The advent might have already begun, but it’s never too late to start your journey to fixing up your pod before the holiday season
Ho-ho-holidays are upon us and with them, it is definitely time to look back at everything you’ve done for your podcast and make sure you have all parts fine-tuned. When we are in the middle of putting out new episodes week in and week out, it’s easy to forget just how many other components there are to our shows – so here are the 24 things you can do for the rest of the month to get your show in tip-top shape:
- Look at Your Artwork
Make sure your artwork reflects the times. It should be readable, thumb-stopping and if appropriate for your podcast – it should also include faces!
- Organise Your Episodic Artwork
If you aren’t on the episodic artwork train yet, get on it. Each episode should have its very own eye-catching and consistent presence on your feed.
- Audit Your Podcast Description
Look at the first line of your description for the podcast. Does it say ALL you want it to say? Make sure it gets straight to the point.
- And Don’t Forget Your Episode Descriptions, too!
The first line is once again key – it is most of the time all listeners read and see on their podcast apps. Make sure you don’t repeat yourself and make it engaging and concise.
- Claim Your Universal Links
Go to PodFollow, or a website similar like Pod.Link or LinkFire to claim your universal links. This will help your podcast open on all platforms.
- Optimise Your Episodic Titles
Look at your episode’s titles – are they clear? Do they have key words? Now is the time to finetune your whole presence so it resonates with your audience.
- Test Your RSS
Is your podcast showing up across major platforms like Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music? And what about smaller indie platforms like Castbox, PlayerFM, PodBay? You want to make sure your podcast is visible everywhere.
- Add Transcripts
Make your podcast more accessible by ensuring you are consistently adding transcripts to you episodes.
- Browse Your Backlog
Have a look at all of your older episodes – are there any that are worth promoting again? Or maybe just updating? You might be surprised by how much evergreen content you already have in your history – don’t be afraid to reuse it.
- Record a New Trailer
Having a 30 second trailer is always a good idea, and having one that is up to date and feels current for your pod is an even better one. You never know when you might need a trailer for a swap, and creating a trailer is a great way to narrow down your messaging for the podcast overall.
- Streamline Your Intros and Outros
You want to keep your intros short and snappy, and get straight into the content. If there was ever a good time to figure those out – it is now – when listeners have little time and patience for new content! Make sure you do the same for the outros too.
- Put Together a Listener Survey
If you have the time and the energy this pre-holiday season, put together a feedback form for your listeners. Don’t try to send it in December, but having something ready for end of January might be a nice way to see what your listeners want from you, too.
- Host a Q&A
Content might be a bit dry going into festivities, so think about hosting a question episode. Interacting with your audience is an important part of keeping the two-way conversation going in a show.
- Think About Video
If you already have a video podcast, congratulations! And if not – consider this: is there a reason why? Do you need a video strategy? We know that video is still a touch subject for most podcasters, but the truth is – it is becoming somewhat of an industry norm. You may have very good reasons for not having a video output but just make sure you won’t be left behind when others zoom past.
- Look at Your YouTube
For those with a video podcast already, look at your YouTube page. Does it look styled like the rest of your podcast? Do you have thumbnails? What about your description? Make sure everything is looking just as it should on the video side as well as audio.
- Professionalise Your Thumbnails
Your video thumbnails should be reflective of the episode and give a sense to the listeners of why they should be clicking on your video. Do yours do that? If you want a good example, we have recently rebranded Media Club (previously: The Media Podcast), and their thumbnails are off the charts.
- Set Up Chapter Markers
When it comes to your YouTube as well, make sure you have chapter markers to make it easy to navigate through your episodes.
- Reconsider Your Shorts and IG Video
We often get asked what makes a good short-form clip from a podcast and the answer is very simple: you need it to engage the listener within THE FIRST SECOND. That’s right. If it sounds impossible, it’s not – just make sure you jump straight into the content.
- Organise a Photoshoot
Nothing says Christmas than feeling uncomfortable as people pay way too much attention to you – so lean in! Organise a Photoshoot to make sure you have enough reaction shots and facial expressions to cover your thumbnails, artwork and episodic artwork too.
- Launch a Newsletter
Don’t sit on your podcast episodes – take your transcripts and turn them into newsletters for your fans. The more content you can have from each episode, the better.
- Organise a Community
Whether it’s Patreon or a simple Apple subscription, listeners do like to support and engage with their favourite shows. Just make sure you are clearly stating the value of the community in all of your communication.
- Put Together an Awards Folder
Before the awards season, make sure you start putting best-of clips, any notable quotes, numbers and achievements safely in a folder. This will make your awards applications a breeze.
- Evaluate Your Audio Quality
As a marketing agency, it’s not up to us to tell you how you should record your content – but maybe do have a listen to your podcast as if you are a listener first, not the producer. Is the audio crisp and clear? Is the jingle too long? It never hurts to question your ways when it comes to a thorough podcast audit.
- Put together a Holiday Calendar!
And finally, don’t forget to prepare for other holidays in the year with a thorough content and marketing calendar. You can never be too prepared.
And happy holidays everyone!