Podcast Avatar Essentials: Who Do You Think You’re Talking To!?

You’ve got great ideas and a microphone, but who exactly are you talking to? Many podcasters say their show is for “everyone.” But vague-casting doesn’t make your show universally attractive. Understanding your ideal audience makes it easier to connect with them and build a meaningful relationship. Here’s how to define your podcast avatar or ideal listener, what to do with that profile, and how that avatar can help your podcast thrive.

What’s a Podcast Avatar? 

The word may evoke images of blue, elfin creatures, but the word “avatar” comes from Hindi and means the incarnation of a deity in human form. It’s come to mean a personification of an abstract idea. What we mean when we say “audience avatar” is your podcast’s ideal listener. 

Why does this imaginary friend matter? Any podcaster can benefit from imagining their ideal listener as a real person. However, this avatar idea is most helpful for solo podcasters who feel put off by “talking to themselves” behind the mic. Name your podcast avatar to make the image more concrete. Now, you can think of yourself talking directly to “Bob”, “Helen”, or “Count Chuckles of Chortleton”.

If I asked you to imagine the ideal audience for a “kids and family podcast,” you’d probably picture two kids in the back seat of a car while an adult driver picks out a podcast. Or, if I say “True Crime podcast,” you might visualize a woman in loungewear examining documents with a magnifying glass. On the most basic level, that’s an audience avatar. 

When you understand your podcast avatar, you can determine how to reach them and what they can do for you. 

Case Study: The True Crime Audience Podcast Avatar 

Let’s use True Crime podcasts as an example, since many studies have consistently found that they attract a specific audience. I’ll show you the data, and how to make it work for you. 

Who Listens to True Crime?

Sounds Profitable’s Safe & Sound study showed that 38% of women respondents ranked True Crime as their favorite podcast category.  The Pew Research Center found that True Crime podcasts were most popular among women. So, it’s safe to say that the audience avatar for True Crime is likelier to be women (though not universally: my husband can’t get enough True Crime).

How Does This Audience Find and Consume Podcasts?

Now that we know women listen to True Crime, we can examine data about how women find and consume podcasts. For example,  the Women’s Audio Report: Women & Podcasts released by Edison Research and Sirius XM reports that: 

• 40% of respondents ranked True Crime first out of twenty-four categories (verifying what we learned from Sounds Profitable and The Pew Research Center)
• 74% of respondents find out about new podcasts from social media, and 73% find out about new shows via word of mouth 
• The majority of respondents listen to find connection, knowledge, and representation, and are highly responsive to calls to action. 

This is a superficial layer of information. I don’t want to keep you here all day. Now that we know that True Crime listeners tend to be:

• women
• finding their next podcast via social media or word of mouth
• seeking community, education, and representation
• are likely to act on podcast CTAs

What do we do with these data points about our True Crime podcast avatar?  

What Methods Are Appealing?

Our ideal listener is more likely to discover her next podcast listening experience through a social media post or word of mouth, so we know that social media posts will be more effective than purchasing a print ad, for example. Successful promotion will focus on relationship-building rather than general advertising. Cross-marketing tactics, such as trailer swaps, feed swaps, and guest appearances on other podcasts, can fit into calls to action (i.e., “if you enjoyed this show, then check out that show.”). 

This podcast avatar prefers word-of-mouth recommendations, so empower your audience to be your word-of-mouth PR team. Incentivize participation by thanking people on the air when they reach out or review. 

And, this ideal listener wants positive representation. If you don’t already have women on your True Crime show, bring them on board immediately. Get expert consultants, who happen to be women, to explain a court case or investigation. Bring in lady guests, or when you need an extra voice, choose a female-identified voice artist. 

When you know what kind of people are most likely to listen to your True Crime show, and what motivates their podcast choices, you can tailor your content and PR strategies accordingly. 

A Real-World Example

Crime Junkie’s website is chock-full of relationship-building opportunities. In the “Extras” category, information about avoiding scams, a portal to suggest a case, and a free cross-stitch pattern are just the beginning of their relationship-building paths.

How to Research Your Ideal Listener and Apply That Information to Your Podcast

Not all information about the relationship between podcasts and their audiences is as clear-cut as that of the True Crime audience. Gathering statistics about your audience can involve researching outside the podcasting realm and then analyzing how podcast listeners engage with your show’s content. 

Instead of Researching Podcast Audiences, Research What Your Audience Wants

Let’s shift from True Crime to gardening, for a moment. Home and Garden is an undervalued podcast category. You may imagine the ideal listener as an elderly lady wearing large gloves and hats, trimming rose bushes. Instead of looking up, “Who listens to garden podcasts?” look up gardeners. These are the people you want to reach. Look up industries that depend on the same information in your podcast. 

Who Else is Interested in Your Audience, and Can They Help?

Companies that manufacture and sell garden products conduct extensive research, as do universities and publications with an interest in the environment. Gardening Statistics in 2024 includes many specific findings about gardeners that defy the Miss Marple stereotype. The number of millennial and Gen Z gardeners has increased significantly in the past five years. The primary reason for the increase in gardening among these groups was related to mental health.

How Can You Put Your Podcast In Front of Your Ideal Audience?

Now that you know many new gardeners are millennials and Gen Z, look up information about podcasting for these demographics. A lot of research exists about millennial and Gen Z podcast listeners, and don’t underestimate Gen Alpha. 

What Does Your Ideal Audience Want From Your Topic?

Since you know these gardeners are also interested in mental health, plan your topics accordingly. Interview a psychologist who specializes in horticultural therapy, or a graduate student who studies the effects of agrichemicals on wellness. Your audience can listen while they pull weeds, and you may be able to secure a sponsorship with a local garden center. 

No matter what your podcast’s topic or niche is, pursue the common interest (your podcast’s topic), gather data on how people consume it, and apply that to your podcast to strengthen your relationship with your ideal listener. 

Once You Know Who to Invite, How Do You Make Your Podcast Inviting?

Here’s where you need to give your show a handle for your ideal audience to grab. Make sure they can find your show easily, provide a show that caters to their interests, and use empathy.

Include the Audience In The Description and Introduction

This could seem obvious, but for some podcasters, this is new information. You may want to include the target audience for your show in the episode description and the introduction. For example, a golf podcast for Christians could have a name like “What Would Jesus Putt?” or ask in the podcast description, “Do you love golf, but have to make sure you can get a tee time after 1 pm on Sundays so you don’t miss church?” You don’t have to follow SEO tactics dogmatically, but clarity helps.

What Would Your Audience Buy?

Your audience avatar’s education and income level help you plan monetization schemes. The podcast merchandise you sell can validate how your audience avatar views itself. A show for beer drinkers may be more interested in drinkware than t-shirts, but knowing your podcast avatar can tell you whether to sell crystal stout snifters or crocheted can cozies. 

How Does Your Audience Play?

When I first started podcasting, my friends who showed the most enthusiasm for my podcast were people who read a lot of graphic novels and played tabletop roleplaying games. I printed stickers with the podcast logo on them and dropped them off at comic book and game shops to give away to customers. I can’t track that PR campaign’s effectiveness, but it didn’t hurt, either. 

How Does Your Audience Work?

Put yourself in their shoes while planning your podcast format and structure. Busy real estate agents may prefer shorter episodes or segmented shows that they can pick up and put down between client meetings. Long-haul truckers might enjoy longer episodes.

Bring Your Podcast Avatar With You.

Take time to write down:  

• who your podcast is for, 
• what you know about that audience, and 
• how your podcast can meet your audience on their terms. 

Stick this piece of paper on your podcast workstation, and keep it visible while you record. When you have your ideal listener in mind while working on your podcast, you’re more likely to work in a way that strengthens your relationship with that audience. 

Podcast Avatar Sounds Alien, But Shouldn’t Be.

When I research information, I often second-guess my citations, which slows me down. One day, I decided that one of my ideal listeners is Gladys, a woman who cares so much about research accuracy that she will fight me to prove any argument I make. Now, when I second-guess myself, I think of Gladys (who looks an awful lot like my aunt Janet), and I thank her for her dedication. 

Count Chuckles of Chortleton doesn’t mind how tight my citations are. He listens to my podcast to fall asleep.

Ultimately, your audience avatar or ideal listener loves your podcast’s topic as much as you do. It may seem that you don’t have to define your ideal audience because they’re someone who’s just like you. But no two people are alike. The more information you have about who your audience avatar is, the easier it is to reach, reward, and encourage them to share your show. The compassion you carry for your audience will show through in your podcast. 

Need some help fleshing out your podcast avatar? Try the Alitu Showplanner. It’s free to use, needs no login, and generates assets including a trailer script, episode ideas, and unique angles for your show.