How do you grow your audience? I hear this every day in every Facebook group. It starts with your content. If you want to grow your podcast. It can't be good. It can't be great. I needs to be WOW content that your audience HAS to share. Today we talk about the ingredients that make up wow content from the book Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World by Michael Hyatt.
I also talk about what GOOGLE thinks is good and what stops us from making WOW content.
AI is Cool. But is it Good?
I see what AI can do. I will be doing an episode on the best ways to use AI. One I'm not sold on (but am open to suggestions) is you entering a phrase of what you want, and AI spits out a page of content. WOW, That is COOL. It took next to no time. JEEPERS. But wait?
Is it any good. Is it better than a word-for-word transcription? Sure. So a transcript was better than nothing, and this is better than a transcription, but the bar is pretty low there.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-AI. I understand it's only going to get better. Right now, it's not creating content that makes me think, “That is equal to or better than something I would do.” This is not might ego-talking. If I ask AI how to lose weight, it tells me to eat less and exercise more. It is repeating other people's content, and as the old saying goes, “There is nothing new under the sun.” When I use ai-writer and asked, “how to grow my podcast” the first paragraph was:
Identifying your niche is not just the first step but the foundation upon which a successful podcast is built. In a world saturated with content, specificity can be your greatest ally. This process involves a deep dive into both your passions and expertise, as well as an understanding of what listeners might be seeking but not finding. Your niche should reflect a unique intersection of what you love to talk about and what others love to hear, creating a space where your content doesn't just add to the noise but fills a void.
By the time I take words out like “specificity” and phrases like “a unique intersection” etc I could just type it myself. This is OK information if you know NOTHING about podcasting. At this point, as I have ideas in my head and the ability to type, I'm just not ready to say AI is my number one source for content creation. There are people selling you hope for three easy payments and explain how you can use a tool and it have write everything, and you just put up a Paypal button and rake in the cash.
People pay for GOOD things. AI isn't bad, but from my chair, it's not creating WOW content. In the future, I will explain how it is saving me LOTS of time. Currently, by the time I wait for it to process my files and spit out titles, etc with about an 8% usage percentage I'm not ready to take my hands off the keyboard just yet.
If you want to stand out from the crowd you have to be unique. Right now every Google Short looks like the last 10 I saw. They do their job of keeping their brand in front of me.
Again, all the AI tools like Capsho, Castmagic, Podsqueeze, Swell, which takes your files and transcribe them using your words to create content can be impressive (when compared to nothing). Capsho has a slant toward marketing. Tools like Castmagic, Swell and Podsqueee all spit out mountains of content. Tools like AI-writer and Melville, Bramework, Neuronwriter, WordHero, Clarityscribe is all about Copywriting.
NEVER take output from these tools and put them in front of your audience without first having an actual human look at them – every.
What Makes Good Podcast Content?
For years I've been saying you need to do more than one of these at a time:
- Make your audience laugh
- Make your audience cry
- Make your audience think
- Make your audience groan
- Educate the audience
- Entertain the audience
What Michel Hyatt Says About WOW Content?
In his book Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World, Michael explains that if you want to get noticed you have to produce WOW content. This means it is content that it:
Resonates – Your audience might get goosebumps, tears, smiles, or laughs. In other words, it hits them
Entices them to tell a friend – He called this evangelism. The next time you tell someone about something you heard on a podcast pay attention to what it is – that is WOW content.
Surprises You – Ever have someone give you a truly thoughtful gift that shows they know you? That should be your episode. As my friend who just started listening to podcasts said, “Man most podcasts are awful.”
Clarity/Transcendence – Your mind is opened to a new way of thinking. A subject you were struggling with now becomes clear
He has a list of ten in his book
What Does Google Consider When Evaluating Content?
Google has a team that evaluates content based on E.E.A.T
Experience
This is the quality content that demonstrates your first-hand experience. And I think that's important in the land of AI. I know you can tell AI to include personal stories and it will. Just remember every podcaster starts off with two things. No audience, and integrity. Don’t lose your integrity while you’re building your audience. What will you do when you meet someone at an event and they bring up a personal story that never happened?
When you can explain something you did that shows how your experience can help. It proves that the suggestions are tried and true and tested. And its that insights that are then authentic, which we will talk about in a second
Expertise
People may ask, Do they know? Do they have the qualifications, and the credentials required to give reliable information? Expertise often overlaps with experience, but really, they're not the same thing. Consider the topic of saving money.
Now some people might say, “I'm only taking advice from somebody who is accredited. I'm not just going to take that kind of information from anybody.” And so that is then expertise. Others want real-life examples of strategies that work for their peers, that's their experience. So one is kind of book-smart (expertise). The other one has that real-life experience (experience). And both types of content can offer value. Don't think here that one is better than the other. It's just, that's what Google is using here.
Authoritativeness
“A” is authoritativeness. And it refers to the overall reputation in your industry, especially among experts, and influencers in your niche. And so those Google quality raters, are instructed to review the authoritativeness of the creator, the content, and the website.
So an example of this might be abdominal pain from WebMD. Well, that's authoritative because well, a WebMD is well known.
Look at the authors on their site. Their editorial contributors are wellness professionals. So that' authoritative. And they ask an expert, usually a doctor to check their content for accuracy. So ideally, other authorities in your industry link to the content because it provides value. So if we look at this, people know your background, and look to you as a leader in your industry, and they accept you as a good source of information that is authoritativeness.
TRUSTWORTHINESS
The T is for trustworthiness. And it's probably the most important part. This is where Google takes the Creator's content and the website into account deciding how trustworthy they are, and seeing how clear it is about who wrote your content.
So when writing your post for your website you want to add it for factual accuracy. You want to cite trustworthy sources and avoid hiding content behind a wall of ads. And so here again, nothing against AI. But you want to show, “Hey, I did the work.” Think of Google as the math teacher and every episode is a test and you need to show your work. The article created by AI-Writer cited over 40 stations (their goal is to make trustworthy posts).
Don't Bend Your Morals With AI
When it comes to trust and AI, I would like to quote the great Neil Peart of the band Rushf rom the song The Spirit of Radio:
I am going to substitute podcast where they used the word music.
“All this machinery making modern podcasts
Can still be open-hearted
Not so coldly charted, it's really just a question of your honesty
Yeah, your honesty
One likes to believe in the freedom of podcasts
But glittering prizes and endless compromises
Shatter the illusion of integrity, yeah.“
Other Ingredients of Good Podcast Episodes
Great Titles – We Need to Get Them to Click – It is your promise
Grab them – Have a great opening. We are in the attention business. People don't give us their attention. We have to steal it.
Get to the Content – Put the chit-chat at the end. For interviews, Do Not ask a guest to tell us about themselves.
Use Your Unique Perspective – Offer a fresh angle or perspective on a topic that hasn't been explored extensively.
Create an Emotional Connection – Tap into your audience's emotions by telling compelling stories, evoking empathy, or triggering nostalgia. Emotional content tends to resonate deeply with people and leaves a lasting impression.
High-Quality Production: You don't have to spend thousands, but you do need to spend about the price of an Xbox.
Interactive and Engaging: Encourage audience participation and engagement by asking a SPECIFIC question and making it EASY to answer. Create a community using something like Heartbeat (I was at one time kicked out of my own Facebook group so beware of using “Free” resources).
Solve a Problem – If you are expecting to monetize your podcast, you NEED to solve a problem
Be Authentic and Transparent – Be genuine and transparent in your communication. Authenticity builds trust with your audience and makes them more likely to connect with your content on a deeper level. In other words, “Be Yourself.”
Be Consistent – A lot of people get this wrong and think that this ONLY means having a consistent schedule. That is important, but I'd rather have a “late” show that was amazing than an on-time episode that was “meh.”
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Mentioned In This Episode
Join the School of Podcasting Community
Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World
Fly on the Wall With Dana Carvey, David Spade, and Jerry Seinfeld
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOLgAFeC9jg
Tom Webster Podcast Movement Keynote
https://youtu.be/Ggy6Bs1FsLI?si=7QD1jz4YSzq07gB7
Rick Beato and Jim Barner Make Good Records
https://youtu.be/klxif5McurI?si=HhcofEqxzICmjGd4&t=1313
Sting on Rock Beato
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkrWxHEnlEs
Chapter Markers:
00:00:01 – It's Not Just One Thing
00:01:19 – Opening
00:01:54 – How Do I Grow?
00:02:33 – Michael Hyatt Advice
https://geni.us/platform-michael-hyatt
00:03:26 – Characteristics of WOW Content
https://geni.us/platform-michael-hyatt
00:05:18 – Anticipation
00:06:17 – Surprise
00:07:57 – Transcendence
00:08:29 – Clarity
00:08:45 – Evangelism
00:10:24 – Driveway Moments
00:11:22 – Does AI Deliver WOW Content?
https://supportthisshow.com/aiwriter (aff)
00:13:07 – Back to Surprises
00:13:56 – Maybe It's Not Time To Promote Your Show
https://geni.us/platform-michael-hyatt
00:17:23 – It All Comes Back to Word of Mouth
https://youtu.be/klxif5McurI?si=HhcofEqxzICmjGd4&t=1313
00:18:01 – Master Your Craft
https://youtu.be/Ggy6Bs1FsLI?si=NBnsEKEkJzKiL9Z0
00:19:09 – What Does Google Look At?
00:19:10 – Podcast Hot Seat
https://www.podcasthotseat.com
00:19:25 – Experience
00:20:10 – Your Podcast Website
https://www.yourpodcastwebsite.com
00:20:26 – Google E.E.A.T Experience
00:22:13 – Expertise
00:24:00 – Authoritativeness
00:25:07 – AI Writer
https://supportthisshow.com/aiwriter
00:25:33 – Congressional Dish
https://congressionaldish.com/
00:26:11 – Trustworthiness
00:26:51 – Beiding Your Morals
00:27:43 – Question of the Month
https://www.schoolofpodcasting.com/question
00:28:41 – Live Appearances
https://www.schoolofpodcasting.com/where
00:29:13 – Back to the Basics
00:30:36 – Tell Us A Little Bit About Yourself
00:32:17 – Other Ingredients of Good Shows
00:36:36 – If You Want To Make Money
00:37:26 – BE AUTHENTIC
00:38:45 – Artwork Counts
00:39:45 – Get Consistency Right
00:40:49 – You Can't Get This Any Place Else
00:41:35 – Overwhelmed? That's OK
00:43:01 – What is It, Michael?
00:44:43 – The Mentality of Good Content
00:46:08 – Monetizing Too Early
00:47:15 – So Many Crayons!
00:49:13 – Poor Planning and Execution
00:49:55 – Lack of Authenticity
00:50:47 – Quantity Over Quality
00:51:37 – Failure to Adapt
00:52:43 – Fear of Criticism
00:53:38 – Lack of Patience
00:55:22 – AI In Future Episode
00:55:56 – Grab Your Crayons!
00:57:13 – 3 Years to Monetize
This is episode 835. You can see all of our episodes at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/follow
