One

For as hot as podcasting is right now, around 70% of people still don't listen to podcasts on a regular basis. It’s true that a little over half of people surveyed said they have listened to at least one podcast. But many of them—most of them—fail to pick up the habit.

Why is that? Was it a bad experience that kept them away? Possibly. More likely, I think, is that the experience was just… OK. Not necessarily bad. But certainly not great. And with all the quirks and challenges to overcome when adopting the podcasting habit, there’s just not enough payoff if the listening experience doesn’t spark joy.

But you have a chance to right that ship. You, as the podcaster they know, can ensure that their next listening experience knocks their socks off. Don’t squander this opportunity. Don’t try to push your own show. Don’t let them fend for themselves in the popularity-ranked charts.

Give them an IHNI instead.

I Had No Idea Podcasts Could Be So Great!

“I had no idea!” That’s what IHNI stands for, and that’s what you want to hear as they listen. Well, that’s what you want to imagine running through their head when the very first seconds of an episode playing in their ears. An episode from a podcast you recommended. Not because you love it or because millions of people love it. No. You chose that podcast because you knew it would be unlike anything they’ve ever heard before.

This is your job. It’s a job every bit as important as making a great show and being a great marketer. In fact, I suggest to you that it might be even more important than those other jobs.

Luckily, performing this job is a straightforward task that you can execute flawlessly every time. All it requires is that you install a second podcast listening app on your mobile device, and that you add to that app 2-3 shows that give that IHNI moment. Subscribe to those shows in that app so they are always kept fresh. You choose the app. You choose the shows.

The next time the inevitable, “Hey, I hear you're a podcaster, so what should I listen to?” conversation happens, you won't have to think about your answer. You can keep your marketer-brain on standby. You can be an excellent ambassador for all of podcasting by simply opening the app on your phone and sharing those shows with the fledgling podcast listener standing in front of you.

And hopefully, you can see the IHNI moment in their eyes as their ears experience the amazing content that exists among the millions of podcasts available.

After that, you can tell them about your show.

Spreading IHNIs One-To-Many

The best ambassadors among us will be proactive in their efforts to spread IHNIs far and wide. For my part, I’m going niche and spreading the best-sounding podcast fiction with the world every Sunday at 9:00a Phoenix-time (4:00p London, 11:00p Bangkok). Podcast fiction is a subset of podcasting I cherish and I am eager to get more people listening, especially those who’ve never listened to podcasts!

I’d love it if you’d join me. Please share the link above with your friends and family who love fiction. No, sorry… it’s not a podcast. It’s a live group conversation currently via Clubhouse. If you can’t make it, you can see my list of recommended podcast fiction on Podchaser. I add to it frequently.

Crowdsourcing Your IHNI Podcast Selections

The tough part is choosing what IHNI shows should go on your list. Perhaps that’s made easier with some close-knit friends who also listen to a lot of podcasts? Send them this episode to explain the need for this action, then start collaborating! They probably have some hidden gems you’ve yet to discover. And I’m sure you have some that will be new to them too!

We all need to be great ambassadors to podcasting. Every survey shows that most podcast discovery happens by word of mouth. So if you’ve not yet been asked by a friend to make a podcast recommendation, you soon will be. Have your IHNIs at the ready.

If you think this is a good idea and want to show me a little love and support this and the other thoughts I bring to you four days a week on Podcast Pontifications, please go to BuyMeACoffee.com/evoterra to buy me a virtual coffee as a way of thanks.

I shall be back tomorrow with yet another Podcast Pontifications.

Cheers!

Transcript

Podcasting may look hot, but it's still one of the slowest growing mediums ever. And as podcasters, we're partly to blame. Here's how we can fix that without having to change anything about our shows.
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Hello, and welcome to another Podcast Pontifications with me, Evo Terra.
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We all have a lot of jobs to do as podcasters. You know, making content requires us to wear lots of hats, some of which we're not really well-skilled in, but we learn how to be that way. So at the risk of adding too much to your plate, I'm going to give you one more job to perform, and that is becoming an excellent ambassador to podcasting for those who've yet to develop the podcast listening habit.
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Here's the deal, your favorite podcast and my favorite podcast are probably different, and we have something in common. So there's a very good chance that your favorite podcast will have no appeal to the person on the other end.
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Also keen point, the podcast you make might not be their favorite podcast ever. You're probably talking to friends and family, friends, family who want to support you, right? Well, they also have different interests than you, and yes, they may say congratulations, but are you really making a podcast that they really want to listen to? That will be their favorite?
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Also, recommending the most popular podcast probably isn't a good idea. I mean, let me give you an example of what I mean by these concepts, switching out of podcasting. If someone has never been to a hockey game - I love ice hockey - you don't take them to their first experience to see a game played by seven-year-olds. Sure, that's a lot of fun, but you're not going to instill a long-time love of hockey if that's their first experience.
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Then again, you also should not buy them ice seats at a professional game and walk away from them. No, instead you guide them through the process, watching TV with them, watch some games, talk about the game, whatever. You are a good guide to get them into the weird game that is ice hockey.
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If someone's never had a beer, I don't know they grew up in a very religious community or country or family, the first beer you give them should not be a Budweiser. You're not going to make that person into a craft beer drinker. Then again, you also should not slam a super hoppy double IPA in front of them either. Going to be bad experiences. They're never going to come back.
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No, instead you find out about their tastes, you guide them through the process. See 70% of the listening, excuse me, 70% of the world still doesn't listen to podcasts on a regular basis. Little over half said they've tried podcasts, but for a lot of them, it was a bad first-time experience. Why should they come back?
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You've got a chance here. Maybe their second time listening has to really grab their attention. And so what I'm imploring you to do for their second time you have to present to them, not your show, not the favorite show that you have, and certainly not the most popular show that you have, that you've ever heard of.
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No, you need to give them an IHNI. An IHNI, which stands for, I Had No Idea that's what a podcast could be. That's what you need to deliver to them - that experience. Their very next experience of a podcast, of listening to a podcast must make them say, "Wow, I had no idea this is what's in this giant pile that's millions of shows large. There are things like this."
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Now here's a simple technique of how you can do that. You install a second podcatcher on your phone and you do not listen to things on this podcatcher on your phone. You instead subscribe to one, two, three, four, whatever the number is, doesn't have to be crazy, a handful of shows, not that you like, not that are your favorites, not that are terribly popular, but shows that really encapsulate the wow, I had no idea.
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That's it. So when the inevitable, "Hey, I hear that you're a podcaster. What should I listen to?" conversation comes around you don't have to think. You can turn off your marketer brain. You can turn off the part that says, "Ooh, one more person." No. You're going to be an ambassador, right?
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You're going to be an excellent ambassador for all of us. And so now you pull out your phone, you go to that second podcast listening app that you don't really use, and you say, here are some examples. Here's something I would recommend for you to listen to.
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And the nice thing, because you're subscribed, you can actually have them listen right there, or you can have them put that same app on their phone and add those shows to it. You have lots of opportunities not to talk about you, not talk about what's popular, but give them a show that will make their eyes really open to the possibilities - I guess their ears open, really, possibilities to what podcast can be with an IHNI.
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Now, there are other ways to spread the word about IHNIs like this. I do it every Sunday at nine o'clock in the morning, Phoenix time, that's 4:00 PM London and 11:00 PM Bangkok time, when I'm talking about podcast fiction. That's a subset of podcasting, which I am deeply in love with, not really involved with, but I'm deeply in love with it these days.
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And I listen to a lot of that content. So I'm sharing content every Sunday at nine o'clock. There's a link in the show notes, if you would like, Oh my God I just said that. There's a link in the episode description. If you would like to join me this coming Sunday so you can chime in to find out what podcast fiction I am listening to. No, it's not released as a podcast.
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Now, the tough part here is choosing what shows go in your IHNI list. It's hard. Here's what I suggest that you do. You got friends in podcasting, right? Well, ask around. Send them this episode. Sure, hey look a little marketing point for myself. Yeah. Obviously. Send them a link to this episode so they can understand the power of why you need to do this.
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And then maybe collectively communicate over whatever distance communication tools that you have and come up with a list. Here's some great things I think are wonderful. What are you thinking? Add that to your list and share it with others.
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If you want to support the show and the ideas that I come up with here every day on Podcast Pontifications, please go to buymeacoffee.com/evoterra and do that.
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And I shall be back tomorrow with yet another Podcast Pontifications.
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Cheers!

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