How to Shape Your Podcast Around Your Audience's Needs
What is the focus of your podcast episodes? Are you creating content for your ideal client or are you more focused on creating content you “think” your audience wants to hear? There is a big difference and I’m breaking it all down.
In this episode, I explain how aligning your content with the needs and struggles of your ideal client can drastically improve the effectiveness of your podcast. This episode is packed with actionable advice and is a testament to the power of strategic content creation in building a successful podcast that truly serves your audience.
Understanding Your Audience's Needs
To create content that resonates, start with a clear understanding of who your audience is and what they need from you. Caroline discusses the importance of shifting the focus from the podcaster’s experience to the listener's challenges and aspirations. By asking questions like, "Who is your ideal client?" and "What are they struggling with?" you can begin to craft episodes that speak directly to your audience's interests and pain points. This approach not only increases engagement but also builds a loyal following.
The Power of Community in Content Creation
Caroline highlights the transformative impact of participating in co-working sessions and masterminds. These collaborative environments foster creativity and allow podcasters to share challenges and solutions, thus enriching the content. Introducing these experiences into your podcast episodes can provide listeners with a sense of belonging and motivation, knowing they are part of a community that shares their professional journeys and personal growth.
Aligning Content with Listener Journeys
It’s crucial to align your content creation with the journey your listeners are on. Caroline advises thinking about the stages of your ideal client's journey and creating content that assists them at each point. Whether it’s solving a common problem or providing inspiration for the next steps in their business or personal lives, tailored content ensures that your podcast becomes a valuable resource that listeners return to time and again.
Leveraging Personal Stories for Broader Lessons
While the focus should be on the audience, sharing personal stories can still be powerful if they are used to illustrate broader lessons that apply to your listeners. Caroline shares how personal setbacks and challenges led her to insights that are universally relevant. This method of storytelling helps to humanize the host, making the content more relatable and impactful.
Continuous Learning and Adaptation
Finally, a successful podcaster must be an avid learner and adapt to the changing needs of their audience. Caroline stresses the importance of continuous interaction with listeners, through surveys, feedback, and social media engagement, to keep the content relevant and engaging. By staying connected and responsive, you can adjust your content strategy to better serve your audience and grow your podcast organically.
In conclusion, this episode is a powerful reminder of the potential your podcast has to impact your ideal clients positively. By focusing on their needs, engaging with the community, and adapting to feedback, your podcast can become an indispensable part of your listeners' lives and a crucial component of your business strategy.
The Transcript for Podcast Your Business:
179: How to Shape Your Podcast Around Your Audience's Needs
[00:00:00] When we are creating content, it's a really easy to angle everything from our perspective and using our lens. But we've really made the journey, right? Like we've already done it. We've checked that box. And now we need to help others do the same. And that's why in this episode, I'm going to share why your podcast shouldn't be about you. But about your ideal clients and what they're going through.
[00:00:22]
[00:00:22] [00:01:00] Hello, and welcome back to share strategize and shine. I'm your Intrepid host Caroline hole.
[00:01:11] Um, recording to you from what. Is likely to be just one of the worst weeks ever. Um, you know, my husband is away this week training and I thought, for sure, like it was going to be this glorious week. I had all these plans with my kids, and instead it's been filled with sickness and. Ms. Tap after mishap after mishap, I'm going to take a sip of my tea while I'm talking about this, because I am sick.
[00:01:37] But I was looking at my schedule this weekend and I was like, geez, Louise, it's packed. To the gills. And so I better get this episode recorded when I had originally planned, which is today. Of all days. So here we are. So bear with me through this episode. And I just appreciate you dealing with my scratchy voice. A problem.
[00:01:57] We solved this week. I want to [00:02:00] talk a minute about coworking or working in a group and why it's so important. I think I've mentioned this before, but. Gee, golly, it just keeps coming up. And it keeps being so impactful for me in my business. I tell you, there is nothing more. Just. Eyeopening and clarifying and all of those, you know, buzzwords about things. Being clear. Then getting on a call with people who are in kind of the same position you are in or working towards the same goal.
[00:02:35] And it may not be the exact same goal, but. I don't know, there's just this light that gets lit. This fire that gets lit underneath. Me when I'm in groups of people. And I started recently, not only intending like my mastermind and things like that, but also actually co-working with people. And because it was so impactful for me, it's something [00:03:00] that I introduced into the membership. Last month. Because this whole concept of coming together and working together, getting things done. It doesn't seem like it would be super helpful. , except that there, when you do it, because you were being held accountable and because you have people who, you know, are also working just like you are. Especially when you work at home and you're by yourself all the time and you have to like self motivate.
[00:03:30] It's such an amazing thing. I really, really want to encourage you this week to find some time. To co-work with some people and see if it can be impactful for you. I really, really love times like this, especially if I'm doing any kind of like sprint work. So for instance, the last time we had a podcast power hour. I scripted a whole bunch of episodes because that's what I needed to get done. And. Then I did some [00:04:00] planning before and another group, like I needed to like sit down and plan content and I just had not done it. And that was such a great time for me to do it.
[00:04:09] So.
[00:04:10] I really just wanted to share this because it is impactful yes. To work with people. But I think one of the things that I really forgot last year was how important it is to be around people and to be around other entrepreneurs and to be around other podcasters. And I kind of. Like got into my own hole, into my own silo, into my own home.
[00:04:32] Like I was just doing my thing. Which you should be doing. But I totally forgot how impactful other people were on me and my journey as well. And. You know, this year has been a giant year of discovery. And I mean, we're only in may, but it's been a giant year of discovery and clarity and finding my purpose again.
[00:04:53] And a lot of it has had to do with working with people. So, if you don't have anything like that [00:05:00] in your life, I highly recommend finding it. You know, create a co-working group with your friends. Join my membership come to the podcast power hours. You know, find a place where your people are, where you can get together.
[00:05:11] We can work where you can hone in on your craft, hone in on your skills. And do some focused time for you for your business. It's just so impactful. And that's the problem I solve this week.
[00:05:25] So when this episode comes out, I am actually releasing another episode this week, which is an interview with my friend and client Elizabeth. And we had such a great conversation. I mean, this episode is, is just wonderful. So definitely go listen to it. But she said something really important that I wanted to expand on.
[00:05:46] And I was like, oh, I needed to create a whole episode about this. And it was that your content shouldn't be about you. Now, I know this probably sounds confusing as you're listening to this right now, because [00:06:00] I've talked a lot about how you should share what you're working on and share your business, right?
[00:06:04] Like we should be talking about what we're working on. But we also want to make sure that our audience is able to connect and feel seen in our episodes. And so to that, we need to approach our topics from their perspective. Not ours. And this is something that, you know, really takes a shift when you are so used to just sitting down and recording, whatever the heck you want to record. When you start to actually intentionally and a lot in an aligned manner, plan your episodes and plan them for your ideal client.
[00:06:39] This is something that you do, you start to think about, what are they struggling with? What do they need? Right. And this is the question that I always ask my clients. When we sit down to create their content schedules. So I'll ask a couple of questions. Who is your ideal client and what are they currently [00:07:00] experiencing or struggling with? And I just take tons of notes. It just take tons of notes.
[00:07:07] Like I sit, I have two screens, so whenever we do a strategy call and we're content planning. I just sit on one screen. I'm talking to them on the other screen. I'm just typing away like a mad woman. And I just let them chat through it. And I think this is a really, really important process. And if you haven't done this for yourself, like I highly recommend just talking into lake an app where you can try to transcribe it and just talk about your ideal client.
[00:07:34] Talk about. You know who they are, what they desire, what they need. What they're currently going through, what's happening in their world, in their industry, in their life. And then what are they struggling with? These notes that I take this tons of ferocious notes. About their ideal client. Is what we use to turn into episodes.
[00:07:57] It sounds really simple, right? Like I've just let [00:08:00] you in behind the scenes. It sounds totally simple. But he can be really hard if we're not in tune to what our audience actually needs to hear from us right now. And this really is the key. And this is where a lot of people get tripped up. So I find that there are a couple camps when it comes to content.
[00:08:18] And especially when I start working with somebody that's already been podcasting for a while, and they're just not seeing the results. From the content that they want. There's two things that there that might be happening. One they're either sharing too much value. So they've basically created a, how to podcast for whatever their niche is and nobody needs to take the next step because they've got the podcast right there. The other one is they may not be speaking directly to their ideal client. And when I say speaking directly to your ideal client, I mean, actually understanding. Where they are in their journey and what they need from you. You've heard me say this before, [00:09:00] but I'm going to keep on saying it.
[00:09:02] So if you get tired of hearing me, I'm so sorry, but your podcast should be nurturing your audience. You know what? I'm not even sorry, because this is so important. Especially if you are using your podcast as a part of your funnel, your podcast should be nurturing your audience. You know, think about your Instagram posts or even your email. What do people need to hear next?
[00:09:27] I was actually having this whole conversation. With, somebody this morning and we were talking about where are their podcasts fits into their content plan? And they were like, I'm already creating this podcast. But I don't know what to create for reels that link into it, or even email. And I said, well, think about a circle. This is one of my favorite. , visuals to use.
[00:09:52] When I think about content this way is to think about the circle. And there's arrows and they're all going in the same direction. [00:10:00] And your Instagram post is like a small piece. That's going to lead people to the podcast. That's going to lead people to the email that's going to lead people to, and it just goes around and around and around. And eventually people get out of the circle and they get into your programs.
[00:10:18] Right. But they have to go through the content. They have to be nurtured. They have to get an understanding for what you're about and how you're going to help them. And. When I talk about the customer journey and making sure that you're talking. For them, right. Put yourself in their shoes. So when I create an episode, Let's say I'm creating an episode and it's three ways to grow your podcast.
[00:10:50] For me. Three rays to grow. My podcast is going to look completely different. Then my ideal client. You know, I can give myself [00:11:00] three ways to grow my podcast or. Today I could start working on them. Immediately, they're probably a little bit more advanced. But my ideal client. May not necessarily have all the pieces in place quite yet. For that growth to be expansive.
[00:11:15] And for that growth to also make a difference in their business. And so how I would frame that episode would be very different than how I would frame it for myself. Does that make sense? You really need to be in tune to where they are in their journey and not what you think they need to hear. This is something that you have to become. Kind of a detective to discover, right. So you have to start thinking about how can I get this information? You know, Let's say you're not on calls all the time, but how do I, how do I know what people need and want to hear from me?
[00:11:56] I mentioned that client call, where we sit down and I say, okay, what is your [00:12:00] ideal client?
[00:12:00] What are they currently experiencing? What are they struggling with and how I take ferocious notes? This is where another really important question comes into place. So let's say that you have a program, a course, a membership, whatever that thing is. And this is the thing that you want to use the podcast to grow.
[00:12:19] Like let's say you've, you've set a purpose for your podcast. And I really want to grow my membership. What is the catalyst for people to click, buy, to join your membership? Like, what is the thing? That made them click buy. What was going on in their life, what was going on in their head? What were they thinking?
[00:12:40] What was going on in their business, et cetera. When you start to dig into that. It really helps your marketing so much because now we've turned the lens from here. I am. Here's all the things I have. All the things I do. To hear you are.
[00:12:59] Oh,
[00:12:59] I [00:13:00] see what you're struggling with. And this is how we can help you get out of that cycle. Right. We're just flipping that camera lens from us. Them. And how we still talk about our things when we're flipping that camera lens. Is by helping them understand. That we get where they are. We understand what they're going through. And that for them to get from where they are to where they want to be. They need to do something in the middle. And that's something. Is working with us in one of our containers.
[00:13:36] Right.
[00:13:37] And sometimes when I talk about this, people get a little. I don't want to feel like I've like, I'm the only solution. But here's the thing, you know, that your solution works. You know that what you do is impactful. Otherwise you wouldn't be doing it and you wouldn't have a podcast talking about it. And so it's okay to talk with [00:14:00] authority. And to say with authority, that your thing is a thing that's going to get them from point a to point B.
[00:14:06] If they do these things right.
[00:14:09] You know, another really great suggestion. If you aren't sure what to do for your episodes, and you want to talk to your audience, you want to connect with them. One of my coaches, she was on the podcast. Her name is. , Ann Marie and I will link to her episode because it's really great. She does something pretty awesome to get insight.
[00:14:27] She will actually book calls with people. I thought this was so fascinating. So she booked a call with me. And we chatted about things. So I was in one of her programs or I was going into one of her programs. I attended a workshop. And we chatted in our chat. I was so great because she gave me a lot of insight.
[00:14:48] It was a free call. I was able to ask her questions directly. And she was able to hear from me and ask me questions about my journey and what was going on [00:15:00] with me and the areas that I was struggling in. What's so cool about this, that she, this thing that she does is she used it to validate an offer that she was working on. And, that's another really good part of this is like when we're really in tune with what our clients. Are going through, we're really in tune with what they need. I've created programs of. Pre created courses, you know, and they just didn't land the mark. And that's because I was not in tune with my audience the same as with podcast episodes. And I know that if you're probably listening to this. You want your podcast to create more connection for you so you can create more leads so you can get more clients from your podcast. This is one of the key things that you need to do. Is really sit down, ask yourself these questions.
[00:15:49] I'm going to repeat them for you. So you can remember them. Who is your ideal client? What are they currently experiencing or struggling with? And then think about the people who are in your [00:16:00] programs and what was the catalyst for them pressing by. This seems really simple. But if you haven't. Thought this way about your content.
[00:16:10] It can be a struggle at first. And I just, you know, recommend just sitting down brain dumping. Getting a spreadsheet, putting out your episode ideas that you think you know, would work and then playing around with the order, moving things around. Tweaking the titles. So they seem, more on point all of those things.
[00:16:30] But the main thing is to actually start with the brain. dump. And again, if you're like struggling with the brain dump at all and trying to figure out what your ideal client actually needs to hear from you, then it's time to actually connect with them by either talking to them. Looking at your comments on Instagram, looking at what episodes. I have done well before in the past, which emails got opened and read the most like. Dig into the content that you've already created and see what people are really [00:17:00] engaging and interacting with and see if you can build on that.
[00:17:04] So my voice is running out.
[00:17:06] So I'm gonna wrap this up, but the main thing I really want you to take away from this episode is that. You know, your content should not be about you. It should not be from your perspective. We are here to help people. And that's really where we see the impact. Right. And what we do is when we were helping people. It's not just about a service we provide.
[00:17:28] It's not just about a membership. It's about how we help. People and we help them by first, helping them understand and identify where they are, why they're there. And how they can get to the next step.
[00:17:43] And that's all I have for you today. Thank you so much for listening to this episode. And remember, like creating content is like this strategic content is a muscle that you kind of have to flex. And if you haven't flexed it before, or you're, you haven't [00:18:00] flexed in a while, it can take a little bit of practice. And so don't beat yourself up. Don't feel like, oh my gosh, I'm never going to get this because you are.
[00:18:09] And when it clicks, it clicks. In such a magical way. I have seen this with my clients so many times. They will be struggling with this concept. Not really understanding where their content should be coming from. We'll have a strategy session. We'll go through these things. And then it'll click. And there'll be able to just take the wheel and run with it.
[00:18:31] Right. And then I hear from them. That their content is really. Landing with their audience. It's hitting the mark. It's making an impact and this can definitely happen for you too. It just takes a little bit of thought. And the little bit of time of sitting down and actually mapping out how you're going to create this connection with your podcast. Hope you have a great week.
[00:18:54] I'll be back soon with another episode.
