HELLO, WELCOME TO MY FIRST BLOG POST.
THIS IS A LESSON I HAVE LEARNED ON.. NOT FEARING THE UNSUBSCRIBE.
Universal factors causing my podcast to be undersubscribed.
Well, let’s define undersubscribed. Does undersubscription mean a quantitative value or is a qualitative measurement?
I first must identify my own expectations of my podcast to understand both universally, collectively, and individually why I am listened by some and disregarded by others.
Is my expectation to have 1000 true fans or have mass appeal?
Let’s go with the first as I would consider myself a niche host.
Universal rational factors to why my podcast is undersubscribed
• Podcast consumption is typically longer to digest that reading
• There is no visual stimulation traditionally
• Highlights, notes, and anecdotes are harder to capture
• Anecdotes are typically unedited and therefore prone to error
Well, I should continue this with these two questions:
1. What type of people do I want to listen to my podcast?
Empaths:
My podcast is designed for empaths. The mission statement of the podcast is “To use origin stories as a self-development tool”. To maximise the takeaway from my podcast one must be able to listen to the guests journey as if they were walking it with them.
Growth Minded:
My podcast is designed for those with a growth-mindset. Listening to my podcast is meant to be an additive activity to an individual. I’d like to hope listeners are acceptant of new ways of thinking, new ways to overcome hurdles, adaptive ways to empathise with different career paths/life experiences and are promoters of inclusive teams.
Socially Immobile:
My podcast is further designed for those from a lack of social mobility perpetuated by no/few models. I wish to provide listeners with digital role models in hope that it improves social mobility. This is has been proven to be the case as the UK Social Mobility Awards wrote in their 2021 paper “Advancing Social Mobility in the UK” that my podcast played a part in accelerating this.
Dedicated Listeners:
My podcast is further designed with people who have protected time to dedicate to my podcast. The podcast usually lasts over an hour. With my content, as one’s journey is end-to-end, you cant be half-pregnant when consuming it. It is expected that one listens to it back to back – this is shown in existent listener retention rates.
English Speaking:
My podcast is also in English. Therefore, my podcast is designed for those fluent in this language.
2. Why I want them to listen?
I want listeners to join a community of like-minded and diverse individuals looking to grow and collaborate. I want equal understanding of all characteristics. I also love resource sharing and wish to share all the wisdom I retain with a wider community.
And, now I am posed with the big question:
Why shouldn’t someone listen to my podcast?
Well let me start with how I should retain the right listener. I should ship work that interests me. That’s specific. That makes a dent in the universe. That I am curious about. That I look forward to shipping. That to me feels like play but others feels like work.
Bob Dylan explained this methodology when developing his tour with his promoter. He played in the SAME cities for 3 consecutive years. The rational economists would say “well playing in the same cities every year is a waste of capacity. You should venture into new cities, capture new audiences and develop a wider customer/fan base”. Makes complete logical sense, right?
But we should think, not logically, but psychologically.
Why?
Year 1: Listeners attended his gigs and listeners became fans.
Year 2: Loyal fans returned.
Year 3: Loyalist of fans returned, and, brought a friend.
So, what does this mean for this prompt?
Well, to develop a podcast that EVERYONE likes well then heck it must be the perfect podcast. It must have absolute perfectionism. It must tickle every interest. Speak in every language. Use every accent. Be Funny. Be Serious. Be emotional. Be happy. Be Verbose. Be slang. Be relatable. Be unrelatable… see what I am getting at?
As Seth Godin would say… perfectionism and mediocrity are the same. They are both things to hide behind.
Perfectionism means the work is never complete. Mediocrity means that I can blanket failure of spec by saying “ah well I didn’t try my hardest and be my creative self”.
I will continue to create as if I were the only listener.
I hope no one listens to my podcast.
If you made it this far, why dont you buy me a coffee for my work?
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Dbyd