Creative ways to engage your podcast audience (existing and new listeners)

Listener engagement is an art of capturing attention, creating appealing content and keeping your audience interested in what you do. However, engaging your podcast audience is not as easy as it sounds. Sometimes it can take a lot of time and work, but in the end it is worth the investment. Because the only way you can build a loyal fan base, grow your audience and increase your chances of success as a podcaster is to make sure that your listeners are captivated and excited by each episode you release. Here we share 5 creative ways to engage your podcast audience.

Consider private episode sharing for your audience

Having exclusive episodes for your podcast is a great marketing trick that both engages your current audience and draws new listeners in. It’s an ingenious way to promote your show and encourage people to join the community. It is definitely worth trying and actually not that hard to make… Private episode sharing is available to all Pro users that have upgraded their Anchorman, Station, Broadcaster plans. A special link that takes you through CMS to the episode can be received. In episode settings you will be able to change the “Visibility”. Change it to “Limited access” and a new link will appear. You can use the link to share the episode.

Create noticeable cover art

Humans are visual creatures, they will most likely find interest in a product that looks outstanding and impressive. So make sure that your cover art is eye-catching. There are many ways to make your cover art look great. It could be an illustration, a high-quality photo, that matches your podcast’s theme, unique paintings or logo pictures. It is important to get creative here, because with the correct cover art you can not only define the topics and the idea of the show, but also attract new listeners. Cover art is the first way you can engage and communicate with your audience.

Respond to all of the comments

Another way to engage your audience and show them that you care about their opinions and notices about the show is respond to their comments. Usually it is best to answer comments not just on your podcast website but in other places as well. For example if you have several show’s social media accounts, you should make sure to check the comment sections and answer all the comments. If it is possible, try to end your response with a question, that way you’ll be able to keep the conversation going and engage your audience more. You could also encourage listeners to comment at the end of the episode by asking a question or starting a discussion.

Have a facebook group with your community

Facebook groups can really help you as a creator. First of all it is a chance to easily find your target audience. All you have to do is join a group that contains similar topics to your show. Once you’ve found and joined the right group all that's left is to be active, talk with people and sometimes promote your show. However, Facebook groups can be used in a different way too. You can create a group for your audience only and listeners that wish to ask questions or suggest some ideas could join. You could encourage joining the group by announcing new episodes there first or having “Ask me anything” sessions there.

Hosting live stream episodes

Hosting live stream episodes is a great way to involve your audience, have more direct communication with your listeners, build a community and keep your show moving forward. However, it is probably best to go live when you have a decent amount of audience already. The good thing about live stream episodes is that it requires a lot of interaction with the people who are watching. For you as a creator it might be a great motivation being “on air” and may energize you during the recording. As for your audience it will be a great way to engage them.

All and all these five ways could be pretty creative solutions that will keep your show moving forward while creating a loyal fan base and engaging new listeners. Of course, you do not need to use all of the solutions above for it to happen, simply try some of them out and see how it works. Some of them might be more appealing to you than others and might work better, it really just depends on what kind of show you host, what audience you have and many other factors. However, the most important thing is to reach out to your audience in a positive way, listen to them and respond, because always remember that they are your only key to success.