167 | Why Focusing on One Listener is More Valuable Than Thousands of Downloads

[00:00:00] So just the other day, another podcaster messaged me as asking me how to make sense of this podcast data.

[00:00:08] What do you do with utilizing the numbers when it comes to tracking, listening or views?

[00:00:14] And I said, the only number I care about is one.

[00:00:25] Be heard. Welcome to the podcast where you get exclusive behind-the-scenes tips

[00:00:30] to make your own show sound truly spectacular. This is Podtastic Audio.

[00:00:39] What's happening? How are you doing today? Thank you so much for being here. I am Chris and yeah,

[00:00:47] this is Podtastic Audio. The show which I've designed and created to help you,

[00:00:54] yes, you and other podcasters just like you, make an amazing show for your audience.

[00:01:00] And one amazing tool to help you make that happen is Riverside.fm. Today's episode is

[00:01:08] brought to you by Riverside and if you are an indie podcaster, you better listen up.

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[00:02:21] and you'll thank me later. As independent podcasters, we usually will focus on creating

[00:02:29] an amazing show and then seeing whether or not anybody is actually listening to our podcast.

[00:02:36] And one metric we focus on is downloads. Whether it's downloads or listens or views on YouTube,

[00:02:44] those really are the quick and easy metrics we can look at to focus on whether or not

[00:02:50] this show is worthwhile. Is this show worth doing anything? Is my show being absorbed out there

[00:02:58] among the audience? Are they listening to it? Who is listening to it? Why are they listening to it?

[00:03:04] All those great and wonderful things. In fact, another indie podcaster reached out to me

[00:03:10] last week and he was asking me whether or not which like data should we look at? What kind

[00:03:17] of download statistics should we focus on when we are creating our podcast? So this episode is

[00:03:24] going to address that question and it is something that every single indie podcaster needs to hear

[00:03:31] but probably wouldn't want to hear. And that is if you have felt very discouraged because

[00:03:37] your podcast numbers aren't really sky high, well, this episode's for you. Today, we're

[00:03:44] diving into why focusing on helping or inspiring just one person with each download is far more

[00:03:54] valuable than obsessing over all these great and grand numbers. There was a time many, many,

[00:04:02] many years ago way before podcasting was when I was in college and I was working at the local

[00:04:11] college radio station. Now the radio station had a small antenna that was probably, I don't remember

[00:04:20] if it was AM or if it was FM but it was a very, very weak signal and the signal pretty much

[00:04:26] only reached the parking lot of the college as far as it went. So not a lot of people

[00:04:32] were listening to my radio show. I do believe it might have been broadcast across the campus

[00:04:38] on like the loudspeakers they have throughout the gathering areas between the classrooms and

[00:04:44] stuff in the center of the college. They had it playing through there but here I am doing my thing

[00:04:50] on the radio, spinning records CDs as it were and this was probably on a Friday afternoon

[00:04:59] and if you go to college most people usually have not as many people going to school on

[00:05:05] Fridays especially on a Friday afternoon at the college I was at. So first off the radio station

[00:05:12] signal was a very weak signal reached just the parking lot pretty much and then hardly anybody

[00:05:18] was there on campus during my shift when I was actually on the air. So during my shift I was

[00:05:25] required to give away some stuff and some of the stuff we had to give away it might have

[00:05:30] been promotional stuff, stickers, decals and I believe some of it was like older CDs that they

[00:05:36] just want to cycle through the system. So they had these older CDs they were just getting rid of

[00:05:41] hey kids if you don't know what a CD is it's like they give like a disc kind of like a frisbee

[00:05:46] app a lot smaller more like a coaster size and you put music on there digitally kind of like

[00:05:52] an iPod or what's an iPod sorry but anyway so they give these CDs away and what I had to

[00:05:59] do was because I was thinking of like clever ways to get rid of these CDs like maybe a game

[00:06:04] or maybe a quiz or maybe something but I'm thinking like hey I know pretty much nobody's

[00:06:10] listening although I want people to listen to my show nobody's really listening to this thing.

[00:06:15] Hey it's Friday afternoon in the college and no one's even here really you know

[00:06:18] but the janitor is here that's probably it I don't even know so I just said on the

[00:06:23] on the air on the radio I said hey the first person that walks through this door room whatever

[00:06:29] the classroom was for the radio station I will give you a whole stack of swag a whole bunch of CDs

[00:06:36] if you get here before I get off the air at like 5 p.m or whatever it was I will give you a

[00:06:42] whole stack of stuff and I'm going through my show and I'm doing my thing and the clocks

[00:06:46] ticking and I'm thinking like no one's gonna stop by no one's gonna come by whatever I gotta

[00:06:50] get rid of this stuff somehow I mean it'll just like take it home with me I don't know if you'll

[00:06:52] have to do that but I gotta get rid of this stuff and then all of a sudden I get a knock at the door

[00:06:58] and I'm like what someone's here what's going on and this kid walks in and he says

[00:07:05] I heard you on the radio I heard you have some stuff you're getting give away

[00:07:09] and I'm here for the stuff and I'm like what what what you you are uh oh wait you were

[00:07:15] listening wait you're listening to my show really and it kind of threw me off I was like

[00:07:21] here I am thinking that nobody's listening or I'm wishing people were listening I have no idea

[00:07:26] because with radio that kind of stuff you really have no idea and here this kid was

[00:07:31] just walking right into the station for me who said something over the radio which he heard

[00:07:39] that inspired him to come over to the station to claim the prizes now like I said there were just CDs

[00:07:45] and swag or whatever it was the point isn't the swag the point is he physically came in he was

[00:07:52] listening to my show what I said inspired him to come over and visit and get the stuff and when

[00:07:59] it comes to podcasting we get so caught up in the big hustle for like the big download numbers

[00:08:06] and we forget the most important thing connection each download it's not just a number it's a person

[00:08:16] someone who took the time out of their day to listen to what you have to say

[00:08:22] and instead of aiming for thousands of passionate listeners what if we just aimed for

[00:08:28] really helping or inspiring just one person at a time so what we need to do is learn how to

[00:08:37] shift our focus from the numbers to the impact so if you focus on helping one person who downloaded

[00:08:47] your show you're creating content that is meaningful you're not just producing for the masses

[00:08:54] you're building a relationship when you think about your listener as an individual

[00:09:01] you naturally create episodes that connect on a deeper level and that connection is what builds

[00:09:08] trust loyalty and engagement when it comes time for you to plan out all your episodes for your

[00:09:16] podcast don't ask yourself how can I get more downloads instead ask yourself how can I help

[00:09:24] one person today whether it's sharing advice telling a story or offering a fresh perspective

[00:09:32] think of how you can inspire motivate or solve a problem for that one person the key is to be

[00:09:40] intentional with your message and that is how you make a lasting impact on that one person

[00:09:48] and speaking of that one person your podcast has the power to spark change even it's just one

[00:09:56] person that listens that one person is going to feel motivated to take action because of your content

[00:10:03] whether that's starting a new project or improving their mindset or just feeling a little bit better

[00:10:08] about their day you've done something powerful and that is what counts and that is what's going

[00:10:15] to move the needle and if you've been doing your podcast for some amount of time you're probably

[00:10:20] thinking hey Chris where do we start we've already done X amount of episodes we've already have our

[00:10:25] whole brand our whole show our whole thing what do we do now what kind of tips can you give us

[00:10:30] right now to inspire just that one listener well here I have four tips you can do

[00:10:37] right now for that one true dedicated listener of your podcast so tip number one it's pretty simple

[00:10:49] but most of us do not do this and that is you need to personalize your message and what I mean by

[00:10:57] that is this instead of addressing a broad audience like hello everybody everybody of the

[00:11:04] podcast hello everyone out there in podcast land instead of doing things like that speak as if you're

[00:11:12] talking directly to one person like I'm doing to you right now use the word you as much as possible

[00:11:20] and I know that can be difficult to do if you're doing an interview only show because when you say

[00:11:26] the word you they may be thinking you're talking directly to your guest on the other side you

[00:11:32] being the guest but what you want to do is talk directly to the listener and I said listener

[00:11:40] you want to make your content feel like it's a one-on-one conversation and not just a one-on-one

[00:11:48] conversation between you and your guest a one-on-one conversation with you and the listener

[00:11:54] listening to your podcast now what this does is it actually will strengthen the connection

[00:12:01] between you and that listener but it also makes your message more personal and impactful

[00:12:09] and that is going to drive a deep connection between you and that one listener okay and

[00:12:16] the second actionable tip you can do when trying to direct your message or help and inspire

[00:12:23] that one listener of your podcast is for you to share authentic stories now when it comes to authenticity

[00:12:33] it could be a gray sort of a gray area for a lot of podcasters because they are afraid

[00:12:39] of sharing a little too much about themselves on the podcast and I get it podcasting is a great

[00:12:46] way to kind of like hide from everybody especially if you're doing audio only in fact you don't

[00:12:52] even have to have your image like anywhere when you do an audio podcast you could have a logo of

[00:12:58] something doesn't matter what it is and you can keep your podcast completely private and you can

[00:13:04] keep your own self completely out of your podcast now if you choose to do that great that's on

[00:13:11] you you can podcast however you want but if you're trying to connect with your audience member

[00:13:18] you're trying to drive home your message directly to them to get them to be inspired to get them to

[00:13:24] actually care about you and your podcast well people are going to connect with authenticity

[00:13:31] and how you do that is you have to share your personal experiences your personal struggles

[00:13:40] and sometimes your personal wins if your listener can relate to you on let's say a human level

[00:13:49] they'll be inspired and more likely to return for future episodes it's as simple as that

[00:13:57] authenticity has been a big buzzword in the podcasting space for this exact reason

[00:14:04] if you are merely a robot robot voice you with zero personality telling like zero struggles about

[00:14:13] yourself and zero stories about yourself and nothing at all the audience has nothing really

[00:14:20] going to tie them to you at all other than facts and data you're merely an encyclopedia to them

[00:14:27] and I don't know about you but first off was last time you actually looked at an encyclopedia

[00:14:32] but I can guarantee you this it was not something you read for story time it was not something you

[00:14:37] read when you flew with the bed at night an encyclopedia nobody cares about encyclopedia

[00:14:44] it's just facts and data there's no real human connection with an encyclopedia

[00:14:51] but if there's a character in a story that you're reading people love stories they fall

[00:14:58] in love with characters in a story and the reason why they do is that each character has got

[00:15:04] things they're struggling with things they're happy about they got their goals and I believe

[00:15:08] when we do read or watch stories like on tv or movies we fall in love with those characters

[00:15:14] because we can relate to them we can feel exactly what they're going through and with your podcast

[00:15:20] if you can create a podcast where you are sharing these kind of things directly with

[00:15:27] your listener listening and they feel the exact same things that you're feeling

[00:15:32] and they know what it feels like and they know what those experiences are like because they've

[00:15:36] gone through them too this will help you connect directly with that listener okay moving on to

[00:15:43] the third actionable tip that you can do right now for your podcast to help you inspire that

[00:15:49] one listener and that is if your show can offer real value now everybody has their own version of

[00:16:00] what value really means I mean your show can be valuable in many many different ways but this

[00:16:07] is where you really need to know exactly who your listener is and you need to think about

[00:16:15] what your listener needs and give them something actionable whether it's a piece of advice maybe

[00:16:24] a new way of thinking or simply something that just brightens their day make sure that your

[00:16:30] episodes are designed to give value not just fill airtime and the sad truth is that there are

[00:16:39] a lot and I mean a lot of podcasts that are out there right now creating episodes that deliver

[00:16:47] literally no value and they come on and the first thing you hear them say is I don't know Joe what

[00:16:55] do you want to talk about today I don't know Phil what do you want to talk about today

[00:16:58] and they're going back and forth with this random discussion chat and I'm thinking well you

[00:17:05] know what you probably could just cut that stuff out and just deliver the value if there's any value

[00:17:11] almost every single episode especially like interview shows they probably can be trimmed down to five

[00:17:17] minutes of actual real value within maybe a 30 minute or longer podcast interview and not all

[00:17:27] podcast interviews are valuable hey if you record guests and you do a lot of podcast

[00:17:34] interviews for your show it's like all podcast interviews you know what there's a good chance

[00:17:40] that not all of them are winners and so when you invite a guest onto your show don't think

[00:17:48] big name don't think this person's famous don't be thinking oh this person's got a much bigger

[00:17:53] following than I do so I need to have my show think can this person offer real value

[00:18:00] to my audience to my listener would my listener like to hear the value that they have assuming

[00:18:08] they even have value in the first place so when you bring on a guest don't be thinking big name

[00:18:14] think big value so moving on to the fourth and final actionable tip when it comes to

[00:18:21] delivering and inspiring your one listener for your podcast is basically this you need to

[00:18:28] encourage feedback and interaction now I know this is a tricky one because everyone's asking

[00:18:35] oh please leave me a rating and review an apple podcast please do this and please do that please

[00:18:40] this please that help me out help me here help me there buy me a coffee buy me a patreon buy

[00:18:45] me a car buy me whatever buy me me me me well the problem is with that is it you're saying

[00:18:52] me maybe you need to focus on you you see if you make it easy for that one listener to reach out

[00:19:00] and tell you how your episode impacted them whether it's through a email social media or simply a

[00:19:09] shout at the end of your episode let them know that you want to hear their thoughts and this

[00:19:15] creates a two-way relationship it's all about you you you being the podcaster it's about

[00:19:22] sharing the experiences it's about feedback it's about getting in touch with your actual listener

[00:19:28] it's about getting there putting in the work and communicating directly with that listener if somebody

[00:19:34] reaches out to you and says I loved your show write them back as soon as you can and don't

[00:19:40] make it an automated like robot AI instant response but actually write something back and say hey

[00:19:47] I really appreciate you listening that is great that you actually listen there's anything I can

[00:19:51] do for you if there's anything you need please let me know I'm here to help you out this show

[00:19:56] was designed to help you anyway possible I'd be fine ways that you think and help out help you better

[00:20:01] or is there anything you're struggling with that I can help you out with please let me know

[00:20:05] that way that listener feels important they feel like oh my gosh this person actually cares

[00:20:11] this podcast I'm listening to right now actually gets me and they are taking the time to physically

[00:20:17] contact me write me back and say wonderful things and actually be in touch with me there's

[00:20:24] something really impactful with an actual like personalized message that goes back and forth

[00:20:30] between somebody whether it's even it's a text or maybe even it's just like a instant message or

[00:20:35] something like that something that's obviously not an AI you know bot machine now on the

[00:20:41] indie podcaster level this is much much easier to pull off when you reach a certain level yeah I

[00:20:48] totally get it when you reach this massive level with like 10 to 50 000 downloads per episode and

[00:20:54] you're super busy creating content and all that stuff it's very hard to get in the trenches and

[00:20:59] actually talk to the listeners one on one I get that but for most indie podcasters it should be

[00:21:07] a priority and I think a lot of indie podcasters that think big downloader they think I'm going to

[00:21:13] be famous or they think I'm going to be focusing on the big shiny object you know years down the line

[00:21:19] when you got the listener right here right in front of you right now that's saying hey I'm

[00:21:24] right here hey I'm messing you right now why aren't you writing back to me why aren't you even

[00:21:30] acknowledging that I'm even saying anything why aren't you talking to me that might piss

[00:21:35] off that one listener you had that one dedicated listener and if you piss off one you might piss

[00:21:41] off some more and you don't want to do that make sure that every listener feels welcome

[00:21:48] and every listener feels like they are part of your community you want to make sure that your

[00:21:54] message your podcast is actually being received and it's actually being absorbed by that one

[00:22:02] listener that actually cares about your podcast because if you neglect them if you shut them out

[00:22:09] if you basically just overlook the one dedicated listener it's going to be downhill from there

[00:22:18] your podcast is not going to survive hey so just remember that podcasting isn't about chasing

[00:22:26] numbers it's about building real meaningful connections if you can just help one person

[00:22:33] with each episode they're doing something incredible focus on inspiring or helping that

[00:22:40] one person who press play today the downloads will grow naturally when you create that content

[00:22:47] that truly matters and good content is what drives good podcasts if there's a podcast with bad content

[00:22:58] put amazing audio quality amazing video quality amazing video stuff but their content is horrible

[00:23:06] and they're talking about nothing relatable to anybody or relatable to you you know tuned in

[00:23:12] for that near second to listen to their show and you're like what is this this has nothing to

[00:23:17] with me this has nothing to do with anything i'm interested in why would i listen so you don't

[00:23:24] it's as simple as that and if this episode has delivered amazing content for you if you've gotten

[00:23:30] some amazing advice today from this show please let me know by leaving a rating and review

[00:23:37] on apple podcast or spotify or any other ones that i possibly don't know about right now but

[00:23:44] you can leave them there too if you like and you keep on making your amazing podcast with

[00:23:49] your amazing content and i'll catch you the next one happy podcasting