The Thousand Solutions Blog

How to Market Your Podcast

Nov 25, 2022

The analysis done by Listen Notes shows that there over 2.9 million podcasts, as well as there are 147 million episodes available online.

The podcast you have is only one. The only way you can distinguish yourself from other podcasts and remain ahead of the competitors is to promote your podcast. Actually, you'll require an effective plan for promotion before you launch your podcast to ensure you're in the best position in gaining more listeners.

In this article will teach you 14 strategies for marketing to help you grow your audience for your podcast, and help it become more profitable.

14 Strategies to Market Podcasts You Must Try

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     Have a good podcast    

One of the easiest methods to draw an increase in the number of people who listen to the podcast you run is to make sure your show is interesting to listen to. That's why you should prioritize engaging in deep conversations with fascinating guests -- particularly subject matter experts -- in topics that which people would be attracted to.

Alex Birkett, the co-founder of Omniscient Digital and one of the hosts of The Long Game podcast knows this all too well. "I realize this may be snarky, but the only method to grow the reach of a podcast is creating a high-quality podcast to begin with," Birkett says. "You might be able to convince a famous guest to join to your podcast, but if your idea isn't appealing , and your guest is awkward, that's going to be a little spike of viewers at most.

Almost all podcasts that have been able to grow from scratch (excluding The Daily by the NYT or any other podcasts produced that is produced by NPR) have done so mostly via word of mouth as well as repetition. Therefore, if you've come up with an idea that's intriguing, and your podcast is good then you must determine whom your target audience is."

But, what exactly is it that makes podcasts great?

Four elements that make up an excellent podcast:

  • Valuable. Your viewers benefit from your show. When they're done with the episode, they've gained new knowledge or learned something new, or been entertained. or both.
  • Attention-grabbing. If you want to be successful, you'd like your viewers to view your shows from start until the end. To achieve this, the content must grab their interest and keep their interest. A boring content can cause people to become bored.
  • Unique. Your podcast should not provide a synopsis of million of podcasts in your field. There are many sources of inspiration for different podcasts, however it's your responsibility to create your own distinctive new twist. An ingredient that is unique makes your podcast more noticeable.

     Know your target audience    

The show may be hard to understand and your show may not (and shouldn't) be a hit with everyone. If you are striving to make content accessible to anyone and everybody, your show won't be distinctive enough for everyone.

If you're hoping to establish an image for your podcast, it's important identify your audience -individuals seeking quality content in your niche -adapt your podcast content to their needs.

However, identifying the ideal target audience for your business isn't a matter of magic. You'd have to do an extensive amount of study on factors such as

  • Their spectrum of the ages
  • Geographical place
  • Education level
  • Interests (of the listeners of yours as well as the listeners of your competitors) (of the listeners as well as your competitors).

If you are aware of the people who are watching you, it will allow you to create more engaging material as well as write more effective advertising copy.

Christine Brownstein, Chief Marketing Director at Palaleather UK recommends creating a persona template to help with this. "It might be helpful in the event that your show resonated with everyone, but it's unlikely," says Brownstein. "So prepare a document that is industry specific with everything you know about your target audience, so that you're able to reference it when you write marketing material. Take measures to acquire all details you can regarding a certain segment of the population so you're capable of creating campaigns that connect with them through pertinent material."

     Tell human stories    

It's only recently that I'm beginning to listen to podcasts but one of my most favorite podcasts includes The Diary of a CEO hosted by Steven Bartlett. It's because Bartlett tells stories from his own life and his professional experience and encourages his guests share the same stories.

People love stories. When they tune into an audio show, they hope to take advice from people that have been in similar situations, have found ways to overcome their challenges.

The characters on The Diary of a CEO and me might not share the same experiences, but I have a connection with their experiences in some. It's why I'm sticking around until the very end to find out what benefits accrued from their situations and how I can do similar things.

"Using stories to promote podcasts is an excellent method to attract the attention and involvement of the people you wish to get in touch with," says Christiaan Huynen who is the CEO and founder of DesignBro.

"People will be more likely to be attentive to your message after they have heard a compelling tale. The story doesn't have to be complicated or large; it just needs to be a compelling story that makes clear that you're the best person to speak to regarding the subject you're promoting. It's impossible to grab everybody's attention. However, those who's interest is piqued to your tale are the most likely to be intrigued by your show."

     Launch with at least three episodes    

If you haven't yet launched your podcast, you should make sure you have at least three episodes that are ready to be released on the day you launch. Don't be expecting your viewers to listen to just the first episode only to forget about your podcast. Instead, have a few episodes that they can be engaged prior to launching content according to the frequency that you select for your podcast.

As host for Product Marketing Insider, Lawrence Chapman offers this perspective.

"When podcasts go live at our firm, Product Marketing Alliance, we use a launch schedule which allows us to launch with a minimum of three episodes. They are available in the following formats: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, as well as YouTube Podcasts. "

     Your podcast will be accessible across all the major platforms    

If you want to encourage listeners to subscribe to your podcast, you have ensure that your podcast is accessible to them regardless of the application your listeners are using. As Chapman explained, the team at Product Marketing Alliance publishes their podcasts through Spotify and Apple Podcasts along with Google Podcasts.

Though these are the three main podcast platforms, it's still a good idea to submit your podcast to lesser-known platforms like:

  • Stitcher
  • Audio
  • TuneIn
  • Deezer
  • Pandora
  • Podchaser
  • Castbox
  • SoundCloud
  • Pocket Casts
  • Overcast
  • iHeartRadio
  • Podbay, etc.

Colin Jeffries, the host of the Rethink Marketing Podcast believes that the more platforms the podcast is accessible on, the greater number of people will be able to connect with.

"We are able to achieve success by expanding our reach to be among the top 5% of podcasts all across the globe," Jeffries espouses. "For our Rethink Marketing podcast, specifically We place an enormous focus on accessibility. Our podcast is accessible on almost each podcast platform has access (Apple, Spotify, Google, Podchaser, Stitcher, Pocket Casts, Castbox, etc. Etc.). This allows us to broaden our reach as well as increase the overall reach of our brand."

     Host guests, and enjoy a an enormous following    

One great method to advertise your podcast is hosting guests that have lots of fans on social media. It works since both you and your guests share the same objective: to draw people into listening to the episode.

"As one who has started and developed two podcasts, my initial suggestion is to host guest speakers with a solid social presence with the listeners you want to reach. "

Says Alisa Meredith Alisa Meredith, Senior Product Marketing Manager for SemRush.

Will Whitman, the host of the program, CMO Convo, echoes this: "With a few high-profile name guests who make use of their huge following on social media to in promoting the show You'll have the ability to slowly increase the number of listeners you have well. In addition, you'll be able to bring in more famous guests via word-of-mouth, creating an automatic circle."

If an episode featuring a big-name guest is broadcast, you want to contact them personally in which you ask that they share the program through their social media accounts. However, you must let them send it out. You can send your recipients:

  • The link to the show
  • Snippets of video clips in shorter form
  • Tweets that are pre-selected
  • Your personal Twitter URL so that they can retweet it.

What ever you're doing Don't give your audience a reason not to help to promote your podcast.

     Repurpose your podcast content for social media    

Social media is a great way to market the podcast, and to engage with your audience. There's more to the promotion of your podcast via social media other than posting hyperlinks for every episode. Here are some ways you can use social media in order to grow your podcast listeners:

  • Make use of the episodes you have created to spark conversations with your friends on Facebook (or the page) or on Twitter
  • Choose the best moments in an episode, and then convert them into tweets and LinkedIn posts.
  • Convert your audio MP3 files to MOV for the creation of a YouTube video
  • Make teasers of your newest episodes on your podcast with audiograms
  • Use an engaging 30--60 seconds portion of an episode, and then turn it into a video with graphics (with captions, of course)

Alex Birkett explains how the team at Omniscient Digital repurposes The Long Game podcast. "We invest a significant amount of money into the repurposing of content since we have an established presence on social media (as as do our guests who we host). We produce audiograms, videograms tweets LinkedIn blogs, as well as posts from every podcast episode.

It's not been easy to find a silver bullet However, in the past, our business has been growing regularly by doing the same. "

It is important to ensure that your targeted users are on the social media platforms that your podcast is advertised on. The goal is to be discovered by those curious about the topics the podcast is promoting.

     Promote on the internet as well as forum forums    

Forums and online communities are a part of social media. They deserve to have their own space due to their indifference to them. Platforms like Quora and Reddit include forums and communities made up of people who're enthusiastic listeners to podcasts. It's just a matter of searching for people in your area.

Ilija Sekulov, Marketing and SEO at MailButler.io says,

"If you have your own podcast where you talk about technology you could draw in more listeners is by mentioning the latest technology developments on forums with those who are interested in the subject and they'll likely would like to hear the things you have to say on your show.
Some people believe that because of the advent of social media platforms , forums don't have the value they once had. it, but this is false, there's still an extremely active and engaged community on forums that are specific to. "

     Make a site or blog for your podcast    

If you've developed your own show to promote your company or your courses then you must create your own web-based website for your podcast. This is where you showcase each episode to allow your viewers to locate them. It's possible to host your episodes on your website using embedded audio playerso that site listeners don't have to go through different websites for podcasts to listen to your podcast.

If you choose to repurpose the videos into blog posts, then you can post them to the site. This way, you'll be able to use SEO on the page to improve your website's rankings for organic searches.

Jordan Figueredo, the Senior Content Strategist and Podcast Producer for Online Notes, Optimism Notes

"If you are trying to make your podcast more visible, create a website or landing page with your domain name specifically for your show. It is crucial since it will allow you to write blog posts related to your show as well as general topics and specific episodes. This can increase the popularity of your content in addition to increasing the SEO.
Blog posts rule the throne of Google and therefore ranking for a keyword related to your podcast, as well as links to your website hosting your episodes is an excellent strategy to market your podcast and grow your amount of listeners. "

In order to rank your podcast's website on SERPs, make it more optimized around the keywords people use to locate your podcast. Incorporate that keyword into the search results:

  • Tag for title
  • H1 Title
  • Subheadings (H2, H3, H4, etc. )
  • Meta description
  • Content body (naturally)

     Utilize SEO to increase the organic ranking of your podcast    

As you optimize the site of your podcast for the search engines, be sure to also optimize the podcast. As with which is made more search engine friendly, optimizing it for the SERPs has many factors related to keyword positioning.

"Approaching your podcast with traditional SEO methods, such as important keywords, will help your podcast be noticed by websites and help you reach new audiences," Fernando Lopez, Director of Marketing at Circuit claims.

"While it's tempting to add keywords into the name or your blog, don't! The name you select must be short, cute creative, sweet and sweet rather than a wordy or generic phrase. Concentrate your search engine optimization efforts on your titles for the descriptions of your podcast episodes , not your episode titles. It will be simpler to integrate keywords naturally as well as give your podcast important keywords to boost your search engine rankings".

     Appear on other podcasts as a invited guest    

As a guest host on another podcast in your region can be a great method to increase the number of listeners and also cross-promote your own show. The only thing you need to do is find appropriate podcasts, and then present yourself to them.

"One of the most effective ways that hosts can increase listeners' attention is to be featured on pertinent podcasts in your industry as guest hosts," says Jakub Zajicek who is co-founder and CMO at Speak On Podcasts.

"This approach does much more than just increasing the number of podcast listeners. Hosts of podcasts around all over the globe appear on cool shows to create their own brand, connect with hosts from other shows, and make a greater influence on the general public."

Other relevant podcasts by searching:

  • Facebook group, for instance the Podcasters' Support Group, as well as Podcast Movement
  • Subreddits, like r/PodcastGuestExchange
  • Radio Guest List newsletter
  • Listen Notes
  • Podchaser

If you find a podcast that you'd like guest on, send an individual pitch describing why you'd make good for the show and what subjects you'd like to talk about. If you can, inquire with whether the host would like to add your podcast to the discussion. You'll also promote your podcast during their program for your listeners.

     Try marketing via email    

This is a great way to get to know your customers. Once a person has signed up to your email list, you can learn about what the preferences of their email engagement. Knowing patterns of their behavior will help you to create podcasts that they will enjoy and will lead to greater listens, and more subscribers to your show.

You can also send your subscribers updates about your podcast, such as every time you announce episodes or require your opinion on a guest or topic or guest, as well as weekly or monthly roundups of podcast episodes.

Lisa Richards, creator, and chief executive officer of Candida Diet is a proponent of the virtues of marketing via email:

"Research shows that email marketing for podcasts can produce up to 40x more than the amount of return on investment you'd get from marketing your podcast through Facebook or Twitter.
By using emails for marketing can help you keep listeners engaged during the time between episodes. You'll also be able to provide more information to every episode, and the overall brand through a discussion on the topic of the program and giving additional background and even providing updates about the topic after the show's episode airs."

     Promote older posts    

If you're publishing more podcast content It's very easy to be obsessed with promoting just the latest episodes. If you've run your show for some time it's beneficial to periodically advertise your old episodes as well.

Natalia Brzezinska, Marketing and Outreach Manager at PhotoAiD knows this.

"One major aspect with podcasts is that they're typically continuously updated content. Therefore, when marketing them, it is crucial to not only focus on new episodes but also those that were launched a while ago. It is likely that a lot of people of the targeted audience haven't listened to your older episodes, or are not even aware of them!"

     Use influencer marketing to leverage    

The results from Influencer Marketing Hub showed that Influencer marketing campaigns can earn $5.78 in earnings for each $1 invested. With stats like this engaging with influencers for the purpose of promoting your podcast could be well worth the effort.

"Focus on building relationships with influential people within your field who would like to review or endorse the podcast you have created," advises Gauri Manglik who is the chief executive officer at Instrumentl. "If they like the content they listen to, they may recommend it to their friends as well. If those listeners then subscribe to your show, they may turn into permanent subscribers."

To make influencer marketing productive, you'll have to discover an influencer with a huge following that aligns with the audience you want to reach. Engage them in a conversation and create a beneficial and mutually beneficial alliance in order to help promote your podcast.

If you have a conversation with someone willing to endorse the podcast you've created, you'll be required to compensate the person in a specific manner: monetary or free products or an announcement in your podcast. Each influencer will have different rules and regulations, therefore it's up to you agree with the rules they set.

Promote your podcast today

Promoting podcasts can be a difficult task. And oftentimes, it's an expensive, time-consuming process of trial and error. It's essential to experiment with different podcast marketing strategies to determine the most effective mix for your show.

However, remember that nothing will help to increase the performance of your podcast. Therefore, if you're starting your podcast, you should concentrate on producing high-quality content with interesting guests. After that, you'll be ready to experiment with other forms of advertisement.

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