This is not about politics. This is about learning lessons from the current frenzy that dominates the news here in America and abroad. Yes, I’m talking about American politics, but only so we can apply some lessons to the world of podcasting.In order for Presidential wanna-bes to become a viable candidate, they first have to appeal to their base. The same thing holds true for podcasters. Your base is asking themselves this question: Should they help support your (or your show’s) viability?So… is it? If so, you’ve got your base of volunteers and supporters. The people who may contribute to your show early on and maybe leave a rating and review of your show.Once your base is engaged and is supporting your viability, it’s time to take your message to the masses. Politicians have to appeal to their own party hardliners. In podcasting, the group you want to attract is the hard-core podcast listener. And they have their own agenda: Does your show increase the viability of podcasting overall?if you are producing the type of show that they feel exemplifies what podcasting can be, then you’ll get the benefit of their word of mouth. And some of these people, like the journalists who cover podcasting, have very loud voices indeed.After that, the people running for office have to appeal to the people who vote. Likewise, podcasters should appeal to the people who listen to podcasts. And when doing so, they have to understand why a listener would choose to listen to them. As before, it comes down to an evaluation on their part: Does your show validate their worldview?Yes, it really does boil down to this: what's in it for them? Yes, the 30% to 40% of the people who listen to podcasts have an appetite for new content. If it’s good enough, they may be interested in listening to the content you put out. But it has to be more than good. It has to validate their worldview.I’ll leave you with two key takeaways from this: 1. You don't have to make podcasts that appeal to everyone. Politicians don't try and appeal to everyone. They only appeal to people who are likely to vote. Podcasters should make their efforts appealing only to people who are likely to listen to podcasts. And before you go to the larger world of podcast consumers, make sure you’re appealing to those inside of the podcasting community and to your own small group of base listeners.2. Big shows don’t have to worry about a small base or the podcasting community.