I’ve seen many companies start podcasts only to abandon them later when they don’t see the results they were hoping for.
Most of the time, the frustration comes from not having a clear strategy and underestimating how much time it takes to maintain a podcast. This can lead to wasted resources, confusion, and roadblocks that could’ve been avoided.
If you have a podcast but aren’t seeing the returns you hoped for, it’s important to step back and diagnose the underlying cause. If you don’t yet have a podcast, understanding the potential challenges can help you avoid them altogether.
In this article, I’ll share the four most common roadblocks I’ve seen with clients and how those challenges can keep your podcast from performing well. But before I do, let’s explore the importance of strategy in podcasting and how a solid plan can help your podcast get back on track.
The importance of strategy in podcasting.
When your strategy aligns with your business goals, podcasting becomes more than just a show–it can be a powerful tool to establish thought leadership, generate leads, and build strong client relationships.
For example, if your end goal is to build a strong network in your industry, then the decisions you make might include inviting other players in your network to guest on your podcast. But, if your end goal is to generate leads, you’re better off interviewing successful customers and using your podcast to showcase case studies in an entertaining way. In this case, the overall business strategy dictates the type of guest and the types of stories you will tell.
But none of these outcomes happen by simply publishing episodes every week–your podcast has to connect to a larger business goal and integrate into your overall marketing strategy.
Having a clear podcast strategy in place helps you:
- Define your goals: When your podcasting goals are clear and outlined, it’s easier to create episodes that serve the end objective–whether it’s driving sales, increasing brand awareness, or deepening client engagement.
- Focus your team’s attention: A streamlined strategy keeps everyone on the same page and working toward the same goals, so you stay consistent and efficient, avoiding confusion and missed opportunities.
- Measure success & refine your approach: You can’t achieve your podcast goals if you don’t track progress. A smart podcast strategy includes tracking engagement metrics so you can assess what’s working and make data-driven adjustments to keep growing your audience.
Many of the podcasting roadblocks I’ll examine have one thing in common: a lack of strategy. And you can often avoid them with the right systems in place.
4 Common podcasting roadblocks and how to overcome them.
Here are the most common reasons some podcasts struggle to gain traction and produce results (and how you can turn things around):
Roadblock #1: Lack of clarity.
Most of the CEOs and CMOs I talk to start out with a broad goal—they want to reach more people. But as I help them dig deeper, they realize their true goal is not necessarily to become famous or reach more people.
When it comes to podcasting for B2B businesses, the majority of companies are looking to build their networks, establish authority, strengthen relationships with customers and partners, fill gaps in the sales process, and even train new hires.
But if your podcasting goals or objectives are unclear and not aligned with your business, you’ll probably end up frustrated, confused, and far from the goals you’re hoping for.
This often happens because businesses view starting a podcast as a goal in and of itself, rather than a tool that can help them achieve their objectives and fit within their overall strategy. When a brand approaches podcasting this way, it wastes resources, leads to ineffective content, and leaves businesses wondering whether podcasting is right for them at all.
The good news is that the fix is simple: define the purpose of your content and connect your episodes to measurable business goals.
Ask yourself what you want your company to achieve through podcasting.
- Do you want to generate more leads and prospects?
- Do you want to improve client relationships?
- Do you want to focus on brand visibility and building your thought leadership?
Once you decide on a primary objective—yes, just one—you can design your episodes to serve that end and track metrics to measure your success. Depending on your end goal, you can use engagement metrics (shares, listen time, audience retention) to see how your content is landing with listeners.
You can also monitor leads and inquiries from customers and the trends you see related to episode content.
These are all measurable benchmarks that help you know for sure whether your podcast is serving your end goal and, if not, where you should course correct.
Roadblock #2: Undefined (or misunderstood) audience.
Like with any form of communication, in podcasting, it’s important to understand who you’re talking to–their struggles, goals, and interests. Getting clear on your ideal listeners is a huge part of making episodes that are relevant to them. And if you aren’t creating relevant, engaging content, it will be harder to get your listeners to take action on your episodes– to learn more about your products or services, follow you on social, subscribe to a newsletter, etc.
We once worked with a client, Nuance Communication, who had a small but highly specific audience focused on clinical documentation improvement. This was already a very niched topic, but we suggested that Nuance narrow their focus even further. We started by identifying their goals and objectives, then fine-tuned their strategy to target listeners who use documentation to onboard new team members and sales prospects. By developing a clear, structured approach, we ensured their messaging stayed aligned with their goals and resonated with the right listeners.
Here are some ways to identify your ideal listener so you know exactly who you’re creating content for:
- Analyze your existing customer base: Your current customers are a wealth of data. What industries do they work in, and what difficulties are they trying to solve? If you have a blog, a newsletter, or other touchpoints, which ones do they engage with most? Which ones get the most traffic and feedback?
- Conduct interviews and surveys: You can ask your existing customers, followers, or subscribers what content they find most valuable and use that information to guide your episode topics.
- Look at your competitor’s audience: Check out your competitors’ podcasts to see what topics are generating interest and what episode formats work well within your niche.
- Use analytic tools: Nowadays, data is everywhere. You can look at your website traffic data, social media analytics, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems to glean insights into your audience’s demographics, behavior, and interests. You can also use tools like SparkToro for in-depth audience research.
Once you fully understand your audience and their needs, it will be much easier to create episodes that help you achieve your very specific goals.
Roadblock #3: Inconsistent publishing schedule.
When you underestimate the work it takes to make and sustain a podcast, you get overwhelmed and start releasing sporadic content. An inconsistent release schedule will hurt your momentum and the trust you’ve built with your audience. If your listeners don’t know when to expect your episodes, it can chip away at their enthusiasm for your content and make them less likely to stick around.
But an unpredictable publishing schedule doesn’t only affect your audience. If your team doesn’t have a streamlined approach to creating content, overwhelm can easily set in and cause frustration, confusion, and less consistent episodes.
One way to maintain a consistent publishing schedule is to outsource your interview planning and recording. This can be a great way to save your team time and not have to worry about the more technical parts of having a podcast–which can take more time and resources than you might think.
We once had a client delay their show for almost a year because they thought they had the time to run their own interviews, but they really didn’t. We finally asked them to let us take over interview planning and recording. This involved changing the format of the show a bit, which we weren’t sure they would agree to. But the team was so frustrated about how long they had delayed the project that their reply was, “That’s the most genius idea we’ve heard. Let’s do it.”
Keeping a consistent schedule requires having systems in place to prevent falling behind and becoming overwhelmed by production demands. You can create a publishing schedule around your team’s capacity, whether weekly or monthly, and follow these tips to help content creation go more smoothly:
- Reassess your foundation: If your podcast is struggling, go back to the basics. Make sure you have a strong team, a clear workflow, and a publishing schedule that works for everyone.
- Batch record episodes: Recording episodes one at a time might seem easier, but recording them in batch can reduce stress and save time. Instead of recording every week, you can record three episodes every few weeks. It helps you stay ahead of the game and fully prepared.
- Keep a backlog of episodes: Having extra episodes ready to go is a helpful safety net for when life happens, and you can’t record a new episode. This buffer lets you relax and not stress about missing an episode when something comes up.
- Set realistic expectations. To avoid committing to more than you do, take stock of your resources. How much time can you commit to planning, recording, editing, and promoting your episodes? It’s better to start with a sustainable schedule than to burn out and stop before you reach your goals.
Consistency leads to success. Many podcasters who have had the most success also have “more times at bat.”
Kobe Bryant practiced 800 jump shots a day and started workouts at 4 AM.
Tom Brady watched over 40 hours of game film per week to perfect his strategy.
Perseverance matters in podcasting. The more you practice and move forward, the farther along you are compared to the rest.
“Continuous effort—not strength or intelligence—is the key to unlocking our potential.”
— Winston Churchill
Roadblock #4: Failure to differentiate.
Every week I see a new interview podcast that promises to be the best thing you’ve ever listened to. However, most of these podcasts get lost in the crowd because they use broad topics, predictable formats, and guests that their audiences don’t really care about. Without a clear value proposition that sets you apart, your podcast can feel interchangeable and won’t sustain your listener’s interest, leading to low engagement, low audience loyalty, and disappointing returns on your efforts.
Making your podcast stand out in your industry is especially important for B2B brands, which need to reach the right decision makers to achieve real business impact.
Follow these tips to cut through the noise and attract the right audience:
- Define your niche: Ask yourself what your brand’s goals are with podcasting, who your target audience is, and how you can offer a unique angle within the market. You can use tools like Google Trends and industry reports can show you what your ideal listener is searching for, and search Apple Podcasts to get a feel for what kind of podcasts already exist in your space. Talking to your customers is also a great way to learn what listeners want and what they’re most helped by.
- Choose a distinct style: Try to stand out in your format. If you mostly do guest interviews, you can add a segment unique to your company that makes your content memorable. This could be a Q&A where you answer listener questions, a deep dive into valuable industry insights, or a rotating co-host for fresh perspectives. Commentary, dynamic storytelling, or a narrative-driven approach can also add a unique touch and make your show stand out.
- Have a strong, consistent brand voice: Whether your brand’s personality is bold, friendly, professional, or casual, keep it consistent to encourage trust and familiarity with your audience. This is especially important with the influx of artificially generated content; the more human and relatable your content is, the more it will stand out.
Each of these roadblocks can slow you down and make it hard to generate the results you’re looking for. But no matter how long you’ve had your podcast, it isn’t too late to course correct and deliver true value to your company.
Wrapping up.
Your podcast can offer your company a powerhouse of benefits. It can help generate quality leads with your ideal customers, build brand authority in your industry, and help you network with people you wouldn’t otherwise connect with. If you aren’t seeing these results, the chances are one of the four roadblocks addressed in this article is the cause.
By diagnosing the problem and adjusting your approach, your podcast can still be a valuable asset to your company and a driver of trust, engagement, and brand growth.
If you want to learn more about how to get your podcast back on track, you can schedule a free discovery call with me. I’d love to explore the challenges you’re facing with your content and help your podcast drive real, tangible results for your company.