163 | Nailing Listener Feedback: My Go-To Tips for Podcasters to Connect with Their Audience

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_01]: When you publish your podcast episode, and you send it out for everybody to listen to,

[00:00:05] [SPEAKER_01]: you always wonder, hey, is this episode going to resonate with anybody?

[00:00:08] [SPEAKER_01]: Are my listeners going to appreciate what I've said?

[00:00:12] [SPEAKER_01]: Are they going to like the guest? Well, you always can just ask them.

[00:00:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Sound Matters Be Heard

[00:00:25] [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the podcast where you get exclusive behind-the-scenes tips to make your own show

[00:00:30] [SPEAKER_00]: sound truly spectacular. This is Podtastic Audio.

[00:00:38] [SPEAKER_01]: Hey, what's happening? How are you doing today? Thank you so much for being here. I am Chris,

[00:00:46] [SPEAKER_01]: and this is Podtastic Audio. The show which I've designed and created to help you,

[00:00:53] [SPEAKER_01]: yes, you make an amazing show for your audience and one amazing tool to help you

[00:00:58] [SPEAKER_01]: make sure that happens is Riverside.fm. Hey, today's episode is brought to you by Riverside.

[00:01:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Hey there, podcasting superstar, you. Here is some epic news that'll help you rock your

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[00:02:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Remember to use promo code Podtastic for 15% off happy podcasting and you legend you.

[00:02:13] [SPEAKER_01]: Hey, let me ask you a question. How often do you check your podcast stats?

[00:02:19] [SPEAKER_01]: Is it every day? Is every minute? Maybe it's every week? Who knows? But when you do see those numbers

[00:02:24] [SPEAKER_01]: on the screen, they always kind of wonder who are they and what are they thinking and why are

[00:02:30] [SPEAKER_01]: they choosing to listen to my show? All the different shows out there. They chose to listen

[00:02:36] [SPEAKER_01]: to me and I thank you for doing that. I really, really appreciate it. And I also really,

[00:02:41] [SPEAKER_01]: really appreciate it when you physically write me and tell me how wonderful the show is,

[00:02:46] [SPEAKER_01]: whether it's a message on social media, a comment on a post, maybe a good little fashion email.

[00:02:53] [SPEAKER_01]: But I do truly appreciate you giving me your feedback. So today's episode is all about

[00:02:59] [SPEAKER_01]: listener feedback and I know it's not always easy to get listener feedback. You could possibly

[00:03:05] [SPEAKER_01]: have 5,000, 10,000 listeners to your show. It looks like you do on your stats,

[00:03:12] [SPEAKER_01]: but they may not be engaged at all. So it might be hard to get anybody to write you or write a

[00:03:18] [SPEAKER_01]: comment or anything like that. Although comments are fairly easy to do. If your show is on YouTube

[00:03:23] [SPEAKER_01]: and you do a YouTube video, the comment button and the whole little like paragraph text thread

[00:03:28] [SPEAKER_01]: thing is right below the video. It's incredibly easy to do or the same thing with any social

[00:03:34] [SPEAKER_01]: media post. It's very easy to comment on those things. That's probably why a lot of them

[00:03:38] [SPEAKER_01]: do get more engagement that way. But with an audio podcast, what do you do? I mean,

[00:03:43] [SPEAKER_01]: how do you get your listener to physically say something about your show, tell you what a great

[00:03:49] [SPEAKER_01]: job you're doing or what a not so great job you're doing? How do you really do that? Well,

[00:03:54] [SPEAKER_01]: there's one thing you can do. You can make yourself a very simple, very basic podcasting

[00:04:01] [SPEAKER_01]: survey to give directly to your audience. Ask them to fill it out honestly and then get

[00:04:08] [SPEAKER_01]: all that data and have all that data collected. That way you know exactly who your audience is,

[00:04:14] [SPEAKER_01]: why they listen. And more importantly, you get feedback directly about your show.

[00:04:19] [SPEAKER_01]: And I know before I go any further today, I know feedback is very, very hard to take

[00:04:25] [SPEAKER_01]: because we don't want negative things said to our face about our show. Even if our show is

[00:04:35] [SPEAKER_01]: absolutely horrible, it's the worst thing on earth show wise. But we don't want anyone to tell us that.

[00:04:40] [SPEAKER_01]: We don't want to know that. We just want to know that our show is absolutely amazing and that you

[00:04:45] [SPEAKER_01]: love it. It's the best show on earth. It's amazing. Everybody is a listener and we all love it. We

[00:04:50] [SPEAKER_01]: all share it and everybody's great. But that's not the reality. Not everybody is going to be

[00:04:55] [SPEAKER_01]: a fan of your show. And that's the truth. Not everyone's going to listen to your show.

[00:04:58] [SPEAKER_01]: And everyone's going to like every episode you do. It's just the way it is. But how do you

[00:05:02] [SPEAKER_01]: know which episodes are the ones you should be making versus the ones maybe you should not be

[00:05:08] [SPEAKER_01]: making? The real reasons why you should be conducting a survey for your audience is that

[00:05:13] [SPEAKER_01]: it's a game changer for any podcast of any size, no matter how big or how small.

[00:05:19] [SPEAKER_01]: It allows you to tap into what your listeners love and what they think needs improvement.

[00:05:24] [SPEAKER_01]: Helping you tailor your content to their preferences because after all,

[00:05:28] [SPEAKER_01]: the show is for your audience. And by engaging with them, this not only shows that you value

[00:05:35] [SPEAKER_01]: their feedback but it also builds a loyal community around your show. And your show

[00:05:41] [SPEAKER_01]: is to serve and deliver amazing valuable content directly to your audience. And how do you know

[00:05:48] [SPEAKER_01]: if it's any good? You got to ask them. Plus understanding how your listeners discovered

[00:05:54] [SPEAKER_01]: your podcast guides your marketing efforts because we all know marketing a podcast is not

[00:05:59] [SPEAKER_01]: the easiest thing to do. And detailing your audience's insights can also attract potential

[00:06:05] [SPEAKER_01]: sponsors opening up for modernization opportunities. So by regularly seeking feedback,

[00:06:11] [SPEAKER_01]: you're setting your podcast up for long-term success and growth, ensuring that you stay

[00:06:17] [SPEAKER_01]: in tune with your listeners because without any listeners who are you really making the show for?

[00:06:22] [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe you and the guest? I don't know. It's up to you really but you really want to make sure that

[00:06:27] [SPEAKER_01]: you know exactly who your audience is, why they're listening to your show of all the different shows

[00:06:33] [SPEAKER_01]: out there and how you can take that information and craft an amazing show for your audience.

[00:06:39] [SPEAKER_01]: Now when we first did the Chris and Christine show right around year one,

[00:06:43] [SPEAKER_01]: I decided to make a survey to survey the audience. And we got some positive feedback.

[00:06:48] [SPEAKER_01]: It was great but I think a lot of the questions were not like tailored tune specifically to our

[00:06:54] [SPEAKER_01]: show. They're kind of generic type of questions like what kind of topics you like to discuss or

[00:07:00] [SPEAKER_01]: what kind of themes or what kind of guests or just very general stuff. So today I'm going to

[00:07:06] [SPEAKER_01]: give you 10 essential questions that you need to ask on that survey to really engage with

[00:07:12] [SPEAKER_01]: your audience and find exactly more specifically about you and your show and how your show can

[00:07:19] [SPEAKER_01]: best deliver the valuable content that they seek and why they seek it. So the very first question

[00:07:25] [SPEAKER_01]: you need to ask on your very own podcasting survey for your audience is how did you discover our

[00:07:32] [SPEAKER_01]: podcast? Well yeah, that kind of makes sense because you can discover a podcast in many different

[00:07:38] [SPEAKER_01]: ways. You can discover it through word of mouth, you can discover it maybe if you are maybe a guest

[00:07:43] [SPEAKER_01]: on another podcast and you mentioned your show on their show. It could be a variety of different

[00:07:48] [SPEAKER_01]: ways. What this does is it actually helps identify the most effective channels for attracting new

[00:07:54] [SPEAKER_01]: listeners and it informs future marketing strategies. So for example, if nobody said

[00:08:01] [SPEAKER_01]: they found your show on LinkedIn, why are you spending all this time on LinkedIn promoting

[00:08:06] [SPEAKER_01]: your show? Maybe you should focus on other avenues. Okay, the second question you need to ask your

[00:08:12] [SPEAKER_01]: audience when you do survey them is what topics or themes do you enjoy most about our podcast?

[00:08:20] [SPEAKER_01]: Well this actually narrows down the ideas of maybe my show should be about this or maybe

[00:08:27] [SPEAKER_01]: should be about that. Understanding which content resonates most helps podcasters focus on

[00:08:34] [SPEAKER_01]: producing episodes that align specifically with your listeners interests because your very

[00:08:41] [SPEAKER_01]: listener doesn't care about model airplanes and model airplane building then why are you having

[00:08:48] [SPEAKER_01]: a guest on that's going to talk about model airplane building when they came here for something

[00:08:54] [SPEAKER_01]: completely different? This way you know exactly what they want to hear. So moving on to the

[00:09:00] [SPEAKER_01]: third question you need to ask your listeners in your survey and that is this. Well what do you

[00:09:07] [SPEAKER_01]: think can be improved about our podcast? And this can be a very, very tricky one because most people

[00:09:15] [SPEAKER_01]: honestly don't want to take criticism at all especially about their show. Do you can imagine

[00:09:22] [SPEAKER_01]: your podcast how you spent all this time maybe you do a guest interview maybe do a solo

[00:09:28] [SPEAKER_01]: interview whatever it is you spent physical time on it creating it editing it making it look great

[00:09:35] [SPEAKER_01]: if you do YouTube video maybe you do all the cuts and edits and video editing all that stuff all of

[00:09:41] [SPEAKER_01]: that just to have it be destroyed and have some kind of criticism but if you have constructive

[00:09:48] [SPEAKER_01]: feedback on areas that possibly might need a little improvement it's crucial for enhancing

[00:09:55] [SPEAKER_01]: the overall quality and listener satisfaction. If you're doing things that are possibly

[00:10:03] [SPEAKER_01]: impacting the quality of your show the only way you're really going to improve is if you

[00:10:09] [SPEAKER_01]: know what those areas are so you can focus on those areas change them fix them whatever you

[00:10:15] [SPEAKER_01]: got to do to make it better and one way you're going to find out is whether or not the listeners

[00:10:20] [SPEAKER_01]: tell you that. Okay so moving on to the fourth question that is essential for any podcast to

[00:10:26] [SPEAKER_01]: put into their podcast survey is how often do you listen to our podcast? Now why would you ask them

[00:10:33] [SPEAKER_01]: that I mean you would think that they listened to every single episode I mean if you publish

[00:10:38] [SPEAKER_01]: you know every week or twice a week or you know once a month whatever it is you would think

[00:10:43] [SPEAKER_01]: they listen all the time but by engaging in listening frequency this actually helps understand

[00:10:51] [SPEAKER_01]: audience engagement and it indicates the podcast ability to retain listeners. Here let me give

[00:10:59] [SPEAKER_01]: you an example let's just say that your podcast is an interview podcast and you interview interesting

[00:11:05] [SPEAKER_01]: people maybe even entrepreneurs maybe who knows what but each time you have an interview

[00:11:11] [SPEAKER_01]: on your show the audience may be attracted to the thing that one guest is saying but they may not

[00:11:17] [SPEAKER_01]: be interested in the next episode or the last episode this way if you can find out how often

[00:11:24] [SPEAKER_01]: they actually listen will tell you whether or not if they're listening to every episode

[00:11:28] [SPEAKER_01]: or they're only cherry picking episodes and if you have random people on your show there's

[00:11:34] [SPEAKER_01]: a very high likelihood they're only listening to a few episodes not all the episodes but it's

[00:11:41] [SPEAKER_01]: good idea for you to figure that out that way you can tailor tune your content to align more

[00:11:46] [SPEAKER_01]: strategically to keep the listeners listening for each and every episode. Okay moving on to the

[00:11:53] [SPEAKER_01]: fifth question that you need to ask your audience when you make your survey for your podcast is

[00:11:59] [SPEAKER_01]: what is your preferred episode length now I know some episodes can go five minutes

[00:12:05] [SPEAKER_01]: some episodes can go as one minute or as high as three hours it's only up to you but by knowing

[00:12:13] [SPEAKER_01]: the ideal length that your listeners really like this way it can help podcasters like yourself

[00:12:21] [SPEAKER_01]: optimize their content to fit their preferences and habits your podcast survey is all about

[00:12:27] [SPEAKER_01]: finding out what your audience really likes about your show and what really they like to

[00:12:34] [SPEAKER_01]: listen to that way you can craft the show specifically towards their interests. Okay moving

[00:12:40] [SPEAKER_01]: on to number six this is probably the most common question of every survey I've ever seen

[00:12:46] [SPEAKER_01]: in my entire life and that is on a scale of one to ten how likely do you recommend our podcast to

[00:12:54] [SPEAKER_01]: a friend or colleague now this net promoter score commonly known as nps in the business

[00:13:00] [SPEAKER_01]: it's a question that measures overall satisfaction and the likelihood of word of mouth promotion

[00:13:06] [SPEAKER_01]: and if the audience that fills out your survey really really loves you there's a good chance

[00:13:12] [SPEAKER_01]: they're going to put a 10 on everything it's great it's amazing great and that's a great score to have

[00:13:18] [SPEAKER_01]: but what if they answer like a three or a two how are you supposed to take that it means possibly

[00:13:25] [SPEAKER_01]: that your show is not as good as you think it is and there's areas that you need to work on

[00:13:31] [SPEAKER_01]: and that is why we have more than just one question on your survey can you imagine if the

[00:13:36] [SPEAKER_01]: only question you had was break my podcast one to ten that's the only thing you got well that's

[00:13:42] [SPEAKER_01]: not going to do you any good you need any more than that you know why and knowing why is how you can

[00:13:48] [SPEAKER_01]: better create an amazing show for your audience okay so moving on to number seven of the essential

[00:13:56] [SPEAKER_01]: questions you should be asking in your podcast survey for your audience is what do you like most

[00:14:04] [SPEAKER_01]: about our podcast now this sounds like an open-ended one it sounds like a very basic question but

[00:14:10] [SPEAKER_01]: it's actually a very important one because identifying strengths allow podcasters like yourself

[00:14:16] [SPEAKER_01]: here to continue delivering what their audience appreciates most about the show you actually

[00:14:22] [SPEAKER_01]: are highlighting the most important parts the things that they like you to do that way

[00:14:28] [SPEAKER_01]: you can focus more on those and ditch the things that are really delivering no value

[00:14:34] [SPEAKER_01]: ditch the things that they don't care about and focus on the things they care about because

[00:14:39] [SPEAKER_01]: that way when they do listen to your show they know that they have an impact and that you actually

[00:14:45] [SPEAKER_01]: care about the things they appreciate okay question number eight that you need to put

[00:14:50] [SPEAKER_01]: into your podcasting survey for your audience is do you follow us on social media and if not

[00:14:58] [SPEAKER_01]: why now you would assume that they do follow you on social media but that's not always true

[00:15:04] [SPEAKER_01]: I always found out that following somebody on social media is obviously a lot easier to do

[00:15:11] [SPEAKER_01]: than to follow them on a podcast because podcasting takes more work and more dedication and you

[00:15:17] [SPEAKER_01]: might find out there are people that listen to your show that don't even know you have a

[00:15:22] [SPEAKER_01]: social media or even follow you on social media and just the same thing the other way around

[00:15:27] [SPEAKER_01]: you'll find people that follow you on social media that don't really listen to your podcast

[00:15:32] [SPEAKER_01]: well with this question it helps understand social media engagement and can highlight

[00:15:38] [SPEAKER_01]: opportunities to improve online presence and interaction if you are lacking it okay moving

[00:15:44] [SPEAKER_01]: on to the ninth question you should ask your audience when you survey them is would you be

[00:15:50] [SPEAKER_01]: interested in additional content such as bonus episodes newsletters or maybe even live events

[00:15:59] [SPEAKER_01]: okay so the reason why you would ask this is because this actually engages interest in supplementary

[00:16:04] [SPEAKER_01]: content and engagement opportunities which can help expand the podcast offerings

[00:16:11] [SPEAKER_01]: and deepen listener relationships because the one great thing about audio podcasting

[00:16:17] [SPEAKER_01]: versus all other forms of content is that there is a direct connection from the podcasters

[00:16:26] [SPEAKER_01]: directly into the audience via headphones earbuds sound the sound waves the direct connection

[00:16:34] [SPEAKER_01]: usually people listen alone maybe in the car or with headphones on it is a direct

[00:16:40] [SPEAKER_01]: connection to the audience in a very personal way and by asking them if you would like to go

[00:16:47] [SPEAKER_01]: further with this listener relationship it only builds it makes it stronger and the fifth and

[00:16:54] [SPEAKER_01]: final question you should be asking your audience in your survey is basically the most simple

[00:16:59] [SPEAKER_01]: question you can ask anybody and that is do you have any other comments or suggestions

[00:17:05] [SPEAKER_01]: now why would you ask this this is kind of like an open-ended question it allows the

[00:17:09] [SPEAKER_01]: listeners to provide feedback that may not have been covered by other questions offering insights

[00:17:16] [SPEAKER_01]: into unique ideas and concerns because some listeners may be thinking like hey have you ever

[00:17:22] [SPEAKER_01]: thought about doing this have you ever thought about trying that what about this talk about this

[00:17:26] [SPEAKER_01]: talk about that this gives you ideas of things to cover and it might give you a reason why

[00:17:31] [SPEAKER_01]: they actually want you to cover those things now some of them could be totally out of the field

[00:17:35] [SPEAKER_01]: they could be saying hey you should cover sports cars but you're talking about planting trees

[00:17:40] [SPEAKER_01]: it's a completely different thing I get it you like sports cars great but what do they have

[00:17:43] [SPEAKER_01]: to do with trees nothing so we're not going to do that but be nice about it at least put it out there

[00:17:48] [SPEAKER_01]: give them the option to tell you what the show should be about or what you should put on the show

[00:17:53] [SPEAKER_01]: any kind of comments or suggestions would be amazing now the reasons why you should

[00:17:59] [SPEAKER_01]: survey your podcast audience if they're not pretty obvious already well basically what you're

[00:18:06] [SPEAKER_01]: going to get is audience insights knowing who they are and what they want to hear

[00:18:11] [SPEAKER_01]: you're also going to have the ability to improve your content through their constructive criticism

[00:18:17] [SPEAKER_01]: and suggestions hey not all criticism is bad take it with a grand assault and perhaps maybe

[00:18:24] [SPEAKER_01]: they are on to something and perhaps maybe knowing that will help you improve your show

[00:18:29] [SPEAKER_01]: also this is going to improve engagement and loyalty directly with your audience and

[00:18:35] [SPEAKER_01]: that is valuable let me tell you you're also going to get marketing growth ideas because

[00:18:40] [SPEAKER_01]: that way you know where you should be focusing your energy on and what strategies work best to

[00:18:47] [SPEAKER_01]: get new listeners in the door and another thing is that with sponsorship and monetization being a

[00:18:54] [SPEAKER_01]: big buzz word every podcast I know wants to get sponsors they want to get ads well this way

[00:19:00] [SPEAKER_01]: you know the detailed audience demographics and preferences that way you make your podcast

[00:19:06] [SPEAKER_01]: more attractive to potential sponsors and advertisers by telling them exactly what the

[00:19:12] [SPEAKER_01]: listeners want to hear and I know why they want to hear these things I've surveyed them

[00:19:17] [SPEAKER_01]: and I'm here delivering those things directly to them now all of that being said I've created

[00:19:23] [SPEAKER_01]: a podcastic audio survey for this show I would love it if you could click the link

[00:19:31] [SPEAKER_01]: in the show notes of this very episode it's a very very short survey put together based on those

[00:19:38] [SPEAKER_01]: fundamentals I described in this episode hey you know I can't be talking about surveys on a podcast

[00:19:44] [SPEAKER_01]: and not have a survey for a podcast what would that be you know so of course I put a survey

[00:19:49] [SPEAKER_01]: together link to it in the show notes of this very episode because this podcast was designed

[00:19:55] [SPEAKER_01]: and created to help you and how do I know it had helped you better is to know exactly what

[00:20:01] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong so please click the link in the show notes

[00:20:07] [SPEAKER_01]: or my podcastic audio survey and I would really really appreciate if you did that way I know to

[00:20:14] [SPEAKER_01]: keep making these for you and until next time happy podcasting