Top 10 Podcasting Mistakes (Part 1)
News Flash: As president of a podcasting company, I listen to a BUNCH of podcasts. Many days this is a glorious thing. I've been on a Leonard Sweet kick as of late, and I listened to his 'Happy Feet' podcast today. Ahhhh . . . I love it.
But it's not all smiles and chuckles. I run across a number of colossal mistakes that podcasters consistently make. So in the grand traditions of a) making fun of people and b) encouraging progress, I give you the 1st of the Top 10 Podcasting Mistakes.
1. Refusing to Get to the Point
Want to inspire your listeners to tune out before your intro music fades? Try spending the first several minutes of your podcast rambling on about where you went to dinner last weekend, what your upcoming vacation plans are, and how much you can't wait for the new Keanu Reeves film.
Most podcasts--not all, but most--are built first around content, and then around personalities. If someone is tuning into a podcast about wine, she expects to hear primarily about, well, wine. If it's a cast on marketing, he's gearing up to hear about fresh ways to leverage email or how to improve website conversion ratios.
Personality is important, and it's not that you should be so content-driven that your long-term listeners know nothing about you or that you never take detours in the conversation, but these kinds of jaunts should be done in the context of the subject matter. Snippets about yourself here and there or off-topic rants can create rapport with your audience, but filling up airtime with off the map commentary is quick road to breaking trust with listeners.
The key? Go into each cast with no more than 2 or 3 major points, make those points, and get the heck out of Dodge. Your listeners will appreciate your respect for their time, will have greater trust in you the next time they press 'play,' and will be more likely to tell their friends how much you rock.
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