Podcasting is powerful. It offers huge opportunities to experts, authors, coaches, speakers and entrepreneurs to increase impact, influence and income for their brand. If you’ve spent time online in entrepreneurial spaces or business coaching networks you’ll know the benefit of working out your ideal client avatar for promoting and selling your services and products. The same is true of your podcast. Being specific about your perfect listener enables you to niche down in the words you use in all elements of your show – the title, the description, the episode titles, the show notes. It also helps with marketing – you have a greater appreciation of the problems your potential clients are struggling with. These issues, fears and frustrations can be addressed in detail in your podcast, making your content valuable.
First things first…
Be interested
Make sure that the content you’re about to create is actually for people you want to serve. If there’s even the slightest chance that your interest in the subject will dwindle after a few months, then re-think it now.
Know your target audience
Be clear on your target audience. Know exactly who you want to speak to and why your content matters to them. Be precise about who you are addressing and the issues they are encountering and you’ll get much better results. It’ll be easier for prospective listeners to know, when they come across your show title in iTunes, that it is right for them. Thinking about your ideal listener as a specific person will improve the listener’s rapport with you. Knowing your target audience will allow you to create much more of a sense of belonging and connection. By speaking to everyone, your material becomes generic and the power of your message becomes diluted.
Let your target audience inform your branding
When building your podcast, do so with the listener in mind for absolutely everything. This includes the style of the show – upbeat or relaxed – content, show length, type of episode – short and snappy or longer and more relaxed – daily, monthly or weekly; how often the perfect listener will want your content. This will inform your branding – not just the artwork but also the style of the show – intros, outros, music, voiceover, all of the content that you create. Every episode that goes out should have your perfect listener in mind. Think about what they need to hear, learn and want to be educated on.
7 Questions to help you determine your perfect listener avatar:
- What do they want to learn?
Understanding this motivation is key to knowing what you’re going to build with your podcast.
2. How pushed for time are they?
We’re all super busy … they’d probably love to sit down and read lots of books on their area of interest but don’t have the time. They may not have the time to watch YouTube videos, or they may not have a preference for video material as a learning style. But with a podcast they have the option to consume content as they’re going about their daily lives – and this is crucial.
3. Where does your listener want to belong?
A podcast isn’t just information or learning – it is a powerful way to build your own tribe, to build a community of like-minded individuals.
4. What does a typical day in their life look like?
Understanding what their everyday looks like will help you decide on the length of episodes to create. Will they want to consume lots of information in one go to learn a particular topic in all its depth or will they want something drip fed over a number of weeks? This will help you choose between creating specific series and ongoing episodes.
5. How far along the path to having a successful business or lifestyle are they?
Reflect on their aspirations, ambitions and frustration with where they are in life.
6. How do these individuals feel about the problem you’ll talk about in your podcast?
That emotional connection will inform the style of interview, the type of guests you bring on and the way you tackle the topic that you are an expert, or positioning yourself as an expert, in.
7. What do they hope to walk away with?
This is really important – not only will you service their pain by removing that problem, you are also helping to create a gain for them. Your podcast may be the route to inspiration, motivation, action and recovery.
Once your perfect listener profile is complete, put yourself in their shoes and consider what you would type into Google to solve your problems. This will give you valuable ideas for keywords to include in your podcast name, show description and individual episodes.
The perfect listener avatar is powerful because when you are clear on this, your listenership will grow organically. Your podcast will speak directly to them and directly to their problems.
Are you ready to start a podcast but looking for full support?
So, have you decided that starting a podcast is for you? If so, let me introduce you to our essential Legendary Podcast Launch.
Here at Influential Audio- The Podcast Agency we are the leaders in successful global podcast launch and production, and our high level consultancy makes all the difference. Our team have been involved in 300+ podcast launches (all chart-topping so far!), editing, mixing and mastering thousands of hours of audio, and supporting the most incredible brand-positioning launches. This has all been achieved through our Legendary Podcast Launch package.
With us, your podcast is in safe hands for success. If you’re serious about elevating your brand, it’s time to take action! Let’s work together to produce a premium quality podcast that positions you powerfully.
For more information on our Legendary Podcast Launch package click here