Podcast Freq

If you want to get the best bang for your buck, plan on podcasting for the long haul.

Podcasters who “test�? things out with one or two podcasts and then give up may think that they’ve given it a try but in truth, they’ve only dabbled.

It takes time for a podcast to build an audience and it takes a dedicated effort to promote a new podcast. I wouldn’t even try to measure whether or not a podcast is doing well until I’ve been working on it for about six months. The main think I look for is growth. Am I reaching more listeners this month than last month?

I’m a niche podcaster. I don’t reach hundreds of thousands of listeners like big dog podcaster Leo LaPorte or podcast daddy Adam Curry. I don’t even try to compare myself to high profile podcasters who reach a wide audience. It would be nuts to do so but I’m afraid that is just what many new podcasters do.

They hear about how millions of people have iPods and are hungry to feed them. (It’s true!) They think if they launch a show they’re going to quickly tap into those millions, but for the most part - unless you have a great marketing plan, you’re going to be a drop in the bucket in the podcasting directories at first and you’ll have to work to earn your audience.

Sometimes a new podcast catches a break early. Cara Mirabella of The Household Helper found her brand new podcast featured prominently in the iTunes podcast directory for several weeks and enjoyed a wonderful burst of subscriber activity, quickly reaching upwards of a thousand downloads per show.

Now when I say ‘catches a break’ I don’t want to suggest that Cara won her featured spot only by chance. No one really knows for sure how one podcast gets chosen over another but we do know that you’re more likely to be chosen when you have completed your meta deta well and have taken the time to create an attractive ‘album art’ image for your iTunes directory listing.

The good news is that you can make a very good living with a niche podcast. You don’t need a hundred thousand listeners to make money. You just need the RIGHT listeners for your content and a good marketing funnel they’ll enjoy tumbling into.

So don’t just dabble. Make up your mind that you’re doing to be in this for a full season.