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Growing a podcast audience isn’t about deploying clever marketing tactics or social media strategies. According to podcast industry expert Tom Webster, success comes down to something more fundamental: earning your listeners’ attention.
“You don’t have a right to an audience, and you don’t automatically get one because you’ve decided to start a podcast,” said Tom during Episode 705 of “The Business Storytelling Show.”
Get the audio quality right
Before thinking about growth, podcasters need to nail the basics – starting with sound quality. As a podcast host, I’ve seen countless executives and CEOs join shows without even basic audio equipment. While you don’t need an elaborate setup, investing in decent audio gear is essential.
“People will forgive a lot of things. They’ll forgive video quality and things like that. But even for a video, what they won’t forgive is bad audio,” said Tom. “It’s irritating.”
Read next: Doing live audio monitoring correctly during a podcast or livestream
Focus on entertainment, not just information
Tom emphasizes that podcasts must entertain, not just inform.
“It’s not a white paper, you know, it’s not a blog post, it’s a piece of entertainment,” he said. “And it has to start from that.”
This doesn’t mean sacrificing substance. As I like to say, you need both the sizzle and the steak. Your content needs depth and expertise, but it also needs to engage listeners through compelling delivery.
Go local for growth
While many podcasters focus on social media promotion, Tom advocates for a more grassroots approach.
“I’m a big fan of the real world,” he said. “I don’t think podcasters do enough locally.”
His practical suggestions include putting up flyers in relevant local businesses and attending community events.
“If you get 100 listeners, I don’t care if they’re all your neighbors, because that’s where it starts. You got to start somewhere.”
Leverage YouTube strategically
Research shows YouTube has become the No. 1 podcast platform. This shift offers new opportunities for growth, particularly around discovery.
“It’s the greatest content search engine in the world,” said Tom. “It’s also a really good app. There’s a lot of engagement. You can talk to fellow listeners, you can talk to the creators, a whole bunch of things that you can’t really do in a podcast client.”
Many listeners consume both audio and video versions of podcasts, choosing the format based on their situation. As Tom explains, “People will often consume both the audio and video versions of a podcast that has a video version, and they will make that choice dependent on their environment, their circumstances or whatever.”
Read next: How to Publish Podcasts on YouTube and YouTube Music
Set realistic expectations
When starting out, it’s crucial to maintain realistic expectations about audience growth. As Tom notes, “Comparison is the thief of joy.”
Having 500 listeners puts you in the top percentage of podcasts globally.
Instead of chasing massive numbers, Tom recommends a more focused approach:
“The best advice I can ever give anyone who wants to attract a large audience is to make a show for one person. Get as detailed as you can about that one person.”
Creating a successful podcast takes time and dedication to quality. The tools available today make production easier than ever – from basic editing to creating promotional clips. But as Tom emphasizes, the fundamental challenge remains creating content worth listening to.
“If you want to earn an audience, I think you have an obligation to do a good job to make a quality show, to do to make a quality product,” he said. “You can’t expect an audience otherwise.”