There are things you can do this weekend that can grow your audience. Some tactics will have immediate effect. Others will grow your audience over time. Each tactic incorporates one powerful ingredient.
Word-of-mouth.
Word-of-mouth has worked for me time and again. You can start using it this weekend.
RADIO AUDIENCE
It was the spring of 1999. The company I worked for had just purchased a few more radio stations in town. Our general manager was going to let me program one of those stations as a Top 40.
Now, the biggest station in town was a Top 40 that had been around for about 20 years. They were the big dog. Everyone listened to that station. Getting people to change would not be easy. In fact, it had been my favorite station as I was growing up.
The station couldn’t just be better. We had to do something different.
We signed on the station playing Top 40 music that leaned a little rhythmic. Along with the biggest hits on the chart, we were playing the rap and hip hop that wasn’t being played anywhere on the radio in town. It got high school and college kids talking.
Our on-air team consisted of me in the afternoon and a 20-something kid at night. The rest of the day was nothing but music. We had a promotions director who helped a ton, but wasn’t on air. The 3 of us had to take down Goliath.
Since there was only 2 of us on the air, we started using our listeners as the voice of the station. Our listeners introduced new music. High school kids hosted our Top 9 at 9 countdown. Listeners were on the air all the time requesting songs and giving a shout out to their friends.
The week after we signed on our station, they big heritage station was having their annual outdoor concert. We set up shop along the only road in and out of the amphitheater. We were shaking hands and thanking people for listening all day long.
By campaigning along that road, we upset the big station. So much so that they came down to run us out. That was no problem. We had hired an airplane to pull a banner and fly over the event. The banner said, “Channel 977 – Move To It”. More importantly, the other station stood on stage and told the crowd to NOT look at the plane. More word-of-mouth.
Whenever we were on the streets for events that summer, we were recording more listeners to put on the air. Our entire goal was to make listeners feel like they controlled the station and really had input in what we were doing. They talked about it all the time.
One year later, we were the number one radio station in town. A few years later, that heritage station changed their name and their musical focus. Our listeners did it all.
PODCAST AUDIENCE
I took that experience and used it when I was launching my podcast.
As the podcast was taking off, I was networking with other great podcasters in the industry. Not only was I getting my listeners to talk about my show, other podcasters who came before me were helping.
That’s the difference between radio and podcasting. You have to choose between two stations. Radio is 24-hours a day. If you are listening to one, you are not listening to the other.
With podcasting, you can always listen to two podcasts … or three or four. Podcasts are only a few hours a week at most. There is still plenty of time to consume others. Podcasters are always much more willing to help each other.
When I ask people how they discovered me and my show, many tell me they heard someone else mention it. It may have been on a podcast, on social media or during a conversation.
Word-of-mouth is powerful. Use it to your advantage.
GROW YOUR AUDIENCE THIS WEEKEND
Here are seven things you can do this weekend to start growing your audience.
1. Deliver quality content in your newsletter that could be used and shared.
Ask listeners to bring along a friend & spread the word.
Deputize your audience.
2. Network with as many influential people in your niche as possible.
When others in your niche talk about you, it can give you instant credibility. This doesn’t necessarily need to be a podcast. This can be a website, publication, or any other well-known individual in your niche.
3. Create a flashback segment from an old episode on your current episode.
There are two ways to increase downloads. One is getting more listeners. The other is to get currently listeners to listen more. By getting current listeners to check out past episodes, this is a great way to increase overall downloads.
4. Do Facebook Live “ask me anything” sessions.
Demonstrate your expertise.
5. Get media to talk about you.
Become an available expert in your field. Send them a note about something newsworthy in your industry. Then, tell them you are available if they need an expert to expound on the details in the news story. Make it easy for them.
6. Create a survey for your super-fans to determine what they desire
7. Partner with another podcast.
Just like I did when I launched my show, reach out to other shows in your niche. Especially those that compliment your show. Trade resources with another podcast. Guest host for another show.
GET STARTED
Some of these can have an immediate effect on your downloads. If another podcaster or a news outlet mentions your show, your downloads can jump quickly. Creating content that can be shared and doing Facebook live sessions will take a little longer, but will create a solid brand for your show.
If you want to create revenue with your podcast, you need to first build an audience. This is where you start. Take action this weekend on two or three of these. See what is possible.
You can find my podcast and other tools to help you create great content at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com.
Let’s turn your information into engaging entertainment.
