Will We Ever Get Better Podcast Engagement?

01/11/22 • 11 min

3 Listeners

Few things make podcasters happier than a slew of emails from deeply engaged listeners filled with praise for the latest episode. Good work if you can get it. But should you expect and encourage it?

Do you want more engagement from your listeners? Sure. But do your listeners want to engage with you? Well...

Keep in mind that for almost every type of creator—books, tv shows, movies, Michelin-rated chefs—engagement with their audience is rare. And engagement during the time of creation is unheard of.

Some of the perceived need for podcasters to get immediate feedback stems from the podcasting versus radio fight that's going on two decades now. Our RSS feeds could out-distance their radio towers. But they could have live callers. And we couldn't. Boo.

Should we podcasters give up on the idea of getting more engagement from our listeners? No. But we probably should better understand what engagement opportunities we do have.

Not all engagements need to be live. And I'm encouraged by the efforts of companies like PodInbox who are improving podcast-specific forms of engagement.

But at the same time, maybe podcasting already have enough engagement from listeners?

Searching, finding, subscribing to or following, listening... These are forms of engagement that our listeners are doing right now. And honestly, it's the kind of engagement that podcasts are best set up to receive.

I almost hate to say it, but the majority of your audience will not get any benefit from engaging more deeply with you or your podcast than they already are.

It is very natural for us to want more engagement from our audience. But we serious podcasters need to first make sure we're giving our audience good reasons to engage with our content in the first place.

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Links

Getting more than 10K downloads per episode? Talk to Gumball.fm!
Giving Your Podcast's Listeners A Public Voice With PodInbox
PodInbox - A place for your audience to ask questions and share their stories.
Over 100K active podcasters trust Buzzsprout.

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

Do you want more engagement from your listeners? Sure. But do your listeners want to engage with you? Well...

Keep in mind that for almost every type of creator—books, tv shows, movies, Michelin-rated chefs—engagement with their audience is rare. And engagement during the time of creation is unheard of.

Should we podcasters give up on the idea of getting more engagement from our listeners? No. But we probably should better understand what engagement opportunities we do have.

Not all engagements need to be live. And I'm encouraged by the efforts of companies like PodInbox who are improving podcast-specific forms of engagement.

But at the same time, maybe podcasting already have enough engagement from listeners?

I almost hate to say it, but the majority of your audience will not get any benefit from engaging more deeply with you or your podcast than they already are.

-----

Links

Getting more than 10K downloads per episode? Talk to Gumball.fm!
Giving Your Podcast's Listeners A Public Voice With PodInbox
PodInbox - A place for your audience to ask questions and share their stories.
Over 100K active podcasters trust Buzzsprout.

Mentioned in this episode:

Support For Abortion Rights

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

Previous Episode

Giving Your Podcast's Listeners A Public Voice With PodInbox

It's the rare podcaster who doesn't want more engagement or feedback from their listeners. But getting people to do so has been historically hard. Maybe the incentives need to change?

Many podcasters try to get their listeners to leave a voicemail. And it's an incredible pain in the butt to do so!

PodInbox is trying to change all that. They're using the power of voice—both for the listener and the podcaster—to actually increase podcast engagement. PodInbox is the Branded Benefit Sponsor for today's episode, and founder Pat Cheung told me how he's designed PodInbox to make podcasting better, with things like:

A dedicated "page" for each podcaster where fans go and interact by leaving audio messages
All messages are public to make it a little bit more fun and give a social atmosphere to leaving messages.
This one-ups public reviews, because podcasters can reply to each message left by a listener.
The process is dead simple, with no need for separate apps or clunky plugins, making it a breeze for the podcaster to share the message on their podcast if they choose
Soon, Pat and team will add some monetization options to boost messages

I'm pretty excited about the idea of making messages left via voicemails public. This concept might be the better reviews we've all been looking for.

Want to give it a try? Enter "Evo" into the promo code box at sign up you'll save 30%. That gets you a PodInbox page for less than six bucks a month.

Want to see it in action? There's a PodInbox page for Podcast Pontifications!

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Links

Getting more than 10K downloads per episode? Talk to Gumball.fm!
Get a PodInbox account for your podcast
Founder, Pat Cheung
Over 100K active podcasters trust Buzzsprout.

Serious about podcasting? Join the Advancing Podcasting Community today!

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Podcast Pontifications is a production of Simpler Media. New episodes are released four times a week, providing ideas and questions every serious podcaster should be thinking about.

It's created and hosted by Evo Terra. Follow him on Twitter for more podcasting insights as they come. Allie Press assists with the production and transcription of the show.

If you received value from today's episode of Podcast Pontifications, return some of that! We call it value-for-value and there are many ways to show your support.

Mentioned in this episode:

Support For Abortion Rights

Next Episode

Can Podcasters Get Paid For Their Attention?

If you've ever snail-mailed a friend, you've paid to get someone's attention. In the future would you allow your listeners to pay you to get your attention, podcaster? Spoiler alert: you probably already do.

More often than not, podcast tech always seems to be looking for a way to get podcasters paid. And many podcasters are keen to try out new monetization options.

But the idea of monetizing a podcasters attention, if you will, tends to be a pretty polarizing topic. If you see this as an additional revenue stream, it's a positive thing. Yet if see this as just one more consequence of late-stage capitalism that further divides the world into the haves and the have nots, it's a negative thing.

I think both are valid positions. It's an ethical conundrum, to be sure. But one we're already wading into. Most social sites have some sort of a badge or icon identifying the special-ness of a select group of users and marking them as "better" than the rest, giving their posts and even direct messages extra heft.

More specific to podcasting, listener-support services like Patreon, BuyMeACoffee, and myriad other similar services are used by podcasters allow for special tiers, some of which give members-only rights to those who pay enough. Like a members-only message board or assigning priority status to messages sent from members who pay for the privilege.

Seen in that light, allowing someone to boost a voicemail message to the top of a queue with a contribution of funds doesn't seem all that nefarious.

But I am not naive. I know that there are huge opportunities for abuse and asshattery. My hope is that the developers that implement services like this are taking that into consideration and working to shut down as much as they can.

Yet even with the risks and uncertainty, I think the idea of listeners paying for a podcaster's attention is a space worth keeping our eye on.

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Links

Getting more than 10K downloads per episode? Talk to Gumball.fm!
Giving Your Podcast's Listeners A Public Voice With PodInbox
Over 100K active podcasters trust Buzzsprout.
Serious about podcasting? Join the Advancing Podcasting Community today!

Mentioned in this episode:

Support For Abortion Rights

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

Podcast Pontifications - Will We Ever Get Better Podcast Engagement?

Transcript Summary

In this episode titled "Will We Ever Get Better Podcast Engagement?," podcasters explore the desire for increased engagement from listeners and reflect upon the lack of reciprocal involvement. They highlight the phenomenon where most listeners are unable to engage with content during the creative process, unlike the interaction experienced with live radio shows. However, engagement does not necessarily have to be live feedback; it can involve messages, reviews, or subscribing to podcasts. It is important to understand that podcasting is not meant to be a live experience, and most listeners do not prefer or benefit from immediate engagement. Instead, podcasters should focus on providing compelling reasons for the audience to engage with the content before seeking more active involvement. Dive into this episode to gain insights about the dynamics of podcast engagement and how podcasters can enhance their relationship with their audience.

Transcript

00:00:00.450

Few things make podcasters happier than a slew of emails from deeply engaged listeners filled with praise for their latest episode. Good work if you can get it. But should you expect and encourage it?

00:00:19.410

Hello, and welcome to another Podcast Pontifications with me, Evo Terra. If there's a universal want amongst podcasters, it's that we want more engagement from our listeners.

00:00:33.570

Trouble is, the feeling isn't mu

Will We Ever Get Better Podcast Engagement? Top Questions Answered

How can podcasters increase engagement with their listeners?

Podcasters can increase engagement by providing compelling reasons for their audience to engage with their content and utilizing platforms like PodInbox that allow listeners to leave publicly available messages.

Why do podcasters desire more engagement from their listeners?

Podcasters desire more engagement because it creates a sense of connection with their audience and fosters a loyal fan base.

What is PodInbox?

PodInbox is a platform that aims to increase listener engagement by providing a way for them to leave publicly available messages for podcasters.

Is engagement in podcasting similar to engagement in live radio shows?

Engagement in podcasting differs from live radio shows since most podcast content is pre-recorded and does not allow for real-time interaction with listeners.

Is there a rivalry between podcasting and radio?

Yes, there is a rivalry between podcasting and radio, which may contribute to the push for increased engagement in podcasting.

How can listeners engage with podcasts?

Listeners can engage with podcasts by listening to, reading, or watching the content and participating in platforms or discussions related to the podcast.

Should podcasters prioritize real-time engagement during the creative process?

It is not necessary for podcasters to prioritize real-time engagement during the creative process, as engagement can still be valuable even without immediate feedback.