The Investment of the Listener
I’ve been thinking a lot about what a podcast audience goes through to get to our shows. Really, it’s a major investment.
The obvious point of investment is the equipment they need to listen to a podcast. The typical misconception is that you need an iPod to listen to a podcast. Not even close to true. While you do need a computer, anything capable of playing a YouTube video can play back a podcast (yes, a broad generalization, but a good benchmark). You do need an MP3 player or something similar to listen on the go, but for home or office use, a computer is fine.
IPods aren’t cheap. MP3 players of any stature or capacity aren’t cheap. There are plenty of them out there, but most people are buying iPods. And unless you want to spend a lot of time managing the space on your MP3 player, you are going to need something with plenty of storage space.
Then they have to find our podcasts (while iTunes makes it easy to download a podcast, finding what you want is sometimes a challenge), then invest in the download time and hard drive space to store them, sync up whatever they may be taking our shows on the road with, and then listen to what we do (music, talk, sports, whatever).
And then they have to do it again.
Compare that to a radio. Radios are everywhere. They are cheap, they are generally easy to use, and they are easy to turn on and tune out. You can be a radio listener without ever actually listening (as in paying attention) to the radio. And there is no shortage of places a radio is playing. Cars, restaurants, stores, streets, they are everywhere.
But that investment cuts both ways. When people download my show, and come back for more the next time, those people invested in my show in a way that doesn’t happen often in radio (morning shows and political shows being strong exceptions). They are taking the time to download and listen, and they are storing my show on their device or hard drive, which may be an inconvenience down the road when they have to take the time and effort to manage their storage. The listener does all of this at their own expense, so they must care about what we are doing.
I feel like I have to at minimum consider and respect that investment. I should be there for my audience in a way that a radio station doesn’t have to be there for their audience. A radio station can throw whatever they want at the wall and see what sticks, or more to the point, who sticks around. They can broadcast what they think will work to serve their needs, and see who is still around. If there aren’t enough listeners to satisfy those needs, they can simply change what they are doing and move on. I don’t have that luxury. I want to be there in the periodic department, to be there every day for the audience that cares enough to download and listen to my show, but I can’t always come through on that measure, so I have to be there in the content department. I have to give them a good reason to up.
Sometimes that’s half the fun.
I know I’m going to have more to say on investments later, but I want to know what you think.
ScottyWazz 11:02 am on September 29, 2009 Permalink |
I think it cuts both ways in that, while you have to be attuned to what your listeners want to hear, you can’t be a slave to their needs either. You’re going to have off-shows, you’re going to have a lot of people who don’t like what you’re doing. At the same time, for every person who hates what you do, you may have five or six that love it. Where’s the point where you have to decidedly change all you’ve invested yourself into throwing a program on the air week-in and week-out, just because 5% of your listeners are displeased with what you do??
I’ve been hacking the podcast route for eight years now and the success we’ve had with just a dry format of outline and then randomness and, I guess you could say, “everyday conversations” has worked aces for us and really seems to grasp the listeners in. We could be a basic show where we get the news, break it down at nausea, and then move to the next one– but the fun and allure of having that there could get stale after a while. Call it ADHD broadcasting, but I think with the right target listenership, you could pretty much make anything viable since you have their ear already.
This rambling could be completely off-topic to what you said, but I’ve been up far too long for conscious thoughts right now and rather than wait until I have a solid stream of thought, I do this. Huzzah.
James 10:17 pm on September 29, 2009 Permalink |
I think it’s on topic. Even if you do need a nap.
I think there is a difference between respecting their investment and pandering. I wouldn’t change my podcast for the audience, but I certainly would change it for me (if there are parts I don’t like, or things I want to try). It’s not a fine line for me at all. I like having people who listen to the show, and I appreciate their investment of time and money that allows them to listen to my show. And it’s such a different scenario than the radio listener, I think it warrants discussion.
Get some sleep. Welcome aboard, Scott.