Most podcasts fail. This can happen because of different reasons but in many situations, we see similar mistakes being made. There are several patterns that keep repeating themselves. They stop the show from reaching the maximum possible potential.
The truth is that it is not as easy as some may believe to run a podcast. You can so easily get caught up in what you are doing and miss some very obvious things. Fortunately, when you are aware of the biggest mistakes you could make, it is simply easier to run a successful podcast. Let’s now focus on exactly those common big mistakes podcasts make right now, those you absolutely have to avoid.
Target Audience Not Understood
Marketing departments work very hard to identify and understand target audiences. Unfortunately, podcasters often miss out on this. The target audience practically means who you want to reach with your podcast. You want to identify those people who are most likely to find the content you create valuable, engaging, and relevant.
If you do not understand your target audience, you cannot create content that would be appealing for people. For instance, when you want to promote resin for 3D printers, you want to mention things like Elegoo. If you just talk about regular printing, you do not reach your goal. The same goes when promoting products that cannot be bought by the target audience because of price tags, like industrial 3D resin printers.
The most important parts of target audience analysis are location, occupation, gender, and age. But, you have to go further so you understand as much as possible about the audience’s psychographics. This includes things like attitudes, pain pints, behaviors, and interests. If you understand these, the content you create is much more likely to be tailored to establish that deep connection you surely want with the listeners.
Unique Selling Propositions Do Not Exist
The unique selling proposition (USP) is mandatory for the success of every single business, including podcasts. This will set you apart when looking at the competition. It is practically a distinct feature or angle that makes the show unique and valuable. After you understand the target audience and all their needs, the USP needs to be created so it resonates.
A good place to start is analyzing your competition. See the top niche podcasts and analyze what is being offered. Then, try to figure out what these top podcasts miss. Think about:
- The reason why the target audience should choose your podcast.
- The way in which the podcast is different.
- The experiences, information, and perspectives only your podcast can offer.
Lack Of Planning Episodes
This is a very common podcast mistake. When you do not plan episodes in advance, you experience what is referred to as podfade. It practically means you end up feeling rushed or overwhelmed to keep publishing content. You are affected by stress, which leads to disinterest. In the end, you stop the entire podcast production and no more episodes are launched.
Always plan your episodes ahead. The content buffer you should have should be of around 4 episodes. Practically, you want to be sure they are ready to be published. Do this and you will no longer be panicked that you have to create content at the last minute. Your creative freedom is also increased.
Lack Of Constant Publishing Schedule
Having a truly consistent publishing schedule does wonders when it comes time to building very strong relationships with your listeners. As an example, whenever the target audience knows that new episodes are going to be released every single Tuesday, they know you will do this. As you keep the promise, trust grows. The listeners basically know they can always trust the publisher to deliver good content.
We should also highlight that listeners will often incorporate the favorite podcast shows into daily routines. If you deviate from the schedule you established, the audience will be disappointed and confused.
Make sure to carefully think about your schedule and settle on something that is feasible. When the above-mentioned Tuesday schedule is not realistic, you have to look for something else. Never promise something that you cannot deliver.
Putting Too Much Focus On Sound Quality Instead Of Content Value
So many podcasters focus a lot on perfect sound quality. This is definitely important but it is the podcast content that makes people come back.
Several hosts invest a lot in the best recording equipment they can buy. Then, they simply do not focus on the content of the podcasts. Such an imbalance means the podcast will be produced beautifully but no substance will be delivered.
Simply put, if you have the best microphone on the market but the content you deliver is not properly researched, the narrative is disjointed, or you do not engage with the audience, your podcast will fail. Remember that listeners might come because of the sound quality. However, they will only stay because of the content. Always stay focused on offering interesting, engaging, and valuable content.
Choosing The Wrong Podcast Guests
Every single podcast enjoyer ended up listening to some podcast episodes featuring a guest who simply knew nothing about the subject that was featured. Or maybe the guest was simply not a good fit for the target audience. Ill-fitting guests have to be highlighted as a huge mistake every single aspiring podcaster should avoid.
When you want to interview experts, always be selective. Most interview-based podcast shows will be either skyrocketed or completely ruined by guest quality. This is because what guest you feature shows the target audience what the show quality actually is.
Make sure to only invite real experts and choose those who are a very good fit based on the target audience you have. Simply put, you want the people who your listeners really want to hear from on the show. And you should only get a guest when they can deliver something of a very high value.
As expected, it will be hard to book the reputable guests. But, you always have to maintain really strict standards. There will be rejections for sure. This is why you want to contact as many good fits as possible.
