👂Making the most of your podcast listener survey

Plus, some Mother's Day content for those that celebrate <3

Hi! Shreya here. Previously on Podcast Marketing Magic (said in my best recap-Buffy-The-Vampire-Slayer-voice), we’ve covered how to listen like a marketer. To listen actively, we’ve got to ask smart questions and parse them to understand the audience. That’s where a podcast listener survey comes in. 

However, you’ve probably heard about the importance of surveying your podcasters a-plenty. Today, I want to talk about what to actually do with the survey responses. 

I just need a reason to include Disney in regular spaces, yes.

🟡 One quick thing….

We often get asked when is the right time to conduct a listener survey. Here’s when: 

• Anytime, really. 

• When planning a new season. 

• When planning a new segment or format. 

• But really, anytime is a good time to know what your audience thinks about you. 

On to it! 

🗒️ Make the most of your podcast listener survey 

While the most obvious reason to conduct a survey is to learn more about your audience, there’s nuance to how you can extract more information from the responses. Here’s how to use the survey data to better serve your goals and your audience. 

First and foremost, you can discover what else your audience is listening to. This is a crucial insight. In addition to understanding your audience’s listening preferences, you also learn which podcasts to strike partnerships with. Reaching outside the world of audio for a second here – you can also ask your listeners what other media they consume. From books to newsletters, who knows what kind of partnership awaits you. 

You can also learn about new target audiences. This is especially true for those podcasts that feel like their growth has plateaued. Studying the demographics of your listener survey can reveal what audiences you are not serving. With this in mind, you can advertise on or partner with podcasts that are more well-heard in spaces you are yet to venture into.

And then, there’s the usual suspects. Carefully studying survey data can help understand what kinds of topics, guests, and segments resonated most with the listener. Plus, a listener survey is always a great way to test out a new idea or theme for an upcoming season. 

💜 A quick shoutout to Tonia Ransom! I picked up these tips and tricks by observing a master like her at work. 

⭐ More Magic:

• The Podglomerate’s Podcast Perspectives dives into if podcasters should even care about the International Advertising Bureau (IAB). If I may, it’s a crucial listen for creators so you can be informed on the evolution of growth metrics. Tune in. 

• If you’re celebrating Mother’s Day, you might enjoy, a limited series on Kelly Corrigan Wonders. Co-hosted by Christy Turlington Burns, it will feature five episodes with some very special guests, including Jennifer Garner, Amy Schumer, Cindy Crawford, Spike Lee, and Bono, with each guest sharing stories about their own moms. It’s all in support of Christy's charitable foundation Every Mother Counts. Start here, with Jennifer Garner’s episode.  

  • Psst… if that’s your jam, Lauren curated a list of 13 of the Best Parenting Podcasts for Lifehacker.

We interrupt this program for…

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A quick word from our sponsors

A blog post of your last episode (free)- Create a blog post and social media posts from your podcast in 5 minutes. Join 4.5k+ other podcasters that leverage WhisperTranscribe to grow their podcast. Limited time free offer, no strings attached.

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🙉 From The Desk of Tink:

This Is Propaganda is a fascinating Webby Award-winning narrative podcast. Co-hosts Josh & Malcolm from BRINK media group challenge the marketing profession’s delusions about the origins, techniques and cultural impact of the work we do. I especially enjoyed the latest episode — Everything is Propaganda, Even You.

Thank you for reading!

Wil returns next week with more podcast marketing magic.

Until then, stay curios.

Shreya