Whichever way you slice it, great content that gives value to your audience is always going to be what makes you and your show a success. “Content is king”, as the saying goes, and it’s a statement that proves true time and time again.
FUN FACT: This saying is attributed to Bill Gates and an essay he wrote way back in 1996! In light of what we now know and all that has transpired since then, it’s a really interesting read! No doubt about it, Mr. Gates has impeccable foresight! Check out the full essay here.
The long term success of your podcast is greatly dependent on the quality of your content. With so many podcasts out there, listeners are getting more and more selective about the shows they give their time to, and if you want it to be yours, you need to ensure that your content keeps them coming back episode after episode.
But how exactly do you ensure that great content reigns supreme on your show? Well, that’s easy, keep reading our post! We’ve put together our top seven tips to help you up your content game, and keep you creating great episodes for a long time to come!
So let’s get right to it…
1. Understand Your Topic
First and foremost, if you’re going to create killer content, you have to have a thorough understanding of your topic. This boils down to really understanding what is at the heart of your show. You need to know your subject inside and out, backward and forwards in order to create content that is valuable to your listeners.
Your end goal in understanding your topic is to establish yourself as an expert in your niche. Establishing yourself as an authority within your niche, in turn, helps make you the go-to source of all knowledge and wisdom for any questions or queries pertaining to your subject.
Being well-versed in your topic and establishing yourself as an authority puts you in a fantastic position to create content that is highly valuable, completely unique, and just down-right interesting. You’ll also be able to deliver all this in a way that is confident and engaging ‒ a sure-fire way to keep your listeners tuning into your show episode after episode.
Related read: 8 Strategies to Build Authority in Your Podcast Niche
2. Know Your Crowd
A tip that goes hand-in-hand with knowing your topic intricately is an in-depth understanding of your listeners. Knowing your crowd thoroughly allows you to then create content that directly appeals to their preferences, wants, and needs. This then ensures that you’ve put your show in the perfect position to satisfy those needs. Your content will be the source that they turn to for whatever it is they are looking for. But this can only happen if you have an intimate knowledge of your audience.
In order to create meaningful content, you need to know who you’re creating that content for. You can gain this information by determining demographics as they relate to your audience, such as the age groups they belong to, the activities they enjoy, the beliefs they hold, or even their motivating forces. Besides the demographics, you should also aim to find out what makes your audience tick, what makes them feel alive, and what are they passionate about? You can then tailor your show to be the answer by creating content that will meet their needs.
Another really effective method to glean information concerning your audience is simply to engage with them by asking them questions. You can use your social media platforms, your website, or your show itself as a channel of communication with your audience. There is no better way to gain information about your audience than by reading their responses to your questions, or any comments or remarks they make on your show or in the comment section of your posts. Take note of all the feedback they give you and use this as a platform upon which you can build stellar content.
Related read: 10 Things You Can Learn From Surveying Your Podcast Audience
3. Keep the Focus on Your Audience
Tip Number 3 may come as a little bit of a shock: Great content has very little to do with you. Ouch! But all this actually means is that really great content keeps the focus on your audience. You are the creator of the content, yes, but the content cannot and should not be about you. No one likes listening to someone drone on about themselves in real life. The same is true for your podcast.
However, while in real life we often have to keep listening and fane interest, in the podcast world, people don’t have to! They can simply hit “unsubscribe” and move on. So don’t let that happen to you! Listeners do not respond well to a self-focused host and will very quickly take their ears elsewhere. With this in mind, when you are creating content, always keep your focus on the needs of your audience, and on using your content to meet their needs. Think about how what you have to share will benefit your listeners and then use this as the starting point for creating a shared experience between you and your audience.
4. Hone Your Skills
So you’re armed with all the knowledge of your topic and have heaps of insight into your audience, but creating great content requires more than that! You now have you to hone the skills you’ll use to transmit your content to your listeners. Great content will come to naught if it is not delivered expertly. To that end, you should strive to improve the skills you need to create an excellent podcast. This could include improving your writing, delivery and even your editing skills. There are countless ways to do this, and many can be done from the comfort of your couch!
Firstly, you can improve your skills just by actively listening to other podcasts, both within your niche, as well as outside of your topic. You can learn a whole lot about great writing and editing by simply actively listening to great creators. You should also look for classes that can help improve your skills or look for online short courses or video series to complete. You will gain confidence in your abilities, you’ll develop your skills, and you’ll definitely keep ahead of the game!
Sites like Udemy and Skillshare have an abundance of courses on a variety of topics that could be useful to you and your podcast! They are easy to use, and most are really affordable, so there will definitely be something to suit your skill levels as well as your wallet!
5. Boost Your SEO
In terms of podcasting, great content should help you optimize your search engine capabilities. In a nutshell, while there has been a vast improvement in this area, most search engines do not yet adequately index and retrieve audio files as results for Internet searches. This means that your podcast might not be popping when your topic is searched, making your great content ineffective as it is unable to reach its target. That is why search engine optimization (SEO) is so important.
Some ways to boost your SEO effectively are through carefully crafted episode titles. If you can include high-potential SEO keywords in your title as well as in your show’s description, your content is going to get to the right eyes and ears. You should also definitely consider turning your audio content into show notes to help boost your show’s SEO potential, or you could even turn all that content into a blog that could run along-side your podcast. By doing so, you’re making the most out of all the valuable content you’ve created for your show, and you are actually making your content even more valuable to your listeners!
Related read: The Benefits of Show Notes and How to Use Them Effectively for Your Podcast
If grasping the ins and outs of SEO and podcast discoverability gives you a little anxiety, you’re not alone! But there is absolutely no need to panic! There are so many great resources out there to help you with this task! As a starting point, check out this article on How to Improve the Discoverability of Your Podcast.
6. Create Consistently
Another useful tip for creating great content for your podcast is to create consistently. The saying “Practice makes perfect,” could not be apter when it comes to creating amazing content for your podcast. Practicing your content creation skills will also help you develop your voice – that thing that sets you and your show apart. Make time to practice the skills in your wheelhouse, as well as creating the space to learn new skills. Allow yourself the freedom to try new things and explore new ways of doing things.
We often become so concerned with “getting it right” that we stop our creative flow and don’t allow ourselves the freedom to try and even possibly fail. If this happens, all your efforts to do things right will actually end up being all wrong! If you’re creating consistently, however, you remove the pressure from yourself to get this one thing right, as you know that you’ll have an opportunity to try again tomorrow, and so the stigma and fear of failure are greatly lessened. Not to mention, practicing consistently will send your skillset through the roof!
7. Make a Schedule and Stick to It
Our last tip is concerned with planning and time management. It’s an age-old phenomenon – if we don’t make time for something, it simply does not get done. Content creation for your show is no different. To make sure you get to do all you set out to achieve, you need to make some schedules, and then you need to stick to them!
First up, create a schedule for content deadlines. This is when you want your content to be ready for recording. But you’re not done yet! You should also break down this deadline into a few mini-deadlines by drawing up a schedule for the steps involved in creating the content itself. It’s all good and well to plan for when you want your episode content to be ready by, but that often leaves us perpetually chasing deadlines. However, if you set aside consistent time to create your content, you’ll find that by the time the deadline rolls around, you’re all done and ready to hit “record” on another great episode.
Do you feel like you’re missing the mark when it comes to productivity? Don’t worry, it’s not just you! For a little help, check out this article on 6 Myths About Productivity that Are Actually Wasting Your Time. Just a few small changes can generate massive improvements for you and your show!
Closing Thoughts
No matter the platform, content will always be king, and good content will never go out of style. In terms of your podcast, creating valuable content catered to your audience is of utmost importance to ensure your show’s success. Put these 7 tips into practice, and you’re bound to see vast improvements, not only in your content itself but also in your content creation process.
Your aim needs to be consistent creation of great quality content in order to build your authority in your niche, meet the needs and desires of your listeners, and create a show that keeps your listeners coming back for more. Do this and you will see that great content really does wear the proverbial crown.
