After dedicating time and resources to create a new podcast, the worst outcome would be for it to go unheard.
You have already put in the effort to deliver a high-quality podcast and to build interesting content for your listeners - so what steps can you take to guarantee that people listen to your show?
You need to do podcast marketing and you need to make sure your podcast marketing strategy is going to work. The effectiveness of using podcasts themselves as marketing tools is undeniable, but your podcast needs to be promoted and marketed also in order to attract a large following and build the growth you are looking for.
If you are going to promote a podcast, you need to make sure people who listen to podcasts can find it. There could be a plethora of people out there who would love to listen to your show, but can’t find it anywhere, or it's too much effort for them to seek it out. Different people have their own favourite podcast app, so make sure you cover all the bases and upload your show onto as many as possible so that your podcast can be easily discovered.
It is essential to make it readily available to your target audience in order to ensure that your podcast is heard by the most amount of people possible. By getting your podcast show on various Podcast Directories, you will increase the likelihood of people listening.
For listening to and subscribing to podcasts, there are plenty of Podcatcher apps available such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Google Podcasts. To reach your desired audience, do some research to find out which Podchasers they are using and make sure to create accounts on each of them.
You can check out our Top 15 Podcast Directories blog post for some inspiration.
If you want your podcast to appear on a Podcatcher, you need to fetch the RSS feed from your hosting provider and submit it to each directory individually.
Note that each podcast directory entails a one-time setup process that requires 1-2 weeks for their teams to sign off on it, so be sure to plan ahead if you have a launch date in mind!
Now that your new podcast is easy for your audience to find and access, your fans need to know it exists! To make sure your podcast reaches its full potential, it is essential to have a strong online presence on social media as part of your podcast marketing strategy.
Based on who your target audience is, you can decide which social media platforms are best for reaching the right people. Do you think your target audience will be on LinkedIn or TikTok, Facebook or Instagram? Put some thought into this and decide which platforms you are going to invest your time, energy and resources into.
There are many ways you can promote your podcast on social media and luckily, it is a great opportunity to get creative with your posts. With creative methods to promote a podcast you will boost your podcast’s visibility and grow your audience. You can create buzz by:
With the help of these tools in your marketing strategy, promoting your podcast is easier than ever.
Take advantage of all types of content for your podcast marketing strategy. You don’t need to stick to text and images. Given the nature of podcasts, it is important to include as many forms of audio in your social media podcast promotion so that your listeners can get a sense of you and your show more easily and build that connection with you.
If you record a video podcast, harness this additional form of media in your marketing strategy too. Use YouTube to create clips such as backstage material and share them on your social media networks. You should consider YouTube shorts, Instagram reels and Facebook videos too.
To find out more about the advantages of Launching a Video Podcast, take a look at our guide.
Using social media for podcast marketing is a great way to increase visibility and reach. It allows for a larger audience to be exposed to the podcast and potentially become dedicated listeners. The people seeing your content do not necessarily have to be following you directly to discover your show, which is highly beneficial for growth.
When it comes to podcast advertising, it is wise to begin with your existing social media channels and marketing channels. This means when you are first starting out, your existing audience will already have access to the promotional content and learn about the launch of your show. From there, as your show grows, you can determine if you would like to create new accounts specifically for the podcast.
Your podcast website is like a home for your podcast, where you can construct a powerful brand identity and provide your audience with clear directions (for example: listen to this episode first, subscribe at this location, sign up for our email bulletin here, and so on).
Creating a website specifically for podcasts allows people to engage further with your content or access audio content more easily and quickly. They can find additional material, resources and links that you mention on your shows. Additionally, with a podcast website you have more control over the content, and can edit such content to fit the needs of your audience. For example, some people having hearing issues and prefer to read transcripts which they can find on your website.
Your podcast website should also include your podcast blog to form part of your podcast marketing strategy. You should post a blog entry to your website for each episode you produce.
This allows your viewers to engage with the content in a variety of ways, and makes it reachable to a broader audience. Providing show notes and transcripts (or selected excerpts) of the episodes will also ensure that any topics covered in the show will be searchable on the web, which is ideal for SEO.
Diving deeper into how your podcast website can massively help optimise your podcast SEO, is that it can ensure your podcast shows up in web searches and, thus, be found by more people. Even if someone isn't actively searching for a podcast, they can still discover the website and potentially become a listener.
For every episode, include a keyword associated with the topic and have it appear in the post, headings, subheadings, alt descriptions, and meta descriptions.
To stay on top of your game, it is important to track relevant data. By monitoring your website (and your social media or email advertising) you can observe patterns of activity to your website, and levels of involvement to identify areas where you can make adjustments and improvements to expand your presence.
This way you can adapt your podcast website to deliver what your listeners want, which will help with promoting your podcast and optimising your podcast marketing strategy.
This is an effective way to stay connected with your audience, build relationships with them and advertise your latest episode releases.
You can use your podcast website to build your email list of followers with a "subscribe" pop-up or through a contact form. As a podcast host, having an email list is essential as it gives you direct access to your listeners and allows you to engage with them outside of your show recordings. Reaching out to those on your mailing list is more personal and your listeners will find they can build a deeper connection with you, the podcast host.
In order to develop this closer relationship with your listeners and to keep them updated on upcoming content, consider creating a Podcast Newsletter for those on your mailing list.
Your Podcast Newsletter can be sent out with each new episode you release. You can automate the process of sending out an email to let your listeners and subscribers know the new episode is available. You can also include relevant links to what you discuss on your show for your audience to dive deeper. You can build a rapport by filling them in on anything going on outside of the podcast recordings, or include any behind-the-scenes photos to make them feel as though they were there too!
This is a great way to maintain a connection with your listeners regardless of any changing social media platforms as your mailing list will always be yours regardless of what could happen to social media accounts in the long term.
To begin, consider using either Mailchimp or Mailerlite to create these newsletters. They are intuitive and powerful to use.
This gives you the opportunity to maximise the additional reach and subscriber following that comes with hosting guests on your podcast. Not only are your followers going to know about the episode, their followers will also know about it and be interested in listening too.
Inviting podcast guests to come on your show is also a great way to add diversity, insight, and interest to your podcast which will help grow your audience.
Your podcast marketing will benefit greatly from guest appearances as podcast hosts will request their guests to spread the word about the episode to their followers.
Be sure to streamline the procedure for your guests to publicise your podcast episode - make them aware of the release date and provide them with a comprehensive press kit that has simple podcast marketing and promotional material such as marketing copy, audio clips, and soundbites from the episode that they can share quickly and easily on their social media platforms, website and email newsletters.
When you are spreading the word about your latest episode release through your own podcast marketing and promotion, be sure to tag your guests in each post on your own socials. This will make it simpler for them to share your content rather than creating their own posts from scratch.
As well as inviting the guest onto your show, another way to promote your podcast and expand your listenership is to appear as a guest on other podcasts. Since it can be challenging to secure regular guests, other podcasters will likely appreciate a proactive outreach with an offer to be a guest on your show.
Another aspect of your podcast marketing strategy that involves partnering with other guests and podcasts is to do a promotional ad swap with another podcast. By cross-promoting the two shows, you are both providing value to the others’ podcast's audience, while also getting your podcast's name in front of hundreds of potential listeners -a true win-win situation for your podcast marketing.
Not only will networking give you the opportunity to invite the right people onto your podcast show as guests, it has many benefits for staying connected with people in your field and ensuring your podcast promotion is reaching the right audiences for your show’s growth.
To start incorporating podcast networking into your podcast marketing strategy, construct a catalogue of individuals with whom you'd love to collaborate with, and with whom you can offer and establish a mutually beneficial and profitable agreement. Obtain their contact info on their website or social media, or utilise sites such as Podchaser Connect to reach the right people.
You can reach out to people on LinkedIn, join various online groups and forums such as Facebook, Reddit, and Quora, and make use of those in your existing network for connections and introductions. This is a great way to meet people and build connections with like-minded individuals and creators. Interacting with others and sharing your thoughts can help you stay up to date about trends in your industry.
Much like networking with individuals and hosting a guest on your show, partnering with a brand in your podcast can help you reach their audience and have them promote and advertise your podcast on your behalf. When your collaboration is with the right brand, whose customers are the same as your target audience, you can have your podcast reach them from a brand they already trust and engage with, making it likely they will be interested in listening your show.
There are many ways you can work with brands. When you recognise a potential for a powerful, mutually-beneficial relationship between your podcast and a company, it is a good idea to make a deal for a brand collaboration ahead of time. This way you can agree in advance what each of you expect from the arrangement. Not only can you use your brand partnerships for mutual advertising (you advertise their company on your podcast episode and they advertise your podcast by sharing your episode with their customers), you can also explore promo codes and affiliate links with the brand.
Alternatively, if you don’t arrange anything beforehand but you mention a brand in your episode, you can contact them to let them know they have been featured on your show. They may in turn help promote your podcast by sharing the episode. If you can show them how your audience engaged with the episode, how they were interested in their company and how you drove customers and sales to their business, this will also increase the possibility of them collaborating.
Podcast Networks are essentially a group of shows under one umbrella.
A Podcast Network, such as iHeartRadio, NPR, or WYNC Studios, offer a platform for podcasters to make their ad space available to advertisers.
It can be great because all the marketing and advertising is managed by the network, allowing the advertiser to target their ads to the right audience. They are generally quite successful for podcast growth. If you are okay with losing some of the creative control of your show and the network taking a portion of your earnings, it is worth exploring. Being part of the Podcast Platform will introduce your show to new listeners you may not have reached otherwise and also provides an opportunity for automatic monetisation.
Potential listeners can see the list of the best shows in their favourite category and discover your podcast. The list offers you direct access to the right target audiences as you are grouped with similar shows and offers you credibility as a top show in your genre.
These lists can be on blogs and websites, podcast hosting sites, inside Podchaser apps or posts on social media.
If you come across an already-published list, leave a comment expressing your appreciation of the author's work and suggest your show for future editions. It's also a good idea to get in touch with the author to ask how you can make it onto the list.
Even if they are unable to help you this time, making a connection may lead to inclusion in one of their future lists. And don't forget to show some appreciation for the author if you are featured on one of their lists.
For your podcast show to grow and become successful, you need as many dedicated listeners to find it. If nobody knows that your show exists, you won’t grow.
You will need to use multiple strategies to promote your show so that it can be discovered by as many people as possible. You will need to continually promote your show to make sure your listeners stay engaged and come back to listen to each new episode release.
By employing these 10 Podcast Marketing Strategies, you will be able to promote your podcast show to the right audience, watch your podcast's audience grow and become a creator of a highly successful podcast.
For the best podcast launch possible, be sure to utilise our 7 step guide on how to "Launch a podcast for your business."
