How to Refresh Your Podcast Branding
Listen to the full episode here:After sharing multiple considerations for refreshing your podcast branding, it's time to wrap it up with the big question: how?
This is my last episode in my miniseries about refreshing your podcast branding. Please review these past episodes/articles for more information:
• 6 Benefits of a Podcast Branding Refresh
• When Should You Refresh Your Podcast Branding?
Reminder: What is “podcast branding”?
Your “podcast branding” is one or more features that uniquely identify your podcast. It's the first impression for new audiences, and it's how your loyal audience recognizes your podcast distinctly from others.
Podcast branding is more than only your cover art. It could be the logo inside your cover art (and that logo can be used for all kinds of things)—and a logo is difference from cover art . It's the audio and video elements you use throughout your episodes. It's your podcast description . It's in your repeated phrases. It's even in how you communicate and host your podcast.
A “branding refresh” would then be updating any or all of these elements, but keeping the core of your podcast the same. A “rebrand” would be if you change much more of your podcast , including what you talk about and whom you try to reach.
1. Evaluate the needs
Do you actually needto refresh your podcast branding, or are you merely bored with it?
Most likely, your needs will fit within one or more of the benefits to a podcast branding refresh that I've previously shared:
• Attract a new audience
• Increase your perceived quality
• Adapt to the latest trends
• Strengthen or reset your podcast's identity and message
• Infuse new energy for your audience and yourself
• Stand out from others
Your actual needs should be the biggest influence over all your other branding-refresh decisions. For example, my now retired Once Upon a TimeTV aftershow podcast got me a friendlycall with one of Disney's lawyers because my visual branding looked so much like theirs, that they actually thought I was using theirimages. So all I needed to do to satisfy the almighty Mouse was refresh the visual branding and make some more prominent disclaimers that we weren't affiliated. That was an immediate and important needfor that podcast's visual branding, but it didn't change anything about how we ran the podcast (and the Disney lawyer was clear that they did not want us to stop our podcast).
2. Understand your own podcast
You've seen the cliché plot line before: you journey up a mountain on a path to self discovery and you're met by some sage who helps you discover that the magic was within you all along.
Understanding your own podcast won't have you climbing mountains, but it doesmean trying to step out of your own position and objectively look at your podcast as both an outsider and as an audience member. Seek to understand what makes your podcast unique. What are your recurring elements? What is your podcast known for? What does the audience like and dislike? Whyis your audience listening? And why are you even making the podcast?
Look for the things you should emphasize more, and the things you should remove.
For the branding refresh I did of The Audacity to Podcasta few years ago, I realized that my visual elements weren't really communicating the idea of “audacity”: boldness, courage, guts, and such. But those were definitely recurring themes. After all, that's whyI named by show The Audacity to Podcast! So I knew that the magic was in me all along, I just had to let it go!
Another aspect of this is realizing that your podcast's branding might not match your own preferences. For example, the music I have alwaysused The Audacity to Podcast, a song called “Vegas Shuffle,” is not actually the kind of music I enjoy. In fact, I don't really like hard rock or electric guitar music. But I love that song for this podcast because I think it perfectly fits the vibe of my podcast branding. (Watch me get inducted into the Podcast Hall of Fame to hear my “walk out music” that actually fits mebetter!)
3. Consider the timing
An effective branding refresh will take time to do it with excellence. So consider not only how much time the process will take, but when is actually the right time to launch the new branding.
For example, if your show is seasonal (and for good reasons, I hope!), the start of a new season could be a great time to launch the new branding—either with the first episode of that season, or with the trailer preceding the new season.
Other good times for a branding refresh could be around milestone episodes or anniversaries. Learn more in my previous episode/article about whento refresh your podcast branding :
• When your podcast significantly changes
• When your branding stops growing with you
• When you enter new “seasons”
• When you can improve the quality
• When there's enough compelling feedback
• When you determine the benefits outweigh the “cost