There are ways to grow your podcast, and there are ways to grow as a person. Podcasting aside, challenging yourself is extremely important in everyday life. We don’t grow as people if we don’t try new, sometimes difficult, things. The challenges below are not all that difficult, but will certainly prove to be very fruitful and rewarding for your podcast, and hopefully for yourself as a person. Enjoy and good luck!!
1. Improve Your Vocabulary
A greater knowledge of the English language (or whichever language you podcast in) is extremely important in podcasting. Now, this does not mean trying to sound like an academic when you speak, but rather to be able to fully and properly articulate what you are trying to say. Not only does a broader vocabulary enable you to better communicate, but it also opens up unique avenues of conversation, brings in fresh ideas, and really gives your podcast new life. Powerful and effective language can help you to make a greater impact in the community that you’ve created, spreading your message in a much more influential manner. If you can expand your use of the English language you will certainly make yourself sound more appealing to your listeners, and sure to capture your audience in an authentic way.
Challenge: Use two new words in each episode.
For more ways to improve your speaking, check out our article on The Secret Ingredient to Public Speaking For Your Podcast.
2. Up Your Quantity
More often than not, quality beats quantity and an appropriate balance between the two will reap the best results. However, in podcasting sometimes upping the quantity is exactly what you need to make it to the top. Bear in mind, committing to a daily show requires dedication and a lot of hard work. This is definitely not the right strategy for everyone. The key is to set a goal for increased, consistent episodes that makes the most sense for you and your show. Perhaps this means building up a big content bank of episodes before your launch date to help you stick to pushing out as many episodes in the first few months of your show. Another strategy is to launch your show with at least few episodes at once. This allows you to get more downloads during the initial week of your launch. It can also be incredibly good for your show’s growth to continue with a higher frequency of episodes while you have the initial traction, and then eventually scaling down once you’ve gained your audience. Already a long-time podcaster? Take the challenge to switch things up and launch a week-long campaign, publishing one episode every day, and engaging your listeners to take part in every day – like a mini-conference! Up the quantity, try something new, and results will follow.
Challenge: Publish an episode per day for a week.
3. Do Interviews!!
Conducting guest interview is possibly one of the most popular content tools. Interviews are fun and help in forming great, fruitful connections with others in your industry. You will find few podcasts that don’t do at least the odd interview here and there, and there is obviously a reason for this. They work! You’ll need to do your research and line up questions, but it will make for some excellent content for your show! Plus, with each guest that comes on, it brings a ton of valuable content to your podcast and gives your audience an enriched experience. On top of that, it also provides you with increased exposure. Every guest that comes on brings with them a whole new audience!
Challenge: Connect with 15 different potential interview candidates.
To find out more about scheduling interviews, check out our article on 5 Tips to Help You Find Your Next Podcast Guest.
4. Offer Free Shoutouts
One of the first things to learn as a podcaster is that you are not alone in this! Yes, you are the host and creator of the show, but it would not exist if not for others. It is much more powerful to create a community than simply to have followers. This connection is true for your audience, as well as for other podcasters. A way to make these connections with other podcasters is to give free shoutouts to those who are killing it on the podcasting scene. This not only is a very nice gesture, it also promotes comradery in the podcasting community. Whether you call it Follow Friday or Shout-out Saturday, spice up your content and give your listeners some new avenues and shows to check out.
Challenge: Give some free love to one other podcaster per episode.
5. Giveaway Prizes to Listeners
Whether you’re a listener, podcaster, or editor, everyone loves a good prize! Implementing some way to give back to your podcast community is a great way to not only win their loyalty but also offers an opportunity for further engagement. True, authentic engagement is key to building a strong listener base and really connecting with the audience you are influencing. Giving prizes can be done at a minimal cost as it doesn’t have to be anything too extravagant. It can also be used as a great incentive for providing feedback, writing a review, or referring a friend. Feedback can be invaluable to your show, and often times listeners just need a little motivation to take steps towards your call to action.
Challenge: Announce prizes for listeners each week in exchange for a review on iTunes or Stitcher.
For more tips on getting more reviews, check out our article on How to Make it Easier for Listeners to Review Your Podcast on iTunes.
