8 ways to promote your podcast
As time-consuming as it is, creating a podcast is just a part of the job. You’ve also got to get the word out. If no-one knows about it, then you’ve wasted your time.
Here, I’ve outlined 8 keys to promote your podcast.
1. USE SOCIAL MEDIA.
After every episode of your podcast is released, promote it on the social media channels that your market uses. Don’t post the whole episode – people don’t use social media to listen to a 30-minute podcast. Instead, promote the episode with, say, a quote, with a compelling image, and reasons why listeners should check out your podcast.
2. HAVE YOUR GUESTS PROMOTE THE EPISODE TO THEIR NETWORKS
When releasing your podcast, tag your guests on social media. Ask them to share and/or comment on the social media posts which are promoting their episode. If you have a well-known speaker with a large following, that will help big-time getting the word out.
3. GET YOURSELF ON OTHER PEOPLE’S PODCASTS
People who listen to podcasts are obviously already familiar with the medium. Research indicates that long-time consumers of podcasts listen to more shows. So, if you can be a guest on someone else’s podcast – and sound interesting enough! – listeners to that podcast might want to check out your own.
4. GET LISTENER REVIEWS
With so many podcasts out there, a list of 5-star reviews will help provide much needed credibility to entice others to check you out. A listener needs to invest their time to choose what to listen to – if your podcast can be backed-up by good reviews, that all helps.
5. REPURPOSE YOUR PODCAST
Tim Ferris’s book ‘Tools of Titans’ is probably the most effective example of a re-purposed podcast. The book summarises the best bits from his conversations with entrepreneurs and thought leaders from his 100-million-plus-download podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show. You don’t have to write a book, but you could transcribe your podcast with Rev.com, and write articles, newsletters and quotes for social media.
6. USE AN AUDIOGRAM
Make a 30-second video of your podcast for social media channels. Find the best 30-seconds from the podcast episode and include the captions for those who have the audio turned off (which is overwhelmingly most people). Headliner.app allows you to do this easily and cheaply (free, in fact!).
7. GET FEATURED ON APPLE PODCASTS
Apple always updates its featured podcasts in the browse area of its Apple Podcasts app. Would you believe an actual human in California decides which podcasts are chosen for the Australian app? The coveted position is the very top, normally reserved for new shows. Other categories further down include Inspiration for Your Business, New & Noteworthy, and more topical categories, like Interested in US Elections? and Back to School!
8. PAID ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION
You can purchase ad spots on podcast apps like Pocket Casts, Podbeam or PodcastOne. Choose another podcast which targets the same or a similar audience as yours. Pay for marketing on social media that focuses on your target market. The beauty with these forms of paid advertising is that you can pay as little or as much as you want. Over time you can tweak where and how much you’re spending for best results.