Oct 30, 2019
Driving Downloads From Drive-Bys
It’s hard to perfectly integrate your podcast and your website. Yet it’s actually quite simple to get the most critical things right on your page or site. In fact, it’s so simple that I will fix it for you over a cup of coffee.
This is the penultimate article for 2019. Before I take my long winter’s nap (read: episodes will resume in January 2020), there are a few housekeeping items I want you to tackle. Yesterday I challenged you to go look at your most recent episode’s in-app show notes to make sure that you’re making the most of them.
Today I’m turning my (and hopefully your) attention to your website in an effort to make sure that you’re maximizing your podcast’s exposure to your website visitor with three simple links. Even if you think you’re doing these right… you might be doing these wrong. So it’s worth a re-check.
Disclaimer: Building a website for a podcast is hard to get perfect. Perfectly integrating a podcast into an existing website is even harder. And as much as I love perfection, that ain’t our goal here. The goal is getting the basics right. Do that, and you can work towards perfection.
But let’s start with the basic goal of allowing people — encouraging, really — to keep listening to your podcast after they have visited your website.
Because your show has a website, right? It doesn’t have to be crazy fancy, but you do understand the importance of having a website, right? The people who visit your website — for whatever reason — might like to listen to your podcast. Your goal is to get those people listening to your podcast.
Some people will disagree with me on the importance of a website/page for a podcast. They’ll often cite how other mediums, like radio and TV, don’t rely on integrated websites. So while NBC certainly does have a webpage for The Good Place, they don’t offer a one-click way to cause your TV to automatically turn on and tune to NBC every Thursday at 7:00p. (Or whatever day/time it airs. I watch everything on-demand and in-batch.)
Setting aside the complexity required to make that fantasy play out; webpage-to-TV integrations just aren’t necessary for TV or radio programs. Why? Because everyone knows how to work their TV or radio to tune into the station that broadcasts the show they want to watch/hear. Grandmothers can do this. Toddlers can do this. It’s nigh impossible to find a human being flummoxed by the basic functions of their television or radio.
Not true for podcasting. Yes, the technology gap is shrinking every day. Every smartphone sold in the last few years has a podcast player built-in. But while the content — or at least access to the content — is at everyone’s fingertips, most people haven’t developed the ingrained habit of podcast consumption. Put succinctly: A lot of people still don’t know how to listen to podcasts.
That’s a foreign concept to you, the working podcaster. And that’s having a negative influence on the decisions you make on your website. If you think about your website at all. Because chances are, you probably don’t visit a website of a podcast prior to listening. Why would you? When you learn of a new show that sounds interesting, you probably don’t turn to Google or type in the domain of the show. Again, why would you? Instead, you likely pull out your phone, launch your podcast listening app of choice, search for the show by name, and listen right there. Done!
But you’re not a normal human. You’re a podcaster.
You don’t (or you shouldn’t) build your show’s website or webpage for podcasters. You build your show’s website or webpage for normal humans. Your website for your podcast, or the web page on your website for your podcast, needs to feature — prominently — three links for those normal humans.
Just three. As of right now, October 30, 2019, I am telling you there are only three links you need to add to your podcast’s website or onto the webpage for your podcast. That’s it. Just three. Just. Three. Links.
- Apple Podcasts — Around 60% of podcast consumption happens via Apple Podcasts. So clearly, you need to list it.
- Google Podcasts — Because of some tech vagaries that aren’t important, it’s hard to get a true grasp on how popular Google Podcasts is. But since the listening app is on every Android phone (and Apple Podcasts is not on any Android phone), you need to list it.
- Spotify — Spotify is gaining ground, currently enjoying some 14% of overall consumption. In many European countries, it even outperforms Apple Podcasts. That trend will continue. List it.
That’s it. Just those three. Sure, you can add more, but you must have these three.
And here’s my special offer just for you, the Podcast Pontifications audience: I’ll do this for you.
Seriously. If you don’t know to add the links (and the proper graphics) to those destinations on your webpage or website, I’ll do it. If your IT department won’t help you, I’ll do it. If you’re stuck in some crazy quagmire and have no idea where to start, I will do this for you.
And all it will cost you is the price of a cup of coffee. No joke. And more importantly, no strings attached.
If you want me to look at your website or webpage to make sure those three services are listed and, if not, actually put them there, all you have to do is go to BuyMeACoffee.com/EvoTerra. In the comment field, put in a note asking me for my help and I will reach out. We’ll set up a time in the coming days, and I will handle this for you.
No tricks. No hidden agenda. No trying to get you to sign up for something. Something I probably don’t even offer! This is me helping you. And since I won’t have episodes to put out for the next eight weeks, I should have some free time!
This is honestly my give-back to my audience. ByMeACoffee.com/EvoTerra. And please be sure to put something in the comments so I know you’re asking for help, OK?
Let’s make your podcast page better. Let’s make your website better with at least these three links.
It’s the least I can do to help you might loyal listeners while I’m on break.
But there’s still one more episode coming out tomorrow. So I shall be back then with another Podcast Pontifications.
Since you got this far, how about mashing that 👏 button a few dozen times to let me know you dig the written-word version of my thoughts on these podcasting topics? I’d sure appreciate it!
This article started life as a podcast episode. The 244th episode of my four-times-a-week short-form podcast called, oddly enough, Podcast Pontifications. It’s a podcast for working podcasters that’s focused on trends in our growing industry and ideas on ways to make podcasting not just easier, but better. Yes, you should listen. Here’s an easy way: 👇
Evo Terra (hey, that’s me!) has been podcasting since 2004, is the author of Podcasting For Dummies and Expert Podcasting Practices for Dummies, and is the CEO and founder of Simpler Media Productions, a strategic podcast consultancy working with businesses, brands, and professional service providers all around the world.
