Setting goals for yourself is a good way to help your development and it’s no different for your podcast.
Whether it’s to attract new listeners, improve the sound quality or be more consistent with your release schedule, setting goals for your podcast is a great way to start improving it.
Setting goals can be a bit daunting though, so I’m going to explain how I do it and what I then do to try and reach those goals. To do that, I’ll be talking about my podcast, It’s All Cobblers To Me.
Review your performance so far
In any experiment it’s important to have a baseline. In this case your baseline will be the things your podcast is already doing.
Think about the amount of episodes you released, how many downloads you have had to date, reviews you received and any other things that may be related to your podcast’s performance.
You can use this information to help you see what you need to work on and therefore to decide what your goals will be.
It’s All Cobblers To Me
Episodes released: 98
Average amount of downloads per episode: 320
Patreon supporters: +10 (34 in Jan ‘22)
Patreon income: +£108.76 per month (£111.15 in Jan ‘22)
Sponsorships: 2 (Zencastr May-June, RLS Print & Design September-November)
Notable things: Wembley ‘97 series, 3 interviews, 1 fans forum
Set a top level goal
Your top level goal is the number one thing that you want to do above everything else.
You might have several things you want to accomplish but I bet one of them trumps the others.
Write down all things that you’d like to do and match them up with any that go together. For example, one of your goals might be to make a mini-series about a particular topic, while another is to release more episodes this year.
Once you’ve got your goals written down and have batched any similar ones together, the next task is to ask yourself which one of those goals is going to be your priority.
It might be one that stands out as simply being more important to you right now than the others, or it could be that achieving one goal will actually include several others.
It’s All Cobblers To Me Goals 2023
- increase download numbers
- have more Patreon supporters
- earn more through Patreon
- get a long term sponsor
- record more interviews with former players/managers etc.
- invite Chairman/CEO/Fan Rep onto more episodes
My main goal is to increase my audience size.
Specifically (and it’s important to be specific with these things), I want to increase the amount of downloads each episode gets to an average of 500. That would be an increase of around 180 downloads per episode.
Ask yourself how
The big question. How are you going to achieve your goal? This is the thing that I always find most daunting but I have a tip to help make it easier.
Break it down.
By breaking down your goal into smaller, more manageable chunks, you make the process of asking how you’re going to do it easier.
You might take your annual goal and create smaller goals for each quarter of the year. Or you might go even further and create monthly goals. Go with whatever you feel most comfortable with.
Now you’ve got a smaller goal to work towards, ask yourself what you can do to get there.
It’s All Cobblers To Me Goal Breakdown:
Annual Goal: increase average amount of downloads per episode to 500 (from 320) by end of 2023
By end of current football season (May 2023): 380
Start of next season (August 2023): 420
End of 2023: 500
How:
Record and release one episode with a former player/manager each month
Promotional poster displayed inside Sixfields Stadium on a matchday
Feed drops with similar podcasts
Live podcast recording at Sixfields
Appear on local radio stations
Interview people from the club
Pay for advertising
Create actions
Now we’re getting somewhere. You know what your goals are and the things you can do to achieve them.
The next thing to do is create a list of simple actions you can complete that will help you on your way.
Write down what each action is and a date to complete it by. Giving yourself a deadline will help you to stay on track and ticking off your actions will make you feel like you’re getting somewhere.
The key here is to make sure that they’re not too big. If an action doesn’t seem easy to do, you might put it off. Breaking them right down will mean that there are more of them but they’ll feel easier to complete.
It’s All Cobblers To Me Actions:
Research former players to speak to – end of week 1
Speak to graphic designers about creating poster – end of week 1
Make contact with sports team at local radio station – end of week 1
Contact player and invite them onto podcast – end of week 2
Start work on poster design with chosen designer – end of week 2
Review it again
At the end of every period make sure to go back and review how you’re getting along.
If you find yourself ahead or behind schedule, adjust your plan and review the actions you need to take.
And don’t get downhearted if things aren’t going to plan or your goal still seems to be really far away. Stick to your plan and you’ll get there in the end.
Sometimes it’s easier to have someone from outside of your podcast help you with your goal setting. If you’d like help with setting your podcasting goals for this year get in touch with me for a chat.
