Episode 463 - The 5 E's You Can Apply to Your Podcast from the Fans First Approach by the Savannah Bananas
The Five E’s for Fan-Driven PodcastingEliminate Friction
What it Means: Removing barriers that make it difficult for your audience to listen, engage, or share your podcast.
Application for Podcasters:
Streamlining your show’s website and making episodes easy to find and play.
Simplifying call-to-actions (CTAs) and subscription options.
Reducing unnecessary complexity in episode structure or show notes.
Entertain Always
What it Means: Prioritizing the listener’s experience by keeping every episode engaging and enjoyable.
Application for Podcasters:
Injecting personality, stories, and humor into your episodes—avoid boring, monotone delivery.
Using creative interview formats, catchy intros, or immersive audio.
Remembering that no matter your topic, the listener’s enjoyment comes first.
Experiment Constantly
What it Means: Embracing a mindset of ongoing innovation and being willing to try new things.
Application for Podcasters:
Testing new segments, formats, guest types, or music.
Running listener polls to pilot episode ideas.
Learning from both successes and failures, treating each experiment as a growth opportunity.
Engage Deeply
What it Means: Building real, meaningful connections with your audience.
Application for Podcasters:
Responding to listener feedback, emails, and comments.
Creating opportunities for listeners to participate in the show (questions, shoutouts, community challenges).
Hosting live streams, meet-ups, or virtual gatherings to foster community.
Empower Action
What it Means: Inspiring your audience to take the next step—big or small—after tuning in.
Application for Podcasters:
Encouraging listeners to apply insights from each episode to their own lives or work.
Inviting them to join your online group, subscribe, or share the episode.
Highlighting success stories from your community to motivate further action.
Takeaways and Context
The Five E’s provide a fan-first framework that prioritizes removing barriers, creating joy, fostering innovation, deepening relationships, and inspiring action.
For podcasters, adopting this approach means shifting from traditional, rule-bound methods to a listener-centric, dynamic, and growing show.
Encourage listeners to assess their own podcasting approach: Which of the E’s can you implement or improve right now?
Closing
Challenge: Invite listeners to pick one “E” to focus on in their next episode or week of podcasting.
End with an open question—How will you play your own game in podcasting and put your fans first?
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