Alan and his team have produced a corker of a show, packed full of incredible guests and banter, but does the packaging match the product? Read on below to discover how we think The Alan Hudson Podcast can improve its promotional appeal.
1. Cover art
Good cover art is essential for your show to stand out when potential listeners are searching for their next binge. In short, better artwork = more clicks. We believe effective cover art needs to do three things – grab the attention of someone scrolling past, communicate the tone of your show and tell us what it’s about (through both the imagery and the title).
What we liked
‘Proper football, proper talk’ is a great way of telling us what the show’s about and the choice of colours certainly catch the eye.
What we recommend
Personality-based podcasts work better when they feature the host as part of the artwork. Given the show is all about Alan and stories from the past, use an image of Alan from his footballing prime to help convey the host, the topic and the content. Combining this with a colourful and impactful font with a retro feel will help the show really appeal to the target audience of football fans looking for classic stories from the 70s and 80s.
2. Show title
A good show title is easily as important as good cover art and arguably the most important tool when it comes to podcast promotion. Show titles are easy to digest, tell us what your show is about are often the first contact with audiences. A good title should instantly sum-up what the podcast is about – both in terms of content and tone.
What we liked
‘The Alan Hudson Podcast’ does what it says on the tin. If you know who Alan Hudson is then you’ll know what the podcast is about.
What we recommend
‘Proper football, proper talk’ is a brilliant way of telling people who don’t know Alan what the show is about. Consider adding this element into the title – making it simply ‘The Alan Hudson Podcast – Proper football, proper talk’, or rewriting it to combine the two elements.
3. Show description
The third part of the holy trinity of effective podcast marketing, the title and cover art get people to stop and think, but the show description is key in helping them decide whether to listen or not. A good show description should convey what the show is about in as few words as possible and give potential listeners some great reasons why it’s perfect for them.
What we liked
This is easily one of the best show descriptions we’ve read in a while. Clear, to the point and making clear what experience listeners will have (nostalgic trip) and what to expect (casual, unscripted talk).
What we recommend
The big thing we’d add to the description is the calibre of the guests who appear on the show. You’ve had Bryan Robson, Clive Tyldsley and Harry Redknapp and many other legends – so don’t be afraid to name drop! Also don’t forget to pay attention to the small things. The text can be tidied up a little – with an errant comma after ‘share’, a space missing in the middle and a full stop needed at the end. It may seem picky but little things like this can cause a reader to trip up and lose confidence in the quality of the product.
4. Audio polish
While strictly speaking not a direct promotional tool, the quality of your audio – e.g. how good it actually sounds – can play a big role in putting people off once they do start to listen. Humans are fickle and will quickly make up their minds if a show is for them or not, so why not give your content the very best chance to impress by making it sound as clear and crisp as possible? Good audio should be at a comfortable loudness level (-16 LUFS on average), and free from plosives (hard ‘b’, ‘p’ and ‘t’ sounds) and echoes. Avoid those dreaded ‘recorded over the internet’ glitches and ideally reduce the ‘ums’ and ‘errrs’.
What we liked
The no-nonsense start to the show with the crowd audio gets us straight into the action.
What we recommend
The loudness levels aren’t consistent and there are lots of artefacts that come from recording remotely with tools such as Zoom. Given you record a YouTube version as well as a normal audio podcast, switching to Riverside.fm would be the perfect way to massively improve your audio quality and get a great-looking video with a suite of easy-to-use features. Use our affiliate link to sign up and get a much slicker-sounding podcast.
5. Featured spots
Getting featured in an app, newsletter, website or in a social media shout out can be a great way to get more eyes on your show – raising the chances of getting clicks (assuming you’ve done a good job with your cover art, title and show/episode descriptions!). A good feature will showcase your cover art, show title and show description to thousands of podcast fans.
What we liked
The Alan Hudson Podcast would be perfect for a featured spot – as a sports podcast we can place you within a popular category in the Podcast Guru app and your stories would make for a brilliant interview in Pod Bible.
What we recommend
Podspike has several Powerups which will get your podcast in front of thousands of potential listeners. We recommend you use your free month of Pro Membership to select an interview in Pod Bible – showcasing your passion for football and what makes your show special.
6. Smartlinks
With loads of choice when it comes to podcast listening, which links should you share when you don’t know which app your audience are using? Many podcasters take the approach of listing as many as possible – but this can take up valuable space on your social media posts and quickly turn into a boring list. Others just list their iTunes link, meaning they’re missing out on all non-iPhone users. The answer is to use smartlinks – one link that gives your audience a choice as to how and where they listen.
What we liked
We can see that you’re already using Linktr.ee, which gives your audience a chance to listen across Apple, Spotify and other players, or visit your social media pages.
What we recommend
Your smartlink currently lists anything that isn’t Apple and Spotify as ‘other players’, but clicking on this simply takes us to your homepage on Buzzsprout. Switching to a free Kitelink from Podkite will give you much more control over the options you can offer your listeners. Check out our affiliate link to sign up and receive a 10% discount on any paid plan.
- Listen to The Alan Hudson Podcast here
