You’ve done it all—did keyword research on your favorite podcast topic, spent tens of hours creating the first few episodes, made the audio sound perfectly right, and finally uploaded the episodes to your podcast host.
So, what’s next? Wait for listeners to come in droves. You made great content, after all!
But you are in for a rude shock because great content isn’t enough. You must market your podcast to get it into the ears of your target audience.
Luckily, you can use plenty of podcast marketing strategies to promote your episodes to prospective listeners.
Let’s dig deeper into how to promote a podcast using different tactics your team can execute easily.
TL;DR – How to Grow a Podcast
Here’s how to market a podcast:
- Tap into podcast SEO
- Leverage the audience of influencers and other podcast creators
- Use paid advertising
- Leverage relevant online niche communities
- Use traditional marketing methods
We’ll delve deeper into these strategies in the sections below.
In the meantime, learn about Hello Audio—our awesome tool that lets you deliver your audio and video content to listeners through podcast apps like Google Podcasts and Apple Podcasts.
Our platform allows you to repurpose your audio and video content into podcast formats to ensure your message is heard in real time from anywhere. You can even collect subscriptions and payments via the platform.
Sign up on Hello Audio today and turn your content into podcasts to share with your audience across podcast apps of their choice.
What is Podcast Marketing?
Podcast marketing refers to any strategy or tactic you use to grow your podcast audience and increase its discoverability.
How to Promote a Podcast
You can promote your podcast to potential listeners using different tested and proven strategies such as:
- Building an audience before launching
- Creating a podcast website or landing page
- Building an email list for newsletters
- Publishing episodes at the right time
- Asking for reviews and ratings from listeners
- Repurposing your podcasts as YouTube videos
- Mentioning previous episodes in new ones
- Sharing your podcast on social media
- Adding a transcript
- Hosting contests and giveaways
- Partnering with other podcasters
Let’s discuss these tactics even further in the sections below.
How to Increase Podcast Listeners
While you can wait for your podcast to grow organically, you can increase its listeners even faster with paid advertising if you have the budget. Use Facebook Ads or Google Ads for faster growth.
If you are on a tight budget, you can rely on organic growth instead, but you’ll need to be patient enough because this can take a long time.
How to Promote a Podcast on Spotify
When promoting your podcast on Spotify, you have two key strategies.
Firstly, go the paid advertising route using Spotify’s Ad Studio, a self-serve advertising tool for creating campaigns targeting listeners passionate about activities and topics relevant to your podcast.
You can leverage Ad Studio’s free ad creation services and tools to generate audio messages targeting your predefined audience on a friendly budget.
Secondly, you can optimize your Spotify show page. The show page serves as your podcast branding platform, allowing you to express your individuality and introduce your show to prospective new fans.
You’ll want to personalize your show page using tactics such as:
- Adding a show description that includes links to your social profiles in the bio so listeners can easily follow and engage with you on different channels.
- Adding a ‘best place to start’ for new listeners, such as one of your fan-favorite episodes.
- Publish your listeners’ Q&A responses to show them you value their voice.
- Use chapters and episode previews or trailers to help new potential fans sample your content before deciding to listen or save for later.
How to Promote a Podcast on Social Media
You can use paid advertising to promote your podcast faster on social media. Some key social media channels include Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Instagram, depending on where your target audience hangs out.
Alternatively, you can use the longer organic growth route by sharing your podcast episodes on social media using posts, groups, reels, duets, or even a LinkedIn newsletter.
How to Promote a Podcast on Instagram
With Instagram, organic podcast marketing can take the form of reels that share a peek into past episodes, tease new episodes, or show trailers.
You can also add a Linktree in your bio to direct followers to your Spotify show page and profile.
You can also leverage your Instagram feed to share audiograms or behind-the-scenes aspects like interactions with your guests or editing procedures to personalize yourself and make your listeners feel more connected to you and the show.
Podcast Growth Strategy
Your podcast growth strategy can involve different tactics, allowing you to experiment and focus on the ones that best work for you.
Let’s look at the different strategies closely.
Tap Into Podcast SEO
You can tap into podcast SEO (search engine optimization) in two ways.
- Firstly, submit your podcast to as many podcast aggregators as possible to feature in different podcast roundup lists.
- Secondly, rank on search engine results pages (SERPS). An effective way to rank on the SERPS is to have an optimized podcast website complete with blog posts about your podcast.
Have an optimized podcast homepage to use as a podcast ‘sales’ landing page to turn your visitors into subscribers.
You’ll need to optimize your podcast website with subscribe calls-to-action, an easy navigation bar, an embedded player, and social proof in the form of listener reviews or guests and brands you have featured.
Leverage the Audience of Influencers and Other Podcasters
You can tap into the existing audience of influencers and other podcasters. Reach out to influencers and podcasters in your niche for collaborations.
When you work with other podcasters and influencers, they can recommend your podcast to their listeners or followers, and in this way, you’ll gain some new fans.
Use Paid Advertising
Different ways to advertise your podcast include Facebook Ads, Google AdWords, and Instagram Ads.
Create visually appealing ads on these platforms with clear CTAs, such as asking prospective listeners to check out a specific episode. You can also direct them to your podcast landing page or website.
Leverage Relevant Online Niche Communities
Online niche communities like web forums, social media groups, and Reddit threads are excellent platforms to grow your podcast listenership.
You’ll want to join these communities, participate in discussions, post valuable insights, and even share your podcast.
The trick is establishing yourself as an expert to new potential listeners before introducing your podcast.
Use Traditional Marketing Methods
While digital marketing works more efficiently, using traditional marketing to grow your podcast wouldn’t hurt. For example, you can use QR codes on business cards, which cardholders can scan to access your podcast.
Press releases and getting featured in print newspapers are other ideal ways. You can also attend public events and conferences to network with potential listeners and collaborators.
Podcast Promotion Ideas
Let’s deliberate on how to get your podcast out there using the different promotion tactics below.
1. Build An Audience Before Launching
If possible, build a sizable audience before launching your podcast.
For example, you can use teasers to market your upcoming podcast to existing product users, email lists, blog readers, or social media followers.
2. Create a Podcast Website or Landing Page
Having a secure online location to host your podcast besides podcast directories can improve your discoverability.
Have a dedicated podcast website or landing page where you add a list of all your available episodes, with links and descriptions to each episode.
3. Build an Email List for a Newsletter
A website sign-up form can encourage listeners to subscribe to your email newsletter. Ask listeners to subscribe to the podcast and newsletter when you do an episode.
Once you have the email list, send the subscribers a periodic newsletter, alerting them about new episodes.
4. Publish Episodes at the Right Time
You’ll want to monitor which posting times are more popular across your audience. When will they likely make the most downloads and social shares?
5. Ask for Reviews and Ratings From Listeners
In your intro and outros, ask your listeners to rate and review your podcast to win more social proof.
For example, with ample reviews, you can get your podcast featured on Apple Podcast’s New and Noteworthy podcast section within eight weeks of launching.
6. Repurpose Your Podcasts as YouTube Videos
Repurposing podcast episodes as YouTube videos helps you reach more potential viewers who prefer video to audio. Keep in mind that people share videos more than text on social media.
In addition, you get SEO benefits since YouTube is a search engine, and you can use SEO tactics like adding keyword-optimized titles and descriptions.
7. Mention Previous Episodes in New Ones
Be sure to mention old episodes in new ones and put the names of previous episodes in the show notes to make it easier for listeners to find your past work.
8. Share Your Podcast on Social Media
Depending on where your target audience hangs out, you should have social profiles for your podcast, such as Facebook, TikTok, and Reddit.
Short teaser audiograms, quotes, and infographics are excellent for sharing your podcast episodes on social media.
9. Add a Transcript
Since search engines are better at finding text keywords than verbalized ones, use a transcription tool like Otter.ai or Descript to transcribe your episodes.
You can even polish the transcripts and repurpose them as blog posts.
10. Host Contests and Giveaways
Ask your listeners to review or share your podcast to enter a contest where you randomly select the winner. Some possible gifts include shoutouts in new episodes, custom-made products, and free podcast merchandise.
11. Partner with Other Podcasters
You can network with other podcasters and ask to be a guest on their podcasts or host them on yours to leverage their existing audiences.
How to Make Your Podcast Go Viral
Here’s how to make your podcast go viral:
- Leverage influencer marketing: Find an influencer whose followers overlap with your target audience for a better result. You can pay the influencer or give them free products and shoutouts to promote your podcast.
- Leverage viral content and trending topics: You can use TikTok’s Trend Discovery feature or Google Trends to find this trending content. Once you have the right trend, use relevant hashtags in your social media posts sharing your episodes.
Benefits of Using Hello Audio
Using Hello Audio saves you time, as you can get your content on multiple podcast apps without uploading it to each one.
We also have a new sign-up page for private podcasts, which helps you collect email addresses for your email list and subscription payments. The page is ideal for podcasters looking to share their audio content with select listeners.
You can check out our instant demo to see why Hello Audio will change how you connect with your audience and monetize your podcast content.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are questions you may have on the topic.
How Many Podcast Episodes Should You Launch With?
You should launch your podcast with 3-5 episodes. Most listeners get disappointed by great content that’s on its own, so make lots of it.
What is the Best Time to Post a Podcast?
There’s no one best time to post a podcast. The timing depends largely on your audience—when they are most active on podcast apps and social media.
In some cases, it may be better to post podcasts on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays rather than weekends. The key is to experiment and find your sweet spot.
Conclusion
Now you know the various ways to market and grow your podcast. It’s best to focus on a few strategies first and double down on what works before trying other tactics.
At Hello Audio, we can help you deliver audio to your listeners directly on apps like Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Podcast Addict. Sign up for our 7-day free trial to reach listeners in real time, anywhere!
