The Power of Call-to-Actions in Podcasting
Having a call-to-action (CTA) for your podcast is a great way to get your audience to engage with your show, especially if you have specific goals you are trying to achieve.
You don’t want your listeners confused about what to do next, you want them to know exactly what they need to do and have it geared towards an action that you want such as driving engagement, visiting your website, or even subscribing to your show.
Continue reading to understand why to use CTAs in your podcast, how to set clear objectives, how to use them and more.
Understanding Call-to-Actions in Podcasting
So, what exactly is a call to action when it comes to podcasting?
It helps guide your listener’s choices and prompt them to take the action that you desire.
Specifically, an action geared towards your podcasting goals.
Setting Clear Objectives for CTAs
Then how do you set clear objectives for your podcast?
You’ll want to review your podcasting goals and figure out exactly what you want to accomplish such as…
Increased audience engagement
Driving website traffic
Generating leads
Promoting your products/services (or even sponsored ads)
No matter what your goal is, you don’t want to have too many calls to action to overwhelm your listener but set up one or two that are aligned with your goals so that you can help achieve them.
How to use CTAs
Once you’ve figured out what your key goal(s) are, it’s time to set up your call to action. Here are some ways that you can use your CTAs -
To Drive Subscriber Growth
If you want to drive more subscribers to your podcast you’ll want to encourage them to subscribe on their favorite platform(s).
An example of this CTA: “If you haven’t already, please hit the subscribe button in your favorite listening platform to never miss a future episode.”
To Encourage Listener Interaction with CTAs
Or if you want to encourage your listeners to interact more with your podcast such as leaving reviews, sending feedback, participating in a poll, joining your community, or even sending in a listener response.
An example of this CTA: “If you’ve been loving the show, please leave a rating and review in Apple.”
To Drive Traffic to Your Website or Blog with CTAs
Another place you may want to point people is your website or blog to help drive traffic, including promoting your blog, resources, or other content on your website that you want to take them to.
An example of this CTA: “Check out my website linked in the show notes for more information”
To Monetize Your Podcast with CTAs
You also might have a goal to make money with your podcast whether that’s promoting sponsored content, your affiliate links, merch you are selling, your products/services, subscription/premium content or even gathering donations.
An example of this CTA: “Check out the show description for a link to learn more about subscribing to our Patreon and gaining access to exclusive benefits.”
How to craft compelling CTAs
Now you have an idea of what kind of call to action you want to include in your podcast, it’s time to craft a CTA that is compelling and will resonate with your audience.
Here are some best practices for implementation:
Make it clear and concise
Add in humor
Consider where you place your call to action
At the beginning of the episode to catch their attention (in case they leave early)
In the middle once they’ve stuck around and are engaged with the episode
Or towards the end to leave a lasting impression and encourage immediate action.
Have it be natural
You want it to align with your content if possible so if you are speaking on a topic that is relevant to your CTA that can be a great time to include it in the episode.
Make it easy
You don’t want too many CTAs where your listener is confused nor do you want it to be a hard process for them to access it. For example, if you are sending them to your website you want to link it in your show notes so it’s easy for them to just click the link vs trying to remember the URL from listening.
Reviewing your CTAs
Don’t forget to measure and review your call to action to know how effective it is.
You’ll want to track metrics such as click-through rates, how it’s converting, website traffic, or listener engagement over time.
Understanding this is important to know if your CTA is effective. If it isn't, you can make adjustments to improve its effectiveness and achieve your goals.
You can utilize tracking tools like bit.ly or Chartable’s SmartLinks to know how many clicks you are getting for a link.
Get Your Call to Action On
We encourage you to implement these tips and experiment with calls to action to figure out what works best for your show and listeners.
You never know what will be effective until you try and test it, what works for one show just may not work for another.
Remember to be clear and concise and make it about your audience so that it resonates with them.
If you need help crafting compelling CTAs for your show, reach out to us and we can brainstorm together.
Aleea
