Loading summary
Transcript1 lines
- [00:05]
A
When we become a podcaster, there's a threshold that we step over that we may not even realize. Moving from being a podcast consumer or listener into creating the podcasts, it changes our perspectives, and it's easy to forget what it's like to be a listener. In this very quick episode of Coffee with a Podcaster, I'm going to give you a short reflection on what this threshold is and why remembering to forget is more important than we think. I'm Matthew Bliss. Welcome to Coffee with a Podcaster. If you caught my previous episode about podcaster knowledge divergence or the idea that there's less that the podcast industry can tell us to continue to improve our podcast as we grow, you might recognize this idea as something of a corollary to that. When we stop becoming podcast listeners and become podcasters, there's a transition to our perception of the craft that changes a threshold, as I mentioned in the introduction. And walking across that threshold changes our perspective to the point where we start to see podcasts as things that are created instead of things that are created for us. Now, the common perspective that sometimes gets shared in podcast spaces is that if you don't listen to your own show, then who are you making it for? Because if you're not making the podcast for yourself, then how can you have any idea who your listener is? Putting yourself in the shoes of your ideal listener is also a massive piece of advice that gets shared. A lot like a logical inference that helps us create better content. And there are marketing experts out there that tell us that having an audience avatar in mind, understanding exactly who it is, optimizing for that ideal listener or watcher is the most important thing. And realistically, it is. I don't think anyone would justifiably tell you that knowing who your listener is is not incredibly important to create content that they definitely want to listen to. But as a podcaster, as a creator, even an editor or producer, the perspective from inside the house, instead of looking at it from the outside, is incredibly different. As a listener, we have no idea about the production process, the streamlining and automation that might go into place to make the episodes possible, the type of content that you create with them in mind, as opposed to creating content they just subconsciously enjoy. And the best kind of content, I think, is that where the audience can't derive that you've actually created it for them. But I don't think we can do that effectively without remembering to forget. And when I say remember to forget, I mean sometimes dispensing with the advice that we're given in order to optimize ourselves to find that ideal listener and create the content for them. I mean, it's all good and well for us to seek out information as a way to refine our process. Maybe a podcast guru, someone out there who's got an authentic, ideal method to go about targeting that audience member can help inform our process. But anything that's made from inside the house isn't going to have an effect that we think and we can't interpret what what we make inside the podcasting house in the way that a listener perceives it. It's also a common refrain in podcasting that the listener doesn't understand how much effort has gone into the quality of the production, the amount of editing, the amount of planning, pre planning, scripting. They have a better idea these days than they once did. But that could just be because podcasting has become more popular than it has before. So I said it would be a short one. This is just a reminder that as a podcaster, if you're looking for ways to target your audience better and improve your show, putting yourself in the shoes of the listener is the best way to do that. And if you're talking to other podcasters as a means to find out what your listeners want, then maybe you should ask yourself if you should be asking them at all. Because any podcaster who's an expert in podcasting, a craft designed to deliver to people who aren't podcasters. Except of course, in the exception of this kind of podcast, they can't know everything. And sometimes forgetting everything you know about podcasting is the best way to meet your audience where they are. That's just a minor reflection I had the other day. Think about that the next time you cross the threshold into being too podcastery and instead think about being a listener. If you enjoy this episode, make sure you subscribe and tell your friends. If you know podcasters that would enjoy this kind of loosey goosey philosophical content, let them know. And most of all, thank you for listening. I'm Matthew Bliss, and that was Coffee with a Podcaster. See you next time. Sam.