096: How to Set Goals for Your Podcast
It’s 2023, it’s a new year, and I’m going to be a little cliche and talk about how you can set goals for your podcast. This doesn’t have to be something overwhelming, but rather a way to get curious about what you want for your business and podcast and how you can make incremental, attainable growth.
Today, I’m going to walk you through a framework for how to think about setting goals for your podcast before you actually set them, the importance of setting business goals before podcast goals, and sharing examples of podcast goals you can set for when you’re ready for that step.
Why you need to get strategic when thinking about your podcast goals and consider how they support your business first
There are a ton of metrics out there for podcasts, some that are really concrete and some that are more vague. But when it comes to setting goals, it’s important to think about the aspects of podcasting that can really move your business forward. And to be able to do that, you need to know what your business goals are first.
How do you want your business to feel? How much do you want to work? How much do you want to earn? Where do you want to spend your time working? Answering each of those questions can offer you clarity when it comes to figuring out the types of goals you’ll then want to set for your podcast to support those business goals.
How to review your download numbers before you set goals for your podcast
Once you’ve done that, then it’s time to look at your download numbers, but not necessarily in terms of total downloads. I want you to think strategically. Did you have an increase at any point in the year? Are your podcast episodes aging well (in other words, are they getting hits over time, not just the week they were released?)
And then finally, take a look at your most popular episodes. Why are they so popular? What did they do well? Is there a trend we can pull from this? Having this information is going to help set the base from which you can determine what kind of podcast goals will be the most strategic for you.
How to do a podcast audit (or how our podcast management company can do one for you)
Once you’ve looked at your business goals and your numbers, it’s time to do a podcast audit! Listen to your intros and outros. Read over your descriptions. Look at the last few months of content. Is it all working together? Does it all seem aligned with your business currently?
If trying to figure this out on your own seems overwhelming, check out our Podcast Audit service. We can help you with the framework to get you realigned.
Pulling all this information together and analyzing what it’s telling you (and then set goals for your podcast!)
You’ve collected all your data and it’s time to comb through it all with a strategic eye. Are you building momentum that you’d like to capitalize on? Are there topics that stand out and resonate more with your audience? Did certain types of episodes result in more leads or more feedback? What times of year do you see peak engagement that you can utilize for your business goals?
And finally, it’s time to set goals for your podcast! Before you start, it’s important to reiterate that you want goals that are attainable and actionable. If you’re a small boutique business with a podcast for marketing purposes, you probably don’t need 500k downloads to grow your business and setting that kind of goal probably won’t help you in the long run.
But if you noticed that episodes with the most downloads tend to result in one or two leads in the weeks afterward, an attainable goal might be to grow your download numbers by 25% to bring in even more opportunities for leads. Another goal could be to make more content in the similar type or vein of the episodes that receive the most downloads, so you’re making two goals that can work in tandem for your business. No matter what the goal is, you want to make sure that it’s informed by the information that you’ve collected and the goals of your business.
Examples of other goals you can set for your podcast
If you want to get more visibility for your business, you could set goals for your podcast to bring on more guests to interview, maybe once or twice a month. Or, you could make a goal to guest on a different podcast once a quarter. Or both! Get specific though. Pick a concrete number and timeframe so you can keep yourself on task.
Maybe you have a goal to refresh your podcast. If you discovered during your audit that you haven’t touched your description in the two years since starting your show, it’s probably time for an update. (If you need help doing a refresh that’ll really uplevel your podcast, check out our Podcast Refresh package.)
If you want to have more focused content, how about setting a goal where you plan out your episodes monthly or quarterly and batch record them a few weeks at a time? If you want to focus on your sales funnel, set a goal to mention your service options and make a special link for each episode to track really closely which episodes are driving leads.
You have so many options when looking to set goals for your podcast. At the end of the day, as long as you’ve gathered the information and are thinking strategically, you’re setting up yourself and your business for success.
If you’re looking for even more podcast information and inspiration, join my CLOSE FRIENDS list on instagram. Click on my CLOSE FRIENDS highlight to learn more.
Links:
Episode #92: Is Your Podcast Bringing in Leads?
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The Transcript for Podcast Your Business:
096: How to Set Goals for Your Podcast
[00:00:00] Caroline Hull As you sit down and start thinking about, okay, I want to set some goals. I want to grow my podcast this year. I've been listening to you, I have been following on Instagram. I'm implementing all the strategy. Really, really what I want you to come back to is this idea that your goals need to be aligned and they need to be attainable. This is not about overwhelming ourselves. This is not about reaching so far that it becomes overwhelming and we experience burnout. This is about setting and creating goals that are going to work with our growth strategy for our podcast and for our business.
[00:00:43] Ready to start a podcast for your business and share your message in a way that feels wildly authentic. Welcome to Podcast Your Business, where each week we share how to start a podcast and make sure it's working for you and your business. I'm Caroline Hull, podcast manager and consultant, and I've seen the power a podcast can have. Ready to share your voice. Let's get started.
[00:01:09] Hello and Happy New Year and welcome back to Podcast Your Business. Be wildly authentic. I am so glad you are here. So this first episode of the New Year feels really cliche, but I feel like it's so important to building off of what we've been talking about on the podcast for about the last 20 episodes or so. I wanted to walk you through how to set goals for your podcasts. I have done episodes on this before, but I really want to look at this from the lens of talking about podcast strategy and how it relates to having a strategy and how that kind of changes how we look at and set goals for our podcast. Listen, I know that it feels super cliché. Like I said, to be setting goals in January for anything. I'm usually actually not one to do that. I feel like it just sets the year up for like weird expectations and things like that. I don't do like New Year's resolutions. I might set an intention. One of my friends, she will actually, instead of the new year being the start of her year, she considers her birthday the start of her year. And I actually really love that idea because you know, for us especially like having kids who are school age. Jan like we're still in it like that says it's no different from November or September right. So I also love that because for me, you know, it feels like the summer is kind of a reset. We homeschool. So in the fall that's when we shift grades and everything.
[00:02:50] So anyways, just some food for thought as we start thinking about this. You don't have to set goals for the year, you don't have to set goals for six months. I mean, if it makes sense for you to set monthly goals for your podcast, I love it, but I think it's really good to do this because it gives you something to look at and something to measure as you start thinking about, Is my podcast successful? But I want to make sure that we're not just picking numbers and ideas and measurements out of the air. We want to be really strategic about what we choose to measure. And I talked a lot about that in previous episodes about making sure that your podcast is directing people to your business. We did a whole episode on how to track leads, and so that really goes along with this. And so we'll be sure to link to that in the show notes. You can go back and listen for a refresh before you listen to this episode or just listen to it afterwards.
[00:03:49] So the first thing I want you to look at before you even think about what are my goals for my podcast is what are your goals for your business? And these can be anything, right? This can be how do I want my business to feel? This can be how much income do I want my business to earn? Maybe you have a goal for finishing a project or refreshing something in your business. Any of those are important and are going to help inform what purpose your podcast is going to have for your business. And so the first thing before you even even sit down and decide what kind of measurements you're going to create for your podcast and what kind of goals, I want you to think about your business goals first, and then when I want you to do is yes, take a look at your numbers. So if you haven't been looking at your downloads, that's fine. I look at mine every once in a while, but I don't really use it as a measurement for success for my podcast, because my podcast is so niche and also because my goal is to attract ideal clients, not necessarily hundreds and thousands of leads. I've talked about this a lot. But for the purpose of setting goals, we do want to take a look at our numbers, because this is going to help inform a lot of things. And how can you look at those numbers? There are a few things I want you to look at. I want you to see if you had any kind of increase throughout the year. I want you to see if your episodes aged well. So after you released your episodes, did they still have downloads down the road? Did they still have downloads later? Are they still getting downloads now? And it can be one. It can be two. But we do want to see like, is this content still getting hits? Right. And then the other thing I really like to do with my numbers and I think this is a really cool thing about downloads and how it can help inform us is I like to kind of look at my numbers and then decide, you know, what's my measurement point here? So let's say I have downloads. Okay, let's say the most downloads I have for an episode is 100, right? So I may want to look at all the episodes that have over 75 downloads, and I actually like to put them in a spreadsheet and highlight them. And then I like to go back and look at them and say, okay, why did they do so well? What was it about these episodes? What was it about the topic? Those kinds of things. Okay, so we're going to think about our business goals. We're going to take a look at our numbers.
[00:06:21] And then what we're going to do is an audit of our podcast. I've also done episodes on doing an audit, and audit is basically looking at the whole picture, the whole podcast, and saying, Is it working the way that I need it to? This is literally everything. So trailer intro, outro, RSS feed, CTA, show notes everything. Take a look at all of it. And if doing an audit feels really overwhelming to you because you don't know exactly what you're looking for, we actually have an audit service. You just head to WildHomePodcasting.com/Audit. It's the most accessible way to work with us. It's a really also a really great way to get your feet wet with working with a podcast strategist. But it's super easy. We have a form for you to fill out. Doesn't take very long, just gives us an idea of what your goals are. And then we're able to do an audit of your podcast and send you back some like actionable items and some steps that we suggest you take along with a video and support. So anyways, if you need help with that and you'd like us to do an audit for you, you just head to WildHomePodcasting.com/Audit.
[00:07:33] Hey podcaster, if you feel like you're getting a lot out of this podcast but you want even more, I have the perfect thing for you. The WHP Insider podcast is a private podcast for Members Only, which features two episodes per month, plus a monthly newsletter that takes a deeper dive into strategies and tips, specifically for podcasters who are using their podcast to help grow their business. This is something that up until now has only been available for clients of Wild Home Podcasting, but for a small monthly fee you can join and be part of the club, so just head to WildHomePodcasting.com/Insider for more information and I can't wait to see you there.
[00:08:18] So now we've done business goals, we've looked at our downloads, our numbers for our podcast, and then we've done an audit for our podcast. And now I want you to pull it all together. And this is where you kind of have to be a little bit of a detective, a little bit of an analyzer. And I want you to look at all this information and what is it telling you? Maybe it's telling you that you need to make a few shifts and tweaks in your podcast. Maybe it's telling you that you made some shifts and now you're starting to see some momentum build. Remembering that podcasting is a long game, it could also be helping inform how you think about your content, right? So when we talked about kind of looking at the downloads of our episodes, what does this tell you about your content? How does this inform your content? And so kind of getting like a almost like a health report of your podcast here. How is it doing? How is it working for my business? How is it fitting into my business goals? Only then can you start to set goals for your podcast. You have to understand where you're at in the picture you have, right? The image that we're creating, the pathways, the foundation that we're laying with the podcast.
[00:09:31] Once we understand where that is, then we can actually start to set some number goals. Okay, but Caroline, you told us not to look at downloads and set download numbers. All right. So let's talk about this. We want to make sure that we are setting attainable goals that make sense. When I say that I'm not meaning I would like to get a million downloads this year, wouldn't we all? I would love a million downloads, but I only want a million downloads if it leads to like 500,000 clients. You know what I mean? Like. I only want that many ears on my podcast if it means that I'm actually converting them, if I have that many ears and I'm not converting them. That's not a reasonable or usable goal to have for my business. Visibility and exposure are great if they help you grow your business, right? And so making sure that we're setting attainable goals, I think it's totally okay to set a download number. You know, set a growth number, say, hey, I want to grow my podcast by this much this year. Instead of saying like, I want to hit 10,000 downloads. Maybe you want to grow by 50 downloads per episode this year. Maybe you want to grow by 100 or 200, whatever that number is. It needs to make sense with what you have and what feels attainable. But I love looking at it through that lens instead of saying, I want 10,000 downloads saying like, I want 50 more ears on each episode.
[00:11:02] And then maybe also set a number of leads, right? Because the purpose of having a podcast for a business is to drive leads, build authority. All the things I talk about all the time. So why not actually set a goal and say, you know what, this is the number of leads I want from my business each month and this is the number of people when they come in that they're going to mention that they heard me on my podcast. So that's a really great place to start with for goals and and setting measurable goals for your podcast. But like word of advice, please do not become obsessive about this. I have said so many times that podcasting is a marathon, not a sprint. And this is a true story. I mean, I am almost to 100 episodes and I am I am finally seeing the growth that I want with my podcast. But more importantly, I'm seeing the impact that the podcast is having on my business. And it's really exciting to see that because it kind of outweighs the downloads, right? Like the downloads don't become as important because I know that this podcast is helping drive leads. But knowing like how many leads I want to have really helps me be more intentional with my content, be more intentional with how I treat my podcast. I feel like when we can start to see the path forming and the podcast working for us in a way that is aligned with our business, then it becomes so much more intentional, every piece of it. I am more consistent. I have a better system. Everything just seems to be working better because it's all aligned. And I know that it's part of the bigger strategy for my business.
[00:12:47] Now, there are some other goals, though, that we can also think about when it comes to setting goals for a podcast. And I'm just going to kind of run through a few examples and maybe you can think of some of your own as well. One of my goals for my podcast this year, one of my items in my growth strategy is to start being on more podcasts. I really have not done many interviews in a long time for a lot of reasons, and so that is something I really want to get back into. So that's a goal of mine, and I'm going to set a specific goal of how many podcasts I want to be on and how often I'm going to do interviews. I want to get as specific as possible because I feel like when I'm vague and I say, I'm going to be on podcasts this year, it doesn't happen. But maybe, maybe if I set very specific goals, it will actually happen.
[00:13:39] Some other goals you may want to have. Maybe this year your goal is to refresh your podcast. Maybe you've had a podcast for a while and it's time to refresh it. And heck, maybe your goal is to finally launch your podcast. I love this. So pick a month. Set a goal date for when you're going to launch or refresh. Work backwards. Find out what you need to do. Maybe your goal this year is to create connection around your podcast. Maybe you feel like, Okay, now that I finally got our system in place, I want to create a way for people to connect outside of the podcast, to have conversations. And that can be a Facebook group, a close friends, whatever, you know, anything. But maybe that's a goal you have as well. Maybe your goal is to record more consistently to start batch recording again and see how it feels. Maybe your goal this year is to get some new equipment to improve your sound. This is the year that you're going to do it right?
[00:14:39] What are some other goals around your podcast that you can set? And I love all of these because they just feel so like, I think I can do these. These are very doable. These feel doable. And these are all things that are going to contribute to the growth of your podcast, right? Because any intentionality, any effort, any implementing those strategy points that we talk about all the time is going to help your podcast grow, which in turn is going to help your business grow. So as you sit down and start thinking about, okay, I want to set some goals, I want to grow my podcast this year I've been listening to you have been following on Instagram. I'm implementing all the strategy. Really, really what I want you to come back to is this idea that your goals need to be aligned and they need to be attainable. This is not about overwhelming ourselves. This is not about. Reaching so far that it becomes overwhelming and we experience burnout. This is about setting and creating goals that are going to work with our growth strategy for our podcast and for our business.
[00:15:53] If you want to chat more about setting podcast goals, we are going to be continuing the conversation over on Instagram in my close friends list. If you don't know what close friends is, it's basically a list on Instagram where you can share stories just to that list. And I have created a close friends list where I do free mini trainings every Thursday, except when I take a break for the holidays. These trainings are completely free and this is such a great way to get mentorship and actually get eyes on what you are doing as a podcaster. And it's all me. I'm there doing it, answering questions, things like that. Sharing what I can. And so if you would like to join, you can head over to my Instagram, we'll put the link in the show notes and just DM me "close friends" and let me know where you are in your podcast journey. We'll be diving a little bit more into setting goals and how you can do that in a aligned way. Those kinds of things in that free training. So if you have any questions from this podcast episode, that is a great place to come and get them answered.
[00:17:01] I am so glad to be back in January in 2023 with new episodes. We are getting very close to the 100th episode, which is just crazy and so I would absolutely love some feedback. Questions. Anything that you would like me to chat about? I'm thinking about doing something special for that episode so you can just DM me on Instagram or send an email to hello@wildhomepodcasting.com and I will be chatting with you next week. Thank you for listening to Podcast Your Business. For more podcasting tips, follow us on Instagram @wildhomepodcasting. If you are ready to launch, uplevel or grow your podcast, head to WildHomePodcasting.com to get started today.
