Podcasting Q&A – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Megan from the Wild Healers podcast asks, "Is it possible for an independent podcast to make it into the Apple New and Noteworthy section?"

Special thanks to Kris Emerson, host of the Excel Still More podcast, for sharing his experience getting into the New and Noteworthy section.

TL;DR
The Apple Podcasts New and Noteworthy section is a common goal for new podcasters. The appeal is that if you can get your podcast listed there, you'll be able to grow your audience faster, build momentum, and ride that wave off into the sunset of your podcasting dreams.

So... how exactly do you get in? In this episode, we'll share what we know and ask Kris, a fellow Buzzsprout podcaster, what he did to land in the New and Noteworthy section.

What's the best strategy?

The best way to get into the Apple New and Noteworthy section is to focus on getting a lot of listeners to subscribe to your show in Apple Podcasts in a short period of time. As a new podcast, your window to make this happen is typically 90 days from when you launch your first episode.

At one point, many podcasters believed that it was the number of downloads or reviews you received that got you in the N&N section. But over time, as we've seen podcasters try and game the system, we've found that those aren't big indicators.

Apply isn't spilling the beans on their process any time soon, but we DO know that an algorithm based on how many subscribers you get feeds possible selections to an Apple employee who ultimately determines how makes it in and who doesn't.

Record your podcasting question at Speakpipe.com/Buzzsprout to be featured on a future episode.

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Letty from My Sweet Business with Letty Alvarez asks, "What kind of download stats can you expect with a new podcast?"

TL;DR
Launching a new podcast is a lot of work and is something you should celebrate! It’s only natural to want as many people as possible to listen to it, but where should you place your expectations?

In this episode, we’ll walk through 3 questions that will help you determine what your benchmark for success should be.

1. Do you have an existing audience?

If you’re starting from scratch, you should expect fewer downloads than someone who has 100,000 followers on Instagram.

It’s okay if you’re just getting started, just set your expectations accordingly.

2. How popular is your podcast subject?

The reality is, some podcast topics have larger built-in audiences than others. As an example, True Crime podcasts are currently more popular than Home Gardening podcasts and will naturally have a larger audience.

We would never recommend you start a podcast just to become popular, just recognize that the potential size of your audience is partially determined by how many people are interested in your subject matter.

3. How good is your first impression?

If you have a poor first impression, that will negatively impact your download numbers no matter how good your podcast is. You'll want to make sure you have hi-quality artwork (use a service like 99designs or Upwork to work with graphic designers), practice good mic technique for crisp audio, and use catchy episode titles to grab someone's attention.

If you make a good first impression, and then back that up with great content, your podcast will grow.

What's the average number of downloads?

The average Buzzsprout podcaster gets around 50 downloads per episode. This is a great target for when you're first getting started!

Record your podcasting question at Speakpipe.com/Buzzsprout to be featured on a future episode.

Review Podcasting Q&A in Podchaser to let us know what you think of the show.

Krystal from The Proffitt Podcast asks, "What's the most important information to look at when you're deciding on keywords for podcast SEO?"

TL;DR
Search Engine Optimization (also known as SEO) is the practice of tailoring your online content in a way that's easy for search engines like Google to index and display in their search results. When done well, this means that more people find you without having to spend a dime on advertising.

Podcast directories also use this kind of information when populating results in their apps. If you open up Apple Podcasts and type "Business Podcast" into the search bar, Apple combs through its entire catalog of podcasts and presents the top results based on what you searched.

What is a keyword? It's the word or phrase that your target audience is searching in the search bar. Once you know what those words and phrases are, you can create episodes around them and separate yourself from other podcasts in your category.

In short, podcast SEO is the key to reaching new listeners in your sleep without having to spend money on advertising.

4x Steps To Optimize Your Podcast For SEO:

1. Target relevant keywords and search terms
2. Research the competition
3. Make a complete answer
4. Use accurate, keyword-friendly episode titles

More Tips From Travis:

• Use Upwork.com to outsource SEO research for your podcast by hiring an expert to come up with your list of relevant keywords to target for future episodes

Record your podcasting question at Speakpipe.com/Buzzsprout to be featured on a future episode.

Review Podcasting Q&A in Podchaser to let us know what you think of the show.

In this episode, Joshua asks, "Exactly how important is transcribing?"
 
Thanks for the question, Joshua! You can check out Joshua's podcast, 4th and Flex Fantasy Football Podcast here: https://4thandflexpodcast.buzzsprout.com/

What podcast transcripts do:

• make your content more accessible to listeners who are hard of hearing.
• boost SEO so search engines like Google can find your content.
• can heighten listener engagement, and
• make it easy for listeners to share quotes to social media.

Human-Transcription Services:

• Rev ($1.25/min and 99% accuracy),
• GoTranscript ($0.86/min and 99%+ accuracy), or
• hiring a freelance transcriber from Upwork ($10-$100; accuracy varies).

Automated Transcription Services: 

• Otter.ai
• Temi
• Rev
• Sonix.ai
• Descript
• Scribie
• Trint

Do-It-Yourself Transcription:
For examples of transcript formatting, check out Buzzcast & Podcasting Q&A transcripts. 

• https://pqa.buzzsprout.com
• https://buzzcast.buzzsprout.com

Buzzsprout Blogs & Videos:

How to Transcribe Your Podcast [2021]: https://www.buzzsprout.com/blog/transcribe-your-podcast
How to Add Transcripts to Your Podcast Episodes (Video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1fJ3K4vvq4

Buzzsprout Head of Marketing, Alban Brooke, joins this week's episode of Podcasting Q&A to give SEO (Search Engine Optimization) tips and how to optimize your podcast's discoverability with easy SEO techniques.

Thank you, Taylor for your question! You can check out Taylor's podcast, Eros Rising, at https://www.taylorjohnson.life/podcast/

Links & Resources: 

• PodNews: SEO data for Podcast Apps
   https://podnews.net/article/who-indexes-what
• Keyword Tools:
  https://ahrefs.com/keyword-generator
  https://keywordseverywhere.com/
  https://answerthepublic.com/

Have a question?
Record & submit your question at podinbox.com/buzzsprout to be featured on a future episode!

Co-founder of Buzzsprout, Tom Rossi, joins this week's episode of Podcasting Q&A to explain how RSS Feeds work & different ways to create a Private RSS Feed. 

Thanks to Ryan for the question! You can check out Ryan's podcast, AntiArt Podcast at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1636159

Links & Resources: 

• 6 Best Ways to Create a Private Podcast

Have a question?
Record & submit your question at podinbox.com/buzzsprout to be featured on a future episode!

In this episode of Podcasting Q&A, Jordan and Krystal answer a question from Mel about how to keep your podcast interesting.

Special thanks to the Queen of Content, Krystal Proffitt, of the Proffitt Podcast and The Poddy Report for her amazing insight! You can also find her at www.krystalproffitt.com!

Links & Resources: 

• 75 Podcast Ideas and Topics to Explore in 2022
• 20 Unique Podcast Segment Ideas
• How to Take a Break from Your Podcast
• Podcraft: Growing Your Audience by Running a Listener Survey

Have a question?
Record & submit your question at podinbox.com/buzzsprout to be featured on a future episode!

Visual soundbites, or audiograms, are a great way to promote your podcast on social media. But sometimes, it can be hard to choose the right clip or artwork to share.

In this episode of Podcasting Q&A, Jordan and Alban answer three questions from Charles, the host of JUMP...Success is Waiting!, about selecting what soundbites to share, what length they should be, and what kind of artwork works best for audiograms.

Links & Resources: 

• How to Create a Podcast Audiogram
• Get Free Images from Unsplash
• Get Free Images from Pexels

Have a question? Upload your podcasting question at Speakpipe.com/Buzzsprout to be featured on a future episode.

You've spent all this time creating a podcast, but now you want to make sure your show is being listened to.

In this episode of Podcasting Q&A, we discuss 5 ways to grow your podcast that don't cost money.

Resources from the episode:

• How to get into every podcast directory
• How to Get Booked on Podcasts
  • PodMatch.com
• How to Grow Your Podcast by Using TikTok
• Podcast Marketing: 100 podcasters share tactics they used to grow their shows
• How to Promote Your Podcast: 8 Simple Strategies
• Grow Your Podcast By Advertising in Podcast Apps

Have a question? Upload your podcasting question at Speakpipe.com/Buzzsprout to be featured on a future episode.

Video: How to choose the right podcast category

Many podcasters launch their show hoping to appeal to as many listeners as possible.

However, when you try to appeal to everyone, you often end up appealing to no one in particular.

So in today's episode, we're going to help you niche down so that you can get your podcast to connect to the right people.

Record your podcasting question at Speakpipe.com/Buzzsprout to be featured on a future episode.