Podcasts like This American Life and Stuff You Should Know are hands down some of the most popular shows out there. And we don’t need to state the obvious — millions of people tune in to listen to these podcasts daily.

Many podcasters hope to reach these heights, but it’s not an easy task.

Below, we have discussed 10 strategies that are a great place to start if you want to learn how to grow a podcast. You’ll have to keep repeating them to see your show grow.

TL;DR – How to Grow Your Podcast Audience

Want to know how to get more listeners on your podcast?

Here is a quick breakdown of the top 10 strategies to grow your podcast. 

1. Plan your content
2. Stand out with video content
3. Include CTAs in each podcast
4. Optimize your podcasts for SEO
5. Leverage social media platforms
6. Create a website for your podcast
7. Submit your show on every directory
8. Promote your podcast using paid media
9. Repurpose Existing content into podcasts
10. Invite guests and appear as a guest on other podcasts

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Why Are Podcasts Important?

Should you start a podcast?

Here are six benefits of podcasts:

• Potential to monetize content: Once you grow your audience, you can monetize your podcast with brand merch, partnerships, and ads.
• Boost your reach: Podcasts give you access to potential audiences and allow you to build a community of listeners worldwide.
• Establish yourself as an expert: By sharing your expertise and unique insights through podcast content, you can build your credibility and become the go-to expert in your industry.
• Great for SEO: You can leverage the power of podcast SEO to generate traffic to your website, attract new audiences, and build brand awareness.
• Highly engaging: Unlike video content, podcasts allow your audience to listen to your podcast content while multitasking or on the go.
• Budget-friendly: As opposed to creating video content, you don’t need a huge budget to start recording a podcast.

How Long Does it Take to Grow a Podcast?

Growing your podcast doesn’t happen overnight; it takes time and consistency.

Usually, it can take approximately six months (or even longer) to see significant podcast downloads. So, keep publishing valuable content and follow the 10 strategies below to set yourself up for success.

How to Grow Your Podcast Audience

Want to know how to increase podcast listeners? 

Learn how to grow your show and gain more listeners in these 10 steps.

1. Plan Your Content

Set up a content calendar to help you organize your podcast production process.

With a calendar, you can organize the release dates of episodes, maintain listener engagement, and consistently publish podcasts. A content plan also lets you plan the content ideas and topics to tackle on your podcasts.

Plus, you should have 8 to 10 episodes ahead of time, ready to keep your listeners hooked to your show.

2. Stand Out with Video Content

Although podcasts are primarily an audio medium, adding a video element to your show can help you reach more people. Record your episodes as videos so your audience can watch and listen to your show.

Share your full-length videos on additional platforms like YouTube. Also, TikTok and Instagram reels are perfect for sharing quick and fun clips of your content.

Remember to include bloopers and behind-the-scenes to ensure your audience enjoys even more.

3. Include CTAs in Each Podcast

CTAs are other effective ways to grow your show and expand your reach to a broader audience. At the end of each episode, ask your listeners to take action.

Incorporate a CTA in your podcast and ask your audience to take the following actions:

• Share your podcast
• Join your social media groups
• Subscribe to and comment on your episodes

4. Optimize Your Podcasts for SEO

With the fierce competition of podcasts vying for listeners’ attention, you must make it easy for listeners to find you.

Some tips to remember are:

• Carefully include keywords in your title, podcast descriptions, and show notes while keeping them compelling for listeners to hit play.
• Ask your listeners to rate your podcast and leave reviews.
• Reference your details and those of your guests.
• Include timestamps of different segments in your show.
• Incorporate word-for-word transcripts of each of your episodes to increase visibility on search engines.

5. Leverage Social Media Platforms

Create social media accounts to connect with listeners and build a community. Remember to provide value, establish authority, and grow your audience.

Use these tips to maximize your reach on social media:

• Follow fellow podcasters in your niche
• Post new episodes on your channels
• Incorporate hashtags that relate to your show
• Keep your audience engaged by replying to the comments
• Create audiograms for LinkedIn and Instagram
• Repurpose your podcast into short clips for Instagram Reels and stories, YouTube Shorts, and TikTok videos.
• Share images with your guests, behind-the-scenes photos, or episode quotes.

6. Create a Website for Your Podcast

While your listeners can easily find you on distribution directories like Apple Podcasts, you still need complete control of your content. These platforms can change the content guidelines without warning, forcing you to adjust.

Your podcast website can help you build an online community, publish a few episodes, and share more about yourself and your show.

7. Submit Your Show on Every Directory

A simple tip for letting listeners discover your podcast is to get it on every directory you can find.

Start with significant podcast directories like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, and Google Podcasts. Once done, these apps update your new episodes automatically. They also allow listeners to download and subscribe to your show.

Remember to submit your podcast to other platforms, including Pandora, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, PlayerFM, and Podchaser.

8. Promote Your Podcast Using Paid Media

While you can grow your podcast with little to no budget, you can launch targeted campaigns using paid media.

For instance, you can promote your podcast directly on listening apps like Spotify ads or other platforms like Google and Facebook.

Still, you can directly promote podcasts with audiences like yours using host-read ads.

9. Repurpose Existing Content into Podcasts

You don’t have to create private podcasts from scratch. Why not set yourself up for success and repurpose your existing video and audio files into private podcasts?

With Hello Audio, you can create private podcasts from your best TikTok videos, courses, meeting recordings, events, call recordings, audiobooks, and more. Our platform lets you automatically publish your private podcasts on directories like Spotify, Google Podcasts, and other popular platforms.

Watch our demo video and see why our platform has had more than 2 million downloads of private podcasts.

10. Invite Guests and Appear as a Guest on Other Podcasts

Bringing in well-known guests—experts in your niche, influencers, or people your listeners have requested—is a terrific method of getting your show out there.

If each guest promotes their appearance on your show to their fans, you will likely attract new listeners.

It works the other way, too. You can star as a guest on similar podcasts and showcase your expertise to a new audience.

Don’t stop there; in the next section, you’ll find some mistakes to avoid when aiming for your podcast’s growth.

5 Pitfalls to Avoid When Growing Your Podcast Audience

Here are the five things to avoid if you want to grow your audience:

1. Poor-quality Audio

Listeners expect clear, natural, and crisp audio. Poor quality is a huge turn-off to your audience, and they might not return. Understand the top ways to record quality content and invest in podcast equipment.

2. Lack of an Ideal Listener Persona

Some podcasters center their content around themselves or create content for everyone. So, research and define your ideal audience if you want to see podcast audience growth.

3. Little to No Preparation

Another mistake is not preparing for discussions and interviews in advance. Research before recording your show, and make sure you edit out unnecessary sections.

4. Annoying Ads

A sure way to annoy your listeners is to spend a lot of time selling them stuff. Keep your ads short, and get to your content quickly.

5. Lack of Patience and Consistency

While numbers are great for determining your podcast success rate, you shouldn’t obsess over them. Instead, spend that time providing value to your listeners and planning for future content.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Still have questions?

Check out our answers to some common questions below:

How Can I Streamline the Hosting and Distribution of My Podcast?

Hello Audio can help you streamline the hosting and distribution of your private podcasts.

Our platform lets you repurpose files like TikTok videos and meeting recordings into private podcasts. Then, it automatically distributes these feeds to major podcast directories like Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Test our all-in-one platform today and start creating, publishing, and managing your private podcasts.

How to Get People to Listen to Your Podcast While Maximizing Engagement?

Here are some of the strategies to boost your audience engagement:

• Create catchy and engaging titles to pique your listeners’ curiosity.
• Develop content that appeals to your audience.
• Invite guests that captivate your audience with insightful conversations and discussions.
• Host contests and giveaways.
• Share an intriguing trailer that hints at what the listeners should expect from your show.

Are there Legal or Copyright Issues to Consider When Growing My Podcast Audience?

Yes, there are legal considerations as you grow your podcast.

Some of them include:

• Conduct a trademark search: Ensure your podcast name is available and avoid trademark infringement when your show gains recognition.
• Sign contracts with your guests (and co-hosts): Obtain written consent and sign contracts before recording podcasts with anyone.
• Incorporate disclosures and disclaimers: As you grow, let your audience know about any affiliate relationship with your sponsors.

Also, disclose if you’re not legally qualified to provide formal advice on sensitive topics like medical and legal content.

• Have a privacy policy and terms and conditions: These policies let your audience know you’ll keep their personal information safe, and the audience agrees to all the terms for using your website.

Conclusion – How to Get More Podcast Listeners

There’s no shortcut to gaining more listenership. Follow the ten strategies we’ve discussed above.

Another way to boost your growth is by creating private podcasts from existing media files with Hello Audio.

Our platform lets you repurpose files like meeting recordings and TikTok videos into private podcasts. Then, it automatically sends your podcasts to directories like Spotify and Google Podcasts.

Try Hello Audio today for free. Our dedicated features allow you to create auto-transcripts, add specific tags, manage access, and monitor the progress of each private podcast.