Influential Introvert: Communication Coaching for Professionals with Performance Anxiety - Podcast Intros: How to Hook Your Audience

Episode Date: September 5, 2019

One of the biggest peeves listeners have is when podcast host/s waffle on for too long before getting to the point of the episode. Your audience wants to know where you’re taking them, or they’re going to bail. In fact, the average podcast loses about a third of its audience in the first five minutes, according to NPR One. So how can you create an above average podcast?   In this episode, I’ll talk about how to keep your podcast audience listening by hooking them with a great intro.    Key takeaways: Hook your audience from the beginning. Let them know what they’ll get out of spending the next 30 or 60 or however many minutes with you.  Teasers, stories, and questions are great ways to hook your audience.  In addition to your hook, your intro should include your name and the name of your show.  Music is a nice way to brand your show and get your listeners in the right mood to hear your message.  Speak to one person. Use the word ‘you’ instead of ‘all of you.’  Consider including a call to action in your introduction.    Visit sarahmikutel.com for more articles on how to podcast. Ready to start your own show? Download my free guide: “8 Mistakes New Podcasters Make and How to Fix Them.”    Looking for a podcast media host? Use my Libsyn affiliate code POSTCARD to get the rest of this month for free and next month free.    I’m your podcast launch consultant, Sarah Mikutel. If you’d like to learn more about me, you can check out my other podcast, Postcard Academy travel podcast. This travel podcast is for the ‘experiences not things’ kind of person who believes travel goes deeper than a fantastic meal (though that is pretty great). Every week, I interview people who packed up everything to start a new adventure in another part of the world. You’ll learn how they did it and get their best insider food and culture tips.    Thank you so much for listening to Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

One of the biggest complaints listeners have about podcasts is too much waffling before the host or the hosts. Get to the point of the episode. Your audience wants to know where you're taking them or they're going to bail. Did you know that the average podcast loses about a third of its audience in the first five minutes? This is according to NPR One. So how can you create an above average podcast? In this episode, I will talk about how to keep your podcast audience listening with a great introduction. Have you been wanting to start a podcast for a while now, but something's holding you back?

Maybe it's fear of putting yourself out there or confusion about the technology. I'm Sarah Mikital and on podcasting step by step, I'll break down how to podcast with a little loving motivation to give you the skills and the confidence you need to finally launch that show of your dreams. Let's get started. Each one of your episodes should have a purpose for your audience. So what is the primary takeaway for your listener? What are they going to get out of this episode? What are they going to learn? How are you going to inspire, entertain, or educate them? Use this information to hook them in as soon as possible. And don't forget to say who you are and the name of your show. This is your friendly welcome. You are throwing open the door and letting in your podcast listeners. And as I mentioned in the beginning of this episode, those first few minutes are crucial. According to Edison Research, only 41% of new podcast listeners usually finish an entire podcast episode that's compared to 71% of veteran listeners.

Tom Webster talked about these stats at podcast movement a few weeks ago. He is with Edison Research. And they defined rookies as people who have been listening to podcasts for less than six months and veterans as people who have been listening to podcasts for three or more years. So again, only 41% of new podcast listeners usually finish an entire podcast episode. So this stat suggests that creating an enticing podcast intro is only going to become more important. So what can we do to entice our audience to stick around? Well, here are the top three ways to hook your audience with a compelling intro. One, tease your best content.

If you interviewed someone, you might want to start the show playing a clip of something brilliant or funny they said, I like to do that with the interviews I do for this podcast. 30 seconds or less, you don't want to give away the whole show in your introduction. If your guest has something to say that your audience is dying to hear, tease the best part to hook in your audience, but make them wait for the answers. This is called an open loop. You have suggested something to them and they want the answer. They want to close that mental loop, and they'll keep listening to do so.

Even if you don't use a clip at the beginning, if you interviewed someone it's a good idea to record the introduction later so that you can reference what you talk about in the interview at the beginning of your show. And the same goes for solo episodes. Tell your audience up front what they're going to come away with if they listen to this show. Two, tell a story. Do you have a personal story related to the episode? Leading with a story is a great way to hook your audience, especially if it's related to a struggle they're going through. People respond to emotional connections. Yes, they want you to help solve their problem. but they'll keep coming back to you if they feel like you understand them. So sharing a personal

story is gold. Just make sure that you bring it back to your audience in the end. Your story should connect with your episode's purpose and what's in it for your listener. These kinds of introductions usually take longer to tell than a direct introduction, but listeners tend to love them if they can feel that you're taking them somewhere that's going to help them. And they also like learning more about you. Three, ask a question. Rhetorical questions are another strong way to open an episode, especially if you're using your podcast to promote your brand and business. Just like in good sales copy, you want your listeners to feel like you totally get them. So speak to one person. Use the word you instead of all you guys or everyone who's listening out there. The word you creates a more intimate feel between you and your ideal listener. So if you want to ask a question that's speaks to their pain point to open your show, you could say something like, are you feeling X? Well, what if you could feel Y? In today's episode, I will help you X, Y, Z, however you're going to help them. And if you're using your show to promote your business, your episodes should be aligned to what

you're selling. So another question you could ask to open your podcast could be, have you ever gone through this? I totally feel you. And in today's episode, I'm going to share how I got out of it. so hopefully you can avoid the same mistakes that I made or something like that. In addition to a great hook, a lot of podcasters like to use music in their podcast intro. Now, this isn't an essential, but it is a nice way to brand yourself and to set the emotional tone of your show. I wouldn't play more than five seconds of music by itself without you talking over it. So you could play a little bit of the music, then fade it out, or you can reduce the volume when your voice comes in. One of my favorite places to get music for podcasts is called Epidemic Sound. I will link to that in the show notes. And a lot of podcasts have what's called a bumper. So that's a standard show level intro that stays the same every week. I have one for this show. And then I also do an episode level intro that varies from week to week. However, on my travel podcast, Postcard Academy, I only do an episode level intro over music. I don't have a bumper. And I might mix things up.

in the future and create a bumper for that show eventually. But for now, I like the existing structure. And that's what's so great about podcasts. We can do whatever we want. I actually bought the music for Postcard Academy from a service called Premium Beat. And they're a little more expensive than the other royalty-free services out there. But the music is incredible. So this website was recommended to me. That's why I originally went there. But I love it. And when I was preparing for this episode I was listening to some of the music. It just gave me the feeling of dancing on a beach, even though I was lying in bed. So choose the music vibe that is right for your show. And I will link to premium beat in the show notes as well. And I always think it's really nice when the host does

their own show intros. But you can actually hire a service like music radio creative to create a podcast jingle for you. And they also offer a full podcast production as one of their services. So I will link to them as well. Another useful element to have in your podcast intro is a call to action. So a lot of podcasters save their call to action or CTA for the end of their episode, if they include one at all. But remember that Edison research stat that I mentioned before, not everyone is finishing our shows. So if you would like your listeners to take a certain action, mention that in your intro. Maybe you have a freebie on your website that you want them to download. So mention that up front. Something that I like to say is don't worry about writing everything down. You'll find links to

everything we talked about at postcardacademy.co. That's obviously for my travel show. And then I will repeat that line at the end of the show. And here are some podcast intro don'ts. So last week in the How to Name Your Podcast episode, I talked about how having a clear and obvious name for your show can help new listeners find you. I also mentioned that there are some really popular shows out there who have seemingly random show titles or they use their own name as a show title. And they can get away with this because they've already built up an audience somewhere else when they started their show. And they're more likely to get away with Wapley intros as well. So Mark Marin will chit chat with his audience for 10 minutes before getting to his guest.

But he already built up his audience who want to hear from him as much as his interviewee. And he is actually on a really interesting personal growth journey and he's really vulnerable in the things that he shares, not because he's trying to manipulate people. And that's something that actually happens, this sort of fake vulnerability. But Mark is trying to better himself and let other people, especially guys, know that it's okay to have emotions. So he's a very compelling person. But if the average podcaster told me in their episode title that they were interviewing Brad pit and then I download their show and I'm just hearing the host pontificating on something random for like minutes on end. Am I going to keep listening? Probably not. I mean, there's so many interviews out there that I could go to listen to you instead. And some shows don't have any intro at all. I mean, this is kind of rare, but some shows the host or co-host, they just jump right in like the guys on the accidental tech podcast. So they don't have any intro, not even any intro music, you just kind of walk in on them having a conversation.

Again, I wouldn't advise this if you don't already have a built-in audience who will listen to whatever you have to say. Hook them in with a solid intro. To sum up this episode, hook your audience from the beginning. Let them know what they'll be getting out of spending the next 30 or 60 or however many minutes with you. Teasers, stories, and questions are great ways to hook your audience. In addition to your hook, your intro should include your name and the name of your show. Music is a very nice way to brand your show and to get listeners in the right mood to hear your message. Speak to one person. Use the word you instead of all of you. And finally, consider using a call to action in your introduction. Thank you for listening to podcasting step by step.

You are now one step closer to launching that podcast you've been dreaming about. But I want to get you even closer. I created a free guidebook for you with actionable worksheets called eight mistakes new podcasters make and how to fix them. To find that, head on over to sarah mechatel.com slash fix. Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free conversation sheet sheet with simple formulas that you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you're in a meeting or just talking with friends. Download it at sarah micotel.com slash blank no more.