So you’ve recorded your podcast, and you’re proud of the final result. Congratulations!
Now you just need people to listen to it. Thankfully, there’s more than one way for your podcast to get seen and heard. In fact, there are multiple ways to promote a podcast, and they can easily overlap to give you the best chance at being discovered. Some are pretty easy while others are more about the long game. Add one or a few to your marketing mix and see which ones have the best results.
Is your podcast polished and ready to go? Let’s start off with a few easy ones you can literally do right now:
1. Ask To Subscribe
So simple, but we can all do with an obvious reminder from time to time! All this means is including a “Subscribe” button anywhere and everywhere on your podcast. Mention it in your recording, put it on your social media and close by
2. Submit To Directories
Once recording and editing have been completed, decide who and where you want to submit to. The go-to is Apple podcasts, but there are up and coming players who are getting many downloads. Spotify and Google, for example. The more places your podcast is listed, the better. Plus, it’s free, so why not?
3. Maximize Existing Resources
Do you have an email list? Social media accounts? If not, no worries. You can create them. If you do, use them to your advantage now! Make announcements, share clips of your podcast, create posts – anything to hook people in.
(alt-tag: Angled down view of person sitting at desk with podcast notes, a mic, and cup of coffee in recording studio.)
Ok, now let’s kick it up a notch.
Here are a few more ways to get ears and eyeballs on your podcast. They take a little more time and resources, but are very valuable to the success of your podcast:
4. Ask And Share Questions
Encourage listeners to ask questions and tag you on social media. That way, they get exposure, their friends get to see what they’re asking and your show gets a shoutout. People love hearing their names spoken online and this creates a loop of user engagement.
5. Start a Blog
With a blog, the possibilities and shareability are endless! It’s easy to share a blog post, plus you can supercharge it with SEO words for better ranking. Furthermore, there isn’t that much of a difference between your podcast audience and blog audience, you’ll notice how they support each other to increase your audience all around.
6. Create a Website
You don’t need a fancy website, something simple will do. A website will give your blog a place to live, plus will act as a destination for your audience and leads to go to. Especially as you start building your email list, you’ll need to send them somewhere and your website is the place where they can get more information.
7. Email List
Your email list is like digital gold. This is your direct access point to individual members of your audience and is a fantastic way to keep people aware of your new podcast episodes, launches, subscriptions, contests, and so much more! Don’t forget to add a call to action with every email and a link to your website if you have one, or social media handles.
8. Be A Guest On Other Shows
Instead of reinventing the wheel, get listeners listening to your show by promoting yourself on other people’s shows. Choose podcasts that have a similar audience to expose yourself to, and start making connections. Try to choose podcasts that are more famous than yours for maximum exposure!
9. Have Guests On Your Show
The same applies in the opposite way. If you’re a guest on other shows, have guests on your show too. Leverage each other’s audience to grow and boost your content.
10. Contest And Giveaways
Everyone loves receiving freebies. If you’re able to give away something that aligns with your show and attracts relevant people that boost your brand instead of just the general public, consider what kind of contest or giveaway you can create. Maybe you can get people to call into your show live, or run a giveaway that invites followers to tag your show on Instagram.
(alt-tag: Two young women against a white brick background sitting separately, chatting and smiling into microphones for a podcast interview.)
Here are a few more strategies to add on top of your marketing mix. Think of these as little shortcuts and added bonuses:
- Tell Everyone And Their Mother
Literally. Don’t underestimate the power of word of mouth. Whatever your podcast is about, work it so you can bring it up in conversation as much as possible. Perfect your elevator pitch so that when you go to walk your dog, pick up your mail or meet someone at a party, you’re able to get to the core of your podcast as fast and succinctly as possible. - Cross-promote
Take advantage of guest matching services to bring on guests, which – did you know? – generally, bring in twice the amount of listeners! - Create CTAs
A call to action at the beginning, middle, and end of your episode gives your audience direction, leading them towards an action. Encourage them to sign up for your coaching, subscribe to your channel or leave a review. - Business Cards
This might sound hokey and 20 years too late, but if you’re meeting and rubbing shoulders with a lot of people on the regular, consider creating business cards that have QR codes on them. This way, people can just use their smartphone to scan the code and get taken directly to your podcast website. - Live Recordings
Live recordings provide multiple uses for content that not only promotes your brand but builds it. Consider how a live recording can be streamed now, and recorded later to edit and upload for a rebroadcast. Plus, you can use the video content to create clips and teasers for social media.
With TalkShoe, you can launch your podcast into outer orbit. Enjoy a one-stop-shop for everything you need to store, distribute, syndicate, and monetize your podcast. If you want to get the most out of your podcast, learn more about TalkShoe here.
