Juleyka Lantigua-Williams shares her strategy for audience growth and how it's put her shows on the path to reach 1 million downloads by the end of the year. Here's what I learned in this episode: Audience growth isn't something that magically happens once you start publishing episodes.  If you want to grow your audience and get more listeners and fans, there's three important questions to ask yourself. These questions are important regardless of how long you've been podcasting. The three questions are: 1. Who is the ideal listener for my show? 2. What needs do they have that I'm trying to address and fulfill with my show? 3. Where is my ideal listener spending their time and attention, and what's my plan for getting their attention? ••• Juleyka Lantigua-Williams is the founder of Lantigua Williams & Co, an audio production company. She describes her role as building teams that make podcasts and films. So a little more about Juleyka: Juleyka is the Founder/CEO of Lantigua Williams & Co., an award-winning and Peabody-nominated digital media studio that builds teams that create beautiful experiences in digital audio and film. She is a journalism veteran with 20 years of experience as a writer, reporter, editor, syndicated columnist, book editor/scout, lecturer, and audio producer. Lantigua Williams & Co. produces original shows like Latina to Latina, 70 Million, and Feeling My Flo, and provides tailored consulting and white-label production services for clients that include Macmillan Podcasts, the Phi Beta Kappa Society, WHYY, KQED, and Civil Beat. Juleyka says she first fell in love with podcasts after hearing Serial. After devouring that show, she became fascinated with the way story-telling techniques were being used in audio. She got the chance to work on Code Switch at NPR, and fell in love with the process of making podcasts. I met Juleyka last year when Lantigua Williams & Co started using Simplecast for hosting. After several interesting and insightful conversations about podcasting, I asked her if she would be willing to be a guest on my show to talk more about her approach to audience acquisition. Couple quick things to mention before we get into the interview: First, Juleyka is hosting a series of webinars about working in podcasting she's calling Podcasting Seriously. If you're interested in getting into working in the podcast industry, or if you'd like to take your podcasting skills to the next level, I'd encourage you to check it out and sign up. Visit https://www.podcastingseriously.com/ to learn more. Second, we recorded this interview using Squadcast, which dropped the call multiple times. Kind of a bummer, but that's how it goes sometimes. Next time I'll be sure to record locally as well. Luckily I was able to edit the show in a way that the drops aren't noticeable. Alright, let's get into my conversation about audience acquisition (and more) with Juleyka Lantigua-Williams. Tip #1 for Audience Growth: Know as much about your ideal listener as possible without violating their privacy. Q: Who is the ideal listener for your show?  If you're like me, you might answer that question with something slightly vague, like, ”My ideal listener is someone who is interested in making a great podcast.” That's a decent start, but let's dig deeper. Let's get specific. So where do you start? What are the fundamentals? So many people start podcasting before they've identified their show's number one biggest fan. You've probably heard about creating for an ideal listener before, but Juleyka takes the idea to the next level. Juleyka looks for factual evidence for what she believes is true about her ideal listener, who even has a name and a face (check out the website). Things you should know about your ideal listener: Age Education level Career level Relationship status Family info Where she lives Digital experience habits Hobbies Purchasing habits How many other people like her are there? Juleyka's ideal listener even has a name: Kenya. Why this matters: Knowing your ideal listener gives you a target. It will help guide your decisions as you're planning out your content and pitching the show to advertisers. If you're thinking about starting a show, answer this question: "Will my ideal listener listen to this show?" If you know that she will listen, then pursue the idea. Tip #2 for Audience Growth: Meet the needs of your ideal listener. Once you've figured out who your ideal listener is, start thinking about what their needs are. What podcasts do they listen to and why? What are their needs? How can you make something that addresses those needs? These can be difficult questions to answer, but if you know a few people who match the profile of your ideal listener, you should ask them which podcasts they listen to, and why. I think you'll find the answers interesting and thought-provoking. Tip #3 for Audience Growth: Once you know who your ideal listener is, go where they are. "Once you know who she is, you need to figure out where she is and go there. Where is she? How can I take the show to her?"" Where is your ideal listener spending their time and attention? Don't wait for them to discover you. Take the show to them. Juleyka mentioned looking for consumer data about her ideal listener, which is something I've never really looked into getting before. I didn't get a chance to ask her for more details, but here's a link I found on Google that might be a good place to start: Where Can You Buy Big Data? Here Are The Biggest Consumer Data Brokers Shows mentioned in this episode: Code Switch Latina to Latina Feeling My Flo 70 Million Follow and Support Juleyka: https://www.lantiguawilliams.com/ @juleykalantigua on Twitter @LanWilCo Podcasting, Seriously with Juleyka Lantigua-Williams Whether you’re an independent creative or someone looking to make a career move to podcasting, this series is for you. With so many excellent 101 resources available about HOW TO podcast, it’s time to take a deeper look at skills and ideas that will take you a step further into podcasting as an industry. Let’s talk, seriously. Get your tickets now! ••• Connect with me at https://www.aarondowd.com, and get more podcast episodes at podcastingwithaaron.com. Thanks for listening! Aaron DowdJuly 23, 2020Fort Worth, Texas