Steve Austins gives a tip about how to change the way you end your podcast

Steve Austins: 00:00:01

Hi, my name is Steve Austins, and I'm co founder and

2

: 00:00:04

creative director of Bengo Media.

3

: 00:00:07

And today, I'm going to give

you a tip on how to change

4

: 00:00:10

the way you end your podcast.

5

: 00:00:28

So I'm a director of Bengo Media,

an audio production company

6

: 00:00:31

based in Cardiff, in Wales.

7

: 00:00:33

We make radio programs, we make

audiobooks, and of course podcasts.

8

: 00:00:37

And we tend to make podcasts for

brands, so we've worked with ITV,

9

: 00:00:41

the Open University, the World

Health Organization, amongst others.

10

: 00:00:46

And we also offer training and consultancy

to companies, large and small, to

11

: 00:00:50

help them get their podcasts started.

12

: 00:00:52

How did I get into podcasting?

13

: 00:00:54

Well, I've spent nearly 32 years working

in audio in one form or another, tracing

14

: 00:01:00

back to the first time that I actually

read a sports bulletin on my local

15

: 00:01:04

commercial radio station at the age of 16.

16

: 00:01:07

They were in the middle of

a rota crisis, I should say.

17

: 00:01:10

I grew up listening to radio

and I was just obsessed by it.

18

: 00:01:14

Passionate about it.

19

: 00:01:15

And by the time I left university in

my early 20s and I joined the BBC, I'd

20

: 00:01:20

already worked for three commercial

radio stations as a news journalist

21

: 00:01:26

and also as a presenter as well.

22

: 00:01:28

I spent 19 years at BBC Wales and between

: 2009

23

: 00:01:36

Now back then, podcasts that were made

by radio stations were mostly best of

24

: 00:01:41

compilations that had gone out on the

radio either that day or that week, so my

25

: 00:01:47

podcast listening was pretty functional.

26

: 00:01:50

Then along came Serial in 2014, and

for the first time I was gripped.

27

: 00:01:55

Not only by how a single story

could unfold by just using the

28

: 00:01:59

power of audio, but also gripped

by the potential of the medium too.

29

: 00:02:04

Because even in those early days,

it was obvious that the way that

30

: 00:02:06

people were listening to podcasts was

different, more intense than the way

31

: 00:02:11

that people were listening to radio.

32

: 00:02:13

So when I left the BBC in 2017, it felt

right that, with my wife Marina, we set

33

: 00:02:18

up Wales first podcast production company.

34

: 00:02:20

Branded podcasts were definitely not very

common seven years ago, so we had to do

35

: 00:02:25

an awful lot of educating people on what

podcasts were and why people needed them.

36

: 00:02:30

Nowadays, most companies that I speak

to have already considered podcasting

37

: 00:02:34

as part of their marketing mix, so

it's really, really lovely to see this

38

: 00:02:39

medium become much more commonplace.

39

: 00:02:42

The thing I love most about podcasting

is the ability to lean into a niche.

40

: 00:02:47

Now, I'm a big consumer of politics.

41

: 00:02:49

I'm a big fan of football.

42

: 00:02:50

So over the summer, I spent most walks

to and from places, most times waiting

43

: 00:02:56

endlessly for the little one to drop

off to sleep, catching up on any

44

: 00:03:00

podcast that would tell me about the

eneral election or about Euro: 2024

45

: 00:03:05

I'm currently feeding my

obsession about the U.

46

: 00:03:07

S.

47

: 00:03:07

election race through The Daily,

AmeriCast, and The Rest Is Politics U.

48

: 00:03:12

S.

49

: 00:03:13

Now you can look at the top of those

podcast charts and think that podcast

50

: 00:03:16

is a mass entertainment game nowadays,

and pretty much it is, but there really

51

: 00:03:21

is something for everyone in podcasting.

52

: 00:03:24

Plus it's still easy to

enter the market as either an

53

: 00:03:27

individual or a small company.

54

: 00:03:29

And if you truly understand who's

going to be interested in that subject,

55

: 00:03:33

know what else is out there for them,

offer something that is different or

56

: 00:03:37

unique, plus you have the time and the

patience, because that's important too...

57

: 00:03:42

then you really can build up from an

audience of zero to a loyal following

58

: 00:03:47

of people who will listen to multiple

episodes and for long stretches of time.

59

: 00:03:52

And if you're a business, that

sort of in depth and ongoing

60

: 00:03:55

relationship with potential

customers is unique and compelling.

61

: 00:03:59

And compared to YouTube, there's still

relatively few podcasts out there.

62

: 00:04:03

So you really, really can become a

big fish in a relatively small pond.

63

: 00:04:08

So my big tip is to really consider

what to put at the end of your podcast.

64

: 00:04:14

And I want you to think back to the

last time you went to the cinema.

65

: 00:04:18

When did you get up and leave?

66

: 00:04:20

Now, if you're saying to yourself 'at

the end of the film, Steve, obviously',

67

: 00:04:25

I want you to think a little bit harder.

68

: 00:04:27

What bit of the end?

69

: 00:04:30

Was it the end of the final scene?

70

: 00:04:32

Or did you stay until the

credits had finished rolling?

71

: 00:04:35

Now, most of us have our coats

on and we're out of our seats by

72

: 00:04:39

the time the names of the main

actors have rolled up the screen.

73

: 00:04:43

And podcasting is really no different.

74

: 00:04:45

The minute that you thank your guests

or you fade up that lovely theme

75

: 00:04:49

tune, most of your listeners are

taking that as their cue to leave.

76

: 00:04:53

So why keep your most important

calls to actions for the very end?

77

: 00:04:57

If you really, really want your

listener to rate and review that

78

: 00:05:01

episode, or visit your website for a

juicy offer, you need to find a way of

79

: 00:05:05

telling them earlier in the episode.

80

: 00:05:07

Can you weave it into your questions?

81

: 00:05:08

Can you make it part of that brilliant

script that you're kind of creating?

82

: 00:05:12

Don't leave the important

stuff to the end.

83

: 00:05:15

Or else it won't get heard.

84

: 00:05:18

You can find me at bengomedia.com

and on LinkedIn, and you can see

85

: 00:05:22

all of my links in the show notes.

86

: 00:05:24

Thanks for listening to Podcasting People.