Sprinkle a bit of podcast promo magic to your show to find new audiences for your podcast
As one of our founders Matt Deegan points out – there is a difference between being a hobby podcaster and a professional. If you are creating the podcast just for you and your ten closest friends, fantastic! We love that for you and we fully support you. But if your ambition is to find a loyal community of listeners, then you need to start marketing your podcast for them, not just for you.
So, let’s for a minute assume that you have all of the core ingredients exactly right, which are:
- Your concept – you have a clear structure and a concept for your show that makes it unique
- Your audience – you know exactly who you are making this podcast for
- Your technical skills – you know HOW to make a podcast that will serve your audiences
And let’s get to the next part – marketing. With all of your ingredients mixing perfectly together in a big caldron of podcast magic, what do you need to do to actually market your podcast to reach your audiences?
Number 1: Have a Marketing Plan
The number one reason we see some podcasts thrive and others fail is because of their approach to marketing in general. All marketing falls into three categories: earned (e.g. PR), owned (your own media) and paid (advertising) – and we want you to have a course of action concerning each of those strands before you begin with making the show.
The more you know about the marketing strategy for the show before you even begin production, the more success you will have. We know that it can seem daunting to think about marketing alongside your creative ideas for the show itself – but trust us, it will save you time and money. Plus, as you are thinking about your marketing alongside production, you are less likely to miss a crucial deadline. Follow our launch deadlines to make sure you stay on track.
Number 2: Set Your Podcast Title
Your title needs to be easy to understand, simple to pronounce and straightforward to type into a search engine. We like to follow these 6 rules to get a podcast title right the first time. Don’t be afraid to rebrand your podcast if your title isn’t serving your audience (or you) anymore, just make sure to take the time to really think about your next move.
Number 3: Create Your Podcast Artwork
The first impression of your podcast won’t be the audio – it will be the imagery. We have a whole bunch of tips on what makes a good podcast square and our team has even put together the holy grail of the 5 podcast artwork rules we think you should follow. You want your artwork to be thumbstopping and professional, so spend the time on getting the artwork right. And if you want to see examples of great artwork, just go on any podcast chart and look at the top 50 shows!
Number 4: Optimise Your Podcast Description
Once you have convinced someone enough to actually click on your show with your title and artwork, the next thing they will see is your podcast description. You don’t have a lot of space here to continue selling them the podcast, so make sure each word is valuable. Here is our full list of tips on what makes a good show description vs a bad one.
Number 5: Think About All of Your Assets
Marketing your podcast doesn’t end with just getting your feed to look good. It only BEGINS with that. What you really need is multiple touchpoints for people to understand that this is an ongoing show and to be constantly reminded of its existence. We often talk about the magical number 7, and we have good reason for it – the more touchpoints you have, the more likely you are to find new listeners! Remember: you can always repurpose your podcast episodes to give more to your listeners. This could include blog posts, subscriptions, social posts, and so much more.
Number 6: Build Your Social Profiles
Feeding into the idea of multiple touchpoints, you should also have an array of information about your show across social networks. This could include TikTok, YouTube, X, Facebook, Bluesky, LinkedIn, and so much more… Each of the socials has their own way of working. Branded podcasts might also find a lot of use from LinkedIn – i.e. newsletters might be a great idea. For YouTube and IG, maybe you want to focus on social trailers for your podcast.
Number 7: Have a PR and Podcast Outreach Plan
When launching a new podcast, it’s a good idea to start thinking about your press and media plan as you get into the production. We have a whole explainer on general Podcast PR and why it works, as well as an in-depth how-to on writing your podcast press release to help you along the way.
Besides general PR, don’t neglect Podcast Outreach – these are direct ad and trailer swaps with similar podcasts in your genre or with those who have similar audiences demographics. Listeners are more likely to trust a recommendation coming from a podcast they already love, so this is your chance to bring more audiences to your show.
Number 8: Consider Memberships for Your Show
If you know your podcast already has a superfan base (or definitely will do from launch), consider creating a way for them to bond over your podcast from the start. Memberships and paid subscriptions can be an amazing way to give back to your audience, but also to build you a monetisation stream to help the show grow further. Here are all the pros and cons of member-only content for your listeners.
Number 9: Budget for Paid Spend
As you’ll know from reading point Number 1 – we suggest that if you’re able, you should always have a plan for paid spend. Yes, your show can do great with just organic reach, but if you’re confident in what you’re putting out, spending money can really help to put your show in front of more potential listeners. This could be a mix of performance marketing activity like display advertising, as well as social media paid spend and also podcast ads. Podcast ads have two strands too, dynamically inserted ads that have CTAs for people to listen to your show as well as host-read ads that come directly from the talent of another podcast. All of these would be a great addition to your podcast marketing strategy. Plus, there is an easy way to track conversion of podcast ads – so you’ll know just how effective your campaign is!
Number 10: Be Consistent and Persistent!
Whether it’s a new launch or a rebrand, just make sure to be thorough with all of your marketing and messaging. You will want to lead people directly to the podcast and make them stay and subscribe. Have a look at how other podcasts do this too and find your ‘podcast envy’ target. We recently rebranded the Media Club and it’s a great example of how the different podcast marketing elements can come together at relaunch. Similarly, we got you covered with pitfalls to avoid when you are launching your podcast too. Be consistent with all of your branding and stick to your plan, and then pivot if something isn’t working!
Sounds simple? We wish. We know podcast marketing can seem daunting and that’s why we are here. If you’d like to focus ONLY on the production of your podcast, we are here to help you do the other things.