How to Promote a Podcast: An Ultimate Guide
Basic but often overlooked strategies to boost your podcast promotion as well as more advanced ways.
Since creating a podcast is a long and time-consuming process, it’s only natural that you want your show to get discovered by as many people as possible. This guide will show you exactly how. We’ll start with basic but often overlooked strategies to boost your podcast promotion and then move over to more advanced ways. We deliberately won’t mention tips like "create compelling content," "be authentic," and "know your audience," assuming you’ve already stepped this over.
Rather, we’ll go straight to practical advice and strategies on how to increase your podcast’s reach, discoverability, and listens.
Podcast promotion 101: Back to basics
Utilise your existing network
Start by reaching out to your friends and family to inform them about your show. Invite them to subscribe and share the news with anyone in their circles who might find it interesting. Additionally, motivate all members of your podcast team to post about the show on their personal social media accounts. Announce the show, share the latest podcast posts, and invite their followers to join in on your podcasting journey.
The extent to which the news can spread might pleasantly surprise you by simply requesting your social media network to share it.
Use podcast promotion services
If the thought of managing outreach, cross-promotion, and social media content creation on your own feels overwhelming, and if it aligns with your budget, exploring assistance from a marketing agency might be worth considering.
Podcast marketing agencies provide promotion services aimed at alleviating some of the responsibilities. Some well-known services in this domain include:
These firms bring expertise in audience building for podcasts and can collaborate with you to develop a tailored marketing strategy aligned with your specific goals.
Optimise your show for search engines
Optimising your podcast for search engines is crucial for increasing its discoverability on various platforms. When people search for topics related to your podcast, you want your show to appear in the search results.
But here are the takeaways:
- Identify relevant keywords and phrases that potential listeners might use when searching for podcasts in your niche. Consider using tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, or even the search autosuggest feature on platforms like Google and YouTube.
- Your podcast title is one of the most important elements for SEO. It should be descriptive, engaging, and include relevant keywords, so make sure it accurately represents the content of your podcast.
- Craft descriptive and keyword-rich episode titles and descriptions. Use natural language that communicates the value of the episode and includes relevant keywords as this helps search engines understand the content of each episode.
- When submitting your podcast to directories, use relevant tags and select appropriate categories. This helps platforms categorize and recommend your podcast to users interested in specific topics.
- Share your podcast episodes on social media platforms with relevant keywords, descriptions, and hashtags. Social signals, such as likes, shares, and comments, can indirectly influence SEO.
Don't forget about good old email marketing
Utilising email marketing is an effective way to keep your audience informed and excited about your podcast. Start by building a dedicated email list of your podcast subscribers. You can use various methods to collect email addresses, such as creating sign-up forms on your website, social media, or offering incentives like exclusive content or giveaways. Then, select a reliable email marketing platform like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, or ConvertKit. These platforms provide tools to manage your email list, create visually appealing emails, and track performance.
The next step is to craft engaging newsletters that provide value to your subscribers. Include information about new podcast episodes, behind-the-scenes content, upcoming guests, and any exclusive offers or announcements.
Then just maintain a consistent schedule for sending newsletters. Whether it's a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly update, regular communication helps keep your podcast in the minds of your audience. Include links to recent episodes and any relevant news or updates.
Submit your show to podcast aggregators & directories
A podcast aggregator, also known as a podcatcher, is an application designed for playing podcasts. The widely recognised podcatchers are Apple Podcasts and Spotify. However, numerous others exist, including iHeartRadio, SoundCloud, Podbay, and Podtail.
Transcribe Your Episodes
Transcribing your podcast episodes means converting the spoken words in your audio content into written text. Why bother? This improves accessibility for a wider audience (such as individuals with hearing impairments or those who prefer reading over listening) and offers several benefits for search engine optimisation and content repurposing. Search engines can index text more effectively than audio. Transcribing your episodes provides search engines with valuable content, making it easier for potential listeners to find your podcast through online searches.
What's more, transcriptions serve as a foundation for creating other types of content, such as blog posts, articles, or social media updates. This allows you to repurpose your podcast content and reach a larger audience across different platforms.
🔴 How to transcribe your podcast episodes
You can use automatic transcription services like Otter.ai, Rev, or Descript as they advanced algorithms to transcribe your audio content quickly. Alternatively, you can transcribe your episodes manually by listening to the audio and typing out the spoken words. This option ensures a high level of accuracy, but it can be time-consuming (very time-consuming, at times). You can then integrate transcriptions into your podcast's show notes and include a section on your website or podcast platform where listeners can access the written version of each episode.
Some podcast hosting platforms allow you to embed transcriptions directly into the audio player. This enables listeners to follow along with the transcript while listening to the episode.
Encourage audience engagement
Ask (yes, simply ask) your listeners to subscribe, share, and leave reviews for your podcast. A sincere approach to these calls-to-action is essential. During the introduction and conclusion of each episode, authentically ask your audience to take these actions. Be transparent and communicate that, with their support, the growth of your podcast will enable you to deliver enhanced content for their enjoyment.
Don't be afraid of paid advertising
Paid ads are a swift and effective avenue for promoting your podcast. While content marketing and organic strategies are valuable and shouldn't be overlooked, they often entail a time investment before yielding results. Many podcasts support their production through ads and are open to promoting other podcasts; here's how:
🔴 Ads on podcast apps
Some podcasting apps offer ad space, allowing you to position your podcast at the top of relevant category lists.
🔴 Google ads
Display your ad on Google when users search for your podcast or related keywords.
🔴 Facebook ads:
Utilise Facebook's ad functions if you have a dedicated page for your podcast.
🔴 Instagram ads:
Despite podcasts being audio-centric and Instagram being visual, if you have compelling images or videos to promote your podcast, consider using them for Instagram ads.
🔴 LinkedIn Ads:
Target a more professional audience for your podcast through ads on LinkedIn.
Optimise your website for podcast growth
Even a remarkable podcast can be hindered by an inadequate website. Overlooking website optimisation can limit your show's growth potential. To harness the power of your audience and traffic, consider the following key elements:
- About page: Ensure you have a compelling About page that highlights the benefits of why people should listen to your podcast. Clearly articulate what's in it for them.
- Subscribe page: Create a Subscribe page that includes links to popular podcast directories like Apple, Google Podcasts, and Spotify. Explain the reasons and methods for subscribing to your show.
- Contact Page: Provide a Contact page detailing how people can reach you. Include your email address and links to your social media profiles.
- Media Kit: Consider having a media kit page that provides essential information and assets for potential collaborators, advertisers, or journalists.
- Social sharing buttons: Include social sharing buttons on your posts to make it easy for your listeners to promote your episodes on their social networks.
Advanced methods of podcast promotion
Now that you know the basics, let's head over to the tips that might be not that obvious. In one of our previous pieces, we already told you how to find a podcast guest, so check it if you haven't yet. There, our in-house podcast creation expert Ann shares tips on how to find a perfect guest. If you already record podcasts with guests, consider these strategies to use them for the promotion of your show.
Facilitate easy sharing for your podcast guests by generating snippets, quote images, and other shareable media. This can include pull quotes, images, links, and prewritten tweets or status updates. And if your podcast features interviews with influential individuals, leverage their existing audience to expand your reach.
On the day the podcast episode is released, send a note to your guests along with a series of shareable media. This might be an obvious move but this could comprise notable quotes, visually appealing images, relevant links, and ready-to-share tweets or status updates.
Diversify your social media promotion strategies
Social media are an irreplaceable asset when it comes to podcast promotion. On your platforms, you can share an update when the podcast episode initially goes live and pin the episode tweet or Facebook post, prominently featuring the URL for easy access by your audience.
You can also generate 15-second soundbite clips and upload them to SoundCloud. Share these clips on X (formerly Twitter), taking advantage of X's unique SoundCloud audio implementation that allows users to play the audio directly from their X stream. Build anticipation by teasing the content of the next episode 24 hours ahead of its release.
Provide insights into the behind-the-scenes aspects of your podcast through Instagram stories and share engaging and authentic glimpses into the making of your episodes.
🍿 Bonus: Repurpose your podcast as YouTube videos for maximum impact
As stated on its YouTube Creators page, YouTube is one of the popular platforms for podcasts, boasting a vast global audience exceeding 2 billion active users. Recently, podcasts have been introduced in YouTube Music, presently available only to users in the US, enabling audiences to seamlessly listen or watch content on the go.
Additionally, as of January 2024, YouTube has incorporated support for RSS feed within YouTube Studio. But how to get the most out of it?
- When converting your podcast audio into a YouTube video, name it strategically, such as "Interview with [Guest Name]." This approach enhances the potential for SEO benefits and discoverability.
- Use the YouTube version of your podcast to gain various advantages, including video content for social media sharing, automatic closed captioning and transcripts (beneficial for accessibility), and significant SEO benefits.
- Leverage the fact that Google values video 53 times as much as text. Incorporating a YouTube version of your podcast could potentially boost your rankings, contributing to increased visibility and discoverability.
- Choose a canvas size of 2,560 pixels wide by 1,440 pixels tall for the best viewing experience at 2K resolution. Alternatively, use other ideal dimensions if you're not aiming for 2K resolution.
- Enhance your YouTube video by incorporating free stock video footage from platforms like Videvo or Pexels. Looping video is preferable; search for "loop" for suitable options.
- Add a quick thumbnail featuring your show's logo or your guest's image. For a more proactive approach, annotate the video with links, cards, and more within the YouTube creator studio.
- Break down your YouTube video into shorter 1-3 minute soundbite clips. This strategy caters to both viewers who prefer longer content and those who enjoy sharing shorter clips. It also makes it easier for YouTube's algorithm to suggest more of your content to users.