Episode 207 | Insider Secrets to a Top 100 Podcast | Courtney Elmer

Unlocking the Full Potential of Your Podcast Avatar

How important is your podcast avatar, really? If you want a podcast that converts your listeners to leads and clients, it’s more than essential — it’s the key to unlocking your podcast's true potential. But if you think you know your podcast avatar, think again. Most people haven’t gone deep enough to truly understand their ideal listener. They stop at basic demographics and miss the goldmine of insights that come from digging into psychographics.

To create a podcast that not only attracts but also engages and converts, you need to make your listener feel like you’re talking only to them — and that takes knowing your listener on a deeper, more personal level. This is where real growth happens.

What is a Podcast Avatar (or Ideal Listener)

Your podcast avatar is your ideal listener — the person who’s experiencing the very real problems your podcast solves. If you’re using your podcast for lead generation, it’s the person who's most likely to become an ideal client for you, willingly pay whatever you want to charge for your help and expertise, and refer their friends.

Understanding who your podcast avatar or ideal listener is on both a conscious and unconscious level is the key to creating a bingeworthy podcast that drives engagement and conversions.

Your podcast avatar should be based on a real person, not a made-up mental construct of someone you think is listening to your podcast. Your goal as a host is to align all of your podcast copy and marketing efforts to attract more listeners who fit your podcast avatar or ideal listener. The way you do this is through specific language (more on that below).

Ideal listeners exist on a spectrum with three distinct categories:

1. Attract: These are the best-fit listeners you want to attract more of. They binge every episode and mirror your podcast avatar or ideal listener to a T (or is it tee?).
2. Accept: These are good listeners who are engaged with your show and who you’d gladly work with. They match your podcast avatar (or ideal listener) to some degree, and may include adjacent audiences you can help.
3. Reject: These are people who aren’t a fit or who you cannot help. They don’t align with your podcast avatar or ideal listener, and trying to convince them to listen to your show would be a huge waste of your time.

How Well Do You Know Your Listener, Really?

Most podcast hosts sorta-kinda know who they're talking to, but they don't go deep enough. We had a client with over 20 years in marketing who, after working with us, said she’d never understood her audience this well before. And guess what? This aha moment took her podcast from getting a handful of downloads per episode to a Top #30 spot in her category.

But developing your podcast avatar or ideal listener is more than just understanding your listener demographically. It’s about understanding them psychographically, or psychologically.

The Four-Part Framework for Defining Your Podcast Avatar

Unlike basic demographic facts, a psychographic profile focuses on:

1. The specific problems your podcast avatar or ideal listener is experiencing
2. The mistakes they’re making that are causing them to have these problems
3. The deeper beliefs that cause them to make these mistakes
4. The desired outcomes your podcast avatar or ideal listener ultimately wants but hasn’t been able to achieve

Maybe you’ve heard that if you speak to everyone, you speak to no one — but few podcasters actually practice this when it comes to their own shows. But unlike what you might’ve heard about “niching” in the past, your perfect-fit listener doesn’t have an age range or career in common — they have a PROBLEM in common.

The success of your podcast hinges on how well you define and communicate the exact problem(s) your podcast avatar or ideal listener is experiencing.

Why Specificity Matters

Showing your listener that you intimately understand their problem does three important things:

• Separates You from Your Competition: Instead of sounding like everyone else you'll stand out by zeroing in on the exact problems your podcast avatar faces, putting you in a category of one (because 99% of hosts aren’t doing this).
• Makes Your Podcast Hyper-Relevant (aka Unignorable): By calling out the specific problems your ideal listener is dealing with, you create subconscious demand for your content and your solution. If your goal is to break into the Top 100 in your category and convert more listeners into leads and clients, this is critical.
• Increases Listener Trust: Showing how well you understand your ideal listener’s problem immediately increases their trust in you as the expert. (It’s like finding a doctor who diagnoses your exact symptoms and says, “I know exactly what’s going on, and here’s how we’re going to fix it.”) Your listeners will naturally want your help to solve their problem.

You can turn vague language into something specific in three distinct ways: using numbers, turning feelings into verbal pictures, and saying what they’re thinking.

Most hosts think they’re being specific when they say, “My ideal listener is an overwhelmed online business owner.” But how is this different from any number of podcast hosts who are speaking to “overwhelmed online business owners?” In order to get your podcast to stand out, you’ve got to know how to describe “overwhelm” so specifically that your listener goes “Omg you’re in my head — that’s me!!”

Practical Tips for Using Your Podcast Avatar in Your Content

Once you’re crystal clear on who you’re speaking to (and more importantly how they think), then you can start using your podcast avatar strategically throughout your podcast content. There are dozens of ways to do this throughout your content structure and delivery, but here are two of my favorites:

1. Visualize Your Avatar: Keep a picture of your ideal listener handy while recording. Speak directly to them to stay focused and keep your content relevant and engaging. This personal touch will come through in your voice, making all of your podcast listeners feel more connected to you through your content.
2. Customize Your Content and Measure Results: Tailor your topics to address the specific needs and interests of your podcast avatar, or ideal listener. Then track key engagement metrics like listener feedback, episode consumption rates, and call-to-action conversions. If you’re hitting the mark, you’ll notice increased interaction and loyalty from your audience. If you’re not seeing signs of increased engagement, it could be that you haven’t identified the right problems or you’re not speaking to them specifically enough.

But what if my podcast doesn’t solve a problem?

You might think your podcast doesn’t solve a problem because it's more about entertainment or inspiration. But here's the thing: Every podcast solves a problem, even if it's not immediately obvious.

Think about why you binge Netflix past your bedtime or find yourself reaching for your phone to check social media. Chances are you're seeking distraction, connection, or a break from reality. Your podcast might not offer a straightforward solution to a given problem, but it can still address essential human needs.

For example, take a podcast that dives into nostalgic high school moments for listeners over 50. At first glance it might seem like it’s just for fun, but it actually tackles loneliness and offers a way to reconnect with fond memories. It’s directly addressing the lack of connection and nostalgia that many of its listeners crave.

Or look at the entire True Crime genre — these podcasts solve a different type of problem by captivating audiences with suspense and intrigue, providing a thrilling escape and a way to engage with complex stories that challenge the mind.

So, whether it's entertainment, inspiration, or a sense of connection, your podcast still meets a deeper emotional or psychological need that keeps listeners coming back. As the host, you need to know exactly what problem(s) your podcast solves for your podcast avatar or ideal listener. Without this dialed in, your podcast will continue struggling to gain traction.

Put it Into Action

To unlock your podcast’s full potential, you need to understand what drives your podcast avatar, or ideal listener, on both a conscious and unconscious level. It’s not just about knowing your ideal listener demographically, it’s about understanding the exact problems and emotional needs they have. When you address these issues with precision, your content becomes more engaging and trustworthy.

Every podcast solves a problem, whether it's offering entertainment or connection. By basing your podcast avatar on a real person and focusing all your podcast messaging on solving the real problems of your ideal listener, you’ll make your podcast more compelling and successful in converting listeners into loyal fans.

Want more tips on how to make your podcast stand out? Follow Insider Secrets to a Top Podcast for more tips like these for how to turn your show into a top podcast listeners can’t get enough of.

Need help dialing in your podcast messaging, identifying your listeners core problems, and developing your Ideal Listener Psychographic? Book a free strategy call to chat with our team and see if you’re a fit for PodLaunch.

And if you’re ready for more insider secrets on creating a bingeworthy top podcast listeners can’t ignore, hit follow on Insider Secrets to a Top 100 Podcast on your favorite app so you never miss a new episode.

Up Next:

Have you ever spent hours planning a podcast episode that you KNOW is packed with value, but it gets less than <100 downloads when you publish it? (Frustrating, right?) In this episode, we’re breaking down the subconscious triggers that make listeners hit play — and why your episode titles matter more than you think they do. 

So if you’re ready to learn how to title your podcast episodes to attract and engage new listeners so you can create an addictive podcast experience people can't stop raving about, don’t miss the next episode!