If you're ready to start a podcast and you want to make sure you're in the right place for success, this is where you need to be. 

We’re going to cover one of the most important steps in launching a podcast, and that's going to be to clarify your purpose and your audience. 

What is the purpose of your podcast?

This is a step that I find often gets overlooked, but it's one of the crucial steps. 

If you have read last week's post, I talked about how, if you think about a house of cards, you need to have that stable base or the entire thing is going to collapse. 

And that is the same for your podcast. You need to have really solid foundations.

Why is defining your podcast purpose so critical?

You want to put a lot of time and effort into figuring out these core pieces before you get into things that we like to focus on like naming your podcast or what kind of microphone which are important, but the foundations are critical.

If we're thinking of our podcast, the purpose is the foundation of your entire show. 

If you don't have a purpose, you will struggle with creating the content and knowing who you're talking to, knowing what those pain points are, and what your entire show is going to be about.

What is the goal of your podcast?

Ask yourself, what do you want to achieve with your podcast? 

Do you want to educate your audience? 

Do you want to inspire your audience?

Or do you want to position yourself as the expert and go-to person in your field? 

When you are clear on your purpose, and who your audience is, then you can be clear on  what kind of content you are going to create.

For example, content creation can definitely be a struggle for most of us. I recently invested in a content creation course (the link is below because it's been great). It's based on human design, all of the things I didn't really understand until I started taking Jen Dy’s course.

Who is your target audience?

One of her exercises was diving into that client persona and diving into my ideal audience as well as diving into the pain points, all those things that I would typically skip, but because I committed myself to this process, I ended up doing all of the work.

And let me tell you, it has been so much easier when I sit down to create content to pull stories and to link them to pain points or link them to success stories. 

All those things that we hear about and we don't really know how to do. 

Going through this process has been very valuable to me, even though I didn't think I needed to.

Take the time to go through this process. I promise you it will help. 

What makes your podcast unique?

Depending on what your niche is, there are going to be a lot of podcasts in that space. 

You need something that really makes you stand out amongst other people that are talking about similar topics. 

That's one of the big things you should focus on when you are figuring out your podcast foundations - what makes you unique, what makes you unique in your space, and then infuse that into your content so you don't sound like everybody else and  you stand out among the other people in your niche.

What does your listeners journey look like?

The next thing you need to have is a listener's journey and I talk about this with my clients often. 

If I find your podcast and I start listening, what do I do next? 

What should my journey look like when I find your podcast? 

Do you want me to listen to your podcast and then you funnel me down into your email list with a free resource?

Then once I'm on your email list, do I continue to be nurtured by you? 

And then eventually I funnel down into your paid offerings and your paid coaching. 

So, that would be like what a listener's journey looks like. 

Your podcast is the top of the funnel and then your offerings are the bottom of the funnel.

What is your call to action?

When you have a call to action in your podcast episode you want to make sure that it's very clear. 

You don't want to have a call to action that's like, join my email for more tips.   

That is probably not going to get many people joining your email. 

However, if you have something very specific like one of my clients, she has a guide, 15 wines under $15 in her call to action and you receive the guide when you join her email list.

That's immensely valuable. 

She grows her email list using this CTA in every single podcast episode. 

So, we went from something vague like, join my email list for tips to getting this valuable resource and now you're on my list and I can start nurturing you in addition to nurturing you through the podcast. 

And with a call to action (CTA) you will want to have one in every episode.

Where to place your call to action in your podcast episode?

You do not want to have so many calls to actions that it's overwhelming and your listener doesn't know what to do. 

If you have four or five calls to action, you know what they're going to do? Nothing. And that is because that will give them decision fatigue and then they won’t take any action at all.

You really want to have one call to action. 

• Do you want them to subscribe, like, and leave a review?

• Do you want them to grab your guide? 

• Do you want them to grab this free resource? 

• What is that one thing you want them to do? 

And here's a tip. 

Don't put your call to action at the end because most of the time people check out towards the end of the episode. 

You want that call to action to be in the beginning or the middle of your episode.

Try not to leave it for the end of your episode. 

Clarifying your podcast’s purpose and understanding your audience are key foundations that will set your show up for long-term success. 

By focusing on these elements, you’ll be better prepared to create valuable content, attract the right listeners, and guide them along their journey with you. 

If you’re ready to take these next steps toward launching a successful podcast, don’t go it alone! Grab my free Podcast Launch Roadmap, a step-by-step guide, that covers everything from building a strong foundation to crafting engaging episodes. 

Start your podcasting journey with the clarity and confidence you need.

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