Promoting your podcast in 2020 is a real challenge. Google Trends shows interest in starting a podcast is at an all-time high. This data also aligns with the number of podcasts listed on directories as well.
The numbers speak for themselves — there is an increase in people starting podcasts and the space is clearly getting more competitive by the day.
New Podcasts 2005-2019 (all genres)
For those looking to get into podcasting or struggling to gain traction, here are some actionable tips you can use to grow your podcast.
Got funds? Advertise.
If you’re feeling bold and want to capitalize on your podcast’s potential, then it makes sense to speed up the growth process by paying for brand building, direct traffic, and conversions.
How would you know if your podcast is ready to grow? If you’re seeing increases in downloads or healthy engagement metrics, thats a great signal that paid campaigns will work.
You can advertise on Google or on social channels like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. You can also advertise directly with some podcasting platforms such as Spotify and Overcast.
As a starting point, how about targeting audience groups with an affinity to podcasts? If you know person A already listens to podcasts, they are probably more likely to convert than person B who doesn’t listen to podcasts.
Advertising is one of the quickest ways to promote and grow your podcast.
Word of mouth is king.
Word of mouth or referrals are among the highest converting channels in any marketing campaign across all verticals.
Why?
It’s because you’re being introduced by someone familiar. Everyone has a wall around them. Ads and promotions may pique interests but there’s a huge disconnect between being interested and trying something out. Being directly introduced bridges that disconnection.
Word of mouth brings the wall down and makes people more likely to try something new. In this case, it’s your podcast.
How do you go about getting more referrals?
There’s really only one way to go about it.
Actively ask your audience to share your podcast and social content. If you provide sharable content such as audiograms, branded imagery and pull quotes, it makes it easier for your audience to promote your podcast.
You can further incentivize your audience by offering promotions around referrals. You can have community rewards for superfans or even monetary payouts for loyal listeners who bring in measurable results.
Build relationships, build a community.
Relationships are at the foundation of most successful podcasts. Sure, you can have a one-person podcast if you enjoy the sound of your own voice.
In most cases, you’ll want a guest to act as a headliner for your show. It’s a conversation, guests bring fresh ideas and perspectives.
It’s also about getting direct access to your guests’ following as well. This is the number one reason why people want to feature influencers and celebrities.
By building these relationships you also help your guests grow their own audience. But how does doing that help you grow?
Like many things in life, you have to give in order to get. Once you help others grow, they will almost always keep you in mind as the goto source for “X” — creating opportunities for you to connect with their community.
Leverage your own audience
Don’t leave untapped potential on the table, ask your loyal following to help you spread the word. Remember that word of mouth is king.
You can leverage your audience by asking them to share your podcast with their friends and family. Use call-to-actions and get them to subscribe and leave reviews. You need to nudge them so they are more likely to take action.
As long as you’re not being overbearing or annoying, your listeners will help you grow.
Get found through organic searches.
The dream scenario for any podcaster is going viral, causing rapid, immediate growth. But this is an unlikely scenario and a situation that you shouldn’t count on.
Unless you’ve found a niche where you can quickly become the leader, you’ll benefit from playing the long-term game of acquiring listeners through organic search.
Getting found through organic searches means we need to first consider where people search.
Google. The biggest search engine. In order for you to get found, you need to learn how to get listed on Google. Look into Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and how you can rank your brand on Google. SEO isn’t just about keywords, there are other nuances involved.
SEO also isn’t only about Google. It applies to the biggest podcast directories and libraries like iTunes (Apple Podcasts), Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and more. You need to learn how to rank well on these platforms so you can get found by people who are actively searching for you.
The process of ranking and getting found is different from platform to platform. Your strategy for promoting your podcast on Spotify will be different from how you promote your podcast on iTunes. Figure out what works best for each platform and start optimizing.
Produce and use clips
Even if you produce the best podcast in the universe, you won’t gain a loyal audience if you don’t promote your content.
The best way to promote your podcast is to leverage clips. Consider how Joe Rogan has a main channel for full episodes while also running a side channel for sharing smaller chunks of his podcast.
You’ll want to create highlight clips from your podcasts— insightful quotes, funny moments—this is you and your guests’ opportunity to shine.
This is a great way for people to get acquainted with your podcast since shorter clips are less of a time-investment. New listeners don’t want to invest hours of their time on the unknown, make yourself familiar.
Social converts like no other.
Attention spans on social media are short. This creates a natural opportunity for sharing your podcast clips, but it also introduces a challenge.
Most podcasts are recorded without video, and even those that are tend not to be eye-catching.
How do you promote audio on social media?
You convert your audio clips into video.
People scrolling through social media are primarily consuming information visually. Using audiograms with transcriptions, people will stop to read what you’re saying. And once they stop they’re far more likely to turn on the audio and listen.
That’s the way to grab their attention.
👇 Compare the difference 👇
Which feed is more interesting to you? Which side grabs your attention?
If you went with the right side, you’d be correct. Try making your own audiogram and see if you get more impressions and engagements.