Starting a podcast is a great way to share your passion with like-minded people. Plus, eventually, you might be able to monetize your podcast and earn an income. However, you may not have an existing audience ready to receive your content and building a following for a new podcast may be challenging. People sometimes abandon their project and eventually not start a podcast because of this concern, but it can be easily addressed in many cases.
Fortunately, it’s easy to start a podcast even if you don’t have a large audience or many followers on social channels. By establishing a brand identity, choosing the right platform, and marketing your show, you can grow your following as you publish episodes.
In this post, we’ll take a closer look at why you should consider starting a podcast with no audience. Then, we’ll share five tips to get started. Let’s dive in!
How to Start a Podcast with No Audience
While some podcasters start out with a presence on other platforms, there are plenty of hosts that begin with no audience. In this scenario, you can create your show and then direct listeners to other channels where you have a presence, like social media, YouTube, or your blog.
Then, you’re in a better position to monetize your podcast. You’ll have ample ways to diversify your income streams including sponsorships, affiliate marketing, events, online courses, and more.
On top of that, a podcast is a great way to build authentic relationships with followers. In your episodes, you might hold discussions, debates, or simply chat with a special guest. This is a more organic approach compared with content that feels heavily curated or scripted.
Additionally, when you use a platform like Podcastpage to build your podcast website, you’re in complete control of your content. On the contrary, if you create a YouTube channel or an Instagram account, you’ll be subject to the terms and conditions of that specific site.
How to Start a Podcast with No Audience (5 Tips)
Now let’s take a look at five simple tips to help you get started!
1. Choose a Clear Niche
Having a niche makes it easier to stand out from the crowd and show listeners the value of your service. For instance, you might want to start a health and fitness podcast, but recognize that this is a saturated industry.
In this case, it’s better to opt for a narrow niche within this sector, like vegan nutrition or marathon training. This way, you can set yourself apart from other health and fitness podcasters.
Choosing a clear niche is also one of the simplest ways to establish yourself as an authority on that topic:
Since there will be less competition, you can position your podcast as the go-to platform to find useful information about a specific subject.
Once you’ve chosen a niche, it’s also easier to select subjects to discuss in your episodes. Plus, a clear focus can help you appeal to sponsors within particular industries.
2. Identify Your Target Listener
While it’s great to choose a podcast idea that interests you, you also need to make sure that your idea is marketable. Otherwise, you might fail to find people that engage with your content.
Here are some useful statistics to consider when identifying your target listener:
- In the U.S, 50 percent of podcast listeners are between 12 and 34 years old.
- 45 percent of podcast listeners are from China and India.
- In the UK, comedy is the most popular genre among female listeners.
To identify your unique listener, take a look at your competitors. Who is already occupying the niche or achieving something similar? Consider this, then, find out what kind of customers they target with their material.
It’s important to be specific since this will influence the way you communicate with fans and how you market your show. Think about the ideal age, gender, income, and location of your listeners.
Once you’ve honed in on this, consider the common problems that your target listener faces. Is there a way for you to solve these problems?
3. Create a Strong Brand Identity
A brand identity can make your podcast more recognizable to listeners, and more distinct. Since you currently have no audience, you’re in a great position to build your brand from scratch.
Consider the podcasts you enjoy listening to. Whether it’s a true crime podcast or a comedy show, you’ll often find that the best podcasts have unique personalities.
First off, choose a podcast name that’s original and memorable. It should also match the tone and mood of your podcast:
Next, you might want to design a logo, find catchy music, and come up with an appropriate episode structure. All of these factors help you create a certain look and feel that your listeners can begin to associate with your brand.
As you expand, you might want to create a website and set up social media pages. This can be easier once you’ve created a strong brand identity since it enables you to provide a consistent User Experience (UX).
4. Plan and Optimize Your Episodes
There are a few factors to consider when you get started with your episodes. First, you’ll need to evaluate topic ideas, find quality recording equipment, and choose beginner-friendly editing software.
Additionally, one of the best ways to grow your audience organically is to invite podcast guests. Therefore, you might create a list of current influencers in your niche that already have strong followings, and try to recruit them as interviewees.
Alternatively, you can reach out to thought leaders who can provide an expert opinion:
It’s also important to optimize your episodes to make them more discoverable. You can use a tool like Google Keyword Planner to identify relevant keywords. Then, you can populate these key terms within your content. For example, you might include keywords in your transcripts, show notess, or episode descriptions.
This strategy is particularly useful if you have a podcast website where you can publish blog posts. By creating written material on the same topic, you have an extra place to insert your chosen keywords.
5. Market Your Podcast on Social Media
While creating a podcast is great, you need to make sure that people can find it. That means you’ll need to market your podcast. Typically, social media is the easiest way to do this since it’s so accessible.
When you publish your episodes, you can share the links on your social pages with a relevant post that encourages users to listen and share the episode:
This is a simple way to grow your audience and reach users that ordinarily wouldn’t find your show.
You can also hold competitions, run giveaways, and provide exclusive offers using social media. This way, you can nurture a loyal following and keep listeners engaged.
One of the best parts about Podcastpage is that it’s more than just a website builder:
While you’ll get access to an audio player, episode importer, and website templates, Podcastpage also handles your social posts. For example, you can automatically post tweets with each new episode, add social icons to your pages, and utilize the built-in social sharing options in the audio player.
Conclusion – Start a Podcast Without an Audience
Starting a podcast is a great way to pursue your passion and establish an online presence. However, you might not think it’s possible without a large following. Fortunately, it’s relatively simple to start a podcast without pre-existing fans.
To recap, here are five steps to start a podcast with no audience:
- Choose a clear niche.
- Identify your target listener.
- Create a strong brand identity.
- Plan and optimize your episodes.
- Market your podcast on social media.
