Driving Your Podcast to the Top of the iTunes Charts (VidSummit 2017 Presentation)

There is a lot to say about the VidSummit event. I can’t say it all here. When I went in 2016, I didn’t expect it to be as great as it was. 2016 was amazing. Then I was asked to come back and present in 2017, and that presentation is today’s episode.

The audio isn’t as good as it should of be, but the show was first class. I brought a client of mine with me and at the end of the event, she made a suggestion that I actually have people watch this presentation before sending them as clients up the charts.

Tip of the Week:

How do I get people to subscribe to my podcast? How do I get people to visit my website? How do I get people to sign up for my email newsletter? The trick to all of these and more is simply to give them a reason to. They are happy just listening to your show, but the second you tell them what is in it for them then they will take further action. Keep in mind WIIFM or what’s in it for me?

Driving Your Podcast to the Top of the iTunes Charts (VidSummit 2017 Presentation):

[05:02] Paul is introduced. He helps others expand their reach and revenue with no stress and drama. He tackles the changes in today's information economy. He is an 11 time #1 Amazon bestselling author. He is the secret weapon behind several number one podcasts and YouTube channels. He has worked with large companies like the US State Department, Microsoft, Pearson Education, and more.
[05:36] Paul Colligan is here today to present how to Drive Your Podcast to the Top of the iTunes Charts.
[06:13] Paul begins speaking and has an entire presentation for getting your podcast on Alexa and Google.
[07:12] Getting to number one on iTunes is an interesting place to be. My client Brendan was also number one in other countries.
[08:26] J.J. Virgin became number one in the health category.
[09:12] How iTunes makes recommendations and this should be a life goal for all of you.
[09:56] 47 million Americans are in their car with a 30 minute commute to work. All you have to do is be better than drive time radio.
[10:40] When someone takes you with them to work or on the beach or to the gym this is intimacy.
[11:14] Three options for climbing the charts. The real climb with the real audience. The real climb with the fake audience. Number three is Photoshop. I am hear for the real climb with the real audience.
[12:26] The Infinite Dial study by Edison. The smart speaker report with Alexa, etc. Do what is good for the service and the service will do what's good for you.
[13:42] Time at YouTube makes YouTube money. Apple wants consumers of Apple products. If you give Apple a reason to promote what you are doing, they will promote you. Apple wants subscribers. Apple promotes subscribers. They come back with repetition. The best consumers are subscribers.
[16:51] iTunes algorithm hasn't changed in over a decade. Get as many subscribers as needed in a 24 hour period to get as far as you want.
[17:40] If you do a concentrated attack you can beat the big guys. Pick a single day. Promote subscribes. Take screenshots, enjoy the rankings, and have a fantastic episode two. Give your base what they want, and they will continue to listen.
[19:41] Subscribers come on a regular basis. Can an email actually become a nuisance.
[21:11] New and Notable is broken. They haven't changed in 14 months. It doesn't matter, it's broken.
[22:12] You have to launch with a lot of episodes. This is guru talk, actually the less episodes on the page, the more reason to subscribe.
[23:43] How zero reviews mean nothing.
[25:26] Focusing your audience on a one 24 hour period. Open up the email gates, get to number 1 then stop, and open the gates the next day.
[27:14] Look in iTunes and you will know if you are number one. The smart marketing could be strategic about this.
[27:52] This won't work if you don't have enough email addresses.
[29:46] Apple has made a lot of decisions based on new consumers, but I believe they will stay with subscribers for a long time.
[31:41] Determining the value of a listener and doing Facebook ads to stay at the top of the charts. Emails and subscribes to win. Have an email series that says that you have launched your show. Launch season two.
[32:48] Brendan did this. He asked subscribers to go to iTunes and subscribe. Live to subscribe. Take you audience to action on launch day. Please help me climb up the charts.
[34:55] Make it as easy as possible for subscribers to subscribe. WIIFM give them a reason to subscribe. Go with a live push and tell them why to subscribe.
[36:02] Putting a $299 course on iTunes for a few hours and hitting number one.
[36:42] Using TubeBuddy, you just have to be faster than you competition. The competition is low for video podcasts right now. All you have to do is get more subscribers with your email push.
[38:27] Do what is best for Apple and make great content.
[39:46] Apple has announced they will have stats for everyone this year. We will get page views, downloads, streams, and how far people have listened.
[40:40] To be number one you need about 15000 to 20000 subscribes to get to number one.
[41:26] Publish one episode and listening to your audience is a good idea to do this early in the game. Audiences are awesome. Once you release an episode and it starts getting downloads it starts to kick in.
[42:53] Downloads are the main metric for sponsors, but be careful.
[43:49] Libsyn has been around for 10 years, hardly any downtime, and they power a good chunk of podcasts.
[44:43] User generated TV is going to become huge. Make it available for your audience to find these.
[45:49] How many episodes per month. Be predictable. Going on errands to listen to your favorite show. Survey your audience and ask them what they want.
[47:27] iOS 11 new podcast app with a tag for seasons. You can also tag sequential orders. Entire seasons can also be downloaded in a thematic way. Sale a season to a sponsor. The would be a cool metric.
[49:00] If you don't have an audience, find someone elses audience. If you have something to give, then give it out.

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