Feb. 15, 2022
Should My podcast Have A QR Code?
Do I need a QR Code for my podcast? Yes, it's a great idea to promote your show.
For example, did you see the "bouncing QR code" commercial during the Super Bowl? It was for Coinbase, the Cryptocurrency exchange. The ad was a huge success - in fact, the website crashed when I tried to sign up.
The pandemic has resurrected QR codes, which were dead before 2019. Now it's how you read a restaurant menu, it's how I host bar trivia, and there are a number of other applications. Today, I explain how to set one up for your podcast and what destination(s) to point that QR code to.
We also take a look at the top 5 podcasts of 2021, in terms of weekly listeners, as ranked by Edison Research.
Need help with your podcast? Find me on social @JAGinDetroit or on my website at www.jagindetroit.com.
Transcript
Jag: A QR code is a great way to promote your podcast.
Intro: And now I look at this week in podcasting news, it's the Jag Show Podcast.
Jag: In fact, QR codes are probably something that's been resurrected since the pandemic. They were dead before 2019.
So I'm at a friend's house at a Super Bowl party on Sunday night.
And I can't really tell you about too many of the commercials because it was a party and we're all talking and not really listening too much. But the one commercial that caught my eye was the Coinbase commercial, where they had just that bouncing QR code, going all over the screen for 30 seconds. I got to admit I was intrigued, and I'd pulled up my phone and I scanned the screen and it was for $15 in free Bitcoin if you sign up for Coinbase.
I don't know, Bitcoin, I don't know crypto, I don't know NFTs, but 15 bucks in free Bitcoin seemed like a good idea. So I did it. Now. It was the ad effective? Yeah, probably a little too effective, because the website crashed. I couldn't get in, got an email in the second half of the game that said, "Hey, sorry about that. Uh, we're good now if you want to sign up."
So I did, and I've got 15 bucks in Bitcoin. We'll see what happens. Now a QR code is really a great way to promote your podcast. It's a lot easier than having a long URL to send somebody to. And you can put it on your website, you'll see it here in the corner of this video if you're watching this episode of the JAG show on video. You can even put it on a business card. Real quick, real easy way for someone to pull up your podcast right there on their phone. They are free to generate. A bunch of websites will generate a free QR code for you. Now, the question is what URL do you point that QR code to? Well, there are a couple of different ideas.
You could have different QR codes if you wanted one for Apple Podcasts, one for Spotify, one for a website. I think the best way to do it, though, and I've mentioned this in previous episodes, have your podcast on one website, which will then connect to Apple, Spotify, Google, et cetera, or even let a person who's not super tech savvy or into podcast apps listen to the episode right there on the website. A handy resource for this is PodPage.com. I use that for my website. The free version will give you a standalone. Or for 20 bucks a month, you can tie it to your website. For example, this show lives at jagshow.jagindetroit.com.. So QR codes. You've used them at restaurants. I use them to host bar trivia. Why not use one for your podcast?
Very quickly. One piece of podcasting news before I let you go today. The top five podcasts of 2021 by weekly listeners, as released by Edison Research. Number 5: Stuff, You Should Know. Number 4: This American Life. Number 3: Crime Junkies.
Number 2 is The Daily., and Number 1 is The Joe Rogan Experience.. I don't think the recent controversies around that show are going to change how this shakes out, but what's really interesting is The Daily did a deep dive on the Joe Rogan Experience and everything that's happened there over the last couple of weeks. Podcast on podcast crime, if you will.
And they even acknowledged that in the episode It was last week if you want to check it out. The Daily did a deep dive on all the "controversy," as Jimmy Fallon would say, around Joe. If you need help with your podcast or have questions at all about podcasts, and you can find me on social at JAG in Detroit or on my website at JAGinDetroit.com. Until next time stay healthy and stay safe. Lata!
Outro: Thanks for listening to the Jag show podcast. For help with your podcast. Find Jag on the web@jagindetroit.com.
