14 secrets from building a top #20 ranked podcast in 4 countries!
The High Flyers Podcast has released 70+ episodes w bright minds from 47 industries in 7 countries! The show ranks #16 in Australia in 2022 and #20 in India, Hong Kong & Barbados in 2021.
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Every time I meet someone new and they learn I host a podcast, the questions always are “Amazing! Can you help me start?” or “What’s kept you going?” or “How has your show ranked so high on the charts?”
I figured it might be best to put some thoughts down, I hope this is useful.
Remember: these are transferable strategies that can be used not just for a podcast, they can be applied to growing any media venture (newsletter, social content etc).
Podcasts can be crazy difficult to grow. I’ve learnt not to focus on growth and metrics, rather focus on enjoyment, finding my purpose and consistency which can lead to positive metrics.
As COVID struck in early 2020, I was out of work and started The High Flyers to challenge myself to build ground up, build consistency and discipline, and explore my curiosity about life and work through open source content accessible to anyone, specifically on:
(1) “What separates high performers from the rest”
(2) “How can I create a platform for every person listening to feel inspired and take away learnings they can apply instantly in their life?”
Over the course of the last 12 months, The High Flyers Podcast has:
- Ranked #16 in Australia and #20 in India, Hong Kong & Barbados
- Created the opportunity to speak at 4 university guest lectures on media, journalism, entrepreneurship & business
- Been listened to countless times in Australia, India, China, USA, Spain, Caribbean and more
- Released 70+ episodes with bright minds & thought leaders from 47 industries and parts of society across 7 countries
- Showcased journeys in life and work to inspire everyone to reach their potential
- Paved the path to founding Curiosity Center
- Made many new friends!
Here are 14 strategies I’ve learnt along the way:
Hospitality mindset:
Every new episode can be the first interaction for a new listener with your podcast and with you as a host, never lose sight of this.
Focus on making every episode the best, and refine your process.
Value add differentiator: why should a listener listen to your podcast over the million others? Always keep the listener front of mind as they are your customer and podcast loyalty only follows quality in every single episode.
First 60 seconds: When producing each episode, is the listener hooked in the first minute? Think about:
Is the title of the episode attractive to make a new listener press play?
Is the summary focused on describing the guest or what the listener can take away from the episode?
Do you really need a 5 min intro describing yourself as the host?
Retention: How long is the listener tuned in to the episode?
Find content market fit: #1 driver of podcast growth!
Like product-market fit, you must find an under-served need & audience.
How? Focus on the 2Ps
Problem: solve a painful problem
Passion: serve a deep passion
Consistency is an important ingredient but quality is KEY
Stalwarts like Tim Ferris & Harry Stebbings have published ~550+ episodes since 2017, but importantly the quality of their episodes keeps improving to be world class
Find the best cadence that allows for massive value to listeners → number one priority otherwise they won’t come back!
In the early days, it is way better to release 1 episode per month that is chock full of actionable and engaging content and build your 100 true fans, who will listen and provide feedback on improvements
Content flywheel: Amplify biggest learnings from episodes in bite sized audiograms, videos, quotes etc to build trust and make the listener press play on the episode by reducing the unknown
Evolve and try using data: Focus on the episode title and marketing as that is the first base of engagement with a prospective listener, ask “what feeling do I get listening to this?”
Create your own PR
When this podcast hit top 20 in India (after ~40 episodes), I shared a post about it on LinkedIn. This led to a 20% increase in listenership (see point #5 about reducing the unknown)
Post about your biggest takeaway from an episode, prior to release to build interest. For example, sometimes when I’m blown away by a certain episode, I’ll pick out 1-2 specific insights to share via Twitter or LinkedIn as a preview in the days leading up to the episode release
Crowdsource questions, either through social media or reach out to your network / previous guests — this keeps them aware, invested and you have personalised questions!
Make your audience your flag bearers
Reply to all of their emails/DMs (The top 1% of creators engage with their audience irrespective of their audience size / follower count to build trust and relatability)
Thank listeners by name in your episodes when they provide reviews, ratings & feedback
Doing these two steps slowly creates an organic community in itself!
Be your own customer! Ask yourself before, during and after each episode:
Would I listen to this?
What did I learn?
Simple but important question to clarify the purpose: I’m trying to reach __ who ___ (For instance, my purpose is: I’m trying to reach students and professionals who want to understand lived journeys in totality to thrive at work, and in life.)
Do it for at least 6 months
This is critical, so many people stop after the initial launch shine wears off.
The number of episodes don’t matter, continuing the process and refining matters
Being curious and finding enjoyment will allow you to keep going
Don’t worry about what others think, most people are too busy focused on themselves. And surprisingly, consistently releasing content will bring you supporters from unexpected places
At the end of every month, ask yourself:
Am I a better communicator now, than I was last month?
Am I able to speak with people and make them comfortable?
Am I able to build value in what I do to all personality types?
What have I learnt the most about myself?
Be recommendable!
Countless surveys and data on podcast growth refer to “this show was recommended by someone I know” as the number 1 reason they found the show
Think of Netflix which has over 500 options, but how often do we watch the show a friend mentioned?
How well do you know your listeners?
Explore doing a survey to have granular details on how to best appeal to them, which in turn grows your podcast and makes it more recommendable!
…Tell me what you would like to hear or what I should do better on The High Flyers Podcast!
Seriously, contact me via the website, Email or through our social media pages.
I might even have a podcast program in the works for a very limited cohort (<15 people) so if you’re interested, let me know to avoid regret!
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You can contact me directly at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz to share your feedback, ask questions or discuss collaborating on an article or podcast episode.
Find out more about Curiosity Center.
Listen to The High Flyers Podcast.