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How To Keep Listeners Interested In Your Podcasts
The first rule of thumb in this podcasting guide is that you need to know what you are talking about. How so? For example, let's say that you have always worked in the IT industry.
Do you think you can make a good interview to a group of people who have worked all their life in the garbage disposal industry? Difficult, isn't it?
Unless, of course, you have a degree in journalism or a knack for making interviews, your podcast will suck and people will choose another one that can offer more value for their time. Remember that this is a very difficult market, there are dozens of podcasts out there and each one competes for a limited audience (consider that only a few million people in the world hear podcasts, while hundreds of millions hear radio transmissions).
The second tip is to find your niche market. What kind of people do you want as an audience? This isn't the roaring twenties, when all the family heard the same radio programming without caring if they liked it or not. Nor it is the fifties, when there was one television set in the entire house and you were limited to the programming that the TV stations imposed.
Today, one house can have as much as seven television sets and the same number or radios. In one room you can be watching a NFL match while your son can be playing with his new Nintendo Wii gaming console. Now it is the client the one that chooses what to do, and when. So, do not expect to have an audience if you are pointing to the wrong market.
One additional thing when considering your niche market for your future podcast: the majority of people who listens to podcasts have a superior knowledge of computers than the average American. You will have to find what this group of people likes in order to find what you want to talk about.
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Forget about competing. There are people who are real experts out there. If you want to talk about technology, can you expect to compete with Twit? Quite unlikely, especially with the level of geekness and experience that the interviewers have. Look for a group of people who haven't been exploited yet or are inadequately represented.
Fourth, do not overextend your interviews. Would you hear a podcast of three hours? Quite unlikely, isn't it? Reduce it to 30 to 45 minutes, not more. Usually, people hear podcasts when going to work or while traveling. After all, what a better way to spend unproductive time by doing something productive!
This takes us to the next issue: make your audience feel that hearing your podcast is actually useful for them, not a waste of time. Take note on some comments and questions that aren't part of common knowledge of your audience. That way, your podcasting listeners can say "how interesting!" These are the kind of hooks that may increment your audience.
The art of listen to podcasting is the art of mastering a good interview. Go to the iTunes popularity ranking and hear some of the most downloaded podcasts that are out there. Notice how many interviewers exist and how each one of them provides the program with their own special contribution. Write them down and use it as a personal podcasting guide for future reference.
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