5 Common Content Planning Mistakes Podcasters Make (and How to Avoid Them)
Have you ever felt like your podcast episodes are missing the mark or that your content planning isn’t delivering the results you want? If so, you’re definitely not alone. Over the years, I’ve seen many talented podcasters struggle with the same few content planning issues, and I’ve been there myself! It’s not just about having great ideas; it’s about executing them effectively and consistently.
Today, I want to walk you through the five most common mistakes I see podcasters make and how you can steer clear of them to create content that truly resonates with your audience. This episode is perfect for podcasters looking to elevate their strategy and build a podcast that not only reaches but resonates.
Inconsistent Posting: Stay Consistent to Build Trust
One of the biggest mistakes I see is inconsistent posting. Your listeners crave predictability—they want to know when to expect new episodes from you. I always tell people that if you’re inconsistent with your content, your audience will be inconsistent too. And let’s be honest, we’ve all been there: you find a podcast you love, only to realize there are no new episodes and no communication about what’s going on. It’s disappointing and breaks trust.
Whatever schedule you pick, stick to it! If weekly episodes aren’t feasible for you, consider biweekly or even monthly (although monthly can be tricky). The key is to be clear with your audience and not leave them guessing.
Ignoring Audience Feedback: Your Listeners Are a Goldmine of Insights
Another common mistake is not paying attention to what your audience is telling you—or worse, being too scared to ask. I know how intimidating it can be to put yourself out there and open the door to feedback, especially when negative comments can sting. But ignoring feedback will only lead to content that doesn’t resonate.
I want to encourage you to seek feedback in ways that feel aligned for you. It could be through social media, direct email, or even dedicated coffee chats (aka market research calls). Recently, I started doing coffee chats with my listeners and clients, and it was a game changer. I learned so much about what people needed from me, and it’s helped me refine not just my content but my offers as well.
Not Planning Ahead: Rushed Content Lacks Depth
If you know me, you know I’m a huge advocate for planning ahead. Failing to plan sets you up to scramble at the last minute, which leads to rushed episodes that often lack depth or value. When we’re not showing up as our best selves, it’s easy for that to come through in our content.
For me, quarterly planning is key. I use tools like Notion and Asana to map out my content calendar well in advance. This includes marketing plans, sales periods, and upcoming launches. Planning ahead allows me to be more intentional with my episodes and frees up mental space so I can focus on delivering valuable content. “Planning ahead helps you become a content creator with intent, and that intention is key to growth.”
Overlooking SEO and Trending Topics: Make Your Content Discoverable
It’s easy to get stuck in a content creation vacuum where you only focus on what you think your audience wants. But if you’re not paying attention to SEO best practices and trending topics, you’re missing a major opportunity to increase your podcast’s visibility.
Now, I’m not saying you need to obsess over SEO or trends. Instead, keep an eye on what’s happening in your industry and what your audience is talking about. Use keyword research tools like Google Trends or even just explore trending topics in your niche. A mix of evergreen content and timely topics can help your episodes stay relevant and discoverable. “It’s not about obsessing over SEO, but having an eye and ear for what’s trending can make your content more discoverable.”
Not Leveraging Guest Appearances Strategically
Guest appearances can be a fantastic way to add value to your podcast, but only if you approach them strategically. When choosing guests, think about how their insights align with your audience’s interests and your podcast’s overarching goals. The last thing you want is for your voice to get lost in a one-sided interview.
One strategy I love is bringing on clients or people I’ve already built relationships with. This creates a comfortable environment for natural conversations, and it lets me stay actively involved in the discussion. I always aim for interviews where my voice and perspective can be a part of the story, not just a facilitator of someone else’s. “Bring on guests that you can have a real conversation with, not just a one-sided interview.”
Avoid These Pitfalls and Elevate Your Podcast
Content planning can be a game changer when done right. By avoiding these common mistakes—being inconsistent, ignoring feedback, failing to plan, overlooking SEO, and not leveraging guest appearances—you’ll set yourself up for success. Your podcast will not only reach your audience but resonate with them in a meaningful way.
If you’re struggling with content strategy or aligning your podcast with your business goals, this is what I do best. I have limited one-on-one spots open for the rest of the year, and I’d love
The Transcript for Podcast Your Business:
199: 5 Common Content Planning Mistakes Podcasters Make (and How to Avoid Them)
[00:00:00] Have you ever felt like your podcast episodes are missing the mark or your content planning just is not delivering the results that you want? You might be falling into some common content traps. And today we're going to uncover the top mistakes that podcasters make and how you can steer clear of them.
[00:00:18]
[00:00:18] [00:01:00]
[00:01:00] Hi, everyone.
[00:01:01] Welcome back to Share strategize and shine this week. I do not have a problem that I solved. I mean, I have been solving a lot of problems in the last few weeks. And just having been sick for a couple of weeks, you may have noticed that I did not release an episode last week. And that was because I just needed to get myself a little bit of a break. But we are about to hit a huge milestone on this podcast.
[00:01:25] This is episode 199. And my next podcast episode is episode 200, which is insane. And also this is not my first podcast. So I've done well over probably 500 episodes now. Over the course of my podcasting career. And it's just kind of amazing to sit here and think about the fact that the next episode I record will be episode 200. I have a really special episode planned.
[00:01:56] So be sure you listened to it. I can't wait to [00:02:00] share it with you. And that's all I'm going to say today, so we can just dive right into, today's gone dead.
[00:02:06] Over the years, I've seen many talented podcasters struggled with the same few content planning issues. It is not just about having great ideas. It's about how do we execute them effectively. Right. So let's look at what not to do. And I'm going to show you how to fix it. So your content can feel really, really good.
[00:02:29] Okay. One of the biggest mistakes that I see podcasters make is inconsistent posting. Listeners crave predictability. And I always tell people, if you are inconsistent with your content, your audience is going to be inconsistent as well. People do not want to be surprised when an episode pops up or if they're, you know, This has happened to me before I found a podcast I love and then [00:03:00] went to look and they had no new episodes. And they didn't say they were taking a break.
[00:03:05] They didn't, you know, send me a newsletter that said that I didn't know anything about it. And so that is something really, really important to keep in mind. And I get like, We all have a cadence at which we operate best. And it's important to not overload ourselves, but here's the thing like that. You have to remember whatever schedule you pick, whatever cadence you choose for your content. It really is important that it is consistent.
[00:03:36] So you can build your audience and build that trust with them. So in order to fix this, what you need to do is establish a regular posting schedule that fixes your capacity. If weekly podcast posting is just not for you, try biweekly. You can even go to monthly, if it makes sense for you now, I will say like a caveat.
[00:03:57] I don't think monthly does as well as [00:04:00] biweekly.
[00:04:02] I don't think monthly does as well as biweekly or weekly, but it is still an option for you. The thing is, is whatever you choose, you need to do it consistently. And don't just like all of a sudden one day decide you're not going to post. And then randomly post an episode, ghost your audience again, post again, et cetera, et cetera.
[00:04:24] Okay. So you really need to stay consistent to build. That trust and to keep your audience engaged. The second misstep that I see is not taking in. Your audience feedback, or just completely overlooking it. Ignoring listener feedback is not going to get you anywhere. Your audience's opinions can provide such , invaluable insights into what content is working in.
[00:04:52] What content does it. And I know that a lot of times when we think about feedback, we get terrified [00:05:00] that we're going to only get negative feedback. Or maybe the feedback that is front facing that we see all the time. Is only negative. Or maybe when we post something on Instagram, we're not liking the comments that we're getting right.
[00:05:14] Or people are challenging us.
[00:05:16] And so then we stop asking for feedback. Well, the problem is when you stop asking for feedback, what you end up doing is posting content that you think your audience wants to hear. And if you're not in touch with where your audience is, Then the content is not going to resonate. So in order to fix this. I really want to encourage you to seek feedback, whether that's through social media. Emails direct podcasts, call to actions, you know, book those market research calls with your listeners, with your clients, find out what they're struggling with, what they want to hear from you, and then take all of that feedback and actually incorporate it into your planning. I [00:06:00] actually did this this year and it has been a game changer for how I think about my business, what people need from me, what content they need from me.
[00:06:07] And also the offers that I have. And so whatever way feels aligned for you to get that feedback, you know, if you're at a transition point in your podcast, we're about to come to the end of the year and start a new year. It's a great time to send out a survey to your listeners. What do you want to learn from me this year?
[00:06:25] What are you struggling with? What are you working on? If you could wave a magic wand, what would it do? Ask these types of questions. And let me tell you, people are going to be eager to share that information with you and all the people that I did. I called them coffee chats. Coffee chats with which, where my marketing research calls. Gave me such great information and, you know, I learned so much from them of such a valuable exercise.
[00:06:53] So definitely think about that.
[00:06:55] Okay. Now mistake number three that I see often is [00:07:00] not planning ahead. If you are in my membership or you have been part of my world for any length of time, you know, that planning is such a really, really important piece. Failing to plan really sets you up to fail. Last minute content creation. It leads to rushed episodes that can really lack depth or value, but also just do not hit the mark. And inevitably when we're doing last minute episodes, like we are not showing up as our best selves as well. So. You can usually tell when somebody did a last minute episode. And this also kind of rolls into mistake.
[00:07:41] Number one. I find that when people are not planning ahead and they don't have a consistent plan, they're not consistently working on that plan. Then they become inconsistent with their publishing, which causes the problem of our audience, not being engaged and not coming back. So planning really solves a lot of [00:08:00] problems. And it's a really, really important one that I really want you to take away.
[00:08:04] And if nothing else, today you go and make a plan. So, how do I make a plan? Well, I love to plan quarterly and I set aside time to do this. I have a content calendar and I try to get it planned months in advance. Some of my favorite tools to use are notion you can also use Trello. Trello Asana. Or even a spreadsheet like that is not the important piece, but the important piece is that you have it somewhere. And what I put in this spreadsheet is what I'm marketing promoting when. Any like sales, I have coming up any important, like enrollment periods, anything like that.
[00:08:44] And then I also will then include ideas. What's great about this is I can completely brain dump a ton of ideas. And then go back and script them when I have time. So I will set aside time to just come up [00:09:00] with ideas, right? So this is just an idea moment. And then I will set aside time in my schedule. To script 1, 2, 3, however many episodes I would can do in that time. What is so great about this? Like what this leads to is me being able to sit down and record.
[00:09:17] When I know that I have 20 to 30 minutes of uninterrupted time. And I don't have to worry about trying to get the script written real quick or, oh shoot. What was I going to record today? It's all right there. Ready for me? Planning ahead is really what is going to help you to be a content creator with intent. And that intention is going to help you grow your podcasts and your business.
[00:09:42] So. Definitely make this a huge part of your podcast process. If you are not planning ahead, like I said, I do quarterly. You can do a month in advance, but I love quarterly. And actually at the end of this year, in December, we're going to be having my second [00:10:00] annual podcast planning and goals workshop.
[00:10:02] So if you're interested in joining that, it's such a powerful workshop. We work for two hours on planning your podcast for the entire year. And I also help you understand the different components that you need to take into consideration as you're creating your podcast plan. So that it's not just a plan, but it's a strategic plan.
[00:10:21] So if you're interested in joining that you can head to wild home podcasting.com/plan. Check it out again. That'll be in December. But there is an early bird rate going on right now. Okay. Back to the mistakes that we make with podcast content planning. So the fourth one. Is ignoring SEO and trending topics. This kind of goes back to audience feedback in a way, you know, we can really get into this content creation vacuum. Where. We think we know what everybody wants to hear.
[00:10:55] We're creating it. We're going to create things that we think our audience wants. And we're [00:11:00] not really looking outside of our own sphere to find out like what's going on in the world. What are people talking about? What is my audience talking about?
[00:11:09] And the thing about this is when you're ignoring SEO best practices and trending topics. That could help increase your visibility or you're really missing out. On an opportunity to make your podcast episode work for you in more ways than one. Now, I'm not saying that the fix for this is that you become obsessed with SEO and you're constantly looking at trends and that's how you completely structure your podcast, content topics. We actually just talked about this in a membership and we talked about how having a good mix of content is really important and how it is important to have that disruptive viral content, but not every episode should be that way.
[00:11:45] Right. So just a little sidebar there. But what you can do is use keyword research tools and even go into the apps themselves. And search for things that you think your podcast audience would be searching for.
[00:11:59] [00:12:00] Think about keywords, you can add to your episode titles and your descriptions. The other thing I like to do is to go into the Google trends, Google search trends, and look as well and see what are people searching for right now, as it relates to a topic that I'm talking about. There's also some really great paid tools out there that you can use.
[00:12:18] One of them is Uber suggest. That's also a really great tool, but again, it's paid, so you don't necessarily need it. But I think just having an eye and an ear for, okay. What are people talking about in my industry? What are some buzz words I'm hearing? And what are some topics that keep coming up in my world?
[00:12:36] And how can I incorporate these into my content? Just keep an eye on those training topics in your niche. And that'll make your content more timely and more discoverable.
[00:12:47] And mistake number five today is a not leveraging podcast, guest appearances properly. This is something that I talk about all the time with [00:13:00] clients and with members of my membership. Guests can add incredible value to your podcast, but if you're not doing it strategically or not actually thinking about it, As how it's going to work for your overarching goal for your podcast. Then it can actually do the opposite and not actually help you grow your podcast.
[00:13:22] Right. The fix for this is really easy. And that is the choose guests that align with your audience. Interests, but beyond that, I want you to choose guests that you can have an actual conversation with and not just a one-sided interview.
[00:13:39] When I am guests on my podcast, I try to think, is this something that I can relate to?
[00:13:44] We have similar audiences, my audience would get a lot of value out of it, but can I bring something to the conversation? Because at the end of the day, what I don't want to happen is when I'm sitting down to the do an interview for my podcast, For my voice [00:14:00] to get completely lost in the interview. Like I still want to be a part of it.
[00:14:04] I still want to throw in my 2 cents. Right. And I think that's really important for your audience to hear as well. This is one of the reasons why I love even bringing on my clients, who I've already worked with already have a relationship with and bringing them on and interviewing them on my podcasts because inevitably we can end up having a conversation.
[00:14:24] Doesn't matter. What about it? Doesn't have to be about podcasting. It can be about business. It can be about whatever, because that relationship is already there. And I also like, really think it's important when we talk about leveraging guests on your podcast to not just using them, to fill content space. But using that as an opportunity to make some new business friends. Create some connections. And hopefully, you know, Build your network as well. I cannot tell you. How many opportunities have come from having guests on my podcast and [00:15:00] being guests on other people's podcasts, beyond the obvious of like audience sharing and things like that. So. When you're thinking about, okay, I'm going to bring guests on my podcast. I start to think about them a little bit more strategically. Really think about who your audience wants to hear from who you can have a conversation with. And have it be something that is integrated and able to be integrated into your overall marketing and content strategy.
[00:15:28] So that wraps up the episode today on common content planning, mistakes. If you are struggling with your content strategy or you're struggling with knowing, how can I think about. My business goals and creating content around them. This is my bread and butter. This is my wheelhouse. This is what I love to do.
[00:15:51] This is what I love helping clients do. I have one-on-one spots open for the rest of the year. They are limited. But they are there. If you are ready [00:16:00] to get that support that you need. So you can head to wild home podcasting.com. And check out my one-on-one services there.
[00:16:07] And I invite you to book a discovery call with me, just send me an email. hello@wildhomepodcasting.com. Let's book a quick call. Let's chat about what your goals are for your podcasts and how I can best support you. And remember, great podcasting is not just about what you say. It's about how, and when you say it as well. And if you can avoid the pitfalls that I talked about in this podcast, you are going to be well on your way to creating a podcast. That not only reaches, but resonates with your audience and at the end of the day, that's what we want. We want our content to not just be something that they listen to, but to be something that our audience will engage with and come back to again and again. Thanks for listening. Keep podcasting, keep shining. And I will be back next week with a new episode.
