How to Promote Your Podcast

Podcasting has exploded both as a content delivery platform and as a means of marketing. There are currently over 2,000,000 podcasts, 48,000,000 episodes and 50% of US households include at least one podcast listener. These numbers are only growing as more and more people turn to podcasts as their source for exclusive content. Many brands have already added podcasting to their marketing plan, but how do you market the podcast itself? Read on because we’ve rounded up the best ways to promote your podcast in 2021/

9 Strategies to Promote Your Podcast

Like with any product, service, or event there are plenty of promotional methods you can use. Starting a podcast can be a scary undertaking but once you gain some momentum and work out the kinks, it can be an excellent way to generate new leads. That’s because podcasts position you as a thought leader and authority if they are done right. Here are a few ways to make sure you deliver great content and attract active listeners.

Create Great Podcast Content

This may go without saying, but your podcast needs to be compelling and provide value to your target audience. You can promote your podcast until the cows come home, but if it’s not entertaining or educational, you can forget about getting listeners. First and foremost you need to identify a specific niche that you can carve out for yourself. Second, you need to be passionate about your topic(s). Third, you need to do your research on what your target audience wants and needs. What are their:

• Pain points
• Burning questions
• Specific interests-people, products, subjects, etc.

By keeping yourself updated on your industry's trends, you can continuously produce content that meets your audience's demands. What’s relevant now? Why would people be drawn to listen?

Having a unique voice and style can also separate you from run-of-the-mill content so be yourself and share your opinions. You also need to focus on quality, especially when it comes to sound. Consistent, intriguing, and well-made podcasts are worth the extra effort in the long run.

Reach Out to Podcasters for Tips

You probably have some favorite podcasters yourself. Identify the ones that do not directly compete with you but that do have excellent production and structure. Reach out and ask for some tips about what sound equipment, software, and other tools they use. You might be surprised how open and ready some people are to help. You might even end up as a guest on their podcast or having them on yours.

Produce a Few Podcasts before Launching

Before publishing your first podcast, produce a handful of episodes (5-10). This reduces the pressure on you to keep up an initial schedule and means that you have a backlog of content. Some people want to binge listen, so make sure they can! Share your first episode with some of your target audience for feedback and then incorporate suggestions moving forward.

Submit Your Podcast to Directories

You want people to be able to find your podcast in the directories where the majority of people search for content. Apple is the big player when it comes to podcast subscriptions and downloads. Google and Spotify are gaining traction too. Stitcher and TuneIn are smaller, but shouldn't be overlooked. Submitting your podcast to these directories is a free and fairly straightforward process. Podcast hosting providers like Buzzsprout can automate your podcast directory submissions.

Share Your Podcast with Existing Audiences

Your existing email subscriber list, your following on Instagram and Facebook—these audiences are likely to be interested in your podcast. You can tease them with previews, ask them what guests or topics they would be interested in and more. You could also generate buzz around your launch and deliver massive value with your first episode. This can be with sound bites or video clips shared on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, etc. Ask followers to comment or ask questions on social channels and then mention them on the podcast to create conversations and drive more engagement. This technique can also grow your social channel audiences at the same time.

Convert Audio to YouTube Video

You may record a video of your podcast while recording the audio, or convert your audio to a YouTube video with images and even annotations. Either way, you now have a shareable YouTube link for other channels. This also means you can also take advantage of SEO through keywords used on YouTube. Your video description is especially important and can be a great source of ranking benefits if done consistently.

Be a Podcast Guest

Being a guest on other podcasts within your niche or complementary industries is an excellent way to market your podcast and set up future guests of your own. Podcasters are always on the lookout for guests to help create new content for their audiences. On the iTunes podcast listing page, you can search for podcasts that you think might be a good match. Then it’s about being proactive and connecting with those podcasters and asking if they’d have you on as a guest. If all goes well you might just have your next guest lined up too!

Ask People to Subscribe

The more subscribers you have, the more visible you’ll be in directories and the more enticing you’ll be to new subscribers (social proof is a strong motivator). Your ranking on Apple Podcasts is directly related to your number of subscribers. You can ask people to subscribe through email, social posts, and on your podcast itself.

Create a Podcast Landing Page

Direct all your podcast marketing traffic to a landing page that hosts your episodes. Facebook ads can work particularly well for attracting interested listeners. With Google Analytics you can then analyze and track all user interactions and traffic sources. Based on this data, you can modify your marketing efforts to focus on what works.

Podcasting is well on its way toward being a primary marketing strategy. People enjoy long-form, unscripted content and deeper insights into things they are interested in and care about. Creating a podcast can propel your brand forward as an industry authority and help create more trust among your target audience. Try applying these tips to promote your podcast and reap the rewards of one of the most exciting content types around.