written by
David Hooper

Using "Authority Theater" to Get More Podcast Listeners

Podcast Marketing Podcast Hosting Skills 3 min read

The final Presidential Debate of the 2020 election was in Nashville. It was literally a couple of blocks from my house – I had Secret Service agents stationed in front of my house, actually.

Needless to say, it was a unique experience. And, as a podcaster, there are some important things you can learn from a situation like this.

If you watch anything related to a Presidential campaign (or any big election), you'll notice a few things candidates (or their teams) try to showcase. One of the big ones is, authority and leadership.

We vote for the candidates whom we feel will lead us in the right direction.

This is also why people listen to podcasters – listeners want to know you know what you're talking about and that listening to you will help them.

3 Ways To Show Your Authority To Listeners

1. Be Decisive

Take a stand on things and deliver your podcast with a specific “point-of-view.”

I joke around that Southern men have a favorite truck and that selection never changes. When a boy grows up in the South, he picks Ford or Chevy and carries that belief around with him until he dies.

You may have similar beliefs:

  • Coke or Pepsi?
  • David Lee Roth or Sammy Hagar?
  • Cats or Dogs?

Let people know what you stand for. Trying to please everybody pleases nobody.

2. Sound Great

People judge podcasts by the audio quality. You can argue all day long that "only the content matters," but that's not true according to this study by USC (and others).

If you want people to listen to your podcast’s message, your audio quality needs to be good. It doesn’t need to be perfect, do you don’t need to get caught up on buying a ton of expensive equipment, but do invest the time it takes to understand the basics of getting a good recording and what you can do to sound better.

Need help? Take a look at Podcast Audio Lab with Marcus dePaula.

3. "Look" The Part

You've probably heard the saying, “Never get a tattoo where a judge can see it.” That's good advice, if you want to look like a choir boy who can do no wrong. If you want to look like a rock star, perhaps you want tattoos where everybody can see them.

The point is that people are judging you based on your appearance and “looking the part” will help you to get what you want. Part of that judgment is based on how you sound, as mentioned above. But part of that judgment is based on your podcast artwork, episode images, etc.

Here's an article on how to create great podcast art, if you want specifics on how to do this part right.

My point in mentioning that it helps to "look the part" here is that you want congruence in ALL your marketing, not just sound quality or your belief system, Everything you do needs to work together to showcase who you are to listeners (and attract potential listeners).

Start Now

The three elements mentioned above are easy to do – you can start all of them within the next couple of days, even if your execution isn’t perfect.

Playing it safe with your podcast won’t get you what you want, unless what you want is a lackluster podcast that, at best, is only tolerated.

You can have a podcast that people love, but that’s going to take a little risk on your part when it comes to being decisive with your message and doing everything you can to spread that message.

Take the risk – it’s worth it!

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