Podcast engagement rates are usually pretty fluctuating. Your audience might fall in love with one episode and replay it several times, and completely ignore or skim over another one. Therefore, understanding your audience's taste is a gateway to success, whether you are a newbie or an experienced podcaster. Fortunately, there are many ways to get an insight into what your listeners might like. Most podcast directories provide podcasters with detailed analytics on each episode's performance. This helps you understand the types of content that are more accepted by your audience and filter out those with poor performance.
However, we understand that it takes time setting up all podcast analytics sources and crafting valuable insights from them. That's why we've picked up 7 podcast engagement tactics that will work well for any audience. So let's cut straight to them,helping you find your key to a highly-engaged audience.
Make your titles speak
Having a good title is the best way to trigger a click. It should be simple, short, but loudy. To craft the best titles, think of what your listeners are looking for. Are they interested in morning productivity tips? If yes, choose something like " Tips for Having Magical and Productive Mornings" as a title to make your listeners sure they will find a detailed answer to their queries in the episode. Also, don't underestimate the importance of power words, which enhance the title's emotional impact on the readers. For example, instead of naming an episode "10 Tips to earn more as a freelancer", add some intrigue with "10 Secret Tips to earn more as a freelancer".
Watch out for the questions
No matter how deep you analyze your audience's interests before preparing episodes' scripts there would always be questions left unanswered during the show. So, why not let your listeners ask those questions and then use them as inspiration for your next episodes. This Q&A technique, also called "Ask Me Anything," is widely used by bloggers and influencers. It's a powerful tool to enhance communication with your audience. To collect listeners' questions, you can provide them with an email address, post on social media groups, etc.
Let them in
Have you ever thought of live podcasts? It's when you go live with your listeners and make an episode without having the chance to edit or correct it later. We agree that's harder than traditional podcasting and might seem challenging at first sight. However, your audience might actually love the live podcasting idea. Imagine if the listeners can connect to their favorite host during a live show. In other words, they can get unmuted and ask anything they want during the live podcast. That would be a unique personalized experience that will boost your podcast engagement. Don't worry about the technical side of live podcasting. You can easily organize it with platforms like Clubhouse, or similar alternatives.
Practice cross-pollination
Another proven strategy for getting higher podcast engagement rates is cross-pollination. It refers to the technique of co-hosting an episode or inviting guests from the same sphere. This allows both parties to reach more audiences and acquire new listeners. Cross-pollination is effective in reaching people interested in your sphere who might not have heard about you. Appearing in another podcaster's show as a guest or inviting fellow podcasters to your show frequently will allow you to fill the gap.
Help your audience grow
People love podcasts that teach them something. It could be something as simple as a lifehack for making tastier coffee in the morning or a serious discussion on how to get admitted to the top universities in the world. The critical point here is that your audience should craft some value from the show, even if you choose a more entertaining and funny format. If you put effort into bringing valuable information to your listeners, you show respect and appreciation toward the time they spend listening to your show. This, in turn, enhances emotional connection and increases podcast engagement rates.
Meet your audience
Though podcasting is not that much about live interaction, meeting your loyal listeners in person will positively impact your podcast engagement. If you host live meetings with listeners, you will allow them to know you and each other better. Being in a like-minded community is something everyone loves, right? So, why not invest some 1-2 hours in bringing that pleasant experience into life? Meetings with the audience might take different forms. If your listener base is just getting bigger, you can host a free event inviting everyone who'd like to join. As time goes by and your show gets real popularity, you can organize close events with limited guests, inviting only the most loyal listeners.
Get in touch by email
Email marketing is a powerful promotional tool for many fields, and podcasting is no exception. It's an effective communication platform that allows you to remind listeners of your new episodes. While some listeners might miss the episode update on Spotify, an email notification will update them directly. Beyond the pure promotion of episodes, you can also use your mailing list to communicate to your audience. It's a good idea to send them some non-podcast-related letters, such as some updates on the big events in your industry, latest news, etc.
Final thoughts
Maintaining high podcast engagement requires a consistent effort. If your engagement-increasing strategies are limited to 1-2 short activities a month, you can't succeed with it. To nurture a loyal audience base, you need to create an omnichannel communication system, where your listeners can always get in touch with you through any platform they'd like. We know what you think:this sounds quite complicated and requires a lot of energy. However, when you see the podcast engagement tactics pay off, you know it’s worth the effort.
