41. 3 Things You Need to Know About the Future of Podcasting (Podcast Movement Conference 2024 Recap)

The podcast landscape is changing every year - is your show (or show idea) ready for the future? I learned a LOT at the recent Podcast Movement 2024 Conference and in this episode, I'm sharing the top 3 things that are important for future-proofing your podcast.

Mentioned in this episode:
Episode 39: Are You Accidentally Sabotaging Your Show? Avoid This Common Podcasting Mistake!

Purchase Podcast Movement 2024 Recordings

Register for Podcast Movement 2025

Register for PodFest 2025


Thinking about starting a podcast? Grab my free Podcast Roadmap: 10 Simple Steps to Launch Your Own Podcast (No Fancy Tech Required!) at www.ThePodcastTeacher.com/roadmap

This episode was produced by me, The Podcast Teacher! Contact me at Hello@ThePodcastTeacher.com.

Get on the waitlist for the podcast growth pilot program to have first dibs on the limited spots: www.ThePodcastTeacher.com/grow

Transcript

Hey. Hey. And welcome back. Last week, I attended Podcast Movement, the podcast industry's biggest conference. Podcast Movement is held in a different city each year, and this was the 1st year that it was in a convenient location for me. So it was my first time attending. I'm a regular attendee of Podfest, which is the other big podcast industry conference, and it is always held in Orlando, Florida. Since that's my backyard, that conference is a pretty easy yes for me, and I really enjoy it.


So I was excited to experience podcast movement this year as well. In just a moment, I'm going to recap what I think the 3 most important takeaways are from the conference and what you need to know about the future of podcasting. But first, let me tell you just briefly about the conference experience as a whole. I was on the fence about attending podcast movement because I had heard that it was much more, quote, unquote, corporate than Podfest, and I didn't know if that would be a good thing or not. Turns out that the rumors were true, podcast movement is a lot more corporate than Podfest, and that had its pros and cons. I'd say that about half the presentation sessions or more were from companies, and they were mostly sales pitches for their products disguised as informational content sessions. Black. Of course, these companies are helping to make the conference possible, so I'll give them a little bit of grace.


But as a whole, they were not the most useful presentations, at least out of the ones that I personally attended. So that was a con. However, this conference felt kind of like being in the big leagues. Everything was very professional. The Wi Fi actually worked. Imagine that. And there was a big focus on podcast growth and monetization. These aspects were the upside of a more corporate focused conference.


The attendees were mostly podcast industry professionals or serious podcasters doing a podcast as part of their business plan. The content was not really geared toward hobbyist podcasters, nor was there a large number of hobbyist podcaster attendees that I encountered. Many of these more serious podcasters have full teams behind them and are making 6 plus figures from their shows. So that's what I mean by it felt like being in the big leagues. I felt slightly out of place. Well, who am I kidding? I'm an introvert. I almost always feel out of place in a big group. But it was really interesting to learn from and interact with these folks who are so much further ahead than me.


And, overall, I feel like the pros outweigh the cons. If you're considering attending, I do recommend it even as an introvert. Feel free to reach out to me if you're debating between Podfest and podcast movement, or if you'll be at either one next year. I'd love to be introvert buddies. Okay. So I learned a ton from this conference, and there's no way to recap everything in one episode. So I'm going to share the top three things that you need to know about the future of podcasting here in this episode, and other information will certainly be woven in to my future episodes. Number 1, without a doubt, the hottest topic at podcast movement was video podcasting.


Should you do it? Can you be successful without it? Are you going to be left in the dust in the coming years if you don't do video? There were so many sessions about this, and I attended several. Each presenter or panel had strong points for or against video podcasting. And there is certainly not a one size fits all answer. So I'll summarize and share what I think are the most important takeaways. Video podcasting can help you grow and monetize your show, so it's worth considering. Video has the added benefit of conveying nonverbal communication, and you can reach a different audience through video, especially if your target audience skews younger. Those folks are hanging out on the YouTubes. However, there's a much lower tolerance for, quote, unquote, bad quality for a video podcast.


That's not only the quality of your camera and studio setup, but engaging visuals and content too. Video needs to enhance the consumption of your content in order for it to work, to grow, and monetize your show. The point was made that podcasting is a companion medium. Many people take their podcast hosts with them on a walk, in the car, or doing chores. Don't underestimate the intimacy and power of an audio only relationship. Podcasting is special because it focuses on audio only. In short, video is worth doing if and only if you can do it well. If you have a studio setup, are comfortable on camera, are able to hook your listeners in the first 30 seconds, can display visuals during the conversation, and can put the time into learning and optimizing for YouTube specific SEO, then, yes, add video to your podcast, and it's very likely to help your show.


That doesn't describe most of us, though. Remember, this was the big leagues, so a good portion of the audience does have the resources to do this. For me, personally, the takeaway from all the conversation was that I don't have the time or resources to devote to doing video well right now. The majority of my content wouldn't be enhanced by putting it on video. The exception to that would possibly be my podcast optimization plan calls as I think the content would be enhanced if you were able to see the podcast cover art and other details that I was critiquing. But given the high barrier to entry and quality expectations, I won't be adding regular videos anytime soon. You need to be aware that it's going to continue to be a hot and controversial podcasting topic as we head into 2025 and beyond. But you need to make an informed choice about what's right for you and not just jump on the trend.


Okay. So the second most important thing to know is that your podcast is about your listeners. I feel like I had an appropriate soapbox moment a few weeks ago in episode 39 when I said that so many people mistakenly make their podcast all about themselves and forget to prioritize the listener experience. The importance of the listener was reiterated in session after session at the conference. When it comes to stats, look at the numbers that reflect people. It's not your download numbers that are most important. It's your number of followers and listeners and how long they're tuning in. This data can be found in the back end of Apple Podcasts Connect and Spotify for podcasters.


Your content, your episode titles, everything should always be framed to convey what's in it for the listener. Even when you're talking about your podcast, kind of like your elevator pitch, should be something along the lines of my show helps people do x, y, and z, not I share my experience with x, y, and z. So for me, my show helps podcasters start, grow, and monetize their shows. Not, I share podcasting tips and strategies. So it's the same content, but it's framed differently to convey the benefit to your listener. Creating content for your listener is the most important part of podcasting. But often, as podcast hosts, we think we know what people want, but that's not always the same as what they actually want. So many of the sessions that I attended stress the importance of getting feedback from your listeners, literally using their words, their questions, suggestions, and their feedback to create your content.


Of course, the problem is that podcasting is very much set up to be a one way medium. It's hard to get input from listeners. I can say, text me your questions or feedback all day long, but a very small percentage of you actually do. So, seriously, click the words in the episode description to text me your questions and your feedback. Special shout out today to Steve from the Podcast Editor Academy who sent me a text this week. Hi, Steve. Thanks for your kind words. Back to the concept of getting feedback from listeners, one of my mentors, Adam Schaible of Podcasting Business School, hosts a monthly Pod Pals Zoom call where listeners all come together and hang out, plus get some q and a time with him.


It's super successful for him. And I've thought about doing this, but this show is podcasting for introverts. Would any of you actually come to a call like this? I honestly don't know that I would if I were you. Maybe if it were limited to a certain number of people or if you knew the structure of the call in advance, like, that you'd rotate through breakout rooms with only 2 other people for the majority of the call. I don't know. I'm just thinking out loud here. I'd really love your input. Be like Steve and text me your thoughts.


To summarize this point, your listeners are the most important part of your show. Keep the focus on them. Try and find a way to engage in two way conversation and get input and feedback whenever possible. Okay. And finally, the third thing to know about the future of podcasting is that marketing is essential. The podcast landscape is only going to continue to get more crowded and more difficult to stand out in as time goes on. And although that sounds really discouraging, I share this with you to be realistic and so that you can prepare. Most of us don't do enough marketing for our shows.


I'm putting myself in that category. We put a lot of energy into creating an episode, and then maybe we send out an email about it, and we just expect people to listen. I am certainly guilty of this myself. Marketing is not my favorite task, but, unfortunately, it is essential. At the conference, the argument was made that whatever your podcasting, quote, unquote, time budget is, let's say 4 hours a week, that a minimum of 50% of that should be spent on promotion and marketing. There were even some arguments made for closer to 70 to 80% of your podcasting time budget. Of course, this is a lot easier to do when you're a full time podcaster and if you have a team to help you. 1 of the keynote speakers, Steven Bartlett from Diary of a CEO podcast, has a team of 50, 50, 50 employees who are 100% dedicated to the podcast.


Holy bananas. There were a few things that he said that were worthwhile, but largely, I just rolled my eyes at how unrealistic his methods are for 99% of podcasters. Anyway, I'm starting to digress. The point is that we could all probably devote more time to the marketing and promotion of our shows, and it's important for your future in podcasting. So restructure your time budget, whatever that may look like for you. If you currently devote 5% of your time to marketing, could you increase that to 10 or 15? Every little bit will help. Okay. So those are the 3 things that I think you need to know about the future of podcasting as a result of the information that I learned at the podcast movement conference.


One, video may or may not be right for you. Don't do it just because it's popular. 2, remember to focus on your listeners. And 3, market your show more. If this has been intriguing to you and you want more, podcast movement has made a private podcast with recordings of all the conference sessions, which you can purchase for only $50. I'll leave the link in the description, but I'll also add the disclaimer that I don't know how long they're offering this. So if you're listening to this in the future, it may or may not be active. Until next time, happy podcasting.