Missed opportunities in podcast marketing can cost you listeners – don’t let this happen to you. 

Launching a new podcast today means competing against 30,000 other podcasts that appear each month. It is CROWDED out there. So naturally, some podcasts might not be fully maximising all of their opportunities on their feed and more broadly online to bring in the most audiences. We are here to help you find the three major marketing fixes that you might be missing, and tell you exactly how you can work on them today:

Number 1: Focus on Discoverability 

Loads of shows might get stuck on something like their artwork or their plan for social media promotion, and might simply neglect one big aspect of podcast discovery: Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Sounds boring, but it plays a vital role in how people find your show, so work on:

  • Your Titles and Descriptions – being creative (almost) always pays off, as long as it doesn’t take away from your opportunities for discoverability. Consider using clear and keyword-rich phrases. Something like ‘Podcast Marketing Explained’ will do better than ‘The Podcast Marketing Secret No One Tells You About.’ In the same vein, never waste your podcast description with words like ‘This is a podcast that talks about…’ – that first line might be ALL listeners see, so jump straight into the juicy content. 
  • Transcripts and Metadata – always post full transcripts to your podcast episodes online to not only make them more accessible, but to also boost your SEO ranking. Your metadata should also include all the relevant information like tags and descriptions.
  • Repurpose Show Notes – if you are spending a significant amount of time researching each episode (as you should), why not use your transcript of the podcast and the show notes to create engaging blog posts and/or newsletters? The more you reuse your content, the more you are likely to find new audiences. It’s all about those multiple marketing touchpoints. 

Number 2: Podcast Outreach 

This one is easier said than done, but we do think that Podcast Outreach is the best way to get your show noticed by many new people. We are talking about guest spots, ad and trailer swaps and feed drops. This can be often overlooked, but this collaboration approach offers you a way in with new listeners and help you build a community. 

What you will need to do is to collect a list of shows you would like to collaborate with, and then get emailing! This is the bit that can get a bit harder to execute as contacts in the industry are a huge help, but try to think big AND small – you want to have a mix of podcasts on your list to give you the most results. Offer to swap entire episodes or trailers, and also pitch yourself or the host of your podcast as a guest on others. 

Feeling a bit shy? We have Podcast Outreach covered as a service and you can get our PR team to use their contacts to get you where you need to be – just reach out. 

Number 3: Use Superfans to Promote Your Show

Your superfans are your superpower. They will recommend your show to friends, post about it on socials and attend your events, too. People are more likely to listen to a new podcast through recommendation than any other piece of marketing. 

Building loyalty within your community and your listeners is extremely important. It helps your podcast not only grow in numbers and popularity, but it can also help YOU understand what works and what doesn’t when it comes to your content. To reward your loyal listeners who go one step further and maybe subscribe to your Patreon, Substack or any of your paid channels, you also need a strategy. This can, and should, go both ways too – think about how your listeners might feel more incentivised to promote your show while also getting the most from their superfandom:

  • Give Back to Your Superfans for Shout Outs – Incentivise your listeners to talk about the podcast by rewarding them with special perks whenever they recommend the show publicly. For example, this could be adding your channels to ‘starter packs’ on Bluesky, posting a certain number of Instagram stories about your podcast, writing posts on LinkedIn or even acknowledging when hosts of other shows talk about yours. The perks are truly endless as well: attending podcast recordings, free merchandise, sending personalised videos or giving shoutouts back to your listeners on the podcast. This will help you get more of a cult following among your target audience, and will give back to your community – truly, a win-win!
  • Offer Gifting to Your Superfans – If your podcast has paid-for content that is only available to your paid subscribers, consider adding an option that allows them to share this content for free with a select number of people. This could be a great way to get people to sample what it’s like to be part of your podcast community, and people generally do not like to feel left out once they know a community exists that truly serves them. 

There are of course about 100 other ways your podcast might be missing out when it comes to marketing strategies, and for that we do have a cure – more of our blogs! And if you are looking for a more hands-on approach to your specific problem just…