Yelp has added optional attributes for LGBTQ-owned businesses, including rainbow-colored map pins.
Regardless of whether your podcast is part of the LGBTQ community, you have a "flag" you can fly. So fly it!
People want to feel understood and support businesses that "get" them. And the same is true for podcasts.
You don't have to be over-the-top with your messaging, or even overt, but if something comes up that identifies you as part of a group, don't hold back simply because some people listening to you will feel uncomfortable.
For example, I recently did an interview with a lesbian. She talked about her wife, not her "partner" or anything else that would confuse that she's in a relationship with a woman. She didn't hold back when describing her relationship, but we also didn't make a big deal of it either—we treated her marriage to a woman just the same as we would have had she been married to a man.
Let me be clear—nobody was trying to hide or downplay anything—we just didn't spend any time making a big deal out of who she was married to.
Why? "Not a big deal" is how we would have discussed a heterosexual marriage. Also, because we weren't trying to convince people to change their minds on gay relationships.
You are not in the convincing business. Your job is to share a message and let people decide for themselves whether it's appropriate for them.
Own who you are, speak your truth, and keep move on. This is how you’ll attract people to your podcast and normalize things.
