Mark Steadman
Let's stay in touch
Slide content
- Building a thriving community that rewards you and your listeners Connect and empower listeners to create community spaces that govern themselves with Mark Steadman
- Accessibility
- Who am I? • Founder of podcasting company Podiant • Work with podcasters in the 500-5k downloads area • Also with TV personalities, authors and performers One truth. One lie • I run a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy fan club • My sea shanty was played on BBC Radio 4
- What we’ll cover • What communities are • Why they’re useful to you • What makes a community • What tools are available • How to bring people in • Case studies • Questions • Cake
- Community • People who are in touch with each-other • Conversation and sharing • You can’t converse or share if you can’t contact people • They share something in common • Interest, cause, geography • Communities are ownerless
- Why start a community? • Add value to your podcast • Foster a sense of belonging • Brings you closer to your listeners • Potential revenue stream • Permission-based marketing
- The clubhouse (not that one) • A shared space for people to interact • Make it easy to enter • Make it easy to interact • The destination does not make the community • Let’s look at some options
- Slack • iOS, Android, desktop, web • IRC chat with more rich features • Share images, videos, fi les, links • Collaborate with a team • Integrate other apps • Separate channels with di ff erent permissions • Running a community using paid features can get expensive
- Discord • Similar to Slack • More community focused • Has roots in gaming but is open to all • Add Patreon or Memberful supporters instantly to community • Moderation tools • Audio chat • Highly versatile for free
- Discourse • Web only • Old-school forum with a new-school interface • Bit of a learning curve • Great for archiving knowledge (Q&As) • Self-hosted (needs a techie to setup)
- Reddit • Discrete forums (yourpodcast.reddit.com) • Very little setup • Solid moderation tools • Culture discourages spam and self-promotion • Has a bit of a stink to it
- Mighty Networks • Anyone remember Ning? • Social network in a box • Apps for iOS and Android • Articles, polls, comments, instant chat • Groups, DMs, friendships • Events, courses • Take payment, make invite-only, or totally open
- The people • Start with your mailing list • Mention it on your podcast • Add the link in your show notes • Link to it from your website • Ask friends and family to join • Find other community clubhouses
- Case studies Four examples from revenue-generating podcasts
- Daily Tech News Show • Patreon perk • Slack group for “DTNS bosses” • It’s where the show is prepped • Direct access to creators
- Relay FM • Memberful program for network • Discord server across all Relay shows • Heavily moderated • Inclusive • Use a special keyword (like a hashtag) to ask questions
- Automators • Forum open to all • Discourse site at talk.automators.fm • People share tips on automation, scripting, smart home, etc • They host discussions for friends’ projects • Mentioned at the end of every episode • Answers to questions surfaced in search engine results
- Night Attack • Podcast co-hosted by community expert and performer • Subreddit for fans to share links and stories • Faux-exclusive club called “The Diamond Club” • Free and open to all • Listeners can share what projects they’re working on • Others vote on the best suggestions • The top 3 voted-on suggestions are read out each week
- Wrapping up • Communities build connection • We are only custodians • Free and paid tools available • They can add value • They can drive revenue * I don’t have a Hitchhiker’s fan club
- Podiant Loop • Podcast group mentorship • Helping people • Know their audience • Grow their in fl uence • Keep connected • Stay motivated • Free open session • Tomorrow 5pm GMT • podiant.co/loop
- Questions? pcast.link/podfest