What do you want?
Is podcasting part of the bigger picture for you – or is having your own web radio show the only marketing you do?
Are you striving for perfection in your audio quality, or more focused on the content and nurturing your customer community?
What is your endgame for your podcast? Is there an endgame? And do you really believe there has to be a final show in mind, when you think that way?
While I’ve been beavering away writing Sharing Superheroes over at Word And Mouth, lots of thoughts have been crossing my mind on exactly what we can achieve when we work in silos. I know for a while back there podcasting was all I could think about – and when you can’t see the wood for the trees, dangerous things happen.
You’ll have read in my last article how, even when you’re totally concentrated on just one thing, you have to see the bigger picture.
You need to know that what you’re doing is contributing to the whole. Rare is it we do one thing and it’s enough, on its own. Chaos theory, cause and effect, Deepak Chopra – when you flap your wings, amazing things happen in ways you could never dream of.
Be focused, and cast your net wide
I used to worry that my audio quality was just so. It had to reach my ridiculously high expectations, or it was canned. So much time lost, so much valuable content shitcanned.
The fact is that there is no such thing as perfection. In anything – even your flash new iPhone 62. And it’s the flaws that make us human, allow others to empathise with us and want the stuff we do.
There is nothing worse than a crackly show, and in the early episodes of the Vergecast I used to shout at my smartphone every time one of the guys nearly blew out my eardrums with his plosives. But there has to be a middle ground – some place where you have clear, punchy vocals with minimum effort.
It should take you no more than 10 hours to get more-than-acceptable recording quality. Once you’ve figured that out, you need to spend all the time you can in planning and preparation mode.
Next, forget about obsessing over the odd umm. Seriously – this stuff is ridiculous. There hasn’t been a single president or prime minister who didn’t let a few erms and ahhs slip into their tightly-scripted speech. And the last thing you want is to sound like you’re scripted. God no!
So it all boils down to what you actually want from your podcast. Are you going to let it breathe and grow by focusing on other ways to promote it? Will it itself promote your other work?
What is your whole?
Before you hit record, and preferably at the start of every week, look at your goals for the year. How will that show contribute to your annual success story?
Are you going to finally audit your blog to see which articles really need expanding upon and complementing by future shows? Will you finish that eBook so you can record some web radio episodes to give that a boost?
How about building towards that sponsorship proposal for the big business in your niche who would just love to be able to talk to your listeners?
All I’m saying is this: Stop fretting about the show on its own, and start dreaming big. About putting plans into place to make your podcast swell your business, or start generating new excitement or money for your hobby, passion or profession.
Be who you deserve to be, and let your podcast play a huge role in that. But please – never rely on your show alone. The world is a big place, and you owe it to yourself to shine.
Ready to create customer communities?
Pixels on a page are great for broadcasting basic information about your business, but useless when it comes to building meaningful - and profitable - customer relationships.
On the other hand, audio marketing is your fast pass to developing meaningful moments with your clients that create trust, engagement and loyalty. Get those in motion, and you crack the code: Word and mouth marketing from the people who matter most to your organisation.
Talk audio marketing with The Podcast Guy and find out...
- How your passion and personality makes it easy to build a sustainable success story for your business.
- Why you tell more, to TEL more.
- When audio marketing doesn't work. Because nothing is perfect.
Get connected now: Listen to The Podcast Guy Show and chat to The Podcast Guy.
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