I’m a voracious consumer of content. I spend half my day reading blogs, half my night reading books, and my entire commute listening to podcasts. If you’re anything like me, you probably struggle to find great marketing podcasts to listen to. Some are too high-level, others are too basic. Some teach me a ton, others teach me nothing. Usually, there’s no way for me to figure out which casts are helpful until I actually listen to a few episodes.

So how do you find a marketing podcast that can help you and your organization? I’ve found three common threads in the best marketing podcasts that I listen to, and this is the bar that I set for every podcast I listen to. One podcast that meets all my criteria is Josh Miles’ podcast, Obsessed With Design. Give it a listen, and see if it meets all these criteria in your mind.

Here are the three things I look for in the best marketing podcasts.

Find a Marketing Podcast That is Actionable

In my opinion, it can be really hard to find a podcast that is actionable. If I’m listening to something on my way to work, I want tips that I can apply when I get in. Whether it’s tactical advice or a mental framework that I can apply, I want something that can be implemented right away. Most marketing podcasts focus too heavily on high-level concepts without giving any practical advice. Fortunately, iTunes comments can help you separate the wheat from the chaff. Here are the things I look for in iTunes reviews to determine whether a podcast is actionable:

• What do people say they learned? Do they say they enjoyed the podcast, or do they focus on their key takeaways?
• What do people implement? Do reviewers talk about how they were able to implement the things they learned in the podcast?
• Do they talk more about the host’s personality than the substance of the show? 

Usually you don’t need to check all three of those boxes. If you have a good answer for any one of the aforementioned questions, I think it’s worth giving a listen. After this, the process becomes less black-and-white. What I usually do next is listen to the most recent podcast to see if it meets my next criteria.

Look for Marketing Podcasts That are Relatable 

Next, I focus on finding podcasts that have a voice and tone that I can relate to. Usually, I can get this from listening to one episode. I usually just listen to the most recent episode and ask myself the following questions:

• Do I think I’d want to hang out with these people?
• Can I listen to their voices for 30-45 minutes per week without getting annoyed?
• Do they have a similar worldview to me?

If they can check one or all of those boxes, I download two more episodes to assess my final criterion.

Listen to Marketing Podcasts That Have Your Goals in Mind

Finally, I want to listen to podcasts that have my end goals in mind. I’ve listened to a lot of marketing podcasts that are great for some people, but not for me because they don’t view business the same way I do. Usually, I can assess this after listening to three episodes total. As I listen to the episodes, I ask myself:

• If I was working with these people, would they understand my job’s function?
• What KPIs or metrics do they talk about? Are they things I care about?
• Do I ever find myself yelling at the podcast? (This is one I’m guilty of.) If you ever catch yourself wondering “What are they thinking,” it’s probably not for you.

This methodology has helped me sift through hundreds of podcasts in the past to find the right marketing podcasts for me, and I hope you find it helpful. If you’re looking for a marketing podcast that checks all of my boxes personally, you should check out the Obsessed With Design Podcast. This podcast is hosted by Josh Miles and it is the single greatest resource I’ve found for marketers who want to better understand what makes their design team tick. 

You can subscribe to his podcast here. Check it out and leave a review!