🥜Collaborate Then Celebrate (Other Podcasts Aren't Your Competition)

There’s nothing wrong with some healthy competition, but in reality, you should be looking at other podcasts as tools for you to use instead of seeing them as the enemy. Their success will NEVER directly have a negative effect on your podcast, but it can certainly have a positive effect as long as you know what you’re doing and are willing to grow together. Today we’re here to tell you why collaboration beats out competition any day of the week!

Let’s Get Crackin’ 🥜

Collaborations Breed Success And Competition Breeds Stress

As of the end of 2022, podcasting has become a more consolidated industry than it has ever been before which has led to some stiff competition among podcasters. According to reports, in 2021 there were a total of 7 different podcast networks that were believed to be the best of the best and were responsible for reaching up to 50% of weekly listeners. However, by the end of 2022, it was only 4 major networks pulled in 50% of the weekly listeners.

This means that compared to 2021, there are now fewer networks to post your podcasts on that will effectively reach a large audience. That isn’t to say that other podcasting networks don’t exist, but most listeners end up searching for their podcasts on only a few of them, including Spotify, iHeartRadio, and SXM.

Now, if you happen to be one of those podcasts that have already established themselves on one of the major networks, this might not mean as much, but for independent podcasters this consolidation has made it harder to find success. That’s why collaborations are so important, and it’s actually something that’s so easy to do in an industry that’s becoming more competitive than ever before.

Recognition = Reach = Results

Believe it or not, it can be something as simple as a shout-out that helps your podcast take off. Whether you want to admit it or not, there are other podcasts out there that are likely creating content that is similar to yours, and that’s OKAY.

Instead of viewing everyone as your competition that you have to be better than, it’s important to understand that there is more than enough room for your podcast and more within the industry. In fact, if you think about the natural overlap between listeners that’s bound to happen, there are a ton of opportunities to grow your podcast alongside others in the field by using cross-promotional techniques like Ad Swaps.

As we said though, there is nothing easier and more effective to do than to shout out another podcast that you know your listeners will enjoy. This helps you not only connect with your current audience more, especially when they enjoy your recommendation. But it can also sort of force the algorithm.

When subscribers from your podcast go over and subscribe to the podcast that you shouted out, it will create the opportunity for your show to start appearing underneath the one that was shouted out. Your podcast would begin to appear in the recommended sections for podcasts “You Might Also Like” which is a great way to grow your audience size!

It Never Hurts To Send An Invitation

The next step that you could take in terms of collaboration is simply having another major podcast host that’s related to your podcast on your show. This technique requires a bit more time and effort than a simple Ad Swap and is way more difficult to actually achieve than a shout-out, but the effect that it could have on the growth of your podcast could be MASSIVE.

Having another popular podcast host on your show is a great way to bring their audience to you which then gives you the opportunity to entice them into subscribing to your podcast as well. And while you might think that getting a guest onto your podcast might agree to be on your podcast could be a difficult thing to do, you’d be both right and wrong.

Believe it or not, a lot of podcasters would love to appear on other podcasts because it would be a great way to help themselves grow as well. So more often than not, simply reaching out via direct message or e-mail can be a great way to secure a popular guest on your show. The much more difficult part of the procedure though is going to be actually planning the meetup.

As you know, being a podcaster can sometimes be a full-time job and leave you with very little time to go out and make guest appearances, and the same can be said for other popular podcasters as well. Once you reach out to another podcaster in your field, it might take weeks or even months to schedule a date for them to go on your show or vice versa. But stick to it and actually try to plan a time that works for you both because it will show your audience that you are serious about podcasting, and also open your show up to a much larger listener base.

📺News of the Week: AI Might Be Coming For Your Voice📺

It won’t be long before fans are listening to a podcast and not able to tell if the host is actually real or not. According to a report by Wired, the computer-generated speech that once sounded like it came straight out of a Speak and Spell toy no longer exists and more lifelike AI voices are taking over the world of content creation by storm. And soon, this could affect the podcasting industry. Whether that’s a good or a bad thing is up to you though.

Machines and AI have always lent a hand, especially in the editing room when it came to podcasts, but with new features in the software offered by Descript, you’ll soon be able to use a virtual voice. Using the feature named “Overdub,” the user can create a virtual voice that mirrors the host and can be used to fix things like mispronunciations during the editing process.

Soon you will be able to take it a step further using AI services like Podcastle which allows you to emulate your voice through the software and create a podcast without ever having to actually record one. As you know though, AI voices don’t typically sound as human as a normal voice, so whether or not fans will enjoy a podcast that’s technically hosted by an AI has yet to be seen.

Tweets of the Week

This week’s Tweets come to us because some people seem to fear AI while others claim to know everything about it!

Steph was more than happy to see people cheating on their homework by using an actual source instead of using AI to get their answers. What a blast from the past!

Even though a lot of AI technology and software are still relatively new, there sure are a lot of people who claim to be experts on the subject!

That’s all for today! Keep being nuts and podcasting!

See you next week.

🥜Podcast Nut