How to make your podcast intro, outro, and ads UN-skippable!
Hey Pod Pals!
This newsletter was lovingly curated (without the use of any AI) in real time on Thursday morning at 9:02am CST.
Before we dive into the good stuff I wanted to let you know that my free Collab & Grow challenge is happening next week.
We are going to spend 3 days (Tues-Thurs) learning about content collaboration ideas.
If you want to grow your podcast by being a guest on more shows I'd highly suggest that you join 500+ podcasters inside of my free Skool community next week for this challenge!
📈 Today we are going to talk about some ideas to make your podcast intro, outro, and ads UN-skippable.
As a podcast listener, one thing I know for sure is that my SKIP finger gets a workout with every episode.
I hear the same music that I've heard hundreds of times before....SKIP 30 seconds.
I hear the same pre recorded ad for Athletic Greens....SKIP 30 seconds.
Oh....here's yet another ad for Whole Foods....SKIP 30 seconds.
So here's the deal Pod Pals:
You are probably doing the same thing....and so are YOUR podcast listeners.
Here are 8 ideas to make these segments of your show UN-skippable!
💡Idea #1: Think about your podcast intro, outro, and your ads and ask yourself this question:
Does this segment add any VALUE to my audience?
If it's not a solid YES then I suggest you switch up your strategy.
💡Idea #2: Let's get rid of all the pre-recorded content.
For real! I want you to ditch the fancy intro/outro that you paid $97 for some dude from Fiverr to record for you!
Nobody is listening to it!
Here's a challenge:
For the next 10 episodes ditch ALL of your pre recorded intro/outro/ad content and do them all organically within the show content instead.
💡Idea #3: Get rid of the music.
This will be a piggyback tip to #2 above.....DITCH the music.
When podcast listeners hear music they hit SKIP!
💡Idea #4: Use an audience member audio clip for your intro.
This can be a client testimonial like I usually do for Podcasting Business School or it could be a question from an audience member that kicks off the topic you are discussing on this episode of your show.
💡Idea #5: Use an episode recommendation audio clip for your outro.
Question: What do most podcast listeners do when they finish listening to a podcast?
Answer: They listen to another podcast!
With this strategy you ask your audience members to record an audio clip (use Speakpipe) and record a 30-60 second clip where they recommend their favorite episode of your show.
Use this template:
"Hi this is (NAME) and my favorite episode of (YOUR PODCAST) is episode XYZ because (DESCRIBE WHY THEY LIKED THIS EPISODE)."
This gives your listeners a recommendation (from a fellow listener) for the next episode to check out!
💡Idea #6: Let's make sponsored ad reads more entertaining.
I don't accept brand partnerships for my current show but I used to for my health podcasts that I hosted in the past.
My goal was to make the ads funny.
Example: One of our sponsors was a company (not going to name them) that sold a "male enhancement" device.
It was comedic GOLD for me......
They sent me and my co-hosts each a device which looked like some kind of a penis rocket-ship! 🚀 😳
In my ad reads for the show I talked about using the device to fight off home intruders and using it to mix my protein shake.
One ad event suggested that our male listeners could be "seeing gains!" while they are listening to the show...LOL!
The ads were funny and we sold a ton of them.
People often commented that my ads were the best part of the show....I'll take that as a compliment! 😉
💡Idea #7: Turn your sponsored ads into TIPS (part one)!
Most podcast listeners skip ads because there is no VALUE in it for them.
I've recently been working with some really large brands that are pulling in a lot of sponsorship $$$.
I've asked them to try a couple of new ad strategies...and they are getting more clicks/purchases!
The key is to make the ads include VALUE for the listener.
One strategy is to package the ad within a "Quick Tip" segment.
Let's say that Kit was a brand partner of mine (they aren't).
I could add a Quick Tip segment to my show and deliver a 60 second strategy about email marketing for podcasters.
I would mention that my fake brand partner Kit would be the platform to use to implement the tip.
💡Idea #8: Turn your sponsored ads into TIPS (part two)!
Here's one more strategy that the big shows (and their fancy podcast networks) are really interested in:
➡️ The micro interview ad.
Here's the strategy:
-Sit down with someone from your brand partner.
-Do a 3-5 question interview with them.
-Each question/answer is an ad within your show.
Here's an example of how this could go with my pretend brand partner Kit:
"Hey (person from Kit) we all know how important our email open rate is. Give us ONE quick strategy that will help improve our open rate."
Then the person from Kit would drop a quick tip and mention how Kit helps people with this issue.
So there you have it Pod Pals....EIGHT super solid strategies to make your intro, outro, and ads UN-Skippable!
If you could use some help with implementing these strategies for your show hop on my Podcast Profit Potential Discovery Call Calendar and we can talk about if my 1:1 consulting is a good fit for you.
Talk to you next week!
Your Pod Pal,
Adam
⭐️ P.S. Here's the scoop on my podcast episode this week!
🎙️ Podcasting Business School EP 639: Your podcast promo strategy isn't working (here's why)
In this episode I unpack a couple of BIG podcast promo problems and I'm giving you a few SIMPLE solutions and templates to make your podcast promo much more effective!