Today, I’ve got some valuable insights to share on how to ensure your listeners stay engaged and eagerly await each episode. Let’s explore the art of posing questions and keeping your audience captivated from start to finish.
1. Captivate with a question
I’m going to give you some advice on how to keep your podcast listeners engaged and wanting more throughout each episode, so that your completion rate is higher. It’s simple. My tip is to raise a question that would be on your listener’s mind.
2. Why is this approach so powerful? Let’s break it down:
- Focus on Content: A question helps you focus on your content, ensuring your episode stays on point.
- Continuous Engagement: It holds your listeners’ attention throughout the episode, keeping them tuned in to find out the answer.
- Navigating Digressions: Listeners are more likely to stay engaged even if you digress, as they’re eager to find out the answer to the initial question.
- Streamlined Production: It streamlines your production, making interviews smoother with built-in guard rails for the conversation.
3. Timing is Key: When to pose the Question
When to decide on a question? As soon as possible. The earlier in the episode production you decide on what question to pose, the more benefits you get back.
4. Different Stages for Posing Questions
- After Interviewing a Guest: Pose the question after you’ve interviewed a guest. Use it to compose a great episode title and create a compelling episode intro.
- Before Interviewing Your Guest: Pose the question before you prepare for the interview. It makes your preparation easier and guides the interview, providing guard rails for your conversation, making you less likely to digress.
- Before Inviting Your Guest: Pose the question before you even invite your guest, they’re more likely to accept your invitation. Instead of asking them to just come on the show because you’re a big fan, you could ask “will you come on the show so we can answer the question [insert your question]”. They’ll think it’s a great topic and they’re more likely to accept. By posing a question it makes for a better invitation because you’re proposing a more thought-out episode, and the interview seems more interesting to the potential guest.
- Before Picking Your Guest: The best time to pose a question is before you even pick what guest to invite! Pose a question that your listeners would like to know the answer to, then look for a guest that can answer that question. That way you’re going to get better guests because the guests will be serving your listener mission. Your guest selection process will then be improved.
5. Constant Vigilance: Lookout for Answers
The earlier on you pose a question in your content creation process, the better your content will be and the easier it will be to create. Constantly be on the lookout for the answer to “what question is this podcast episode answering for my listeners?” This will, in turn, delight your listeners and keep their attention. Framing each episode around a question will undoubtedly keep your audience hooked.
Ready to take your podcast to the next level? Start posing those questions and watch your listener engagement soar!