12 Dec 🤩Do ratings & reviews really help our podcasts?🤔
👋Hey there Podcaster!
 |
There were some great discussions this past week in our Empowered Podcasting in Clubhouse rooms, come join the 1,400-member club and listen 7-8am EST every weekday. We have Thursday afternoon (3-4pm EST) and Friday evening (8-10pm EST) chats as well. We have a group of speakers that talk about all things podcasting, providing feedback and answers to all your podcasting questions. So come on in and up to the stage to hang out!
New to Clubhouse, or have no idea what it is? It’s a live audio app that combines something like podcasting and conventions and you can join in on the conversation! And guess what, in this newsletter, I’m talking about podcasting and conventions! Here is a great video describing what Clubhouse is and how you can benefit.
🚗UNIFY: A RODECaster Truly Meant for the Road
 |
As discussed in our Clubhouse room on Wednesday, moderator (and 37 year radio pro) Chuck Taylor purchased the RODE X UNIFY Virtual Mixing Solution software (https://rodex.com/en/unify) for the Black Friday promo of $1/year. Now the regular price is $69/year or comes free with the purchase of a new RODE X USB microphone. Chuck says it is just like the RODECaster Pro, providing six virtual input options, control over outputs, streaming, and those handy voice and sound effects buttons as well.
This is a great travel-friendly alternative to the bulky and expensive RODECaster Pro hardware, which is hard to pack up every time you hit the road. Any downside? Currently, the software will only work for a PC and not Mac computers. I can’t wait to check it out once it’s available for Mac, I think it’s going to be very useful!
🤩Ratings and Reviews
 |
Last week in Clubhouse, we discussed podcast ratings and reviews, and it really sparked some great discussion!
In general, most people do consider both the good and bad reviews as valuable information when making a purchasing decision of a pricey item on Amazon. For the most part, this does not convert for podcasting. Why? Because podcasts are free, and you can choose to not listen to the whole episode if you aren’t liking what you hear at any point. There is very little risk to pressing play.
So why do a lot of podcasters ask listeners for 5-star ratings and reviews? Apple podcasts says that the ratings and reviews do not influence your podcast’s visibility or rank. But I believe it can influence the potential listeners who do look at reviews before deciding to press play.
Remember not to take a single bad review at face value, instead look for trends and similarities in constructive feedback of multiple reviewers before you let it influence any potential change or action with your podcast. It’s a delicate balance since your listeners are an amalgam and you can’t please everyone! I like when reviews are read on the podcast to highlight your listener’s positive or even negative thoughts on your podcast. Did you hear my story in the Clubhouse room about how I did this with the troll-comments in my podcast?
Use ratings and reviews as a way to generate helpful feedback. Let your audience know that leaving you a review is a simple way to support your show. These positive reviews are great for social proof to post on your website, on social media platforms, and read on your show.
💰Referral Program Reminder
My referral program offers you a 15% commission for anyone you refer that purchases any of the following packages you see here: https://ironickmedia.com/services/
Please note that these package prices are going to go up for new clients in 2023; the first time I’ll have raised my prices since the company started. So if you know someone who’s been thinking about podcasting, now’s a great time to introduce them to me. You can give them my email address or this link to schedule a free call with me: https://calendly.com/ironickmedia/freestrategycall
I’m so grateful to be connected with you and a part of your podcast journey.
All my best,
👋Marc Ronick
​