December 19, 2025 • 23 mins
Episode 525 - The Five Questions Every Podcaster Should Ask Their Listeners
This episode of the How To Podcast Series finds Dave speaking directly to new and growing podcasters about one core idea: your listeners are your best teachers. From his studio in Ontario, Canada, Dave shares that after more than two thousand episodes across nine shows, one of the most valuable habits he has built is asking his audience a few simple but powerful questions. He introduces the concept of a listener survey and explains how he uses a free Google form connected to a spreadsheet so responses organize themselves and stay useful over time. The goal is not complexity, but clarity: learn who is listening, how they found the show, and what they actually want more or less of.
The heart of the episode is five key questions, inspired by Tom Webster’s book The Audience Is Listening, that every podcaster can ask. Dave walks through why “How did you discover my show?” is often the single most important question, because it reveals which platforms or appearances are truly working. If everyone discovered the show via YouTube or a guest spot on another podcast, that is a signal to double down on those efforts rather than blindly posting everywhere. He encourages podcasters to be present where their audience actually is, not where generic advice says they must be.
Dave then turns to questions about what other podcasts listeners enjoy, how long they think episodes should be, and who else in their life would love the show. These answers point toward adjacent audiences, potential collaborations, and opportunities to tighten or extend episode length so it better serves real listening habits. His final question imagines the show disappearing tomorrow and asks what, if anything, the listener would miss. That answer reveals the true connection point: is it the host’s companionship, specific topics, the tone, guests, or the routine of having the show in their week. Understanding that emotional anchor helps a podcaster know what must never be lost as the show evolves.
Throughout the episode, Dave models what he teaches. He invites listeners to complete his own survey, reassures them it is short and optional, and explains that their responses will help shape the future of the show. He also shares a bonus reflection on microphone confidence, reminding aspiring hosts that sounding natural is mostly a matter of repetitions, honest feedback, and continuing to show up rather than formal training. The episode closes with an open invitation for listeners to book a free call, purely to talk podcasting, their journey, and how the show can better serve them.
Key takeaway for listeners
The most effective way to grow and improve a podcast is to ask listeners a few focused questions, listen closely to their answers, and then align content, format, and promotion with what those real people actually value.
Link to The How To Podcast Series Show Survey
https://forms.gle/GbrFv9DGszV8N4PW6
___
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
OK, we're rolling. Hey, welcome to the how to
podcast series. It's Dave with you.
I hope you're doing well. And somebody say, well, who's
Dave? Well, I'm the host of the show.
You press play, you're here, I'mhere.
So we got this figured out. I'm Dave.
Nice to meet you. I'm in Ontario, Canada, host of
nine different podcasts over 2000 episodes.
(00:21):
And I love podcasting and I lovemeeting people like you.
So if you're on this journey of starting a podcast maybe in the
new year 2026 and you're like, Iwish there was somebody out
there that I could work with who's a a podcaster who who has
a heart, who who really does care about the people that he
(00:42):
works with and has helped others.
I wish I could find something like that.
I wish there was a show called the how to podcast series.
And wait a minute. Ta Da you found it and you found
your guy. What's up, my guy?
Yeah, I am your guy. And I would love to help you on
(01:03):
your journey of being a podcaster.
So you meet together. Let's do this.
All right. We want to talk about 5
questions every podcaster shouldask their listeners.
And you're like, I don't, my listeners don't even talk to me
or I'm a new podcaster. I have 0 listeners.
Then here's something for you tobuild into what you're doing
(01:24):
through your show. Five questions.
And I have a link for you to go check out my podcast listener
survey. Just built it in Google for free
and connected it to a Google Sheet.
So all of the answers that come into me get organized without me
even having to touch them into aentire Google Sheet, which is so
(01:47):
cool 'cause I don't have to do any work, which I'm happy about.
So if you want help setting up your own Google Form and Google
Sheet and you have no idea how to do any of those, you can
reach out to me anytime at How to podcast.ca do a screen share.
I'll show you how to come up with your questions.
And today's 5 questions that I think are kind of like must have
(02:09):
questions for your audience as kind of an A beginning starter
point come directly from Tom Webster's book.
The Audience is Listening A Little Guide to Building a Big
podcast, one of the must have books next to your microphone
and your computer. I would tell you to have Tom's
book right there. Audio book is amazing.
(02:31):
Funny, cheeky and a little funny.
But the paperback is a great companion.
Instead of having to go back andfind that part with a thing, you
can flip right to it, make notesin your book and put sticky
notes, all that stuff. The audience is listening.
A little guide to building a bigpodcast with Tom Webster.
It is a must have. I would say.
(02:51):
Hopefully Santa's going to get you a copy this year.
Make sure you grab a copy for your favorite podcaster and send
a copy to them as well. So from Tom's book, 5 questions
that you should ask your audience and you should set up
your own audience survey. I think it's a great idea for
2026. No matter where you are in your
journey, getting feedback from your audience can really help
(03:14):
you shape your show, make it better, and get feedback because
I think all of us could do with some feedback on.
I'm asking you at the end of this conversation to follow my
link in the show notes and go fill out my survey and give me
feedback on how the survey looksand the questions I've asked.
And steal anything you want fromme from that survey and
(03:37):
repurpose it however you wish todo.
But I'd love for you to go checkout the survey and send in your
results. I try to make it pretty easy.
Easy questions and your thoughts, your opinions matter
on how to podcast series. And I'd love to hear from you.
So always, always, always, anytime I can connect with you
makes this show better. So here are the five questions.
(04:01):
And again, coming right from TomWebster's book, the audience is
listening. I'm listening, you're listening.
Let's do the five questions. Here we go #1 here's our first
question from Tom's book on page53.
His first question is how did you discover my show?
And this is a question I ask of all of my potential guests in
(04:22):
our pre chats before we do an interview.
Anyone that reaches out to me asa listener, anytime I can ask
this question, I'm going to use this question.
If I only had one question, thiswould be my one and only
question for my for my listener.Anyone who's come across my
podcast, I want to know how did you discover my show?
(04:45):
Why is this important? It tells me where to put my
attention. So if everybody that I talked to
says they found my show through Tiktok, then I better value
Tiktok and my time on Tiktok. If nobody tells me they find my
show on Tiktok and I spend a lotof time there, I might be better
(05:05):
off to reinvest my time elsewhere if they find me on
LinkedIn, LinkedIn should be my my preferred go to place.
Your audience is going to tell you where they hang out and when
you can get a consensus of whereyour audience found you, then
there's the spot where you need to invest.
(05:25):
Don't be everywhere. I'd have your handle everywhere.
At least have your footprint everywhere.
But you don't have to show up there.
My podcast, the podcast editing and support show, has 00 social
media and it's working. So all those gurus who tell you
(05:46):
you have to post on social mediaand you got to be here and you
got to be there and you got to do this and you got to do that.
Well, they're trying to sell yousomething.
And they're generally social media people who have come to
podcasting. Podcasts require you being a
podcaster. That's it.
Everything else is extra, so youdon't have to have any social
(06:09):
media feed at all. Will it help you?
Yes, of course it will help you.That's just silly talk.
But do you have to be on social media five days a week promoting
your podcast? No, you don't.
So I'm just trying to give you some counterbalance to the flood
of people trying to sell you courses and things you don't.
So find out where your audience has found your show and do that
(06:33):
more often. If your guests, if your audience
tells you, I heard you on a podcast and you were a guest on
a show, then be a guest on more shows.
You just got the answer. Like do the things that people
are telling you that you've donefor the How to Podcast series.
Often the answer comes back while I typed into Apple how to
(06:54):
podcast and your show came up, Iwent on YouTube and typed in How
to Podcast and there's Dave. So it's in the name of my show.
That's all I need is just to rest on the fact that my show's
got a great name that'll bring people to me because it's named
appropriate to the content. So that's been a frequent answer
on when I ask people. The other answer I'm getting
(07:17):
often is I found you on YouTube and then I went to Apple.
I found you on YouTube, then I went to Spotify or Audible or
something else, but they found me on YouTube first.
So if you're not even on YouTubeat all in any form whatsoever,
you don't have a chance to be found at all.
So you want to be where people are, and there's more people on
(07:39):
YouTube than there are in audio podcast as listeners.
That's just a fact. They're just more users on
YouTube, so whether or not you want to be a YouTube first
podcast, that's up to you. But be there.
Be there in some form. Little video clips about your
episodes, full length audio podcasts that are remade into
(08:01):
videos on YouTube, full video podcasts with multiple cameras
and nice setups. Whatever you can do, be there in
some form or another. Your audience is already there,
and they will follow you back towherever you you release your
podcast. And a lot of people switch back
to audio. So do what you want.
(08:23):
All right? Do what you can with what you
have, where you are. But how did you discover my
show? That's the first question.
What's question number 20, Mr. Tom Webster?
Oh, that's easy. Here's #2 question number 2 is
simply what other podcasts do you listen to?
What other podcasts do you listen to?
This might be related to your topic.
(08:45):
So I have dad space, so if I aska dad space listener, what else
do you listen to? They might say gardening,
camping, business mindset, another dad podcast, how dare
you, Whatever, right? You want to find out what other
shows your listeners listen to. So that would be question #2
what else do you listen to? What are you finding value in?
(09:06):
You might find an extended audience that would be
interested in your topic just byasking this question.
So find out how well-rounded your audience is by asking them
what other podcasts that they listen to.
It's a great question and leave the door open.
Get them to answer and get them to give you feedback because
again, your audience might be bigger than you think.
(09:27):
There might be opportunities foryou to get on other shows in
other like or adjacent to topicsthat would bring more people
back to you. So find out what other podcasts
do you listen to? Question 3 from Mr. Tom Webster
is right here. What do you think Question 3 is?
Well, I'll tell you. Question 3 is, would you make
this show shorter or longer? That's pretty straightforward.
(09:52):
Do you want more of Dave or do you want less of Dave?
If there was a big dial that youcould turn either way, what
would you like? Would you like less episodes or
more episodes? Longer episodes?
Shorter episodes? I think this is something that
we could thoroughly get some good feedback on.
Now remember, at the end of the day, your show, you can do
(10:13):
whatever you want. Everyone could tell you they
want shorter episodes, but you like long episodes, so you do
you, Boo. Whatever you want to do, you do
it. It's fine.
It's up to you. You can do whatever you want.
But this feedback is not something to ignore if your
audience is telling you that they want more of you than your
5 minute episodes. You could maybe do 15 minutes if
(10:35):
your audience is telling you that they want less of you and
your show's too long. Maybe there's a bunch of fluff
in your podcast that you don't need to include.
Maybe if you just cut that out, you'll hit, you'll hit exactly
where your audience wants to be.So if you're a podcast about
golf and then you talk about your breakfast items you had
that morning unrelated to golfing, removing that might
(10:58):
just make your show short enoughthat people would love it
because it's about golf, not about eggs Benedict, see?
So take out the stuff that doesn't add value, and you might
be in your sweet spot for where you should be as an audience,
for your audience's sake. That's good feedback.
Would you make this show shorteror longer?
Great question to ask your audience.
(11:19):
Question #4 We're getting close to question 5, and I know you're
excited about this, but question4 is a question that you should
ask every listener that you can from Tom's book.
The audience is listening. Question 4, what is it, Dave?
What is it? Question 4 is pretty simple.
Think about a friend or a familymember who would like this show.
(11:41):
So I'm asking you think of a family member or a friend that
would like the how to podcast series.
You thinking of them? Do you got them in your in your
mind you're thinking of you can see their face.
OK, tell me about that person. Explain that person to me.
Who are they? Who are they to you?
(12:01):
What about them do you think would be a reason for them to
like the show? Why?
Why would they be interested in this podcast?
What about them would be a connection point between this
show and with them? It's an interesting question and
you're putting it in in an interesting way.
You're not asking your audience member who listens to your show
(12:22):
this question. You're asking your audience
member to think of somebody else.
And the, the one thing that I love about this, the framing of
this question is it opens the door for you to say, OK, now
that you've thought about this person and you've thought about
the show, a kind of a follow up question could simply be, have
you told them about the show? Then you just mentioned that
(12:43):
your friend Sally would love this show.
Did you have you ever thought totell Sally about the show?
You know what? I've never thought to tell
Sally, but I'm going to go tell Sally.
Interesting, right? You're kind of leading the
witness here and I love it. So Tom, great question.
Question #5 As we wrap up, the five questions that you should
ask your audience comes again from Tom's book.
(13:04):
The audience is listening A Little Guide to Building a Big
Podcast. And this is on page 56.
Here we go. Question #5 And I know you're
excited, so am I. Hold on, here we go.
If this show, this very show you're listening to right now,
the How to podcast series, if the How to Podcast series were
to die tomorrow, cease to exist.No more nada, gone.
(13:29):
Bye bye. We've Elvis has left the
building. It's gone.
If this show was never to be produced again, what is one
thing, if any, that you would miss if this podcast stopped
today or tomorrow? What's one thing that you would
(13:50):
miss Anything Like? Nothing.
Would you miss the show if tomorrow you got up and looked
at your phone and there was absolutely no more episodes of
the show? I just decided to stop and
didn't give you any warning. You just cancelled everything.
(14:10):
Would you miss anything at all? Hopefully something.
What is it? What would you miss and why is
this important? This is the connection.
This speaks of the connection between you and your audience
and and the value they get. Could be the content, could be
(14:30):
you as a companion, could be theroutine, could be the the
guests, it could be the tone of the show.
There could be so many things here.
But if this show was to die tomorrow, never to be produced
again, what is one thing, if any, that you would miss?
Interesting. Think about that.
(14:52):
From the context of your show. What do you think your listeners
would say? What would they miss?
Your goofy jokes, Your humor, Your light hearted
conversations, Your deep philosophical questions?
Your guess what is it? What would they miss if your
(15:15):
show just stopped tomorrow and that was it, We're done.
Interesting. So there's a lot of great stuff
in here and I would tell you to read through Tom's book.
He calls them episodes, he doesn't call them chapters.
Episode 3 and episode 4, Chapter3.
Chapter 4 of Tom's book has a lot to talk about around your
(15:40):
listener surveys and I would love for you to go check out
Tom's book. It's a great resource.
Again, definitely one you'd haveto have by you.
I have it beside me all the timebecause when I meet a new
podcaster, I tell them to buy the book.
Just one of those things. This is a great resource and
it's Evergreen. It'll carry you into the future.
It's not time dated like some other books that are out of out
(16:03):
of date before they even hit print.
So this book will stand the testof time for you.
And there's a lot of great stuffin here from Tom.
So I have a link for you in the show notes for Tom, and I'll
have a link to my new survey forthe How to Podcast series.
Oh yes, that's that's right. If you're still here listening
to this podcast, you were exactly the person I want to
(16:26):
hear from. Having you stick around to the
end of the episode is a great indicator for any app, no matter
what it is, that this is a good podcast worth promoting to other
people who don't know about it. So your attention span to this
point is a signal to whenever YouTube, Audible, Apple,
(16:48):
Spotify, fill in the blank. It is a great indication that
this is worthwhile content. Just you being here right now.
So you're the person I want to respond to this new survey that
I have for the How to Podcast series.
It'll only take you a minute or two to fill in simple questions.
It's not super deep. You don't have to write War and
Peace. Just give me your thoughts.
(17:10):
Skip any questions that don't relate to you.
I hopefully they all relate to you and I'd love to hear your
thoughts over at how to podcast dot CAI have a link on my
website. I'll also have a link right here
in the show notes for you as well.
And your feedback around this survey is really going to help.
So click the link, go through ifyou want.
(17:32):
There's a chance you can put in your e-mail address if you sign
up. We'll we'll eventually.
We don't have it right now, and eventually we're going to have
an e-mail newsletter for the show.
Maybe once or twice a month I might send out an e-mail.
I'm not a big e-mail writer, so you're not going to get spammed
with a bunch of crap. But if you're interested and you
(17:53):
want to stay in touch that way, I think building an e-mail
newsletter list is a great idea because all the social platforms
are holding us hostage. They have all of the keys and we
have no say. So anytime we can connect with
our listeners directly through e-mail is a great idea.
Haven't done it a lot on the show and I need to.
(18:15):
So this will be my first step through the survey capturing
emails. And again, I will never spam
you. You can always tell me to leave
you alone. You can always unsubscribe.
That's always there. But I'd love to connect with you
through the through the survey emails optional.
But yeah, love you to check it out and fill it in and do it as
(18:37):
soon as possible. And this lives on on into the
future as well. So if you're listening to this
months from now, that survey is still there.
So I'd love to hear from you. And it's just going to keep
compiling answers over time. And you can help direct the
shape of the show, how it goes, where we go from here.
Excited to have more time with you in 2026 and see how this
(18:58):
podcast grows over time. So thank you for being here.
Thank you for being part of the show.
And I would love to connect withyou anytime through the website.
You know how to do this and let's let's get together and
talk podcasting anytime. So thank you for being here.
We're almost at the end of the year, so happy 2025 ish.
And we'll see you in the new year for sure in 2026 with more
(19:20):
from the how to podcast series. Thank you for being here.
My name is Dave. Talk to you soon.
Bye. Hey, thanks for being here.
Thank you for listening to the end of the podcast.
You're here with me. I'm so grateful.
I want to put something in frontof you, the person that's
listened this far. You're my new best friend.
(19:40):
So what I'm trying to do every month is I have a goal and you
can help me with this goal. Very simple.
What I'm trying to do is have 5 conversations this month with
listeners of the How To Podcast series.
You don't have to have a podcastto respond.
(20:02):
This can be the first time ever that we're going to have a
conversation, but I'm looking totalk to five people.
Now you're still here, so you'reone of the people that I would
love to talk to next. So on my how to podcast.ca
website is a calendar and I'd love to have you respond on how
to podcast.ca. Just click the calendar link,
(20:25):
set up time in my calendar and in the comments section for for
the meeting, just put something like listener, That's it.
If you have a show, put it in the the comments too.
So I can go listen. But if you don't, I, I just want
to talk to five listeners every month from now to the end of the
month. So if you're, if you're
(20:47):
listening to me right now, you're the person I want to talk
to. And through how to podcast dot
CI, you and I can get together, chat about the show, chat about
your journey as a podcaster. Where are you at?
What do you need this show to become for you?
What's missing your feedback? I just want to meet you and as
(21:09):
podcasters, I would encourage you to do something similar to
this in your podcast so that youcan meet and interact with your
audience. So How to podcast.ca?
I'm looking to talk to five people every month and I would
love for you to be one of them. Reach out, it's free.
I'm not selling you anything. I just want to talk to you at
How to podcast.ca. Let's get in the calendar and
(21:32):
chat. Thanks for listening.
Hey, I know you're still here, which is great.
So I want to just jump in here at the end.
Everyone else is off busy filling in their survey and
you're still here. So thank you.
So before you go and leave me and go to my survey, I just want
to answer a question from the audience around podcasting.
And one of the things the question I got recently was how
(21:55):
do you get to be more comfortable on the microphone?
Because somebody said to me today that you just like, you
just seem like such a natural. And I'm like, Oh no, this is the
result of like over 2000 episodes across 9 shows over the
period of five plus years. So this isn't something that
just I fell into and I've never gone to school for this.
(22:17):
I don't have any background or training.
I'm not a radio guy. I've never been a radio guy or
leave and listen to the radio tobe quite honest.
So for me, it's just practice. It's just showing up, doing my
best, getting better every time,getting feedback, growing,
(22:37):
figuring out my weaknesses, understanding how to be better
and just reps It's just reps. So when you're thinking about
starting and you're like, I wishI could talk like that.
Then do 2000 episodes. That's that's and do 2000
episodes in five years, not 20 years.
(22:58):
That's how you get better. It's just taking another swing
with the bat at the ball. The more swings you take, the
more likelihood you're going to hit the ball.
That's it. That's really it.
And it's there's no fast track lane to getting comfortable on a
microphone. You can go take classes, you can
do all these things, but if you want to sound like you on the
mic, you just need practice. You really just need practice.
(23:21):
So that's my encouragement is topractice.
And if you want feedback on yourshow anytime, reach out to me.
I'll listen to your show. I love listening to podcasts.
I'll give you some feedback to make your show better and help
you feel more comfortable on themic.
Anything I can do to help you, I'd love to help you.
So again, thanks for sticking around for a little bonus
question and answer at the end. And if you want to be more
comfortable on this on your podcast and on the mic, just
(23:44):
practice and keep practicing because every time you do,
you're going to get a little bitbetter and your audience is
going to feel it. They're going to hear it in your
voice. Keep podcasting.
Thanks for being here guys. Take care.
Bye.
OK, we're rolling. Hey, welcome to the how to
podcast series. It's Dave with you.
I hope you're doing well. And somebody say, well, who's
Dave? Well, I'm the host of the show.
You press play, you're here, I'mhere.
So we got this figured out. I'm Dave.
Nice to meet you. I'm in Ontario, Canada, host of
nine different podcasts over 2000 episodes.
(00:21):
And I love podcasting and I lovemeeting people like you.
So if you're on this journey of starting a podcast maybe in the
new year 2026 and you're like, Iwish there was somebody out
there that I could work with who's a a podcaster who who has
a heart, who who really does care about the people that he
(00:42):
works with and has helped others.
I wish I could find something like that.
I wish there was a show called the how to podcast series.
And wait a minute. Ta Da you found it and you found
your guy. What's up, my guy?
Yeah, I am your guy. And I would love to help you on
(01:03):
your journey of being a podcaster.
So you meet together. Let's do this.
All right. We want to talk about 5
questions every podcaster shouldask their listeners.
And you're like, I don't, my listeners don't even talk to me
or I'm a new podcaster. I have 0 listeners.
Then here's something for you tobuild into what you're doing
(01:24):
through your show. Five questions.
And I have a link for you to go check out my podcast listener
survey. Just built it in Google for free
and connected it to a Google Sheet.
So all of the answers that come into me get organized without me
even having to touch them into aentire Google Sheet, which is so
(01:47):
cool 'cause I don't have to do any work, which I'm happy about.
So if you want help setting up your own Google Form and Google
Sheet and you have no idea how to do any of those, you can
reach out to me anytime at How to podcast.ca do a screen share.
I'll show you how to come up with your questions.
And today's 5 questions that I think are kind of like must have
(02:09):
questions for your audience as kind of an A beginning starter
point come directly from Tom Webster's book.
The Audience is Listening A Little Guide to Building a Big
podcast, one of the must have books next to your microphone
and your computer. I would tell you to have Tom's
book right there. Audio book is amazing.
(02:31):
Funny, cheeky and a little funny.
But the paperback is a great companion.
Instead of having to go back andfind that part with a thing, you
can flip right to it, make notesin your book and put sticky
notes, all that stuff. The audience is listening.
A little guide to building a bigpodcast with Tom Webster.
It is a must have. I would say.
(02:51):
Hopefully Santa's going to get you a copy this year.
Make sure you grab a copy for your favorite podcaster and send
a copy to them as well. So from Tom's book, 5 questions
that you should ask your audience and you should set up
your own audience survey. I think it's a great idea for
2026. No matter where you are in your
journey, getting feedback from your audience can really help
(03:14):
you shape your show, make it better, and get feedback because
I think all of us could do with some feedback on.
I'm asking you at the end of this conversation to follow my
link in the show notes and go fill out my survey and give me
feedback on how the survey looksand the questions I've asked.
And steal anything you want fromme from that survey and
(03:37):
repurpose it however you wish todo.
But I'd love for you to go checkout the survey and send in your
results. I try to make it pretty easy.
Easy questions and your thoughts, your opinions matter
on how to podcast series. And I'd love to hear from you.
So always, always, always, anytime I can connect with you
makes this show better. So here are the five questions.
(04:01):
And again, coming right from TomWebster's book, the audience is
listening. I'm listening, you're listening.
Let's do the five questions. Here we go #1 here's our first
question from Tom's book on page53.
His first question is how did you discover my show?
And this is a question I ask of all of my potential guests in
(04:22):
our pre chats before we do an interview.
Anyone that reaches out to me asa listener, anytime I can ask
this question, I'm going to use this question.
If I only had one question, thiswould be my one and only
question for my for my listener.Anyone who's come across my
podcast, I want to know how did you discover my show?
(04:45):
Why is this important? It tells me where to put my
attention. So if everybody that I talked to
says they found my show through Tiktok, then I better value
Tiktok and my time on Tiktok. If nobody tells me they find my
show on Tiktok and I spend a lotof time there, I might be better
(05:05):
off to reinvest my time elsewhere if they find me on
LinkedIn, LinkedIn should be my my preferred go to place.
Your audience is going to tell you where they hang out and when
you can get a consensus of whereyour audience found you, then
there's the spot where you need to invest.
(05:25):
Don't be everywhere. I'd have your handle everywhere.
At least have your footprint everywhere.
But you don't have to show up there.
My podcast, the podcast editing and support show, has 00 social
media and it's working. So all those gurus who tell you
(05:46):
you have to post on social mediaand you got to be here and you
got to be there and you got to do this and you got to do that.
Well, they're trying to sell yousomething.
And they're generally social media people who have come to
podcasting. Podcasts require you being a
podcaster. That's it.
Everything else is extra, so youdon't have to have any social
(06:09):
media feed at all. Will it help you?
Yes, of course it will help you.That's just silly talk.
But do you have to be on social media five days a week promoting
your podcast? No, you don't.
So I'm just trying to give you some counterbalance to the flood
of people trying to sell you courses and things you don't.
So find out where your audience has found your show and do that
(06:33):
more often. If your guests, if your audience
tells you, I heard you on a podcast and you were a guest on
a show, then be a guest on more shows.
You just got the answer. Like do the things that people
are telling you that you've donefor the How to Podcast series.
Often the answer comes back while I typed into Apple how to
(06:54):
podcast and your show came up, Iwent on YouTube and typed in How
to Podcast and there's Dave. So it's in the name of my show.
That's all I need is just to rest on the fact that my show's
got a great name that'll bring people to me because it's named
appropriate to the content. So that's been a frequent answer
on when I ask people. The other answer I'm getting
(07:17):
often is I found you on YouTube and then I went to Apple.
I found you on YouTube, then I went to Spotify or Audible or
something else, but they found me on YouTube first.
So if you're not even on YouTubeat all in any form whatsoever,
you don't have a chance to be found at all.
So you want to be where people are, and there's more people on
(07:39):
YouTube than there are in audio podcast as listeners.
That's just a fact. They're just more users on
YouTube, so whether or not you want to be a YouTube first
podcast, that's up to you. But be there.
Be there in some form. Little video clips about your
episodes, full length audio podcasts that are remade into
(08:01):
videos on YouTube, full video podcasts with multiple cameras
and nice setups. Whatever you can do, be there in
some form or another. Your audience is already there,
and they will follow you back towherever you you release your
podcast. And a lot of people switch back
to audio. So do what you want.
(08:23):
All right? Do what you can with what you
have, where you are. But how did you discover my
show? That's the first question.
What's question number 20, Mr. Tom Webster?
Oh, that's easy. Here's #2 question number 2 is
simply what other podcasts do you listen to?
What other podcasts do you listen to?
This might be related to your topic.
(08:45):
So I have dad space, so if I aska dad space listener, what else
do you listen to? They might say gardening,
camping, business mindset, another dad podcast, how dare
you, Whatever, right? You want to find out what other
shows your listeners listen to. So that would be question #2
what else do you listen to? What are you finding value in?
(09:06):
You might find an extended audience that would be
interested in your topic just byasking this question.
So find out how well-rounded your audience is by asking them
what other podcasts that they listen to.
It's a great question and leave the door open.
Get them to answer and get them to give you feedback because
again, your audience might be bigger than you think.
(09:27):
There might be opportunities foryou to get on other shows in
other like or adjacent to topicsthat would bring more people
back to you. So find out what other podcasts
do you listen to? Question 3 from Mr. Tom Webster
is right here. What do you think Question 3 is?
Well, I'll tell you. Question 3 is, would you make
this show shorter or longer? That's pretty straightforward.
(09:52):
Do you want more of Dave or do you want less of Dave?
If there was a big dial that youcould turn either way, what
would you like? Would you like less episodes or
more episodes? Longer episodes?
Shorter episodes? I think this is something that
we could thoroughly get some good feedback on.
Now remember, at the end of the day, your show, you can do
(10:13):
whatever you want. Everyone could tell you they
want shorter episodes, but you like long episodes, so you do
you, Boo. Whatever you want to do, you do
it. It's fine.
It's up to you. You can do whatever you want.
But this feedback is not something to ignore if your
audience is telling you that they want more of you than your
5 minute episodes. You could maybe do 15 minutes if
(10:35):
your audience is telling you that they want less of you and
your show's too long. Maybe there's a bunch of fluff
in your podcast that you don't need to include.
Maybe if you just cut that out, you'll hit, you'll hit exactly
where your audience wants to be.So if you're a podcast about
golf and then you talk about your breakfast items you had
that morning unrelated to golfing, removing that might
(10:58):
just make your show short enoughthat people would love it
because it's about golf, not about eggs Benedict, see?
So take out the stuff that doesn't add value, and you might
be in your sweet spot for where you should be as an audience,
for your audience's sake. That's good feedback.
Would you make this show shorteror longer?
Great question to ask your audience.
(11:19):
Question #4 We're getting close to question 5, and I know you're
excited about this, but question4 is a question that you should
ask every listener that you can from Tom's book.
The audience is listening. Question 4, what is it, Dave?
What is it? Question 4 is pretty simple.
Think about a friend or a familymember who would like this show.
(11:41):
So I'm asking you think of a family member or a friend that
would like the how to podcast series.
You thinking of them? Do you got them in your in your
mind you're thinking of you can see their face.
OK, tell me about that person. Explain that person to me.
Who are they? Who are they to you?
(12:01):
What about them do you think would be a reason for them to
like the show? Why?
Why would they be interested in this podcast?
What about them would be a connection point between this
show and with them? It's an interesting question and
you're putting it in in an interesting way.
You're not asking your audience member who listens to your show
(12:22):
this question. You're asking your audience
member to think of somebody else.
And the, the one thing that I love about this, the framing of
this question is it opens the door for you to say, OK, now
that you've thought about this person and you've thought about
the show, a kind of a follow up question could simply be, have
you told them about the show? Then you just mentioned that
(12:43):
your friend Sally would love this show.
Did you have you ever thought totell Sally about the show?
You know what? I've never thought to tell
Sally, but I'm going to go tell Sally.
Interesting, right? You're kind of leading the
witness here and I love it. So Tom, great question.
Question #5 As we wrap up, the five questions that you should
ask your audience comes again from Tom's book.
(13:04):
The audience is listening A Little Guide to Building a Big
Podcast. And this is on page 56.
Here we go. Question #5 And I know you're
excited, so am I. Hold on, here we go.
If this show, this very show you're listening to right now,
the How to podcast series, if the How to Podcast series were
to die tomorrow, cease to exist.No more nada, gone.
(13:29):
Bye bye. We've Elvis has left the
building. It's gone.
If this show was never to be produced again, what is one
thing, if any, that you would miss if this podcast stopped
today or tomorrow? What's one thing that you would
(13:50):
miss Anything Like? Nothing.
Would you miss the show if tomorrow you got up and looked
at your phone and there was absolutely no more episodes of
the show? I just decided to stop and
didn't give you any warning. You just cancelled everything.
(14:10):
Would you miss anything at all? Hopefully something.
What is it? What would you miss and why is
this important? This is the connection.
This speaks of the connection between you and your audience
and and the value they get. Could be the content, could be
(14:30):
you as a companion, could be theroutine, could be the the
guests, it could be the tone of the show.
There could be so many things here.
But if this show was to die tomorrow, never to be produced
again, what is one thing, if any, that you would miss?
Interesting. Think about that.
(14:52):
From the context of your show. What do you think your listeners
would say? What would they miss?
Your goofy jokes, Your humor, Your light hearted
conversations, Your deep philosophical questions?
Your guess what is it? What would they miss if your
(15:15):
show just stopped tomorrow and that was it, We're done.
Interesting. So there's a lot of great stuff
in here and I would tell you to read through Tom's book.
He calls them episodes, he doesn't call them chapters.
Episode 3 and episode 4, Chapter3.
Chapter 4 of Tom's book has a lot to talk about around your
(15:40):
listener surveys and I would love for you to go check out
Tom's book. It's a great resource.
Again, definitely one you'd haveto have by you.
I have it beside me all the timebecause when I meet a new
podcaster, I tell them to buy the book.
Just one of those things. This is a great resource and
it's Evergreen. It'll carry you into the future.
It's not time dated like some other books that are out of out
(16:03):
of date before they even hit print.
So this book will stand the testof time for you.
And there's a lot of great stuffin here from Tom.
So I have a link for you in the show notes for Tom, and I'll
have a link to my new survey forthe How to Podcast series.
Oh yes, that's that's right. If you're still here listening
to this podcast, you were exactly the person I want to
(16:26):
hear from. Having you stick around to the
end of the episode is a great indicator for any app, no matter
what it is, that this is a good podcast worth promoting to other
people who don't know about it. So your attention span to this
point is a signal to whenever YouTube, Audible, Apple,
(16:48):
Spotify, fill in the blank. It is a great indication that
this is worthwhile content. Just you being here right now.
So you're the person I want to respond to this new survey that
I have for the How to Podcast series.
It'll only take you a minute or two to fill in simple questions.
It's not super deep. You don't have to write War and
Peace. Just give me your thoughts.
(17:10):
Skip any questions that don't relate to you.
I hopefully they all relate to you and I'd love to hear your
thoughts over at how to podcast dot CAI have a link on my
website. I'll also have a link right here
in the show notes for you as well.
And your feedback around this survey is really going to help.
So click the link, go through ifyou want.
(17:32):
There's a chance you can put in your e-mail address if you sign
up. We'll we'll eventually.
We don't have it right now, and eventually we're going to have
an e-mail newsletter for the show.
Maybe once or twice a month I might send out an e-mail.
I'm not a big e-mail writer, so you're not going to get spammed
with a bunch of crap. But if you're interested and you
(17:53):
want to stay in touch that way, I think building an e-mail
newsletter list is a great idea because all the social platforms
are holding us hostage. They have all of the keys and we
have no say. So anytime we can connect with
our listeners directly through e-mail is a great idea.
Haven't done it a lot on the show and I need to.
(18:15):
So this will be my first step through the survey capturing
emails. And again, I will never spam
you. You can always tell me to leave
you alone. You can always unsubscribe.
That's always there. But I'd love to connect with you
through the through the survey emails optional.
But yeah, love you to check it out and fill it in and do it as
(18:37):
soon as possible. And this lives on on into the
future as well. So if you're listening to this
months from now, that survey is still there.
So I'd love to hear from you. And it's just going to keep
compiling answers over time. And you can help direct the
shape of the show, how it goes, where we go from here.
Excited to have more time with you in 2026 and see how this
(18:58):
podcast grows over time. So thank you for being here.
Thank you for being part of the show.
And I would love to connect withyou anytime through the website.
You know how to do this and let's let's get together and
talk podcasting anytime. So thank you for being here.
We're almost at the end of the year, so happy 2025 ish.
And we'll see you in the new year for sure in 2026 with more
(19:20):
from the how to podcast series. Thank you for being here.
My name is Dave. Talk to you soon.
Bye. Hey, thanks for being here.
Thank you for listening to the end of the podcast.
You're here with me. I'm so grateful.
I want to put something in frontof you, the person that's
listened this far. You're my new best friend.
(19:40):
So what I'm trying to do every month is I have a goal and you
can help me with this goal. Very simple.
What I'm trying to do is have 5 conversations this month with
listeners of the How To Podcast series.
You don't have to have a podcastto respond.
(20:02):
This can be the first time ever that we're going to have a
conversation, but I'm looking totalk to five people.
Now you're still here, so you'reone of the people that I would
love to talk to next. So on my how to podcast.ca
website is a calendar and I'd love to have you respond on how
to podcast.ca. Just click the calendar link,
(20:25):
set up time in my calendar and in the comments section for for
the meeting, just put something like listener, That's it.
If you have a show, put it in the the comments too.
So I can go listen. But if you don't, I, I just want
to talk to five listeners every month from now to the end of the
month. So if you're, if you're
(20:47):
listening to me right now, you're the person I want to talk
to. And through how to podcast dot
CI, you and I can get together, chat about the show, chat about
your journey as a podcaster. Where are you at?
What do you need this show to become for you?
What's missing your feedback? I just want to meet you and as
(21:09):
podcasters, I would encourage you to do something similar to
this in your podcast so that youcan meet and interact with your
audience. So How to podcast.ca?
I'm looking to talk to five people every month and I would
love for you to be one of them. Reach out, it's free.
I'm not selling you anything. I just want to talk to you at
How to podcast.ca. Let's get in the calendar and
(21:32):
chat. Thanks for listening.
Hey, I know you're still here, which is great.
So I want to just jump in here at the end.
Everyone else is off busy filling in their survey and
you're still here. So thank you.
So before you go and leave me and go to my survey, I just want
to answer a question from the audience around podcasting.
And one of the things the question I got recently was how
(21:55):
do you get to be more comfortable on the microphone?
Because somebody said to me today that you just like, you
just seem like such a natural. And I'm like, Oh no, this is the
result of like over 2000 episodes across 9 shows over the
period of five plus years. So this isn't something that
just I fell into and I've never gone to school for this.
(22:17):
I don't have any background or training.
I'm not a radio guy. I've never been a radio guy or
leave and listen to the radio tobe quite honest.
So for me, it's just practice. It's just showing up, doing my
best, getting better every time,getting feedback, growing,
(22:37):
figuring out my weaknesses, understanding how to be better
and just reps It's just reps. So when you're thinking about
starting and you're like, I wishI could talk like that.
Then do 2000 episodes. That's that's and do 2000
episodes in five years, not 20 years.
(22:58):
That's how you get better. It's just taking another swing
with the bat at the ball. The more swings you take, the
more likelihood you're going to hit the ball.
That's it. That's really it.
And it's there's no fast track lane to getting comfortable on a
microphone. You can go take classes, you can
do all these things, but if you want to sound like you on the
mic, you just need practice. You really just need practice.
(23:21):
So that's my encouragement is topractice.
And if you want feedback on yourshow anytime, reach out to me.
I'll listen to your show. I love listening to podcasts.
I'll give you some feedback to make your show better and help
you feel more comfortable on themic.
Anything I can do to help you, I'd love to help you.
So again, thanks for sticking around for a little bonus
question and answer at the end. And if you want to be more
comfortable on this on your podcast and on the mic, just
(23:44):
practice and keep practicing because every time you do,
you're going to get a little bitbetter and your audience is
going to feel it. They're going to hear it in your
voice. Keep podcasting.
Thanks for being here guys. Take care.
Bye.
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