Getting to Know Your Listeners Through Podcast Surveys [ep. 41]
Check out the full episode to hear about podcast surveys:
Podcast stats give you limited information
One of the many downsides to podcasting stats is that you have really limited information on who is actually listening unless your people are reaching out to you one on one.
Of course it is very likely that not every single one of your podcast listeners are sending you messages or sending you emails. In your podcast host, you can see your downloads, and some hosts will give you information on where the listener lives, their gender, etc.
But you really want more information than that, right? You really want to know details about the people behind the downloads. One way that you can do this is to put out a quick survey to get to know exactly who your listeners are.
How to create podcast surveys
There’s lots of ways and platforms that you can use to create podcast surveys. For example, I use ClickUp for my project management. I create my survey on there, because you can create a form right on ClickUp and then it gives you a share link to share with people. Then once they fill it out, it will automatically give you their responses.
If you don't use ClickUp, there's lots of other options. There's Typeform, which has both free and paid plans. And then of course, there's Google Forms. Google Forms is a great option if you don't have a project management tool in place that gives you the ability to create these surveys! Everybody knows how they work, and they're super easy to put together.
What kinds of questions should you include?
First and foremost, think about the goal of your survey. What are you trying to accomplish with putting this out? Let that answer drive your questions.
So for example, if you're trying to get a better understanding of who is listening, you might include questions that will give you answers about their profession, their age, their likes and dislikes, etc.
These kinds of questions can give you really great information!
Some other questions you can ask are:
What is a topic that you would like to hear on a future episode?
How did you find out about my podcast?
How old are you?
How long have you been teaching?
What are you currently struggling with at work?
Do you have children?
Where do you listen to your podcasts?
Do you have any feedback for me on my show?
Where should you share your podcast surveys?
You can share podcast surveys on your Instagram stories, and then just include a link sticker. That’s what I like to do with mine and it works really well.
You could also put it in your weekly newsletter or a separate email specifically, just about this survey. Finally, if you have a Facebook group, you can post it in there as well.
How do I get people to fill out the survey?
Now, the big question is, okay, I understand why I should do a survey, I understand how to do it. But how do I get people to actually fill it out?! This is a reasonable concern, because it can often be difficult to get people to take action. Here are my suggestions:
You need to have some sort of incentive. People love incentives! I recommend doing some sort of giveaway. For example, everyone who fills out your podcast survey gets entered in a drawing to win a $50 gift card.
Keep it short. People have very short attention spans, they will close out of your survey if it's too time consuming for them to fill out.
Use multiple choice questions whenever possible. That's going to make it a lot easier for people to to choose their answers and to breeze through this survey.
Keep it open for at least a week. This gives you time to send out reminders. If you're putting it on Instagram, you should be posting on your stories several times, so that people have the chance to actually get to see it and to be reminded to do it.
What do you do with the data?
After you fill out your survey, you've got this great data. Now what do you do with it?
You can use the results from your survey to drive your content planning!
For example, if you're someone who has a podcast for speech pathologist, you might find out from your survey that 90% of the people listening have been in the profession for five+ years.
Knowing that information might change what you put a stronger emphasis on in your episodes and what kinds of topics you cover more than other topics.
All in all, putting out podcast surveys is a really, really great way to get detailed information about the people who are listening to your show! If you decide to put out a survey, let me know how it goes by sending me a message on Instagram @podcastingforeducators!
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Podcasting for Educators is the podcast for TpT authors and other online educators. It's a show that will help you get your podcast in front of those who need it most - teachers, counselors, literacy specialists, SLPs, parents, and more! Each week, Sara Whittaker and her guests will share top tips and actionable strategies that you will need in order to launch, manage, and grow your podcast. You’ll learn how to leverage your show to build long-lasting relationships with your audience and promote your TpT resources, courses, and memberships, all while providing valuable and accessible content!