Podcast Pontifications

Think about the two audiences your podcast serves: Your avatar (a stand-in for your larger audience) and you, the creator.

Troubles arise when we see those two audiences as distinctly different from each other, each with different wants and needs. But when we overlap those two like a Venn diagram, we find power in the overlap. The more those two circles overlap, the more power we have.

The things you say (or allow to be said) on your program are clearly important elements. But there’s more to audience/host alignment than just agreeing on content. Things like...

Show Format -The format of your podcast, from cold-open to fading outro music and all the parts between, has a lot to do with its success, failure, or stagnation. Chances are, the current format of your show is something you wanted. Something you then imposed on your audience. Remember, the number of hours a month your audience spends listening to you is a but a fraction of the number of hours they spend listening to other podcasts.

So you have be in the audience. Yes, that means listening to your own episodes every time they come out just like a listener does. But it also means listening to other shows to see if there are new or better formats your audience is aware of... but you are not. 

Cadence - Are you publishing new episodes on a cadence that works for you, for your audience, or for both? Yes, weekly is a common standard. But how true to that are you really?  Thoughts like “What if I released an episode every five days?” or “Maybe I should drop a just-for-fun episode the same day I’m releasing my last episode of the month?” violate your established cadence, and require careful consideration before implementation. 

If you’re finding it difficult to see a chaotic release cadence might negatively impact your audience, then your perspective is still from the outside looking in. 

Non-audio elements of your podcast - Encouraging, or at least enabling, your audience to consume your podcast without listening to the audio files seems anathema. But not everyone can listen, yet they still want the content you make. Thinking from inside your audience with that perspective, you absolutely should accommodate. Live video, edited video, fully-written article, carefully crafted email newsletter… those are just some of the formats you can adapt to your audience’s advantage.o me.

Personally speaking, I want to give my audience every chance to digest the things I have to say, however they want. To me, that’s part of being a creator.

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Read the full article and share with a friend: https://podcastpontifications.com/episode/confronting-your-podcasts-avatar-from-the-inside

Podcast Pontifications is published by Evo Terra four times a week and is designed to make podcasting better, not just easier.

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Mentioned in this episode:

Support For Abortion Rights

While Americans overwhelmingly support the right of an individual to make their own decisions about abortion, unfortunately, that right is no longer protected everywhere in the U.S. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24th. Abortion is a basic healthcare need for the millions of people who can become pregnant. Everyone should have the freedom to decide what’s best for themselves and their families, including when it comes to ending a pregnancy. This decision has dire consequences for individual health and safety, and could have harsh repercussions for other landmark decisions. Restricting access to comprehensive reproductive care, including abortion, threatens the health and independence of all Americans. Even if you live in a state where abortion rights are upheld, access to safe medical procedures shouldn’t be determined by location, and it shouldn't be the privilege of a small few. You can help by donating to local abortion funds. To find out where to donate for each state, visit donations4abortion.com. If you or someone you know needs help, or if you want to get more involved, here are 5 resources: 1. ShoutYourAbortion.com is a campaign to normalize abortion. 2. DontBanEquality.com is a campaign for companies to take a stand against abortion restrictions. 3. Abortion.cafe has information about where to find clinics. 4. PlanCPills.org provides early at-home abortion pills that you can keep in your medicine cabinet. 5. Choice.CRD.co has a collection of these resources and more. We encourage you to speak up! And spread the word.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy
Podsights - https://podsights.com/privacy