April 15, 2025 • 34 mins
Is your podcast growing as quickly as you'd like? If not, you might be overlooking the most powerful growth engine available to you—your existing audience. In this eye-opening episode, I tackle the surprisingly common tendency among podcasters to create content without fostering meaningful connections with listeners.
Drawing from my experience coaching hundreds of podcasters, I explore what I call "the audience blindspot"—that tendency to focus exclusively on content creation while neglecting the relationship-building that transforms casual listeners into devoted fans and eventual customers. Through personal stories and practical examples, I demonstrate how simple engagement strategies like listener shout-outs create powerful psychological connections. Remember that rush when someone you admire mentions your name? Your listeners crave that same validation.
We dive deep into actionable engagement habits that won't overwhelm your production schedule: responding to messages consistently, soliciting feedback that shapes future content, featuring listener questions, and establishing regular engagement rituals. These practices signal to your audience that they're valued participants in a conversation, not passive consumers of a monologue. The most successful podcasters understand that growth doesn't require millions of downloads—it requires meaningful connections with the people already investing their time in your content.
Whether you're just starting your podcasting journey or looking to reinvigorate an established show, this episode provides the blueprint for audience engagement that feels authentic rather than obligatory. The transformation begins with a simple mindset shift: your audience isn't just a number in your analytics—they're the lifeblood of your podcast and deserve to be treated as such. Ready to stop broadcasting and start connecting? This episode shows you exactly how.
🎧 Free On-Demand Training:
Ready to grow your podcast, stay consistent, and finally start monetizing? Watch my brand-new training, The Podcast Growth & Monetization Blueprint: What’s Working Now, and get a sneak peek inside my private community, Podcasters Connect — plus exclusive access to our custom AI podcast assistant!
👉 Watch now: krystalproffitt.com/growth
Click the "Send Krystal a Text Message" link above to send us your questions, comments, and feedback on the show! (Pssst...we'll do giveaways in upcoming episodes so make sure you leave your name & podcast title.)
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
why do podcasters ignore dot, dot, dot.
Right, like all the things thatI have seen in helping hundreds
, if not thousands, ofpodcasters across the world.
Like what am I noticing all thetime?
And the first one that we haveto tackle is why do podcasters
(00:23):
ignore their audience?
Oh, my gosh, like this is oneof those that it had to be the
very first topic that we covered, because I see this so often
where people are saying mypodcast isn't growing, I'm not
enjoying it the way that Ithought I was going to, and like
they're just whining andcomplaining that their podcast
isn't this thing that theythought it was going to be.
(00:45):
But whenever I asked them well,when was the last time you got
feedback from your audience?
When was the last time youengaged with your audience?
They give me this blank stareof what are you talking about,
crystal?
Why would I talk to my audience?
Why are they there other thanto be numbers in my download
stats and the metrics that Itrack every month?
(01:06):
Right, like I hear this all thetime.
And so we're going to talkabout why do podcasters ignore
their audience and what to doabout it, so you don't fall into
these same traps and make thesesame mistakes.
So let's get right to it.
Welcome to the Profit Podcast,where we teach you how to start,
(01:28):
launch and market your contentwith confidence.
I'm your host, crystal Profit,and I'm so excited that you're
here.
Thanks for hanging out with metoday, because if you've been
trying to figure out the worldof content creation, this is the
show that will help be yourtime-saving shortcut.
So let's get right to it, shallwe?
Hello and welcome back toanother episode of the Profit
(01:52):
Podcast.
If we have not met, I am yourpodcast coaching content
strategist, crystal, and I am sohappy to be here with you today
.
Like I said, we are kicking offa brand new five-part mini
series, and this is somethingthat I have been looking at
whenever it comes to whatpodcasters are doing, mistakes
(02:15):
that they're making, and so itjust felt right to talk about
the things that you haven't eventhought of, where it's because
you're brand new, or if it'sbecause you've been doing this
for a while and maybe you'rekind of just set in your ways
and you're in that complacencyspace right, we all get there,
and so I'm really shedding lighton some things that we've been
(02:37):
ignoring, that we absolutelycannot ignore anymore.
So today we're starting withyour audience.
It is the first thing that weneed to talk about in this brand
new series.
So let's talk about theaudience blind spot.
So most of you because, again,I've been in conversations with
so many of you in our PodcastersConnect community on Instagram,
(02:59):
in our email list on YouTube.
We're in conversation prettyregularly with podcasters that
are here hanging out with us,and I know how much you're
focused on content creation, onediting, on planning, on getting
your next great guest, onchoosing your next topic, on
(03:19):
picking a topic that will helpyou go viral.
The content, content, content,content piece is so important
and it is.
It's why we talk about it somuch around here.
But you are ignoring youraudience, you are not connecting
with them, you are not doingreally the steps that can help
(03:41):
you develop that foundationalrelationship that can take your
audience from just a casuallistener of your podcast to an
actual customer, to someone thatwants to buy things from you in
the future.
So you're missing thisconnection piece and I think
that it's again something thatyou absolutely cannot ignore.
(04:02):
So what does this look like Ifyou're just, you know, casually
thinking well, crystal, how do Icorrect this?
Like, am I doing this, am Iignoring my audience?
So some of the things that youmay not be doing that could help
in the future is you're notdoing any kind of listener shout
outs.
Like.
If you listen to the last fewepisodes, you've heard me call
(04:29):
out specific members of thisaudience, in this community,
people I've worked with.
I will name drop every once ina while, and I do that
intentionally because I want youto connect with not only me.
I want people to hear theirname on the podcast yeah, that's
really fun.
Only me, like.
I want people like to heartheir name on the podcast Like,
yeah, that's really fun.
But I also want you, as anothermember of this audience, to
connect with the people that I'mshouting out, whether it's they
(04:53):
have a great podcast you shouldgo listen to, or they have a
great story you should go checkout their website, go get on
their email list.
They're great for you.
If you know, fill in the blank,like if you're not doing
listener shout outs on a regularbasis, then this is something
that you could easilyincorporate into your episode
planning to make thoseconnections more often.
(05:15):
I used to do this and I actuallylearned this from Amy
Porterfield back in the day whenshe would get a review on her
podcast.
It was on Apple podcast and shewould read it and say, hey, you
know, we have this greatlistener shout out.
Or she would get collectcomments from the community and
she would read them on her showand I loved it so much.
(05:36):
I mean, there's actually anepisode I'll link to it where
she gives me a shout out in oneof her episodes.
I want to say it's episode 271,but Jay, my video editor, will
make sure we know exactly whichone it is and we'll put it up
here on the screen.
But I remember hearing my nameon her podcast and being just so
(05:57):
like oh my gosh, amyPorterfield knows who I am.
This is so fun.
Like oh my God, it's like itmakes a difference.
Again, it's that connectionpiece that took me from someone
who casually listened to hershow to oh my gosh, she said my
name on her podcast.
This is amazing.
The same thing happened I knowI've mentioned this before, but
(06:20):
on the Office Ladies podcast.
This was my favorite podcast.
I'm such a huge fan of theOffice and they would do this
like from time to time, likelistener submitted questions or
what do you wanna know about andthen, whenever they got to the
episode of the Office, theywould talk about like, oh, you
know, this person submitted thisquestion let's talk about.
You know what their question is.
(06:42):
They read my name.
They were like Crystal fromHouston.
You know what their question is.
They read my name.
They were like Crystal fromHouston, you know, talked about
blah, blah, blah.
I was like, oh my gosh, likethey said my name.
They weren't like calling, theydon't know me.
They weren't calling my nameout like, oh, crystal Prophet,
we know who she is, she's apodcast coach.
Like no, they didn't do any ofthat.
They just said, oh, Crystalfrom Houston.
(07:03):
And then they read my question.
Then they answered my questionon the podcast and y'all, I just
about died Like it was so muchfun for me.
But again, that is how justthose little pieces of that
validation to your audience,like you're signaling to them.
Hey, I see you, I know you'relistening instead of just
(07:25):
talking into the void, which Imean, let's be honest, that's
annoying anyway, it's not funand it's not going to be the
thing that gets you excitedabout your content and keeps you
coming back for more.
So listener shout outs.
If you're not doing this.
Add this to your next episode.
Like, how can you do that?
And it is as simple as goingback and reading off your latest
(07:47):
podcast review.
Keep it super simple.
You don't have to go into allthe details of everything.
You don't even have to read offwho it was from.
You can.
I think that's pretty coolbecause it's an actual public
forum.
So no one's going to get weirdabout.
Like they said my name on theshow and like no, they're going
gonna be excited about it.
So go read your last review foryour show or on your YouTube
(08:09):
channel or whatever it is like.
Read it on your next episodeand see if you get some sort of
reply or reaction from theperson that actually submitted
it.
So that's one thing that youcan do.
The other is and this is againthe audience blind spot is
ignoring DMs and emails fromyour listeners.
(08:30):
Okay, I'm going to get on mysoapbox for a second and then I
promise I will get back down.
I did this for a while incertain capacities and it was
really let's just call out itwas Facebook Messenger, because
I was getting just a bunch ofrandom people.
I was joining these groups whenI was first starting my online
business.
And then I realized, oh,everyone here is trying to sell
(08:52):
me something and they'respamming me, and they're just
like, hey, crystal, you know,let's connect about this Like we
should collaborate on that, andit was just, I didn't love it,
it didn't feel good.
So, on that, and it was just, Ididn't love it, it didn't feel
good.
So for a while I just ignoredmy Facebook messages, like
totally, just that, they werenon-existent.
And then one day I opened itand I realized, oh my gosh, I
(09:15):
have all of these requests,right, like you have all of
these Facebook requests.
And have I gone back and readevery single one of them?
Absolutely not.
No, there's way too many ofthem.
But what I realized is, oh, Iwas ignoring potential customers
, I was ignoring people from myaudience, and so what I did is I
realized I need one form ofcommunication that makes the
(09:38):
most sense for me, that I couldkeep up with.
But I can tell people over andover and over again, like this
is how you can reach me, this ishow you can reach out, and I
just started telling people, youknow, dm me on Instagram or
send me an email, and those arethat, like literally those are
the places where I engage withmy audience.
Before we had our PodcastersConnect community.
(10:00):
Now I tell people join thecommunity for free and then send
me a DM on there, becausethat's where you're going to get
the fastest response from me.
You can still email me, right,crystal crystalprofitcom?
You can still email me, but I'mnot going to be as responsive.
We're just being completelyhonest.
I am in Podcasters Connectevery single day.
I'm in there, I'm reaching outto people, I'm answering
(10:21):
comments, I'm chatting people up.
So that's where you're going toget the fastest response for me
.
But don't ignore your DMs andyour emails.
Like figure out a system thatworks best for you and make that
your main call to action whereyou can tell people hey, you can
reach me at this email addressor go to this website and fill
out this form, whatever thatlooks like for you, but don't
(10:42):
ignore your people.
I know this is so basic, butthere's a reason why we're
talking about why do podcastersignore their audience?
There's a reason for it.
All right, the next part ofhaving the audience blind spot
is never asking for feedback.
Y'all, please go listen to theepisode where we talked about
our annual audience survey,where I dive into why we, you
(11:07):
know, did our audience survey,what the purpose of it was, what
the outcome was.
Because we actually have afreebie.
It's uh.
You can go download ouraudience report for 2025 and I'm
going to show you exactly whatwe did.
I'd give you the exactquestions we asked our audience.
You can go see the survey, likeall the things, but there's a
(11:30):
reason why I push so hard foryou to ask your audience for
feedback.
It validates that they arethere.
Number one.
It helps them feel seen and itgives them the ability to give
you feedback and not just likewhat do you think of the show?
Thumbs up, great, let's move on.
Like, people gave me so muchawesome feedback on products
(11:54):
that we can create, on contentthat we need to talk about, and
I'm being really honest, this iswhere some of the ideas for the
episodes in this series theycame from the stuff that I
learned from our audiencefeedback.
So it's super important.
If you have not done thisbefore, I have so much content
on the YouTube channel.
(12:14):
You can go check it out.
You can go listen to thepodcast and listen to the
previous episodes we've done onthis, but feedback is so
important.
Please do not ignore youraudience, the ones that are
truly super fans and they'relistening to what you're doing.
They will likely give youfeedback and be excited and
enthusiastic about it Again,because it gives them the
(12:34):
opportunity to engage andinteract with you, and that's
what so many of us want to doanyway.
Right, we just want to talk tothe people that we're listening
to and have that moment of like.
Ok, they hear me, they see me.
This is incredible, like youjust feel so much more seen.
But the other thing I want totalk about is OK, I've been
(12:55):
guilty of this.
Okay, so I'm pointing thefinger, like I'm wagging the
finger at myself.
I have done this so many times,but I know a lot of you.
I'm wagging my finger at younow.
If you're not watching theYouTube video Like you do this
too.
You're treating your podcastlike it is just a stage and not
(13:18):
a two-way conversation.
So I know this can get a littleweird if you're like.
Well, crystal, I create solocontent.
I'm literally not talking toanyone.
I'm looking in a camera, I'mtalking into a microphone.
There's no one in this roomwith me.
So what do you mean?
Treat it like a stage insteadof a conversation.
I'm kind of on a stage yes, youare, but also you should know
(13:45):
that there is someone listeningto this On the other side.
There's someone walking theirdog right now and they have
their earbuds in and they'rejust jamming along, listening to
you, bopping their head, andthey're either agreeing with
what you're saying or they'relike gosh, they're talking at me
again.
Let me turn this off and golisten to something that
actually pulls me into aconversation that I want to be a
part of.
So I think that one thing I usedto do is I really just used to
(14:09):
hit publish and kind of move on,like I was checking the task
off the list for the week, likewhat are my to-dos?
Oh, I have to go record anepisode, and I was almost
verbatim just reading a fivesteps to do X, y and Z Step one,
da da da.
Step two da da da.
At the end, make sure yousubscribe.
(14:31):
Like it was not compelling, itwas not compelling at all.
I was not doing any kind ofshout outs, I wasn't talking to
an audience, I was just checkinga box, and maybe that's what we
have to do to get started inthe beginning.
Right, I didn't know what Ididn't know about creating
really good content.
But at the end of the day, andas someone who has recorded over
(14:51):
1500 episodes, at this point itis really important that you
don't just hit publish and moveon and not engage with your
people and not answer your DMsor emails and just be like you
know what I'm just going tocreate, because it's never going
to help you grow your show andget better and, honestly, it's
not going to give you anyenthusiasm or energy to keep
(15:16):
creating.
So if you have any of theseaudience blind spots today, I'm
not calling you out in a waythat's like, well, you're a
terrible person and you're nevergoing to be a good podcaster.
No, I'm calling them out sothat you can be a good podcaster
, a better podcaster, an amazingpodcaster.
That's why we're calling theseout, so that you can look at
these things and evaluate themin a different way, that you can
(15:38):
look at these things andevaluate them in a different way
, that you can change things,moving forward and make your
podcast better for you and foryour audience.
So that's the audience blindspot.
The second piece of this iscreating a conversation and not
just content.
So we already kind of broughtthis up right Like you are on a
(15:58):
stage, but it shouldn't just bea one-way conversation.
So how can you include youraudience, like, let's say, you
do produce solo content for themost part.
How can you bring your audienceinto that planning piece or
getting them involved inepisodes?
Well, what if you did somepolls to?
(16:19):
You know you're on Instagramstories and you say, hey, I'm
thinking about having thesetypes of guests on in the future
.
Which one, like who's someonethat you want me to interview?
Or maybe you put options onthere and say I'm thinking about
and brainstorming episodes andthese are four topics that I
think I might cover.
Which one is the one that'smost important to you?
(16:40):
Y'all this shocks me every timebecause I think it's one thing
and it always ends up beingsomething else.
I'm like for sure they're goingto pick number three, but then
they end up with option two andI'm like, interesting, okay,
that actually changes the courseof the rest of my content
planning I was going gonna dofor the month because my
(17:01):
audience is giving me feedbackand it was really interesting.
I was having a conversation withsomeone in our community
recently and I was talking abouthow we survey our audience and
everything and they gave thesweetest compliment.
They were like Crystal, you dothis in such a great way where
you're constantly gettingfeedback from us, but you're
actually implementing it.
It was someone, I think, thathad heard like their name
(17:22):
getting shouted out on anepisode or in an email and they
were like you're actually doingit.
I'm like, yeah, because itworks.
Like me, getting engaged withthis audience, this community,
helps me come up with betterideas, but it also makes the
content come more to life.
Because if I was just sayingthis is my experience and this
(17:46):
is what I think you should do,and me, me, me, I, I, I it's
kind of boring after a while.
Let's just be really honest.
I don't want to talk aboutmyself the whole time.
You don't want to hear me talkabout myself the whole time, and
it's not going to be somethingthat is sustainable for the long
call.
So what can you do, right?
What's another way that you caninclude your audience, feature
(18:10):
your listeners and your contentright?
Like, above and beyond justgiving a shout out for someone
that gave you a podcast review,how can you give specific
examples of people that you'veworked with previously and you
can keep them anonymous?
Y'all you don't have to say, oh, you know this person from this
podcast or this person in ourcommunity.
Like you don't have to sitthere and shout out everybody's
(18:32):
name, because that person thatyou're talking about, that is
listening to your podcast, willperk up and say, oh, she's
talking about me, oh, hementioned my name, oh, that's me
, oh, that's my story, that's myexample and that's the piece
that you're using to make theconnection, not all the names
and the specific call outs orsomeone from this city or the
(18:56):
person that lives here in thisneighborhood.
Like you don't have to get sopersonal with it.
Like, keep it anonymous if youwant to, but do something to
involve your audience in a bigway.
Tools that can help you do thisKit.
Y'all know I love Kit for myemail service provider.
It's what I use.
Go to crystalprofitcom, forwardslash kit.
Yes, we're a proud partner andaffiliate with them, but it's
(19:19):
what I use for my email list.
So I'll send an email ever sooften.
About once a month I will pullmy audience like, hey, what do
you need more help with, or whatare some of your ideas?
Or I will explicitly call outhit reply and tell me X, y and Z
and it's really helpful.
So I involve people with that.
(19:41):
The other way that you can dothis is fan mail.
So, again, I love Buzzsproutand they have a feature called
fan mail.
Go to crystalprofitcom, forward, slash Buzzsprout and you can
actually go on our YouTubechannel and see how we use fan
mail, what that looks like.
But people will send me stuffand I give fan mail shout outs.
If you haven't, people willsend me stuff and I give fan
mail shout outs.
If you haven't heard thisbefore, you can go.
(20:02):
If you're listening on the audioversion, it says send Crystal a
text message.
You can click that button, sendme a text message right from
your phone and I will give you ashout out in a future episode.
We actually have these fan mailshout out segments and that is
there for a reason because I amusing it to engage with you.
I want to hear your opinions, Iwant to hear your feedback.
(20:24):
So if you've never submitted afan mail shout out, please do
that, like just right now.
Just hit pause, go to whereyou're listening to this, where
it says send crystal textmessage.
Click that button and send ussomething.
I would love to give you a shoutout.
Include your name, include yourpodcast, your YouTube channel,
like we would love to give you ashout out on the show.
So I wanna know if you'rewatching this right now,
(20:47):
actually, like this is a perfectlittle segue.
That was unintentional, by theway, but that worked out really,
really well.
I wanna know, like, have youdone this before?
How have you included youraudience and your content?
If you have some other ideas,like we would love to know.
So, if you're watching onYouTube, put it in the comments.
Or if you're listening on theaudio, like send us a fan mail,
send us a text message and sayhey, crystal, you know I'm
(21:09):
listening to number one.
For why do podcasters ignoreand we're talking about the
audience Like, let us know,because I want to include you in
a future episode.
But, moving on, we are movinginto segment three, and this is
the last one that we really needto hit on today, and that is
engagement habits that I wantyou to build over the course of
(21:30):
your creator journey.
So the first one is juststarting each episode, or maybe
ending each episode, with a callto action to have a connection
point with your audience.
So, whether it's, you know,reach out and send us a fan mail
on Buzzsprout or send me anemail, or send me a DM or
whatever it is.
(21:51):
Whatever makes the most sensefor you and your content.
Insert that CTA, because somany of y'all and again got up
on my soapbox I don't think Iever really got down, because
sometimes I'll say I got downfrom my soapbox, I'm still up
here.
I'm still up here for thisepisode, because so many of you
will say, oh yeah, I meant toadd that to my outline, or I
meant to do that and I haven'tdone it, but I'll do it next
(22:14):
time.
I'll do it.
I'll do it and really it comesdown to and I know it's you just
have to add it to your outline.
Just add it to your outline.
If you are someone that scriptsyourself or you outline, you do
bullet points, whatever itlooks like, just add it in.
Add it in, because you're notgonna remember to say it.
Okay, like, let me just callthat out.
(22:36):
Like, we have the bestintentions as podcasters.
I have been doing this since2018, and I still forget to say
things if they are not writtendown, if they are not in my
outline.
Like, I have my outline righthere.
It's right off of my camerawhile we're sitting here
recording today and I'm lookingover every once in a while I'm
like, okay, yep, yep, yep, hitall the main, the main key
(22:57):
things we need to hit today.
But if it is not in my outline,it's not going to get said.
It will not get said.
I will forget to say somethingreally important, which is why I
have a more robust outline.
So, if you need that great, addyour CTA at the very beginning,
in the middle, at the end,wherever it makes the most sense
for you, but have thatconnection point in every single
(23:22):
episode.
You can end it by saying, hey,make sure and send us a fan mail
and let us know what youthought of the show.
Or, if you're watching onYouTube, comment below and tell
us what you thought about thisvideo or what you wanna hear
from us in the future.
Or you could say it in themiddle of a podcast episode.
Actually, send me a DM onInstagram and let me know what
you thought about XYZ.
(23:42):
Like you could pause this, goback and read the transcript of
everything that I just said andyou could use those verbatim
Steal these ideas.
Y'all Like, don't sit there andthink well, crystal does that I
can't do it.
Please go, do it.
Go, go, steal all of the ideasthat I'm sharing with you,
because that's why I'm sharingthem, because I want them to
(24:03):
help you in your journey.
Now the next piece, for anotherhabit that you can do to help
engage with your audience, iscreating something that's a
cadence that you can do on aregular basis.
So a great example is you coulddo a listener shout out every
single month.
So I've had people tell me likewell, I want to do podcast
(24:24):
reviews, but what if I don't getnew reviews regularly?
What if I only get a few a year?
Great, you will probably, inthe course of a year, get 12
reviews.
If that's all you get, thenthat is fantastic.
You can do a listener shout outevery single month.
Even if you get multiplereviews one month, then that
(24:45):
could be like you know what I'mgoing to save?
That one that's going to beApril's, that's going to be
May's, that's going to be June's, and then you have your
spotlight of the month everytime you get a new review
submitted.
But it's something that cancreate that easy engagement
where you are giving those shoutouts on a regular basis.
Put it in your Asana.
Put it in your Asana, put it inyour Google Sheet, like
wherever you're keeping yourcontent calendar, but put it in
(25:07):
there that, oh, on that episode,I'm going to do a listener
shout out.
I'm going to do my monthlylistener shout out and it's
going to be this review, because, boom, I'm going to lift it up,
put it in there and say this isthe one that we're going to do,
but create something that youcan hold yourself to on a
regular cadence, because thenpeople are more likely to submit
them.
This is what I think people missis they get nervous about
(25:30):
sharing these ideas, or likereading a spotlight or reading
fan mail, whatever, becausethey're like but what if no one
else submits?
Like, what if I read this oneand this is the only review that
I ever get?
I'm like no, no, no, no.
You're thinking about this allwrong.
What you should do is read them.
Read them often, because whatthat does is it encourages other
(25:51):
people, like it triggerssomething in our brain.
It's like, oh, crystal, readthat review.
I wonder, if I submit one, ifshe'll read my review too.
So it actually encourages youraudience to participate more
whenever they see that you'reactually going to read the thing
that they submitted.
So don't get nervous about this.
Like, just do it.
(26:12):
Like rip off the bandaid, makeit happen, but find something
that can work on a regularcadence for your show and your
audience.
The other one is engaging onInstagram stories, y'all.
I try to do this, if not everysingle day, at least a few times
a week.
I will do something where Ihave a call to action, where
it's like hey, vote on this, letme know in the comments on X, y
(26:36):
and Z, or vote on the nextslide.
I'm gonna put up some optionsfor wherever I want your input.
But engage with your people.
Engage, because you will beshocked at how many people
really respond and make itreally easy for them to respond.
This is another thing I didrecently.
We did this promotion for asummit that I was on, and
(26:58):
whenever I put all this stuff inthere, it was a promotional
email and I wrote in the email Isaid if you sign up for this,
just reply to this email and sayI'm in so I can make sure and
go and see.
You know that your registrationwent through and all this other
stuff.
So people responded to me andsaid I'm in and I was like
awesome, they are responding.
(27:20):
People will respond to you.
You just have to make the ask.
So make sure that you're makingthe ask on a regular basis and
these small things, these littlerituals that you can do inside
your content, will make all thedifference.
And those shout outs are justsuper fun.
So if you can say like, hey,sarah, I loved your message last
week, thank you so much, it'sjust really fun to have those
(27:43):
little pieces to make thoseconnections with your audience.
Y'all don't ignore your audienceLike we're done.
After today, after listening tothis, after watching this, you
are not going to ignore youraudience anymore.
Right, like, say it with me, Iwill not ignore my audience
anymore.
One more time, I will notignore my audience anymore.
(28:04):
You will do things that cancompletely blow your mind.
Whenever you have these ongoingconversations with your
audience, you're getting intouch with your people.
It just makes your content thatmuch richer and it makes
everything that much better.
So, to recap, your audience isyour greatest asset.
Do not ignore them.
Do not ignore them.
Do not ignore them.
(28:25):
You cannot be a successfulcreator, a successful podcaster,
a successful YouTuber if youignore your audience.
They are the lifeblood of allof your content.
So do not ignore your people.
The next thing is, you don'tneed millions of downloads or
thousands of listeners.
You just need to build thissolid, foundational relationship
(28:47):
with the people that arealready showing up and paying
attention to your content today,because those will be the
people in the future that telleveryone else that you are their
go-to expert.
So make sure that you arepaying attention to the people
that are showing up for youtoday, right?
Not the millions of people thatcould potentially show up
tomorrow.
What are you doing to connectwith the people that are in your
(29:09):
audience today?
And then the last point I'llmake is engagement just doesn't
have to be complicated.
Please don't overthink it.
Don't overthink it, but it doesneed to be something that's
prioritized, prioritizedengaging with your audience.
It will make all the difference.
Okay, before we go today, I wantto make sure that you know
(29:30):
about our brand new on-demandtraining.
It is all about the three-partseries that we have.
It's a three-part plan forintegrating growth, monetization
and connecting with youraudience.
This year, like in 2025, I gothrough everything that's
working today.
I don't want you to go check itout.
Go to crystalprofitcom forward,slash growth and register for
(29:53):
this free training because it'sreally good.
Y'all it's really good.
It's really good.
I'm super proud of thistraining.
It's one that I hadn't taughtpreviously and I think you're
going to find it really, reallyhelpful.
But that's all I have for youtoday.
So, if this is your first timetuning in, welcome aboard,
because buckle up.
This series is going to getwild, and we talked about why do
(30:17):
podcasters ignore theiraudience.
We've covered it today.
We've transformed.
We are no longer going toignore our audience after this
episode.
Right, we've transformed.
We are no longer going toignore our audience after this
episode, right, deal, okay, sostay tuned.
We're gonna have more about whypodcasters ignore other things
in their content and how we canovercome them.
But make sure you hit thatfollow or subscribe button
(30:37):
wherever you're listening andwatching today and, as always,
remember, keep it up.
We all have to start somewhere.
why do podcasters ignore dot, dot, dot.
Right, like all the things thatI have seen in helping hundreds
, if not thousands, ofpodcasters across the world.
Like what am I noticing all thetime?
And the first one that we haveto tackle is why do podcasters
(00:23):
ignore their audience?
Oh, my gosh, like this is oneof those that it had to be the
very first topic that we covered, because I see this so often
where people are saying mypodcast isn't growing, I'm not
enjoying it the way that Ithought I was going to, and like
they're just whining andcomplaining that their podcast
isn't this thing that theythought it was going to be.
(00:45):
But whenever I asked them well,when was the last time you got
feedback from your audience?
When was the last time youengaged with your audience?
They give me this blank stareof what are you talking about,
crystal?
Why would I talk to my audience?
Why are they there other thanto be numbers in my download
stats and the metrics that Itrack every month?
(01:06):
Right, like I hear this all thetime.
And so we're going to talkabout why do podcasters ignore
their audience and what to doabout it, so you don't fall into
these same traps and make thesesame mistakes.
So let's get right to it.
Welcome to the Profit Podcast,where we teach you how to start,
(01:28):
launch and market your contentwith confidence.
I'm your host, crystal Profit,and I'm so excited that you're
here.
Thanks for hanging out with metoday, because if you've been
trying to figure out the worldof content creation, this is the
show that will help be yourtime-saving shortcut.
So let's get right to it, shallwe?
Hello and welcome back toanother episode of the Profit
(01:52):
Podcast.
If we have not met, I am yourpodcast coaching content
strategist, crystal, and I am sohappy to be here with you today
.
Like I said, we are kicking offa brand new five-part mini
series, and this is somethingthat I have been looking at
whenever it comes to whatpodcasters are doing, mistakes
(02:15):
that they're making, and so itjust felt right to talk about
the things that you haven't eventhought of, where it's because
you're brand new, or if it'sbecause you've been doing this
for a while and maybe you'rekind of just set in your ways
and you're in that complacencyspace right, we all get there,
and so I'm really shedding lighton some things that we've been
(02:37):
ignoring, that we absolutelycannot ignore anymore.
So today we're starting withyour audience.
It is the first thing that weneed to talk about in this brand
new series.
So let's talk about theaudience blind spot.
So most of you because, again,I've been in conversations with
so many of you in our PodcastersConnect community on Instagram,
(02:59):
in our email list on YouTube.
We're in conversation prettyregularly with podcasters that
are here hanging out with us,and I know how much you're
focused on content creation, onediting, on planning, on getting
your next great guest, onchoosing your next topic, on
(03:19):
picking a topic that will helpyou go viral.
The content, content, content,content piece is so important
and it is.
It's why we talk about it somuch around here.
But you are ignoring youraudience, you are not connecting
with them, you are not doingreally the steps that can help
(03:41):
you develop that foundationalrelationship that can take your
audience from just a casuallistener of your podcast to an
actual customer, to someone thatwants to buy things from you in
the future.
So you're missing thisconnection piece and I think
that it's again something thatyou absolutely cannot ignore.
(04:02):
So what does this look like Ifyou're just, you know, casually
thinking well, crystal, how do Icorrect this?
Like, am I doing this, am Iignoring my audience?
So some of the things that youmay not be doing that could help
in the future is you're notdoing any kind of listener shout
outs.
Like.
If you listen to the last fewepisodes, you've heard me call
(04:29):
out specific members of thisaudience, in this community,
people I've worked with.
I will name drop every once ina while, and I do that
intentionally because I want youto connect with not only me.
I want people to hear theirname on the podcast yeah, that's
really fun.
Only me, like.
I want people like to heartheir name on the podcast Like,
yeah, that's really fun.
But I also want you, as anothermember of this audience, to
connect with the people that I'mshouting out, whether it's they
(04:53):
have a great podcast you shouldgo listen to, or they have a
great story you should go checkout their website, go get on
their email list.
They're great for you.
If you know, fill in the blank,like if you're not doing
listener shout outs on a regularbasis, then this is something
that you could easilyincorporate into your episode
planning to make thoseconnections more often.
(05:15):
I used to do this and I actuallylearned this from Amy
Porterfield back in the day whenshe would get a review on her
podcast.
It was on Apple podcast and shewould read it and say, hey, you
know, we have this greatlistener shout out.
Or she would get collectcomments from the community and
she would read them on her showand I loved it so much.
(05:36):
I mean, there's actually anepisode I'll link to it where
she gives me a shout out in oneof her episodes.
I want to say it's episode 271,but Jay, my video editor, will
make sure we know exactly whichone it is and we'll put it up
here on the screen.
But I remember hearing my nameon her podcast and being just so
(05:57):
like oh my gosh, amyPorterfield knows who I am.
This is so fun.
Like oh my God, it's like itmakes a difference.
Again, it's that connectionpiece that took me from someone
who casually listened to hershow to oh my gosh, she said my
name on her podcast.
This is amazing.
The same thing happened I knowI've mentioned this before, but
(06:20):
on the Office Ladies podcast.
This was my favorite podcast.
I'm such a huge fan of theOffice and they would do this
like from time to time, likelistener submitted questions or
what do you wanna know about andthen, whenever they got to the
episode of the Office, theywould talk about like, oh, you
know, this person submitted thisquestion let's talk about.
You know what their question is.
(06:42):
They read my name.
They were like Crystal fromHouston.
You know what their question is.
They read my name.
They were like Crystal fromHouston, you know, talked about
blah, blah, blah.
I was like, oh my gosh, likethey said my name.
They weren't like calling, theydon't know me.
They weren't calling my nameout like, oh, crystal Prophet,
we know who she is, she's apodcast coach.
Like no, they didn't do any ofthat.
They just said, oh, Crystalfrom Houston.
(07:03):
And then they read my question.
Then they answered my questionon the podcast and y'all, I just
about died Like it was so muchfun for me.
But again, that is how justthose little pieces of that
validation to your audience,like you're signaling to them.
Hey, I see you, I know you'relistening instead of just
(07:25):
talking into the void, which Imean, let's be honest, that's
annoying anyway, it's not funand it's not going to be the
thing that gets you excitedabout your content and keeps you
coming back for more.
So listener shout outs.
If you're not doing this.
Add this to your next episode.
Like, how can you do that?
And it is as simple as goingback and reading off your latest
(07:47):
podcast review.
Keep it super simple.
You don't have to go into allthe details of everything.
You don't even have to read offwho it was from.
You can.
I think that's pretty coolbecause it's an actual public
forum.
So no one's going to get weirdabout.
Like they said my name on theshow and like no, they're going
gonna be excited about it.
So go read your last review foryour show or on your YouTube
(08:09):
channel or whatever it is like.
Read it on your next episodeand see if you get some sort of
reply or reaction from theperson that actually submitted
it.
So that's one thing that youcan do.
The other is and this is againthe audience blind spot is
ignoring DMs and emails fromyour listeners.
(08:30):
Okay, I'm going to get on mysoapbox for a second and then I
promise I will get back down.
I did this for a while incertain capacities and it was
really let's just call out itwas Facebook Messenger, because
I was getting just a bunch ofrandom people.
I was joining these groups whenI was first starting my online
business.
And then I realized, oh,everyone here is trying to sell
(08:52):
me something and they'respamming me, and they're just
like, hey, crystal, you know,let's connect about this Like we
should collaborate on that, andit was just, I didn't love it,
it didn't feel good.
So, on that, and it was just, Ididn't love it, it didn't feel
good.
So for a while I just ignoredmy Facebook messages, like
totally, just that, they werenon-existent.
And then one day I opened itand I realized, oh my gosh, I
(09:15):
have all of these requests,right, like you have all of
these Facebook requests.
And have I gone back and readevery single one of them?
Absolutely not.
No, there's way too many ofthem.
But what I realized is, oh, Iwas ignoring potential customers
, I was ignoring people from myaudience, and so what I did is I
realized I need one form ofcommunication that makes the
(09:38):
most sense for me, that I couldkeep up with.
But I can tell people over andover and over again, like this
is how you can reach me, this ishow you can reach out, and I
just started telling people, youknow, dm me on Instagram or
send me an email, and those arethat, like literally those are
the places where I engage withmy audience.
Before we had our PodcastersConnect community.
(10:00):
Now I tell people join thecommunity for free and then send
me a DM on there, becausethat's where you're going to get
the fastest response from me.
You can still email me, right,crystal crystalprofitcom?
You can still email me, but I'mnot going to be as responsive.
We're just being completelyhonest.
I am in Podcasters Connectevery single day.
I'm in there, I'm reaching outto people, I'm answering
(10:21):
comments, I'm chatting people up.
So that's where you're going toget the fastest response for me
.
But don't ignore your DMs andyour emails.
Like figure out a system thatworks best for you and make that
your main call to action whereyou can tell people hey, you can
reach me at this email addressor go to this website and fill
out this form, whatever thatlooks like for you, but don't
(10:42):
ignore your people.
I know this is so basic, butthere's a reason why we're
talking about why do podcastersignore their audience?
There's a reason for it.
All right, the next part ofhaving the audience blind spot
is never asking for feedback.
Y'all, please go listen to theepisode where we talked about
our annual audience survey,where I dive into why we, you
(11:07):
know, did our audience survey,what the purpose of it was, what
the outcome was.
Because we actually have afreebie.
It's uh.
You can go download ouraudience report for 2025 and I'm
going to show you exactly whatwe did.
I'd give you the exactquestions we asked our audience.
You can go see the survey, likeall the things, but there's a
(11:30):
reason why I push so hard foryou to ask your audience for
feedback.
It validates that they arethere.
Number one.
It helps them feel seen and itgives them the ability to give
you feedback and not just likewhat do you think of the show?
Thumbs up, great, let's move on.
Like, people gave me so muchawesome feedback on products
(11:54):
that we can create, on contentthat we need to talk about, and
I'm being really honest, this iswhere some of the ideas for the
episodes in this series theycame from the stuff that I
learned from our audiencefeedback.
So it's super important.
If you have not done thisbefore, I have so much content
on the YouTube channel.
(12:14):
You can go check it out.
You can go listen to thepodcast and listen to the
previous episodes we've done onthis, but feedback is so
important.
Please do not ignore youraudience, the ones that are
truly super fans and they'relistening to what you're doing.
They will likely give youfeedback and be excited and
enthusiastic about it Again,because it gives them the
(12:34):
opportunity to engage andinteract with you, and that's
what so many of us want to doanyway.
Right, we just want to talk tothe people that we're listening
to and have that moment of like.
Ok, they hear me, they see me.
This is incredible, like youjust feel so much more seen.
But the other thing I want totalk about is OK, I've been
(12:55):
guilty of this.
Okay, so I'm pointing thefinger, like I'm wagging the
finger at myself.
I have done this so many times,but I know a lot of you.
I'm wagging my finger at younow.
If you're not watching theYouTube video Like you do this
too.
You're treating your podcastlike it is just a stage and not
(13:18):
a two-way conversation.
So I know this can get a littleweird if you're like.
Well, crystal, I create solocontent.
I'm literally not talking toanyone.
I'm looking in a camera, I'mtalking into a microphone.
There's no one in this roomwith me.
So what do you mean?
Treat it like a stage insteadof a conversation.
I'm kind of on a stage yes, youare, but also you should know
(13:45):
that there is someone listeningto this On the other side.
There's someone walking theirdog right now and they have
their earbuds in and they'rejust jamming along, listening to
you, bopping their head, andthey're either agreeing with
what you're saying or they'relike gosh, they're talking at me
again.
Let me turn this off and golisten to something that
actually pulls me into aconversation that I want to be a
part of.
So I think that one thing I usedto do is I really just used to
(14:09):
hit publish and kind of move on,like I was checking the task
off the list for the week, likewhat are my to-dos?
Oh, I have to go record anepisode, and I was almost
verbatim just reading a fivesteps to do X, y and Z Step one,
da da da.
Step two da da da.
At the end, make sure yousubscribe.
(14:31):
Like it was not compelling, itwas not compelling at all.
I was not doing any kind ofshout outs, I wasn't talking to
an audience, I was just checkinga box, and maybe that's what we
have to do to get started inthe beginning.
Right, I didn't know what Ididn't know about creating
really good content.
But at the end of the day, andas someone who has recorded over
(14:51):
1500 episodes, at this point itis really important that you
don't just hit publish and moveon and not engage with your
people and not answer your DMsor emails and just be like you
know what I'm just going tocreate, because it's never going
to help you grow your show andget better and, honestly, it's
not going to give you anyenthusiasm or energy to keep
(15:16):
creating.
So if you have any of theseaudience blind spots today, I'm
not calling you out in a waythat's like, well, you're a
terrible person and you're nevergoing to be a good podcaster.
No, I'm calling them out sothat you can be a good podcaster
, a better podcaster, an amazingpodcaster.
That's why we're calling theseout, so that you can look at
these things and evaluate themin a different way, that you can
(15:38):
look at these things andevaluate them in a different way
, that you can change things,moving forward and make your
podcast better for you and foryour audience.
So that's the audience blindspot.
The second piece of this iscreating a conversation and not
just content.
So we already kind of broughtthis up right Like you are on a
(15:58):
stage, but it shouldn't just bea one-way conversation.
So how can you include youraudience, like, let's say, you
do produce solo content for themost part.
How can you bring your audienceinto that planning piece or
getting them involved inepisodes?
Well, what if you did somepolls to?
(16:19):
You know you're on Instagramstories and you say, hey, I'm
thinking about having thesetypes of guests on in the future
.
Which one, like who's someonethat you want me to interview?
Or maybe you put options onthere and say I'm thinking about
and brainstorming episodes andthese are four topics that I
think I might cover.
Which one is the one that'smost important to you?
(16:40):
Y'all this shocks me every timebecause I think it's one thing
and it always ends up beingsomething else.
I'm like for sure they're goingto pick number three, but then
they end up with option two andI'm like, interesting, okay,
that actually changes the courseof the rest of my content
planning I was going gonna dofor the month because my
(17:01):
audience is giving me feedbackand it was really interesting.
I was having a conversation withsomeone in our community
recently and I was talking abouthow we survey our audience and
everything and they gave thesweetest compliment.
They were like Crystal, you dothis in such a great way where
you're constantly gettingfeedback from us, but you're
actually implementing it.
It was someone, I think, thathad heard like their name
(17:22):
getting shouted out on anepisode or in an email and they
were like you're actually doingit.
I'm like, yeah, because itworks.
Like me, getting engaged withthis audience, this community,
helps me come up with betterideas, but it also makes the
content come more to life.
Because if I was just sayingthis is my experience and this
(17:46):
is what I think you should do,and me, me, me, I, I, I it's
kind of boring after a while.
Let's just be really honest.
I don't want to talk aboutmyself the whole time.
You don't want to hear me talkabout myself the whole time, and
it's not going to be somethingthat is sustainable for the long
call.
So what can you do, right?
What's another way that you caninclude your audience, feature
(18:10):
your listeners and your contentright?
Like, above and beyond justgiving a shout out for someone
that gave you a podcast review,how can you give specific
examples of people that you'veworked with previously and you
can keep them anonymous?
Y'all you don't have to say, oh, you know this person from this
podcast or this person in ourcommunity.
Like you don't have to sitthere and shout out everybody's
(18:32):
name, because that person thatyou're talking about, that is
listening to your podcast, willperk up and say, oh, she's
talking about me, oh, hementioned my name, oh, that's me
, oh, that's my story, that's myexample and that's the piece
that you're using to make theconnection, not all the names
and the specific call outs orsomeone from this city or the
(18:56):
person that lives here in thisneighborhood.
Like you don't have to get sopersonal with it.
Like, keep it anonymous if youwant to, but do something to
involve your audience in a bigway.
Tools that can help you do thisKit.
Y'all know I love Kit for myemail service provider.
It's what I use.
Go to crystalprofitcom, forwardslash kit.
Yes, we're a proud partner andaffiliate with them, but it's
(19:19):
what I use for my email list.
So I'll send an email ever sooften.
About once a month I will pullmy audience like, hey, what do
you need more help with, or whatare some of your ideas?
Or I will explicitly call outhit reply and tell me X, y and Z
and it's really helpful.
So I involve people with that.
(19:41):
The other way that you can dothis is fan mail.
So, again, I love Buzzsproutand they have a feature called
fan mail.
Go to crystalprofitcom, forward, slash Buzzsprout and you can
actually go on our YouTubechannel and see how we use fan
mail, what that looks like.
But people will send me stuffand I give fan mail shout outs.
If you haven't, people willsend me stuff and I give fan
mail shout outs.
If you haven't heard thisbefore, you can go.
(20:02):
If you're listening on the audioversion, it says send Crystal a
text message.
You can click that button, sendme a text message right from
your phone and I will give you ashout out in a future episode.
We actually have these fan mailshout out segments and that is
there for a reason because I amusing it to engage with you.
I want to hear your opinions, Iwant to hear your feedback.
(20:24):
So if you've never submitted afan mail shout out, please do
that, like just right now.
Just hit pause, go to whereyou're listening to this, where
it says send crystal textmessage.
Click that button and send ussomething.
I would love to give you a shoutout.
Include your name, include yourpodcast, your YouTube channel,
like we would love to give you ashout out on the show.
So I wanna know if you'rewatching this right now,
(20:47):
actually, like this is a perfectlittle segue.
That was unintentional, by theway, but that worked out really,
really well.
I wanna know, like, have youdone this before?
How have you included youraudience and your content?
If you have some other ideas,like we would love to know.
So, if you're watching onYouTube, put it in the comments.
Or if you're listening on theaudio, like send us a fan mail,
send us a text message and sayhey, crystal, you know I'm
(21:09):
listening to number one.
For why do podcasters ignoreand we're talking about the
audience Like, let us know,because I want to include you in
a future episode.
But, moving on, we are movinginto segment three, and this is
the last one that we really needto hit on today, and that is
engagement habits that I wantyou to build over the course of
(21:30):
your creator journey.
So the first one is juststarting each episode, or maybe
ending each episode, with a callto action to have a connection
point with your audience.
So, whether it's, you know,reach out and send us a fan mail
on Buzzsprout or send me anemail, or send me a DM or
whatever it is.
(21:51):
Whatever makes the most sensefor you and your content.
Insert that CTA, because somany of y'all and again got up
on my soapbox I don't think Iever really got down, because
sometimes I'll say I got downfrom my soapbox, I'm still up
here.
I'm still up here for thisepisode, because so many of you
will say, oh yeah, I meant toadd that to my outline, or I
meant to do that and I haven'tdone it, but I'll do it next
(22:14):
time.
I'll do it.
I'll do it and really it comesdown to and I know it's you just
have to add it to your outline.
Just add it to your outline.
If you are someone that scriptsyourself or you outline, you do
bullet points, whatever itlooks like, just add it in.
Add it in, because you're notgonna remember to say it.
Okay, like, let me just callthat out.
(22:36):
Like, we have the bestintentions as podcasters.
I have been doing this since2018, and I still forget to say
things if they are not writtendown, if they are not in my
outline.
Like, I have my outline righthere.
It's right off of my camerawhile we're sitting here
recording today and I'm lookingover every once in a while I'm
like, okay, yep, yep, yep, hitall the main, the main key
(22:57):
things we need to hit today.
But if it is not in my outline,it's not going to get said.
It will not get said.
I will forget to say somethingreally important, which is why I
have a more robust outline.
So, if you need that great, addyour CTA at the very beginning,
in the middle, at the end,wherever it makes the most sense
for you, but have thatconnection point in every single
(23:22):
episode.
You can end it by saying, hey,make sure and send us a fan mail
and let us know what youthought of the show.
Or, if you're watching onYouTube, comment below and tell
us what you thought about thisvideo or what you wanna hear
from us in the future.
Or you could say it in themiddle of a podcast episode.
Actually, send me a DM onInstagram and let me know what
you thought about XYZ.
(23:42):
Like you could pause this, goback and read the transcript of
everything that I just said andyou could use those verbatim
Steal these ideas.
Y'all Like, don't sit there andthink well, crystal does that I
can't do it.
Please go, do it.
Go, go, steal all of the ideasthat I'm sharing with you,
because that's why I'm sharingthem, because I want them to
(24:03):
help you in your journey.
Now the next piece, for anotherhabit that you can do to help
engage with your audience, iscreating something that's a
cadence that you can do on aregular basis.
So a great example is you coulddo a listener shout out every
single month.
So I've had people tell me likewell, I want to do podcast
(24:24):
reviews, but what if I don't getnew reviews regularly?
What if I only get a few a year?
Great, you will probably, inthe course of a year, get 12
reviews.
If that's all you get, thenthat is fantastic.
You can do a listener shout outevery single month.
Even if you get multiplereviews one month, then that
(24:45):
could be like you know what I'mgoing to save?
That one that's going to beApril's, that's going to be
May's, that's going to be June's, and then you have your
spotlight of the month everytime you get a new review
submitted.
But it's something that cancreate that easy engagement
where you are giving those shoutouts on a regular basis.
Put it in your Asana.
Put it in your Asana, put it inyour Google Sheet, like
wherever you're keeping yourcontent calendar, but put it in
(25:07):
there that, oh, on that episode,I'm going to do a listener
shout out.
I'm going to do my monthlylistener shout out and it's
going to be this review, because, boom, I'm going to lift it up,
put it in there and say this isthe one that we're going to do,
but create something that youcan hold yourself to on a
regular cadence, because thenpeople are more likely to submit
them.
This is what I think people missis they get nervous about
(25:30):
sharing these ideas, or likereading a spotlight or reading
fan mail, whatever, becausethey're like but what if no one
else submits?
Like, what if I read this oneand this is the only review that
I ever get?
I'm like no, no, no, no.
You're thinking about this allwrong.
What you should do is read them.
Read them often, because whatthat does is it encourages other
(25:51):
people, like it triggerssomething in our brain.
It's like, oh, crystal, readthat review.
I wonder, if I submit one, ifshe'll read my review too.
So it actually encourages youraudience to participate more
whenever they see that you'reactually going to read the thing
that they submitted.
So don't get nervous about this.
Like, just do it.
(26:12):
Like rip off the bandaid, makeit happen, but find something
that can work on a regularcadence for your show and your
audience.
The other one is engaging onInstagram stories, y'all.
I try to do this, if not everysingle day, at least a few times
a week.
I will do something where Ihave a call to action, where
it's like hey, vote on this, letme know in the comments on X, y
(26:36):
and Z, or vote on the nextslide.
I'm gonna put up some optionsfor wherever I want your input.
But engage with your people.
Engage, because you will beshocked at how many people
really respond and make itreally easy for them to respond.
This is another thing I didrecently.
We did this promotion for asummit that I was on, and
(26:58):
whenever I put all this stuff inthere, it was a promotional
email and I wrote in the email Isaid if you sign up for this,
just reply to this email and sayI'm in so I can make sure and
go and see.
You know that your registrationwent through and all this other
stuff.
So people responded to me andsaid I'm in and I was like
awesome, they are responding.
(27:20):
People will respond to you.
You just have to make the ask.
So make sure that you're makingthe ask on a regular basis and
these small things, these littlerituals that you can do inside
your content, will make all thedifference.
And those shout outs are justsuper fun.
So if you can say like, hey,sarah, I loved your message last
week, thank you so much, it'sjust really fun to have those
(27:43):
little pieces to make thoseconnections with your audience.
Y'all don't ignore your audienceLike we're done.
After today, after listening tothis, after watching this, you
are not going to ignore youraudience anymore.
Right, like, say it with me, Iwill not ignore my audience
anymore.
One more time, I will notignore my audience anymore.
(28:04):
You will do things that cancompletely blow your mind.
Whenever you have these ongoingconversations with your
audience, you're getting intouch with your people.
It just makes your content thatmuch richer and it makes
everything that much better.
So, to recap, your audience isyour greatest asset.
Do not ignore them.
Do not ignore them.
Do not ignore them.
(28:25):
You cannot be a successfulcreator, a successful podcaster,
a successful YouTuber if youignore your audience.
They are the lifeblood of allof your content.
So do not ignore your people.
The next thing is, you don'tneed millions of downloads or
thousands of listeners.
You just need to build thissolid, foundational relationship
(28:47):
with the people that arealready showing up and paying
attention to your content today,because those will be the
people in the future that telleveryone else that you are their
go-to expert.
So make sure that you arepaying attention to the people
that are showing up for youtoday, right?
Not the millions of people thatcould potentially show up
tomorrow.
What are you doing to connectwith the people that are in your
(29:09):
audience today?
And then the last point I'llmake is engagement just doesn't
have to be complicated.
Please don't overthink it.
Don't overthink it, but it doesneed to be something that's
prioritized, prioritizedengaging with your audience.
It will make all the difference.
Okay, before we go today, I wantto make sure that you know
(29:30):
about our brand new on-demandtraining.
It is all about the three-partseries that we have.
It's a three-part plan forintegrating growth, monetization
and connecting with youraudience.
This year, like in 2025, I gothrough everything that's
working today.
I don't want you to go check itout.
Go to crystalprofitcom forward,slash growth and register for
(29:53):
this free training because it'sreally good.
Y'all it's really good.
It's really good.
I'm super proud of thistraining.
It's one that I hadn't taughtpreviously and I think you're
going to find it really, reallyhelpful.
But that's all I have for youtoday.
So, if this is your first timetuning in, welcome aboard,
because buckle up.
This series is going to getwild, and we talked about why do
(30:17):
podcasters ignore theiraudience.
We've covered it today.
We've transformed.
We are no longer going toignore our audience after this
episode.
Right, we've transformed.
We are no longer going toignore our audience after this
episode, right, deal, okay, sostay tuned.
We're gonna have more about whypodcasters ignore other things
in their content and how we canovercome them.
But make sure you hit thatfollow or subscribe button
(30:37):
wherever you're listening andwatching today and, as always,
remember, keep it up.
We all have to start somewhere.
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