Experienced podcasters and newbies alike often want to dive head-first into Host-Read Ads. But there are a few things we recommend having before you opt in to RAP (the RedCircle Ad Platform) to ensure you shine bright!
While it’s important to have these three initial things, we also believe quality content, consistent listeners, and an engaged audience can help push your show to the top of advertisers’ minds.
Having at least one, or all three, can help make your show stand out amongst the others.
Quality Content
Quality content goes far beyond the topic of choice. It also refers to the physical sound of your show, the effort of how you craft your episodes, and how consistently you’re posting. If any of these are lacking, then you may not attract the amount of listeners you’re hoping for. Let’s explore what we mean, though!
Sound of your show
Like we talked about in our blog post, The Technical Side of Podcasting, it’s incredibly important to pay attention to your audio levels. A simple tweak to your levels can transform your show from amateur to professional. You want to aim for an audio level of -16 LUFs (Loudness Units relative to Full Scale) for the best-sounding show.
It’s also recommended to monitor your volume levels in real time to ensure you’re not creating vast peaks and valleys of sound. A consistent tone and volume level makes it much easier to edit in post, too!
Want more resources on recording your show? Check out these articles:
- Best Practices for Recording a Podcast
- All the Equipment You Need to Start a Podcast
- How to Create a Home Podcast Studio
Effort in crafting episodes
It’s no secret that a healthy dose of effort is key to creating a successful podcast. Taking time to plan and develop your episodes can greatly impact the quality of your show. While many podcasts appear to be low-effort, talking off-the-cuff sorts, there’s actually a ton of effort being poured into the show before the hosts even sit down at the mic.
Luckily, we’ve written a couple of blogs already on how to craft amazing podcasts and episodes:
Consistency in posting episodes
Posting your episodes on a frequent basis, or even on a set schedule, makes it that much easier for you to build an audience. Your listeners know when to expect a new episode and can build routines around them. Plenty of podcast listeners tune in to their favorite shows during their morning or evening commutes, or when tidying up around the house, or when going for a run, or even when shopping for groceries. Your new episodes serve as entertainment for your listeners when they go about their day. Help create those routines for them, and build a consistent audience, by posting your episodes on a frequent schedule.
Consistent Listeners
Speaking of consistency, you want to have a consistent amount of listeners before you start exploring Host-Read Ads. Having a reliable audience can help to further sell your show to brands. It shows that your podcast is an integral part of your audience’s lives.
There are plenty of ways to grow your listenership, but here are some of our favorites:
- Don’t be afraid to share your show! Be proud of your work and shout it from the rooftops. Share it everywhere you possibly can to reach a wider audience.
- Engage with other podcasters. Brush off your networking skills and meet with other podcasters. Collaborate on shows with one another to expand both of your audiences.
- Embed your podcast on other sites. Have a personal website along with your show? Embed your episodes to make it easier for website visitors to check out your podcast.
- Get to know your audience. This can help you build content that appeals to your listeners.
- Harness the power of SEO. There’s a reason these marketing techniques are ubiquitous. Give them a try and see how they help!
Engaged Audience
One final piece before turning on RAP is to ensure you have an active and engaged audience. You know your audience and they know you. Studies have shown that podcast advertising is among the most effective thanks to the mutual trust between host and listeners. Even more interestingly, many listeners would rather hear ads than pay for content. Having an audience that engages with you is especially appealing to brands as they can easily see how impactful you are to your audience.
It’s also important to note that we only used “consistent” and “engaged” when talking about your audience. Why? Well, because the number of listeners ultimately doesn’t matter as long as you have a dedicated audience. There are hundreds of shows with niche topics and listeners that do well with Host-Read Ads. And it’s not because they have a huge audience. It’s because they put effort into their shows and they know their audience.
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Following this advice, and the advice from our first blog, should put you in the perfect position to opt in to RAP.
Not a RedCircle Podcaster yet? No worries, join today with a free 7-day trial and see what we’re all about!
