Podcasting Q&A

How to ask for Listener Support (without sounding desperate)

September 13, 2021 Buzzsprout
Podcasting Q&A
How to ask for Listener Support (without sounding desperate)
Show Notes Transcript Chapter Markers

Gez from Motivation Without the Hype asks, "How can you ask for listener support without sounding too desperate?"

TL;DR
Whether it's a one time donation, becoming a member of your Patreon community, or buying your merch, asking for listeners to give you money can feel weird.

But the thing is, you'd be surprised at how much your listeners want to support you when given the opportunity.

So in this episode, we'll share five tips to help you ask for listener support without sounding desperate.

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Sarah:

In today's episode, you'll learn how to ask for listener support without sounding too desperate. Welcome to Podcasting Q&A, where you learn the best tips and strategies to launch, grow and monetize your podcast. This week's question comes from Gez.

Gez:

Hi, guys. My name is Gez Perez from Sydney, Australia motivation without the high podcast Show. I'm a Buzzsprout user and I absolutely love the platform. My question is, what are the steps or strategies or even a script to us support whether it's in the beginning in the middle or even at the end to ask for support without sounding too desperate when any monetization links that you provide? Thanks, guys.

Sarah:

Thanks for your question, Gez now asking for monetary support. Whether that's a one time donation, becoming a member of your Patreon community or buying your merge can feel really hard. But the thing is, you'd be surprised at how much your listeners want to support you. And once you make that call to action, that they're going to rally around you and your show, it's really no different than asking for someone to subscribe to your podcast, or even leaving a review in a podcast directory like Apple podcasts. Tip number one is to give a very clear and compelling reason why you're asking for monetary support is it so that you can pay your editor you're looking to be compensated for your time, or you trying to create an in person event and you need some money to be able to do so the more clear of a reason you give to your listeners, the more likely they are to understand why you need monetary support, and then donate to your cause. Tip number two is what's in it for the listener as in? What are they going to get from providing monetary support? Are they going to get a bonus episode on their monthly Patreon fee? Are they going to get a shout out? Or a thank you on your podcast for supporting you? Or are they going to get merged like stickers or postcard for donating a certain amount to your show. Tip number three is to make it super easy for your listeners to support you now that you have a clear and compelling message, including what's in it for the listener, there's no place for them to click on a link or figure out where to support you. How are you going to get that money. Now there are places like supercast that make it super easy to deliver things like bonus episodes. And there's different pricing tiers that your listeners can pick or if you have a PayPal link or other links that you want to point your listeners to make sure to have those links everywhere. That includes your show notes, your website, your social media handles, and even your episode description. Now, if you host with Buzzsprout The good news is that there's a feature that you can use that makes it super easy for your listeners to find the Support link. Once you drop your link in the support show feature will show up at the bottom of all your episode descriptions, your Buzzsprout website, and even in the Buzzsprout embedded player. Tip number four is to not be afraid to appear call to action more than a few times, it may feel like you're sounding desperate by repeating your call to action more than one time. But the truth is, even if a listener has heard it and really wants to support you, they may be distracted by other things and forget to support your show. So by repeating your call to action more than one time, it'll keep that message on top of mind for the listener so that they'll remember what they wanted to do in the first place, which is to provide a monetary donation. And the final tip is to be genuine. Of course, the reason you're asking for monetary support is so that you can keep making an amazing show or to do an event or something that will benefit the listener and the more genuine you are in your message. The more your listeners are going to believe and understand that you truly care about them and truly care about creating a show that is in their best interest. Thank you for listening to Podcasting Q&A. Now if you have a question you would like to submit for the show had to speakpipe.com/Buzzsprout and leave a brief audio message. Podcasting Q&A is available video and audio format. If you'd like video, please subscribe to the Buzzsprout YouTube channel. And if you'd like audio Podcasting Q&A is available in all the places where you can listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening and as always keep podcasting

Intro
"How do you ask for support?"
Tell them why
What do they get?
Make it easy
Tell them often
Be genuine