10 Tips to promote your podcast in 2020

Of course, we already know podcasting is a great way to build a relationship with an audience of potential clients or customers. But at the same time, we all know that is true only when you have an ideal amount of listeners right?

I am sure many of us have reached that podcasting-block where we ask the big question; – “How do I promote my podcast show? My audience is not growing. How do people even promote their podcast?”. Well there are two tactical ways to do these;

• Study and emulate other podcast shows marketing strategy by listening to their episodes, visiting their website, closely observing their social pages and signing up for their emails. This is absolutely free!
• Or you can hire a creative content marketing team. Here you may need to pay for the marketing service offered to you.

However, in this post, we will not be talking about the two above mentioned tactical ways to promote your podcast show. Instead, we will share with you some amazing and proven to work tactical tips that will help you effectively promote your podcast show.

If you’re starting from zero (as in, no promotion at all), pick just three to five and implement them consistently over the next six months. Start with the ones that feel most appealing to you and then build them into your workflow and track your results. Growing a podcast is a notoriously arduous effort — pod-fade is a real thing. So adjust your mindset for the long term, invest your effort in a few of these approaches and then adjust or add more as you get comfortable and start seeing results. 

We assume you must have distributed your podcast show to the top streaming platforms like Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, etc.

HERE WE GO!

The #1 Tip: Leverage the iTunes platform

While you may adopt other methods to promote your podcast show. iTunes is surely the first platform you should optimize for. You can apply some good, old fashioned SEO tactics – just like with Google, Bing, or any other search engine you may be familiar with – for your podcast. While you don’t want to go overboard, searches on iTunes won’t be as lengthy, so you need to apply relevant keywords so that your podcast can be found. Here are sections of your podcast details you should consider optimizing first with relevant keywords.

• Podcast Title: This should include the title of your podcast, a colon, and finally three or so relevant keyword terms for your podcast. For example John’s Awesome Podcast: Blogging | Social Media | Content Marketing.
• Publisher Name: Your publisher’s name will be the same format as the podcast title. For example, it would appear as so: John Smith: Blogger and Social Media Expert.
• Podcast Description: Since this area will be used for both iTunes and SEO, add detailed text. Just remember to include keywords similar to those in your podcast title and your publisher’s name.
• Podcast Episode Title and Description:  Finally, don’t forget to include the primary keyword in the title and description.

That being said, below are some other tactics that would help you rank on iTunes.

1. Create and Upload Quality and Relevant Contents Tailored to Your Niche

If you’ve been creating content for your blog or website, then you already know the quality of that quality of your content is a huge key factor. In fact, according to Quick Sprout, content-rich sites generate 97 percent more links. And, valuable quality content is one of the top reasons why people follow a podcast show. To ensure your podcast is high-quality, ensure your podcast is:

• Long enough to cover a single topic thoroughly (usually at least five to 10 minutes)
• Well-researched and factually correct
• High-quality overall image
• Professionally produced without sound quality issues.

If you want your podcast to be found in iTunes, and gain subscribers, then make sure you have the right equipment and create killer content people will keep coming back for.

2. Line-Up the Reviews & Comments

Do not be ashamed or scared to ask people to listen and then leave a review or comment. Why? Because that is one of the ways to get your podcast to rank well in iTunes. One way you can encourage your listeners to leave a review and comment is to often pitch about it as you discuss during the episode. Another way is to pitch it out during your outro template.

Finally, you could create a vanity URL. Using a WordPress plugin like Pretty Link Lite, you could make a vanity site, like johnsmith.com/review, that would redirect visitors to your iTunes store. Sharing that link on your podcast or blog is a lot easier than asking people to search for your podcasts on iTunes just to leave a review.

3. Get Subscribers, Not Just Listeners

While you’re asking for people to leave a review or comment, don’t forget to ask them to subscribe to your podcast. More subscribers tell iTunes that you are putting up quality content.

#2 Tip: Create a website for your podcast

The second tip to promote your podcast is to create a home (website) where new listeners can find you. Most people won’t discover you from a podcast app/player, they will find out about you from a web search or referral from a friend. This means it’s important to have multiple sources of content or repurpose your content for audio, a blog/episode show notes on your site, and even a video you can place on YouTube. The more exposure you have across multiple channels, the better the chances new people will discover you.

A podcast website is important. From SEO benefits to being a platform you fully control, all shows should have their own site. Each time you upload a new episode and it’s distributed to every listening app, create a new post on your website too. The post should have an embedded player, transcriptions, and show notes to make the biggest impact.

Create show notes for each episode on your website. Why? Google is now displaying your show notes information on its Google Podcast player page. So it makes even more sense to start creating show notes for your episodes as new listeners/users will find your podcast in Google search results based on related keywords and search phrases.

#3 Tip: Utilize Social Media Marketing

Let’s talk about promotion via social media. There’s just so much creativity and fun to be had with promoting a podcast on social media. Here are some ideas;

• For starters, share an update when the episode first goes live. 
• Pin your episode tweet or Facebook post, featuring the iTunes URL.
• Create quote images in Canva or Pablo. Share these as standalone social updates with a link to iTunes.
• Reshare the podcast episode multiple times. 
• Tease the next episode 24 hours ahead of time.
• Talk about the behind-the-scenes stuff in an Instagram story.
• Create 15-second soundbite clips. Upload to Soundcloud. Then share on Twitter.

Twitter has a really neat implementation of Soundcloud audio specifically. People can play the audio right from their Twitter stream.

#4 Tip: Be a guest on other podcast shows

There’s a reason being a guest and hosting one on your podcast makes it on every promotional strategy list. It works!

When ask some podcast listeners, “How did you come across my podcast show?”.

Some often say; “I was listening to Mr. X’s podcast and Mr. X had Mr. Y as a guest on the episode. The value shared by Mr. Y was so valuable I had to search for Mr. Y’s podcast”.

Pitching yourself as a guest on another show is a great way to introduce your content to an aligned, qualified audience. Similarly, including interesting guests on your own show produces more engaging episodes and adds a unique point of view for your listeners.

#5 Tip: Invite other podcast hosts to be guests on your show

Just like the tip discussed above, inviting other podcasters as a guest on your show help you gain more traffic on the show. How does this happen? Well, the guest has his/her listeners right? Guess what? Die-hard listeners will consume every content their podcaster is featured on. And that right there is a new set of listeners listening to one of your episodes for the first time. Who knows? They might love your show if the content is fire, and will Subscribe and come back for more episodes when you release them.

#6 Tip: Start email marketing

It’s super useful to identify all the newsletters in your niche and keep tabs on them (they could even be a source of guest ideas for your podcast). Check out industry newsletter aggregators like SmartBrief and MultiBriefs as a starting point. Get familiar with what type of content they tend to include. Send relevant episodes to the writer/editor for them to consider including in a future issue. 

Collect the email addresses of your listeners on your website then send an email every time you publish a new episode. OptinMonster, HelloBar, and Thrive Leads are great apps to collect addresses on your site.

#7 Tip: Do give-away contests

Give back to your audience and host a giveaway on your podcast’s social media accounts.

You can announce the contests on the show itself, and then have your viewers retweet or share a link to your episode to enter. It’s an investment, but you’re driving traffic to your social channels and getting your podcast in front of new people.

If you have the budget to allow for it, these might make some great giveaways:

• T-shirts
• Product discounts
• Stickers

And if you don’t quite have the budget:

• Mention in the show notes
• A shoutout at the end of the show
• A 5-minute guest spot on the podcast

The best way to go about this is to simply kick off the contest either on social media or by mentioning it on the show. Ask people to leave an iTunes review in order to enter.

#8 Tip: Run Paid Ads

Paid ads are great ways to collect traffic by connecting with your target audience. Google ads appear for people who specifically search for the keywords you pair with the ad. Facebook ads display to people whose interests align with your targeting.

There are two ways to go about this:

1. Purchase ads that link to your podcast’s landing page.
2. Purchase ads that link to individual episodes.

Although it’s hard to track whether people who clicked the ad actually listen to an episode and become loyal listeners. That isn’t to say that the ads aren’t worth their money, but you should be willing to lose a little bit of money in the beginning.

#9 Tip: Leverage on influencer marketing

With a relatively small budget, you can work with social media influencers who will help you spread the word about your podcast. One post from an Instagram influencer with about 30k followers could cost you anywhere from $5 to $15. One podcaster in the very active Podcast Movement Community group on Facebook said he saw pick up of 10 to almost 200 followers per influencer post. Spend wisely and $500 can result in thousands of new listeners. So make sure you find the right ones and be sure to pitch appropriately. Influence Weekly is a helpful resource if you want to go deep on influencer marketing.

#10 Tip: Apply the tips religiously

Finally, with all being said. The most important tip is to religiously apply the aforementioned tips. Remember, podcast audience building take a long ride. Hence, patience, consistency, and determination are your most important tools as a podcaster.

Along the way, iterate on the strategies that routinely drive new subscribers and keep your eyes open for new ways for an audience to discover you.

Do you have feedback to share or other great tips? Let us know what you think.