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There is a slightly awkward moment at the end of a lot of podcast episodes. The conversation has gone well, the guest has shared something useful, and the listener has stayed with you for half an hour, maybe an hour. Then, just as the episode is wrapping up, they get a list: subscribe, leave a review, follow us on Instagram, join the newsletter, check out the website, buy the book, follow the guest, share the episode.
None of those are bad things to ask for. The problem is that most listeners probably are not going to do six of them.
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One episode, one next step
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So it may be more useful to think about the end of an episode in a simpler way: what is the one sensible next step for someone who has just listened to this particular conversation?
That answer does not have to be the same every week. If the episode covered something complicated and the listener is likely to want more detail, the next step might be a useful article, guide or resource. If the guest introduced an idea people will want to explore further, it might make sense to point them towards the guest's work. If the conversation raised a question that people will have opinions about, inviting them to reply or join a discussion could be far more natural than asking for another five-star review.
Sometimes the best next step is simply another episode.
That sounds obvious, but it is easy to overlook. We often treat calls to action as something that has to move the listener somewhere outside the podcast, when keeping them listening may be the most valuable thing you can do. If you have already earned someone's attention, recommending the next conversation they are likely to enjoy is a pretty good use of it.
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Make the action fit the conversation
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The strongest calls to action usually feel connected to the episode rather than attached to it afterwards.
Imagine a thoughtful conversation about rebuilding a business after a difficult year. If the episode ends with “follow us on all the socials,” it is not wrong, but it has very little to do with what the listener has just spent an hour thinking about.
Asking them what they are changing in their own business, pointing them towards a practical resource, or recommending another conversation on the same subject gives the episode somewhere to go. The action feels like part of the conversation rather than a piece of admin added after it.
It can help to give each episode one job. Before publishing, try finishing the sentence: “After this episode, I want an interested listener to…”
Maybe you want them to join your newsletter. Maybe you want them to listen to something else, reply with their experience, download a useful resource or learn more about the guest.
You can still include other links in the show notes. The point is not to strip everything away. It is to decide which action matters most and give that one enough space to make sense.
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Guests should think about the next step too
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The same idea applies if you are appearing on somebody else's show.
It is natural to arrive knowing what you would like promoted. Maybe that is your book, newsletter, website, programme or latest project. But your usual link is not automatically the most useful thing for every audience.
Before recording, it can be worth asking the host what would actually be useful for their listeners after the conversation.
You may find that a particular article, checklist, episode or free resource fits the discussion much better than the thing you normally mention. It also makes life easier for the host, because they are recommending something that follows naturally from the conversation rather than squeezing in a promotional mention at the end.
And if you are a host, it is worth asking the same question of your guest. Instead of automatically ending with “where can people find you?”, you might get a much better answer from “if somebody enjoyed this conversation, what should they look at next?”
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A small test for this week
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Pick one recent episode and look at everything you currently ask people to do at the end or in the show notes.
Then choose the action that fits best with what they have just heard. Move it up, explain why it is worth doing, and let the other links sit underneath it.
You are not trying to extract every possible click from somebody before they leave. You are giving a person who has just chosen to spend some of their time with you an easy way to continue.
That is a much better starting point.
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What made you take action?
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Whether you're a Podcast Collab Club member, part of the Facebook community, or reading along through the newsletter, I'd be curious about the other side of this too.
Think about a podcast you listened to where you actually did something afterwards. Maybe you joined the newsletter, looked up the guest, listened to another episode, bought the book or simply sent the episode to somebody.
What made you do it?
Hit reply and tell us, or share the example in the Facebook group. Those real examples are probably more useful than another list of “perfect CTA formulas.”
Happy Collaborating,
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The Podcast Collaborative Team Ready to ride the wave of podcasting's biggest year yet?Come check out the Podcast Collab Club and connect with creators who are making it happen!
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Ready to start taking the guesswork out of finding great guests and the legwork out of landing aligned interviews?
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The Podcast Collaborative
Mansfield, CT 06268, USA
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