So, one of the most annoying things in the world to me is bad marketing.

I see people with great products or services, mixed with horrible marketing that leads to inevitable failure. And it drives me insane.

Podcasters are often guilty of this. From their show notes to their facebook posts, podcasters are messing up, bad. "In this week's episode, we talk about blah, blah, blah." "Our special guest So-and-so joins us to discuss such-and-such".

BORING.

If this is how you promote your podcast, you've already lost my attention.

And it doesn't stop there.

One of the most common ways I see podcasters try to earn a little money is to sell some branded shirts. The go to Tee-Spring and put their "super cool" podcast logo on a T-Shirt, with dreams of making millions. They spam they crap outta their facebook feed, they tell their listeners to go buy the shirts, and they shut down the sale with nothing to show for it.

Both of these are examples of the most common marketing mistake made by business owners, as well. They make their marketing all about themselves, and how cool they are, rather than about their audience.

"We started our business back in 1975."

"We offer a superior product at a lower price."

"We were voted best in town by such-and-such magazine."

NOBODY CARES!!!

People don't care about how cool you think your business is. People don't care about how cool you think your podcast episode. People care about one thing and one thing only... themselves.

And if you want them to pay attention to you, you need to grab their attentions by addressing what's important to them. That being; themselves.

Don't tell them about how cool your latest podcast episode was. Don't tell them about how smart your latest guest was. Tell them what they will get out of listening. Tell them how their lives will be improved if they listen. Tell them what danger they can avoid if they listen to your latest episode.

Don't tell them about what you put into it. Tell them what they'll get out of it.

Same thing goes for selling branded t-shirts.

People buy clothes as a way to express themselves. But a t-shirt with your podcast logo plastered on the front only gives them the opportunity to express you. That's not gonna sell a lot of shirts.

Don't make a shirt that gives your listener the chance to tell the world about you and your podcast. Make a shirt that allows your listener to tell the world about themselves, and tie it into your podcast.

My podcast is about freedom and business ownership. My listeners care about self-ownership and being their own boss. When I make a shirt to sell to my fans, my podcast logo is the smallest thing on it. The majority of the design is about letting my listener express themselves.

The full print will be a quote that tells the world who they are and what they value. It will be a design that expresses their personality. Then, off in the corner, will be a small version of my podcast logo. But the shirt is about them, not me, and not my podcast.

And guess what; every time I do a run of them, I sell out.

So here's they point: make your promotions about serving your fans, not your own ego. If you want their attention, start where their attention is already focused; on themselves. I'm sure your podcast is great and it deserves to be listened to, but self-centered promotional tactics will not make that happen.

I want you to succeed. I want your podcast to succeed. And I don't want you to make the biggest marketing mistake that rookies fall victim to; self-centered self-promotion.

Guide to Choosing an Effective Podcast Domain Name

Choosing a domain name for your podcast can be hard and there are several factors to consider. Especially if that website hosts more than one podcast theme or category. How did you find your favorite podcasts website? Did you find it in a search engine or type their brand name in the address bar and add a .com to it?

Choosing a domain name shouldn't be a daunting task

Your domain name is ultimately how your audience will find you and should reflect your brand or subject as clearly as possible. With the ever expanding internet it is getting harder and harder to find short meaningful domain names that fit with your brand. But it shouldn't be a deal breaker and i am going to give you the tools to choose a effective name for your podcast website.

You just want to be heard

Do you have a message to get out? Did you just decide you wanted to start a podcast website but have not come up with a brand yet? Coming up with a brand name is no easy task, and takes a lot of consideration. First, you have to think about what your brand is about. Are your brand and show the same thing, or does your brand encompass several shows with different subjects? Are you branding yourself or your podcast.

"Podcasting is the Gutenberg press of the 21st century, and it gives you the power to be heard. With a podcast, you can be the educator, you can be the entertainer, you can be a fierce competitor in the marketplace, you can be the voice that moves generations."

You don't need to be a marketing genius to have a great domain name

By remembering these simple steps you can have a domain that will connect you with your audience

1. Do your research



2. Make It Memorable



3. Match your brand



4. Use Keywords



5. Keep It Short



6. Use an appropriate extension

If you do a podcast about The Lord Of The Rings you may choose a name like lordoftheringspodcast.com or thelotrpodcast.com, which is a name that specifically defines the subject of the podcast, is recognizable and easy to remember, and contains search terms your target audience is likely to use. Or like the Bayside High and Drunk Podcast at heybaysiders.com, you can choose a show name that describes the theme of the show with a site name that your target audience can connect with.

If your site consists of several shows with a broad range of subjects you should ask yourself if shows have a common theme? Are all
of your shows related to aeronautics, or technology or programming languages?
Does your brand relate to politics or religion or economics? What is the overall message you are trying to get to your listeners? Can you narrow your vision down to a few keywords?

Remember your audience is going to have to find you through search engines and advertising. Whether it is social media ads,
google ads or word of mouth you need something that is relatable and memorable.
If at all possible it should contain keywords that describe you brand or your
message.



Often people have an established brand and already have an idea of what their domain name needs to represent. You may even have a name for your brand, but that doesn't guarantee that your brand name will be available as a domain. When you register for a new domain name you will want to do a little research. You will have to determine if the domain you want is already taken. Most registrars will tell you if your domain, and if it is taken, will offer different variations of the domain you wanted.

The part that's getting harder as the internet ages is getting a short domain name. Many of the shorter and more descriptive domains are taken by either similar brands or domain warehouses, who may give you the option to buy the domain at a marked up price. A short domain will not necessarily guarantee you more customers, and may not be an option for your brand. But it will it make it easier for your customers to type and remember.

Make it memorable

Some may recommend not using plurals, or words like ‘the’ and ‘my’ or ‘our’, but I would just advise if you do, to make sure to explicitly promote your site using those terms. If your site is thewidgetfactory.com but your brand name is just Widget Factory, then you need
to make sure all of your promotions clearly differentiate the difference between your brand name, and your website name, otherwise you may drive your traffic to a competitors site.

.Org .Com .Net ETC…

What domain extension (Top level domain – TLD) type do you need to use? Well that is up to you. COM NET ORG and so on used to have specific purposes. COM was for commercial sites, NET was for technology, and internet infrastructure sites, BIZ for commercial e-commerce type sites ORG for non-profit or community type organizations and so on.

There is a variety of new Top Level Domains available for registration like .me, .biz, .info and many others. Choose something relevant to your site. While the COM addresses are the most common and the most memorable, they may not always be available, but remember that someone is most likely to look for mysite.com than mysite.nyc.