Accepting Podcast Listeners' Interest vs Desire Conflict [S3E50]

Podcast Pontifications

Growing your podcast’s audience isn’t as easy as you want it to be. Even if you do all the marketing and promotional things right, you’ll likely find that your podcast will only attract a tiny fraction of people who are interested in the topic of your show.

It’s desire mixed with medium preferences that determine whether someone listens to your podcast or not.

I love cooking and have been (and enjoyed being the cook in my family for 31 years. Yet I’ve never listened to a cooking podcast.

I use email but I don’t subscribe to any cooking newsletters.

I’m quite active on social media, but I don’t follow any cooking-related content providers.

I have a TV and subscribe to more than one OTT streaming service. But I don't watch cooking shows on any channel. Not even YouTube videos.

Content providers on those mediums reach me all the time. But I don’t engage with that reach. I’m not going to take the action they want me to take. I’m not going to subscribe. I’m not going to watch. I’m not going to listen. I’m not going to click through.

I simply do not have the desire to do so.

This is what we’re up against in podcasting. Even if we reached thousands or millions of people with highly targeted and customized messages that extol the benefits of listening to our podcast, we’d only ever going to convert a small fraction to become listeners of our podcast.

Time is a big factor. Someone might have a high interest in the topics you cover on your show, but do they have the time to listen?

Need is another. It doesn’t matter how much your podcast scratches a particular itch if the would-be-listener is already getting that itch scratched by another podcast. Or five other podcasts.

Or it could be an issue of taste. The content you create on your podcast or the way you cover your topic may not fit the desired flavor profile of someone else interested in that very same topic.

Most likely, assuming you’re making a top-notch show that is worthy of growth, is the harsh reality that the person with high interest in the topic may have no desire to consume content about that topic in podcast form.

Accepting the fact that interest in a topic does not equate desire to listen to a podcast on that topic is key.

Repurposing content can help. Those same people into the thing may have a desire to consume content about the thing in a different medium.And maybe you’ll find that the growth you were looking for expressed in one of those other mediums. Wouldn’t that be interesting?

In the meantime, you need to continue to activate your existing listeners. Your existing listeners already have the desire to listen to your show. That's why every episode of this podcast includes a short plea to my own listeners - and my readers - that they take a moment to share it with a friend. Because the only way Podcast Pontifications grows is when one working podcast shares the show or newsletter with another working podcaster.

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Read the full article and share with a friend: https://podcastpontifications.com/episode/accepting-podcast-listeners-interest-vs-desire-conflict

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Podcast Pontifications is published by Evo Terra four times a week and is designed to make podcasting better, not just easier.

Mentioned in this episode:

Support For Abortion Rights

While Americans overwhelmingly support the right of an individual to make their own decisions about abortion, unfortunately, that right is no longer protected everywhere in the U.S. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24th. Abortion is a basic healthcare need for the millions of people who can become pregnant. Everyone should have the freedom to decide what’s best for themselves and their families, including when it comes to ending a pregnancy. This decision has dire consequences for individual health and safety, and could have harsh repercussions for other landmark decisions. Restricting access to comprehensive reproductive care, including abortion, threatens the health and independence of all Americans. Even if you live in a state where abortion rights are upheld, access to safe medical procedures shouldn’t be determined by location, and it shouldn't be the privilege of a small few. You can help by donating to local abortion funds. To find out where to donate for each state, visit donations4abortion.com. If you or someone you know needs help, or if you want to get more involved, here are 5 resources: 1. ShoutYourAbortion.com is a campaign to normalize abortion. 2. DontBanEquality.com is a campaign for companies to take a stand against abortion restrictions. 3. Abortion.cafe has information about where to find clinics. 4. PlanCPills.org provides early at-home abortion pills that you can keep in your medicine cabinet. 5. Choice.CRD.co has a collection of these resources and more. We encourage you to speak up! And spread the word.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy
Podsights - https://podsights.com/privacy