Here’s how you can effectively market your seasonal podcast episode or show
Podcasts just don’t stop. There’s always a new launch, a new episode, a new idea that you must listen to… so how can you stand out? The reality is that there will always be someone you are competing against, so the best strategy for any podcast promotion is just making sure you are always doing YOUR best – and that it consistently works for you and your team. One trick though is to also follow the yearly calendar. Yep, it is that simple. Staying relevant with seasonal episodes or show releases is a nice way to keep your audiences engaged so here are all of our tips.
- Focus on Your Socials
Social media audiences LOVE seasonal content. Whether it’s the spooky season or Christmas – we are all fed all kinds of DIY, cooking and aspirations purchases/activity suggestions for the season we are in. Lean into it and make sure your feed reflects the content you are putting out. If you have a scary-story ep around Halloween, make sure to use relevant hashtags and teaser content for your ep. Also don’t forget to respond to your comments, ask for more feedback on what people are doing around the holiday and just generally engage and encourage your community.
- Fix Up Your SEO
If you are planning a bit of a seasonal makeover for your podcast, or for your launch, or even just for your ep – make sure your podcast and episode descriptions reflect that. This means using keywords in your episode titles, descriptions and all of your show notes. Don’t forget to also add transcriptions of your episodes to your website to drive traffic to your show via web search too and give people an accessible way to consume your content and for search engines to easily index your episodes. Some podcast hosts now include transcripts in the RSS feeds and these are showing up in podcast search engines.
- Run a Competition
Who doesn’t love gifts? Running a competition around a season is a fantastic way to get people listening. For example, consider putting in a note at the front of the show that whoever hears the answer to a question anywhere in this episode and emails/DMs it back to you can win a seasonal prize. Or simply ask people to share the podcast ep with their social following and send you back a screenshot to be in for a chance to win a big Boo Basket or a home-baked pumpkin cheesecake. Even better if that prize involves the podcast like an event you are planning, speaking of which…
- Plan a Gathering
It’s easy to get in your head about how you can interact with your listeners. Events can seem absolutely daunting, but if you have an engaged community around your podcast and you know they are mostly locally based, why not just plan a gathering to celebrate the season together? This can be as informal as a cafe or a pub gathering, and the stakes don’t have to be high for you to enjoy your time with people who ALREADY love hearing you speak. Just make sure there is real value to your attendees – whether that is just a chance to meet their favourite podcast host in person and ask them anything they want, or a month worth of free subscriber-only content.
- Get Creative with Your Pitching
Everyone from Apple to Spotify, as well as podcast apps like Castbox and PlayerFM run thematic curated lists. Make sure to reach out to the relevant teams and pitch for your show to be featured. Activity like this isn’t guaranteed, but it is worth doing when it comes to releasing any thematic podcasts or episodes. You want to make sure you are maximising every opportunity and reaching out to all directories. You never know – they might just love your pitch!
If you have a specific podcast in need of some seasonal love (especially in the run up to the big Christmas break…) just reach out to our team.