Podcasting has come a long way over the past decade. Today, podcasts are widely popular and are often more entertaining than other forms of media. Podcasting isn’t easy to get into unless you know what steps to take and who to reach out to in order to promote your show. Some of these tried-and-true strategies can help boost your podcast listener base.
Don’t skip over the basics!
It’s not enough to just record a podcast and publish it. Your podcast needs to be good quality, relevant, and enjoyable. It also needs to have a clear message—you should have some sort of call to action at the end of each episode that listeners can take advantage of. If you’re just starting with your podcast, consider recording episodes on topics that will help people get started with whatever project you’re trying to promote (like how-to guides). That way, they’ll learn something new while listening!
Think about your audience
The next step is to consider who your audience is and what they want. You can start by defining your niche—a group of people with similar interests and preferences, for example:
- Frequent travellers
- Fantasy football enthusiasts
- Vegans (vegetarians who don’t consume any animal products)
You also want to know as much as possible about your audience’s characteristics, such as their demographics, behaviours and needs. For example:
- Gender (male, female, other).
- Age range (18-25 vs 26-35 vs 36-45).
- The geographical area where they live.
If your show has been going on for a while, you can get all this information from your hosting provider. So next time you are recording, you will know exactly who your audience is and how to engage better with them.
Partner with other shows
Partnering with other shows can significantly increase your audience, build relationships with other podcasters, and make some money.
Here are a few reasons why you should partner with other shows:
- It helps you reach new listeners. If you’re already getting traction on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, why not reach out to shows with similar audiences? They might have followers who would be interested in listening to your show too!
- The more people who are talking about your show, the better! By partnering with other podcasts with large followings, more people will hear about your podcast from them when they mention it on their podcasts/social media pages/etceteras. This will help boost your downloads when someone searches for a specific topic or genre of podcasts, find yours and keep an increased amount of traffic coming back each week so long as the partnership remains active. There’s nothing wrong with having guest hosts; ensure they’re good and related to your topic and audience.
- Cross-promotion is the key. Why don’t you take partnerships to the next level if you already have them? Ask them if it is possible to work on a cross promo together.
Use Social Media to your advantage
You can promote your podcast by posting on social media. Use the social media accounts of your podcast to post about trending topics or anything related to your podcast’s topic or guest. You can also post photos and videos of yourself doing things relevant to what you’re talking about in the episode. If a listener has a question about something you mentioned in an episode, respond to them on social media! Remember that you are not only promoting your podcast, you are also engaging with your audience. If you get involved with them, you will likely be shared on their social media.
You can promote your podcast by posting on social media. There are a few different ways to do this:
- Post on your podcast host’s social media accounts or the podcast’s account itself. People who like or follow that account will see your post when they log in.
- You can use hashtags to get more people to listen to your episodes! This can be done by adding hashtags at the end of each episode description or using them as part of a written post announcing new episodes – “New episode available now: trending topics with guest [person’s name]. Listen here: [link].”
- You don’t know which platform your audience is using, so instead of having a link to a specific app, consider using something like pod.link where it shows all the available platforms where the person can find your podcast.
Take advantage of the current podcast community
As you grow your podcast and expand your network, it’s smart to stay up-to-date on what other podcasts are doing. This is especially true if you want to learn their best practices and avoid missteps.
Your audience can tell when you don’t know how the game works. It diminishes them as listeners if they feel like they have to teach you how things work. They also may be reluctant to donate money or subscribe if they feel like there isn’t any real benefit in doing so. That’s why you must understand what makes a successful show before starting yours:
- What formats do they use? Are there any unique features that stand out? What type of people is this show targeting? How long does each episode run? Where does it get posted online (Apple Podcasts or Spotify)? How often does the host update social media channels with new episodes or information about upcoming ones? And many more.
Get creative!
The next step is to get creative. Consider your network and think about how you can help partners get the most value out of the partnership.
You might want to approach it this way: “I want to be able to promote my podcast, so I’m going to do that by partnering with other podcasters and influencers who have audiences that align with mine. How can we work together? What will make us both successful in this partnership?”
Promoting your podcast is an ongoing process requiring much effort and thought. While there are no magic bullets, you can still use these tips to get more listeners and grow your audience.
At The Podcast Studios we work with companies, organisations, and individuals to help them tell their stories in audio form. If there is any part of your podcast journey that needs a professional touch, from start to finish, get in touch today by contacting us at [email protected] or visit our website at www.thepodcaststudios.ie
