This time, I'll tell you what "credibility" means in podcasting and why we work longer on the first 7 minutes of a podcast than on the other 40.
I hope this text helps you gain more confidence in your podcasting, edit boldly, and don't be afraid to cut and shorten.
What is the Credit of Trust?
I've already told you that in our studio, there is a "7-minute rule" - the first 7 minutes of the podcast should be as exciting as possible, unsurpassed. And now I'll explain why.
Imagine turning on a new podcast for the first time and deciding whether to continue listening or turn it off. How long will it take you to make this decision? Each listener answers this question differently: some immediately turn off the episode if it didn't live up to their hopes from the very first minutes; others, if they've already turned it on, then listen for at least 20 minutes to understand it in detail. We call the time during which you make a decision the "credit of trust": its size varies among different listeners and ranges from 15 seconds to 20 minutes.
The most interesting thing is that the credit of trust is issued not once, but several times per episode - and this process is similar to a gradual increase in the credit limit. Here's how it works.
Let's say our episode was turned on by the Most Impatient Listener - they gave us credit for 15 seconds. If we don't hook them in time, they’ll turn off the podcast. If we have time, they will give us another 40 seconds of attention, or even a whole minute. Moreover, the more we manage to hook them, the larger the next credit will be.
As a result, to capture as large an audience as possible, we try to amaze listeners in the first 15 seconds, and then again and again - and so on until they finally decide to stay. That's why we work so carefully on the first 7 minutes of the podcast - during this time, we expect to gain the complete trust of the listener so that they listen to the entire episode to the end.
What helps to increase your credit of trust?
First Impression: usually, listeners decide to tune into a podcast based on the cover, the show and episode titles, and recommendations from friends. Some listeners also check the podcast and episode descriptions, as well as ratings. All these elements influence their decision to listen to an episode - this is how we gain our initial, small, credit of trust. The more impressed they are by these elements, the more credit they will give us from the very beginning, making it easier to retain their attention.
If we're fortunate, we can gain enormous loyalty at this stage. For example, if we manage to secure a unique story or a famous guest, a headline like "Elon Musk talks about his failures with Twitter" will immediately provide us with not just 15 seconds, but 15 minutes of credit, because the headline is compelling. If we don't have direct access to someone like Elon Musk, we can achieve a similar effect by tapping into our listeners' specific interests. For instance, if I see the title "Embroidered Stories: How Women Pass on Their Experience Through Generations with Embroidery, Knitting, and Sewing," I will immediately give this podcast 60 minutes of trust because the topic resonates with me. However, this rarely happens.
Typically, a new listener approaches the first seconds of a podcast with lukewarm skepticism, wondering if it's worth their time. What can we do to warm up their interest?
Flash forward. This is a compilation of the most interesting moments of the podcast. A flash forward is like a blockbuster trailer: we mix phrases taken out of context to make our listeners guess what the conversation was about - and thereby capture their attention. The flash forward is used precisely to increase the "credit limit" of the most impatient listeners from the very beginning of the episode: they hear biting phrases and agree to give us a couple more minutes of their attention.
Whether to use a flash forward for your podcasts is your decision. And in the next newsletter, I will tell you how to make it better.
The first thought or story is often crucial. Conversational podcasts frequently begin with long greetings, introductions from the hosts and guests, and discussions about the topic of the episode. This can be dangerous because until you get to the interesting part of the conversation, you are wasting the trust of your listeners, rather than earning new ones. That's why I try to shorten the intro as strictly as possible and dive into the thick of it as quickly as possible, telling the first interesting story or non-obvious thought. This is the only way I can keep the attention of the most impatient listener.
Your reputation. If the listener listened to the entire episode, then we have received the credit of trust for the next one. Next time, the Same Impatient Listener, seeing the title of your show, will give the episode not 15 seconds of credibility, but a minute at once: simply because now they already know that you can be trusted, and you will not waste their time.
After a few successful episodes, your name alone will work better for your regular listeners than the title, description, and flashforward combined. Loyal listeners will not turn away from you, even if the first 20 seconds of your podcast pass in complete silence.
But newcomers will still have to be surprised: for their sake, each episode will have to be made exciting right away, from the first 15 seconds, and the tension will be maintained for at least the first 7 minutes. Just in case.
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That's all. I hope this guide will help you podcast more confidently, edit more boldly, and retain even the Most Impatient Listeners. Don't forget that you can entrust this work to us - we do it brilliantly.