How do I promote and grow my audience, are the two questions I get most frequently asked when it comes to podcasts.
With most news outlets having their own podcast channels and therefore not inclined to promote anyone else’s, simply issuing a press release will not cut through the noise or make sure your podcast reaches your target audience.
There are several creative ways you can promote your podcast, but as with most things I’d suggest making sure you’ve covered the basics first.
Make it easy for listeners to tune into your podcast
No matter your personal preference when it comes to choosing what platform to use to listen to your favourite podcasts, when it comes to appealing to your audience making sure your podcast is as accessible as possible is key.
The easiest way to do this is to list your podcast with a streaming platform like Podbean or Simplecast, which will submit your episodes to each of the mainstream directories in one click. Taking the technical pressure off you and for a monthly subscription fee of around £10-15 per month.
Calling for subscribers
Asking people to subscribe to your podcast is one of the most effective and simple call-to-actions you can make, which will help boost your visibility and ranking on podcast streaming platforms.
Subscribers will also be notified whenever a new episode goes live, sending reminders or auto downloading the episodes (depending on the platform and their setting preferences), which can help maintain your listenership.
Cross-channel campaigns
As I’ve already mentioned news outlets are unlikely to publish a story about your podcast, but there are a range of approaches you can take using your own channels to entice listeners.
From promoting on social media to LinkedIn thought leadership articles, creating banners and assets for your website, as well as direct outreach through any relevant stakeholder lists you may have. Maximsing your existing channels will support you with trialling any approaches and help you identify any paid/sponsored ads to complement your strategy.
Leveraging guests
Guests present a great opportunity to tap into and attract a wider audience. However, they aren’t obligated to share or shout about the episode. Pre-writing social media messaging or providing branded graphics are a couple of ways of making it easy for them to support you with promoting the podcast, but also consider how else you can maximise any soundbites in an engaging way for social.
Creating audiograms is one good example of this and gives you an opportunity to entice listeners through visual snippets. They take just minutes to make and there are a range of free tools available to help you create them for each of your social media channels.
So, there you go. Our four top tips for making sure you’ve covered the basics with promoting your podcast.
If you don’t already have the expertise, launching a podcast can seem like a daunting task but that’s why we’re here! So, if you have a question, whether it’s about how to promote your series or how frequently to publish your podcast, get in touch by contacting sara.mills@see-media.co.uk.
