One of the best parts of what I do is getting to meet so many podcasters. I love it when they bring their problem podcast or podcast dreams to me.
And, with hundreds of coaching meetings under my belt, I can see the patterns. Every podcaster or would-be podcaster is different, but their problems often boil down to similar mistakes.
If You Fix One, You Can Fix Them All
In this episode, I’m sharing the 5 most common mistakes I hear podcasters making (listen to the whole episode to hear what you can do to avoid making the same mistakes or running into the same problems with your podcast).
I should mention that most of the podcasters I work with are using their podcast as a marketing tool. The point of the podcast is to help them build authority. Or is it?… that’s a little tease for you regarding the #1 mistake. Let’s start our countdown with #5.
Here are the top 5 mistakes I hear podcasters making:
- Poor Audio Quality
I’ve done so many episodes about this but I still get my earballs assaulted when I sneak a listen to the podcasts of people who book in for a free coaching call with me. Know this, if your podcast sounds crappy, it reflects badly on your brand. Nobody wants to hear that. Also, you will hear it from me when we jump on that free coaching call. What? Did you expect me to pull punches?
- Self-Centred
If you haven’t heard me harp on about how your show should be listener-centric, then stop reading and go back and listen to a few more shows. But, here’s the crazy thing. I’ve met podcasters who think their podcast is listener-centric when it’s fully self-serving. If you’re interviewing guests, talking about a topic, going off topic, or sharing information that serves you more than the listener, then you may need to check your intentions.
- Obsessing Over the Number of Downloads
It’s nice to have a lot of listeners but if you are podcasting for your business or brand, then the number of downloads you have may be the wrong metric to be measuring. I hear this all the time. Someone gets on a call with me. I ask them why they booked the call. They say they want more downloads. I ask why and they are stumped. There’s a lot to unpack at this point but let me say this – you do not need a tonne of downloads for your podcast to be successful. It all depends on what you DO with the downloads you get.
- Not Promoting Your Podcast
Podcasting is not the Field of Dreams, folks. Just because you built it does not mean they will come. There are a lot of podcasts out there and if you want yours to be found and listened to, you need to do SOMETHING for it to stand out. I’m talking about promoting your content. You can do this by appearing on other people’s podcasts, using social media, optimizing your email list, networking, heck – start by adding subscribe/follow buttons to your podcast website so people can take action. Do something! Anything! Get the word out or your podcast will be lost, floating around in the podiverse.
- Not Knowing WHY
No joke. I probably ask WHY more than the parent of a 6 year-old kid on a field trip. I constantly push those who sign up for my free coaching call to identify the end result they are striving for with their podcast. To what end? What are your goals? What are you trying to achieve? What is the intention of your show? What is your ‘WHY’? This is the #1 podcaster mistake because avoiding this mistake will actually help you avoid mistakes 2-5. Yep, this is the grand-daddy of mistakes. When you know your why; the intention of your podcast, you will be motivated to have it sound great, to focus on serving the listener (instead of yourself), to know what KPIs really matter to your success, and you’ll promote the crap out of it so you can hit those goals. Boom! The WHY wins.
I’m not sharing these mistakes to make you feel bad (especially if you recognize these mistakes as your own). I’m sharing them so you can see that others make them too (they are the most common, der) AND because they are all fixable. You don’t need to keep making these mistakes.
If you want some help sidestepping these potholes (or maybe seeing the potholes in the first place), book a free 15-minute coaching call right now. On these calls, I don’t just point out the mistakes, I show you exactly how to correct them so you can create or correct a podcast that will help your ideal listener see you as a thought leader and authority in your niche.
——————–
Book your FREE 15-Minute Podcast Coaching Call
https://calendly.com/timwohlberg
Listen to more 5-minute episodes, explore my resources and check out my coaching packages at https://podcastperformancecoach.com/
Got a Question? Contact me:
https://podcastperformancecoach.com/contact/
