Is your goal to have a successful podcast? Do you want to grow your podcast listener base and keep them around for a long time? Do you ultimately want your podcast to be profitable? Then first you must map out your podcast listener journey.
If you aren’t sure what a listener journey is, why you need one, or how to create one, then keep reading because I’m going to tell you everything you need to know. Let’s get started!
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Why do you need to map your listener journey?
Monetizing your podcast doesn’t happen by chance. In order to be profitable, you have to take your listeners through a series of steps that will build that “know, like, trust” factor before they are willing to part with their money.
In yesterday’s episode, Christina Bernhard showed us just how effective and affordable Facebook ads can be to increase brand awareness. However, if you haven’t established your listener journey, your marketing campaign won’t give you the ROI you’re hoping to see. Suppose your podcast listener journey begins with a Facebook ad that leads them to listen to your episode. What is the next step you want them to take? If you haven’t determined what action you want them to take after listening to the episode, then all you’ve gotten is an extra download, which isn’t worth much. (If you think downloads are the key to monetization, listen to this episode to learn why the numbers aren’t really important.)
To monetize your podcast, you need to know what step you want someone to take after listening to your episode that will get them closer to buying your product or service. Maybe that’s subscribing to your email list or downloading your lead magnet to get into your funnel. Whatever it looks like, you have to know where to direct the listener at the end of an episode before investing money in any marketing efforts.
How to map out your listener journey
To start creating your listener journey, think about all the scenarios that can happen when someone becomes aware of your podcast. I start with listing out the different ways people can find my podcast, such as their podcast app, my website, or Instagram. The next step is that they listen to the podcast. It’s after this point that I need to figure out what their next steps can be to put them on the path that helps monetize my podcast.
You can have multiple podcast listener journeys. One podcast listener can find you through Facebook ads and then they download your free ebook. Another listener journey can be that someone finds the podcast on Pinterest, listens to an episode, and then books a free call with you. Or maybe they subscribe to your podcast, listen to another episode, and then follow you on Instagram. Once they follow you on IG, they see your free ebook and are in your funnel to buy your product.
Your listener journey can be short or long, but you need to think about each scenario and what action you want people to take. Your journey can change over time, as well. My call to action at the end of this episode is to download my free ebook, but sometimes I ask for a review or promote an upcoming masterclass.
It’s so important to know where you want people to go when trying to create a profitable podcast. Without a clear listener journey, you are going to struggle to make money. Mapping out your journey will also help you figure out where your listeners are coming from so you know where to focus your efforts.
Even if you don’t want to monetize your podcast, it is still important to think about the journey. Your listener journey doesn’t have to lead to a paid product, but it will ensure that you are serving your audience as best as possible. This could be asking them to subscribe to your podcast or joining your email list to stay in touch.
Ready to have a profitable podcast?
No matter if your podcast has 10 or 10k downloads, you can start monetizing your podcast right now. I am so sure of this that I have created an ebook for anyone that wants to monetize their podcast without turning it into one big ad.
In this ebook, I’ll break down 5 ways to monetize your podcast, including which one is the easiest to start with and which one will be most profitable in the long run. Download it here.