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(By Carey Green) I’ve been chuckling to myself a lot lately. All the articles about Spotify’s purchase of Gimlet and Anchor strike me as funny – in the same way I find those carnival fortune-telling games funny. While there’s an off-chance that some of the pontificators about the Spoti-Gimli-Anch deal may be right… it’s not likely in most cases.
Why do I think that? It could be because… - Many of those writers jumped on the bandwagon of writing about what’s hot right now without much insight into the real behind-the-scenes goings on. (I’m not throwing stones, it’s what we DO to get eyes on our content in the digital age.) - The history of similar acquisitions in a variety of industries demonstrates that few people who predict the impact of said event are right in the end. - They are taking something valuable (our attention) in exchange for their best-guess predictions. Carnival fortune tellers with digital megaphones. That’s how I see them (and why I don’t typically read them).
So, what’s different about THIS article? I simply offer you the following advice… based on what I’ve seen, working with clients over the past 5-ish years…forget about the Spoti-Gimli-Anch deal. Entirely.
Keep iterating on what you do to make your podcast fresher, more innovative, more creative – so you stand out. 1. Consider a new format. 2. Consider new types of episodes – or a mix of types. 3. Add new music, transitions, or segments to your audio.
Stay focused on meeting the needs of your audience through your podcast. That’s what matters. 1. Do a listener survey to discover real needs. 2. Identify guests who can speak specifically to your audience’s needs and take deep-dives into their area of specialization. 3. Create “freebies” to offer your listeners – resource sheets or lead magnets that address tangible needs.
Find ways to engage your audience, so you can build a relationship not a transaction. 1. Start a Facebook group – but only if you listen to this first. 2. Host a Meet Up in areas where your stats show larger audience reach (if you can be there). 3. Develop a hashtag for your show and ask listeners to use it when commenting/interacting about your topics.
In the words of funnyman Steve Martin, “Be so good they can’t ignore you.” And get ready to work really, really, really hard at all of the above. That’s how you can build success for your show over the next 12 months.
By contrast, 12 months from now the Spoti-Gimli-Anch deal will be a distant memory.
Yes, some will somehow build a fortune or a career on it.
Some will somehow leverage it to their advantage.
But unless you have specialized insider info that enables you to be one of those people, step away from the merger, stop reading the articles, and podcast on.
Carey Green is the Client Happiness Guy and founder at www.PodcastFastTrack.com
Comments:
Bruce -
Good advice … our Pure Hoops Media podcasts are barely a month old but we’ll be taking all of your suggestions seriously. Here’s one of our recent efforts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-wise-ass-show-jeanie-buss-talking-lakers/id1447776065?i=1000429633411&mt=2