Perhaps the question most often asked about making podcasts would have to be: how do you grow your podcast audience?
Of course just sharing the link to the newest episode on Facebook is not terribly effective. To get folks as far as actually listening to your podcast and subscribing, you’re going to have to do more than that. In this blog you can find out actionable tips on how to promote your podcast.
We’ll get stuck in straight away, with probably the trickiest thing about podcast promotion: it isn’t an article that you can quickly scroll through, like a blog. A podcast can take half an hour to an hour for instance, and listeners have to invest time for it.
So when is a good time? People generally listen to podcasts while they’re busy with other things. Driving, traveling in the tram or train, at work, or even at home while doing the housework. Times when you’re not staring at a screen but you can take time to listen to something. The trick is to get people to tune into your podcast at these kind of moments.
1. Find a media partner
One thing that can help with promoting your podcast is finding a media partner. One who shares common ground with your podcast’s target audience of course, or who writes about the same subject that you’re covering. They can share your podcast via their own channels, such as newsletters, website and social media. But it can go a lot further too.
You might see in Adformatie (Dutch magazine) interviews over the upcoming discussions in CMO Talks, which we produce together with Energize. By writing an article on the basis of an interview in your podcast, your media partner gains free content and you gain extra attention for your podcast within your desired target group. A win-win situation, without any need to talk about money.
2. Get to grips with iTunes
To push your way up the charts on iTunes, you need reviews. So, ask your listeners to leave you a review. If you’re doing a really good job of this, you couple it to a competition. With every episode you can give something away to the writer of the most inspiring review. E.g. an interesting book (that you’ve written), or an hour’s coaching.
3. Share short clips
Sharing short clips on social media can also be a really effective way to gain attention. Some sites where you can host a podcast, like Anchor and Simplecast both offer the standard option of making a teaser. And there are also services like Wavve which you can use to give your podcast a friendly face.
4. A photo is worth a thousand…
If you prefer to have a still picture, then try making an image for Instagram with a quote from the podcast. Make sure the quote is in line with the style of your podcast, so it is immediately obvious that it belongs to your production.
The challenge here then, is choosing just the right bit that will garner attention from your target audience and leave them wanting more. Just like Netflix does in the examples below, which we discussed in our earlier blog.
5. But a video says more!
Combine the above tips and think visually. If you want to get more likes on social media, then you really need to do something with video. That’s why we have a number of cameras in our recording studio, that we also record with when making podcasts.
In this way we always have footage that we can combine with our podcast audio. Make sure that you have multiple camera positions, so that if you make edits to the audio you never have to see a hard cut in the video footage.
Another added benefit: in this way your podcast can also be added to YouTube. Lance Armstrong does this with THE MOVE.
6. Dare to use your network
Do not underestimate the power of personal networks. A new podcast, at the outset, may have no fans but of course the host or guests have people around them. And you too can enlist the help of the shed-loads of peeps in your network.
Who, within your network, has meaningful connections with your target audience? Ask each person to put you in touch with two people about your podcast.
7. Grab what you can
What I mean by that is actually: dare to promote your podcast on your own channels. Netflix does that too actually. With push notifications, mail-outs and even the start screen from which the in-house series automatically starts playing.
If you don’t dare to share your podcast, ask yourself: why not? Do you think the podcast isn’t good enough? Are you scared of what people will think of it? Is there enough support within the organisation, including management? Especially if you’re working for large organisations there are usually plenty of existing channels that you can utilise.
Surprisingly enough there are still large organisations that don’t share their podcast in their newsletter. My advice is, don’t be afraid of to take that step. If you’re having doubts, just try it once and see what reactions you get.
Even if your podcast only has a few listeners to begin with, that’s no need to panic. You will just need to invest a lot of effort in building up a relationship with your listeners. Dare to try other means to do this than you might be used to.
It may take some time but the investment that you make in terms of time and money will definitely reap dividends later. Your first loyal fans will help to make sure that over time your podcast becomes a hit.
Don’t forget: Podcasting is radio; Radio is media; Media is entertainment.
And so what goes for this also goes for podcasting: invest time. Success can rarely be counted in days. It takes months, sometimes longer than a year before a podcast becomes a real hit. Be sure to stay consistent and make use of the best practices.
