How to Do a Podcast Audit Yourself to Gain More Listeners
Admit it, recording and publishing your podcast is the sexy part of podcasting. They’re the most interesting and engaging tasks in our workflow. But they are far from the only tasks we do to support our podcast. The boredom factor in making sure everything else gets done is high, and we often forget to do them. And, forgetting them doesn’t help you gain more listeners. At all. That’s why it’s important to take some time to review your podcast to make sure things are still running smoothly. That’s where podcast audits come into your podlife.
You get oil changes for your car to keep it working properly, right? Think of this as your podcast’s oil change.
In this post I’ll cover:
- Why you need a podcast audit
- Three kinds of audits you can do
- How to create your own audit
- Who to contact if you want some help
Why You Need a Podcast Audit
Podcast audits are a very popular and easy-to-find service, in our podworld. With good reason. There are podcast audits for your technology setup, social media marketing, content, analytics and so much more. For every part of your podcast workflow, there are professionals that can help you fine-tune your podcast. But you might be thinking,
“I’ve got a really smooth workflow, why do I need an audit?”
or
“My friends say that my podcast is good.”
The truth is, no matter how good your workflow or podcast is, you’ll benefit from new eyes and ears checking it out. It’s impossible to see our own creative projects objectively. It’s scientifically proven. That’s why it’s so helpful to have someone else take a look and listen.
What’s a Podcast Audit Like?
Auditors go through a checklist of important items on the aspect of your podcast that you want to focus on. For example, the folks at Dante 32 offer a Marketing and Audience Development audit, as well as a Content Strategy audit. You can do this kind of specific audi,t or you can combine them into a comprehensive (everything and the kitchen sink) podcast audit. Britany Felix shares itemized lists of her audit checklists in her basic and advanced podcast audits, on the Podcasting for Coaches website.
Hiring someone to do a podcast audit is an ideal situation. But, we live on planet reality where you’re probably too time-strapped, budget-strapped, or both to be able to get a full podcast audit done right now.
So for now, I want to share with you two different types of podcast self-audit. These are smaller, more iterative audits that you can do now. Right now. Open a new window with your podcast website, or podcast hosting website, and let’s get started.
Two Ways to Do a Self Podcast Audit
Do This Quick Audit To Gain More Listeners:
How many of the below 5 questions can you answer YES to? If it’s less than 5, then you’ve got work to do.
All of the items in these questions can take time to set up, promote and get going. The items at the top of the list are the easiest to change and get more time-consuming as you go down the list. Remember, gaining more listeners is a long-term goal. It rarely happens overnight. So, work on one of these at a time until they’re all done. Basically, keep doing this audit until you can answer YES to all 5.
Do you…
1. have a bitrate of 64kbps or 96kbps?
2. mention your active listeners IN your podcast?
3. check your podcast consumption data on Spotify, Google Podcast, etc?
4. repurpose your content? (promote them more than on 1st release)
5. offer your listeners any chance to support your podcast with crowdfunding, tip, or membership sites?
If you’re wondering why these items are important, just click on the articles that I’ve selected for you to read more. A self-audit has self-learning built into it as well, don’t you know?
TIP: Create a tracker that shows the date when you made these changes AND your downloads (or another metric) over time to see how it helps you gain more listeners. This can help you stay motivated as you trudge through these admittedly boring but necessary tasks.
Create Your Own Podcast Audit to Gain More Listeners:
It’s really easy to create your own podcast audit to gain more listeners. Decide if you want to focus on your audio, podcast social media, show notes, etc. Then follow these quick steps.
1. Pick a small, measurable goal.
2. Decide on what success looks like (again, a clear numeric goal)
3. Create the quickest and easiest way to track your progress. Notion? Google Sheets? Add the dates you want to track your numeric goal.
4. Add that form link to a calendar. Goals are useless without deadlines or reminders. Unless you are superhuman and function well without these. In which case, why are you reading this?
Each time you track the goal, make any adjustments to the overall goal needed. Be flexible like a tree. Claiming failure instead of massaging the tracking method gets you nowhere fast. Be patient. Real progress takes time. And paying attention to goals makes them more painful. It’s true: ignorance is bliss. But awareness is momentum. And if you’re still reading this, you clearly seek momentum.
Buy An Audit To Gain More Listeners
If, however, you do have the time, budget, and headspace to hire someone to do an audit for you, here are some options
Dante 32, Jenn Dudley
Podcasting for coaches, Britney Felix
MarySpace Product, Maryam Bitege
The Podcast Consultant, Matthew Passy
Edit your podcast in minutes, not hours.
You’re going to be spending more time on a podcast audit, so why not save some time editing your podcast? Let Alitu automate the time-consuming and repetitive parts, get simple tools to edit the rest. Here’s how Alitu helps you edit in 15 minutes:
➡️ Record solo or with guests in the app, or upload your own audio.
🤖 Alitu will automatically clean up your audio, so you sound crisp and clean.
➡️ Set your default intro and outro. One time. Consistency on tap.
➡️ Easily highlight any mistakes or silences you want to remove.
➡️ Build your episode with a simple drag and drop editor.
🚀 Publish to your favourite host with one click, without leaving Alitu.See how it works now.
