6 Ways to Thank Your Podcast Audience

You might think your audience should thank you for all the work you put into your podcast, but how often do you thank them?

Even though this episode was published around USA Thanksgiving, I suggest practicing thankfulness at all times of the year and in every episode!

1. Adopt a perspective of gratefulness

Yes, it's true that you are sharing your time and talents with your audience. But dwelling on that too much might lead you to feel entitled or to not appreciate what your audience gives you.

Instead, look at everything through the perspective of gratefulness, remembering that your audience is made of real people. Just imagine having all of them in a room at the same time!

2. Say “thank you”

The two simple words, “thank you,” carry a lot of weight. I don't know about you, but at least for me, it also seems a lot more meaningful to say or hear “thank you” instead of “thanks.” Try saying “thank you” more often, and with more genuine emotion behind it, especially to your audience.

In The Audacity to Podcast, I like to make “thank you” among the first things I say in each episode as well as the last thing you hear. I've never tried to measure what difference this makes, I only feel it is important that this is the first and last thing you hear, instead of my asking you for something back.

3. Share, use, or acknowledge your audience's feedback

One of the biggest ways to make your audience feel special is when you include them in your podcast in some way. Sharing their feedback from emails, comments, podcast reviews (use My Podcast Reviews to collect these), voicemails, and such help validate their thoughts and feelings, and it makes them part of the podcast with you. Plus, it often makes them feel like a celebrity and more loyal to you and your podcast because they've been “seen.”

If the feedback contains suggestions or critiques, you could test those ideas.

Even if you can't share the feedback with your audience (for whatever reason), simply mentioning and thanking the people by name can mean a lot to those people and the rest of your audience.

4. Host live events

Have you considered doing live events with your audience—even if you don't get a podcast episode from it? This could be in-person meetups or live-streamed things. You could sell tickets or make it free.

Inviting your audience to be with you, in whatever capacity that is, makes them part of your “in” group and helps foster community among your audience. It also gives you a great opportunity for you to personally and directly thank your fans, including eye contact and friendly physical gestures.

5. Offer fun activities

I see some podcasters ask about ways to celebrate particular milestones, usually around episode numbers or anniversaries. I suggest that any such celebration should focus on giving back to the audience instead of focusing on yourself. You could host a contest, a giveaway, a game, or anything else that will be fun for your audience.

Several years ago, we hosted a costume contest for my retired podcast about ABC's TV show Once Upon a Time, and we offered multiple levels of prizes based on community votes. The winner was amazing!