71: Podcasting: You're Doing it Wrong
“Podcasting is an exceptionally powerful way to connect with your potential clients.”
After four years in the podcasting space, I’ve seen more than my fair share of mistakes. And, unfortunately, I see the same ones repeated on an almost daily basis.
That’s why, in this episode, I’m going over the most common mistakes I see podcasters make and explain what should be done instead.
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Podcasting for Coaches | Episode 30: What Link Should You Use When Sharing Your Podcast?
Podcasting for Coaches | Episode 31: Educating Your Audience About Podcasts
Podcasting for Coaches | Episode 47: Why I Don't Care That My Podcast Download Numbers Aren't Great
How to add your podcast to every podcast directory
Podcasting for Coaches on Instagram
Podcasting for Coaches on Facebook
My Launch Consultation Packages
Online Course | How to Start a Podcast (For Your Coaching Business)
Transcript
Welcome to podcasting for coaches. I'm Britany Felix and I'm a podcast launch consultant who specializes in helping coaches and consultants utilize the power of podcasting as a way to build brand awareness and generate new leads for their business. I realize not every new coach or consultant can afford to hire someone to help launch their show. So I created this podcast as a way to guide you through the process of launching and utilizing your very own podcast to help you grow your business and reach a new audience of adoring followers and potential clients. If you're ready to get your voice and podcast out into the world, head over to podcasting for coaches.com to learn more. Welcome to Episode 71 of podcasting for coaches. Now, I know the title of this episode is a little bit click Beatty, and I do apologize for that. But honestly, there are some things that most podcasters just do incorrectly. And I want to squash that because most of these things are really simple fixes like super, super, super easy. It's just the most podcasters aren't aware, you know, you don't know what you don't know. So I want to help you know these things now, so that you can stop doing these things if you are, or make sure that you don't do them if you have yet to launch. So in this episode, we're going to cover some of the main slash most common mistakes that I see podcasters make and number one is that they don't use the right microphone for the recording environment. Now, you might have noticed that in a lot of advertisements, or images or TV shows or movies, anytime that anyone's on a microphone, you'll probably see like the fancy Blue Yeti, it's flashy, it looks good, it looks cool. So I totally get that. However, the Blue Yeti is not the right microphone for the vast majority of podcasters. I did break down in Episode Number six, all about these different microphones and which one you should use and when so I do recommend you going and listening to that if you're not sure what microphone you should have. But really quickly, basically, unless you are recording and just about a soundproof room, you do not want to use a condenser microphone, which is what a Blue Yeti is, you want to use a dynamic microphone like the ATR 2100, or the Samson q2, you Those are both going to be great starter, forgiving microphones. And one of the next things that most podcasters do is they don't have their podcast, everywhere that it should be. Most people are aware by now that you should have your podcast on Apple. Although some people still think that you can just have it on SoundCloud. And that's good enough. And I promise you that is not the case. So the main platforms that you want to get your show on because they are free and easy. Our Apple podcasts, Spotify, Google podcasts, Pandora, Stitcher tune in. And if you host with Lipson a couple other ones that are really easy to get your show on our Deezer radio.com mobile app and radio public. If your shows listed in Apple podcasts, it will be picked up by some of the other smaller podcast apps like overcast and podcast attic. So you don't have to worry about submitting directly to those. Submit to the ones that I just mentioned here at the very least. And then if you want to get into it and really dig deep, there are some other resources, I will link an article in the show notes from pod news, where it lists pretty much every platform you can put your show on, those are going to be so so so small, and receives so few downloads, that it's not really worth your time to worry about right up front in the beginning. But if you have some time, and especially if you have a VA who can kind of take care of these tasks for you Sure, why not submit to those other smaller platforms? Speaking of platforms, one of the biggest things that I see people do wrong, and it might be the number one biggest is when they share their show, they're only sharing the apple podcast link. Do not do this. I know I said that a little harshly. But I feel so strongly about this that I want to really hammer it home, do not do this. I actually covered this in Episode 30 of the podcast. But basically, by just sharing your Apple podcast link, you're ignoring anywhere from like 60 to 70%. Depending on which article you read of the world's population who uses an Android device, create a landing page or subscribe page on your website that has links to your podcast on all of the main platforms and then use that one link to promote your show. If you don't have your podcast on your website, which I'm going to talk about here in just a second. You can use something like pod link or there are several other sites that kind of create these landing pages for you. But of course, it's not on your branded website. So you're sending your listeners to another platform instead of sending them to your own. But do not share the apple podcast link. And I want to share a little anecdote from Instagram. I came across a post in my feed it was an audio Graham. I think I may have listened to it but I at least read the description for it and it sounded really cool. I was super interested in this topic and this episode in as guests, and I wanted to check it out, so I went to their bio, and the only link that they had was to the show on Apple Podcast. I am very anti Apple products. I own an Android device, I have a Samsung, I couldn't subscribe to the show. Now, yes, Apple podcast finally has a player on their actual website so that when you click these links, that does take you to a page where someone can listen to the episode. But unless they have Apple podcasts, they cannot subscribe to your show from that page. So they then have to take the time to go into their preferred app, search for your show, maybe find it maybe not search results are very finicky. And then hit subscribe, do not create those extra steps for your listener because they just won't do it. They really, really, really won't. And I didn't in this case, I wanted to check out this episode, but I'm busy. And I didn't want to have to go and find the official name and search for it and pull up my app, rather than if I just had a link where I could have clicked a button, maybe two, and then I was subscribed. So as I mentioned, the next thing I want to talk about is your website. If you're podcasting as part of a coaching or consulting business, or really any service based business, which most of you listening to this should be, you need a website, one just for your business. But two, you need your podcast to be on your website, because you want to be sending every single listener or potential listener to your website, Apple gets enough traffic, Spotify gets enough traffic, Google gets enough traffic, don't send them there, send them to your platform where they can check out your show on your website. Now, the mistake that I see when people do this, they have their podcast on their website. But they don't really display it properly. They don't think about what the listener is going to have to go through to find that show. they bury it, they don't include it in their main menu, they don't have a directory page with all of their episodes listed. They don't have a subscribe page, they don't have links to it from their blog posts. All of these things you need to think about when you're putting your podcast on your page, display it properly, have all of those different features of the listener is constantly seeing your podcast, because yes, you have your services. And that's great. And maybe you have a blog, and that's great. But you started a podcast or you are starting one for a reason. podcasting is an exceptionally powerful way to connect with your potential clients. So we want them to see this podcast while they're on your website so that they check it out. And they listen to it before they schedule that call with you or while they're waiting to have that call with you. And then they can fall in love with you and your personality and connect with you and bond with you before you ever have to actually talk to them. So again, display your podcast properly on your website. And another thing that I know most podcasters don't do is they're not really involved in communities online for podcasting. I know this seems crazy. Yes, you should be hanging out what your ideal clients are hanging out. So if that's Facebook groups completely unrelated to podcasting, which it probably is, yes, you should be there. But I want you to also be engaged in the podcasting community because you never know what opportunities are going to come up. You never know where you're going to find your next guest, you never know where you're gonna find your next guest appearance for yourself. You never know if you're going to find a new business partner you never ever, ever know where your next listener or client is going to come from. So I want you to get in these communities. My favorite one is she podcasts and there will be a link in the show notes, which you can find by going to podcasting for coaches.com. Click on the podcast tab in the main menu and go to episode number 71. That is seven one. Get in there and start interacting and engaging. And they have post every Tuesday, you can do pitch yourself Tuesday, where on that one thread you can offer to be a guest or find guests. Every Wednesday, you can share your latest episode. So definitely get involved. But beyond this, even for the people who are involved, the mistake that I then see them make is that yes, they're active and they're engaging. And they're talking about their show, which you're not really supposed to like mention the name of it or promote it. So you especially need to make sure that it's somewhere on your profile. So often I hear people talk about their show, or I should say I read and see people talk about their show and these groups. And I think Oh, that sounds really interesting. I wonder what show that is. And I go to their profile and there is not a single thing to be found about their podcast. And this also relates to your business as a coach or consultant. Yes, have a separate professional Facebook page, have a Facebook group. But don't forget about your personal profile, if that's how you're interacting with people on line, especially on Facebook. So have a header image that explains your business slash or podcast, you're allowed to have, I think like six featured images. Instead of these being selfies, have them be an image that goes to a particular service you offer or a particular episode that you really like. Use your bio section where you can include information to put links to your website and your show and your Instagram account. utilize all of these different features that Facebook is offering you and some of these other platforms as well. I'm not as familiar with like LinkedIn. I know Instagram, kind of like went through a little bit. But you can use things like link tree to have more links than just a one. Pinterest, I'm definitely not super familiar with them getting a little more into it. But take advantage of the real estate that you have on these profiles, even your personal ones, to advertise your show, make it so incredibly easy for people to know exactly what your show is, how to find it, and how to subscribe. Beyond that, the next thing that I see a lot of people forgetting to do is educate your audience. Now, I talked about this in a lot more detail in Episode 31. But so many coaches and consultants who have a podcast as part of their business, when they promote their episodes on these various platforms, they're like, hey, check out my latest podcast episode where we talk about blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, the links in the bio to take a listen. But they forget that not everyone knows what a podcast is, we have finally reached the point where more Americans have heard the term podcasts and have not. But that doesn't mean they know what it is or how to listen, it's still incredibly intimidating for a lot of people, especially because at this day and age, they know how popular it is. So they're embarrassed to admit they don't know what it is or how to listen. So build this into your promotion. One of the main objections that people have to listening to podcasts is that they think you have to pay for them. They hear the word subscribe and think it's a paid subscription. So just casually work in their word free. Just say, hey, check out the link in my bio to take a listen to the full episode for free on my website or your favorite podcast app. That's it. That's all you got to say. And then you've also covered the barrier of not knowing how to listen, because maybe they don't have a favorite podcast app, but they can listen to it right on your website. So that's a no brainer. So build in these education aspects. And definitely take a listen to episode number 31, where I talk about that more exactly what you should be educating them on and how you should be doing that. One of the other absolute biggest mistakes I see podcasters make is that they focus on their download numbers, way too much. So many posts in these communities, as you will learn if you're in there, you get in there, as I suggest are about how do I grow my audience? How do I get my show in front of more people. Basically, they're using their download numbers as a measurement of success for their show. And that is absolutely incorrect. I talked about this in a lot more detail in Episode Number 47, where I explained why I don't really care, the my download numbers aren't super fantastic. Download numbers are not really a measurement of success, unless you're solely starting a podcast for the purpose of getting advertisers and sponsors, which as a coach or consultant or a service based business, you should not be doing that you should be promoting your own products and services. So please do not focus on your download numbers, please do not use that as a measurement of success. You want to focus more on the engagement, you want to focus on the potential clients are coming in the potential leads are your social media platforms growing, all of those things are going to be way more beneficial for your business than a superficial number. Because to be perfectly honest, a lot of these numbers aren't super accurate, and they are incredibly misleading. So take a listen to Episode 47 if you want to learn more about that. And the very last mistake that I want to talk about applies specifically to those of you who are podcasting as part of a business. And that is that a lot of you forget to mention your business or how people can work with you. Especially if you have an interview show or you get so focused on providing this amazing content, which is super informative and incredibly valuable. And I know your audience absolutely loves it. But you don't explain that they can work with you. I've had this happen with multiple of my clients where I start editing their show. And I realized that I don't know what services they offer. If I were a completely new listener, I would have no idea that I could hire them to help me with this particular thing. So be sure that you are talking about your services, you obviously don't want to be super spammy with this, just work them in organically, as I hopefully do with this show. But you still want to provide that information. Don't shoot yourself in the foot. Don't do a disservice to your listeners, let them connect with you and know that they can hire you or purchase these courses or products from you that are going to help them and continue on with whatever you're talking about in that particular episode. So that's going to wrap up this episode. I do of course want to take this moment to organically work in that I have some more information like this that can help you. I recently started the podcasting insiders Club, which is a paid monthly email newsletter. It goes out on the last day of the month, but it's only $5 a month. So it's super incredibly affordable. But it provides a ton of incredible information that you need to know as a podcaster without you having to go through hours and hours every week of research, listening to podcasts about podcasts and reading podcast magazines and podcast blog articles and being super involved in these communities on a daily basis. I do all of the legwork for you and I weed out any of the information that you don't absolutely need to know. And then I deliver it in a concise monthly newsletter for you so that you have it. All right there. You can implement any of the things that I have learned in that month. So if you want to check out that monthly newsletter just go to podcasting for coaches.com there is a tab in the main menu there's also a bar at the top and there's of course a link in the show notes for this episode. Thank you so much for joining me and we will see you back here next week where we are going to interview get another successful podcaster And that wraps up another episode of podcasting for coaches. If you'd like to connect with me further, you can do so on Instagram at podcasting for coaches. If you know it's time to finally get serious about starting your podcast, go to podcasting for coaches comm and click on the work with me tab in the main menu to learn more about my one on one launch consultation packages or my self paced online course. And I look forward to seeing the podcasts that you create and put out into the world