How To Develop Your Ideal Podcast Listener

Why You Need To Know Your Ideal Listener

When you started your podcast, did you start with you or your audience in mind? Many brands, thought-leaders, and podcast hosts often make the mistake of starting backward. They begin with their product, service, or message instead of crafting something at the intersection of what someone needs and what they can offer with excellence.

You need to know your audience to produce content that gains subscribers and is shared.

Knowing your audience is a content creation game changer. Every time you sit down to create something new, it allows you to envision the person that needs your message and why. Knowing your audience will transform how you develop and grow your show.

Content that wins goes deep, which is critical in podcasting. When you build a show that allows you to capitalize on your experience and expertise while delivering something people need or want – you win because it’s easy to go deep. Podcast listeners are more educated than the US population and seek in-depth content. To keep and grow this audience, you have to know them.

What’s An Ideal Listener

An ideal listener is a person that will benefit most from listening to your podcast and hearing your guests. Your ideal listener will deeply resonate with the messages you share and the heart of the show. An ideal listener will actively look for your content; it’ll be your job to ensure it meets their needs. When developing your ideal listener for your podcast, you want to think of them as an actual person.

How To Develop Your Ideal Listener

What problem are you trying to solve, and who will it benefit? What are the thoughts and feelings this person is experiencing, what obstacles are they trying to overcome, and what goal are they trying to meet? When you can answer these questions, developing content that taps into those needs is more effortless.

Your ideal listener might be a younger version of you! If this is the case, write down your struggles and what held you back from your goal (physical and emotional), and dive into your personal story to unearth your ideal listener.

Create Your Ideal Listener Avatar

Get to know your ideal listener by developing an avatar. Podcasters create deeper content and pick better guests when they craft content to their ideal listener. The right message for the right group creates shareable content that leads to growth.

Age:
Occupation:
Income:
Values + Beliefs:
What problem are they trying to solve?
What’s their goal?
What keeps them from their goal?
What keeps them from action?
What’s at stake if they don’t find a solution?

New Episode Ideal Listener Checklist

Have I clearly communicated the need or problem this episode solves for my ideal listener in the title?
Does the episode or interview clearly address the struggles, thoughts, feelings, or goals of my ideal listener?
Have I written show notes that communicate how the episode and guest will address a problem for my ideal listener and the transformation they’ll experience?

Create Your Audience’s Need List

Creating content that resonates gets a whole lot easier when you know the literal and emotional needs of your audience. When you know needs, you can craft episode titles optimized for SEO, which makes it easier for episodes to be found by new listeners. Your needs list should be ongoing and something you refer back to for new episode ideas and aligning guests with listener needs. Your needs list is a living and breathing document.