25 Best Ways on How to Promote your Podcast

In stark contrast to the pop band Buggles “Video Killed the Radio Star'' message that declared the radio virtually ‘dead’, podcasts are today’s resurrected version of radio shows and quite a popular choice to share content. If you want to hop on to the podcast bandwagon, it may be easy to choose a content category, but the more challenging consideration may be on how to promote your podcast to the right audience or how do I get more listeners for my podcast?

We have it simplified for you with our tips and 25 of the best ways on how to promote your podcast.

1. How to Get More Listeners for My Podcast?

Provide quality content

Quality is everything when it comes to content that’s both visual and audio and that's a primary factor when you are figuring out how to promote your podcast. Current audiences are more well-informed and specific about what they are searching for. The content you have needs to have value and that X-factor to keep them hooked.

Maintain consistency in releasing podcasts

If your audience enjoys the kind of content you share through podcasts, it's obvious they are looking to hear some more. At this point, it’s vital that you maintain a consistent schedule of releasing podcasts to attract and build a loyal customer base. Remember, these are potential brand advocates who can be of great help when it comes to spreading the word and works well when you are exploring different ways on how to promote your podcast.

Experiment with your promotion models

One-size may not fit all and so with varied audiences and preferences, it's a great idea to explore different promotion models to see which works best.

2. 25 Best Ways on How to Promote Your Podcast

2.1 Develop Creative Titles and Descriptions

Just like icing on top of a cake, creative titles and descriptions are the first thing that catches the eye. If you want to ensure your podcast is making the right kind of noise, create captivating titles and descriptions that leave the audience with a feeling of wanting to know more. A few podcasts that caught our eye thanks to their witty titles and good content are The Lazy Genius, Call Your Girlfriend, and How to Fail.

2.2 Know Your Target Audience

Shooting without aim is definitely not going to help hit the bull’s eye. To make an impact, you need a target and in this case, a target audience. While you may have decided the content that you want to showcase through your podcast, do you know to whom it needs to be broadcasted to? Have you conducted valid research to understand the kind of messaging your podcasts will convey, or the kind of listeners who may want to know more or benefit from these podcasts? Use these as guiding factors when you decide how to promote your podcast to the right target audience.

2.3 Create a Website for Your Podcast

One of the best ways on how to promote your podcast is to build a rich and engaging website that’s loaded with all the right kind of information. Bloggers and listeners can tune in to a credible source at one single point to access all the updated information they need and stay in touch, thereby helping you create a loyal customer base.

2.4 Release at Least 3 Episodes on Launch Day

Try three for good luck if you know how to promote your podcast. The rule of thumb is to at least create three engaging episodes before you launch or release a podcast. This is a good way to click and bait your listeners into exploring more of your content. Just one episode is not going to help you gain much traction and they might just lose interest when they realize there’s not much to follow up on.

2.5 Submit to Podcast Directories

An effective way when you are figuring how to promote your podcast is through podcast directories. Create accounts and add your RSS feeds to various podcast directories so the platforms will automatically publish every new episode that’s released. This way you get more audience coverage as audiences browse through suggestions provided. There are plenty of podcast directories besides leading podcatcher Apple Podcasts such as Google Play, Spotify, TuneIn, iHeartRadio and lots more.

2.6 Use Your Guest’s Audience

Consider using your guest’s audience to leverage more reach for your podcast in cases where your guests are popular influencers or professionals who command a huge fan base or following. Once they share an episode that they have featured in, it creates a domino effect. You can also use shareable images, links, tweets along with a note on a guest’s podcast to self-promote your own podcast.

2.7 Appear as Guest on Other Podcasts

When it comes to reaching out to a specific target audience, try and pitch yourself as a guest to hosts of similar podcasts or content. The idea is to find content that’s in the same niche so you get a more select audience with similar interests to cater to. You can try some online resources such as PodcastGuest Exchange, Radio Guest List, Podcast Movement or Podcasters’ Support Group to source similarly aligned podcasts to work with.

2.8 Publish New Episodes at the Right Intervals

Timing is everything in the case of podcasts and publishing when it comes to exploring options on how to promote your podcast. You don’t want to ambush your audience with too much too soon, but neither should they feel left out in the cold. If you have content in a theme that’s dynamic and keeps changing, publishing daily or on alternate days in a week is advisable.

For those topics or themes that are at a more static level, once a week or two weeks will work just fine. You will also need to consider factors such as how episodes in each podcast end and do they transition into the next smoothly with a gap, time duration of each episode and the intent to share the content- is it to gain just numbers or share a message?.

2.9 Use Your Back Catalog

When you have a considerable hub of episodes that you’ve built over time, you can use that to an advantage to figure out how to promote your podcast. You can link previous topics along with their coordinating episode details within relevant content such as blurbs or show notes in your current lineup of podcast episodes. These are a great way to rope in new signups and leverage more engagement on your podcast content,

2.10 Cross-Promote Relevant Podcasts

Helping others will not just help you win good karma, but also more audiences. Consider linking similar podcasters’ content through cross promotion. Identify content creators with similar audiences who you can reach out to and ask them to mention you in their content while you do the same and reference them in your content.

2.11 Prompt your Listeners to Subscribe and Share

If you would like to know how to make your podcast go viral, consider leveraging the power of the “like” or “forward” option. It’s a great way to help spread the word so you can grow your podcast base. Engage your listeners through interesting conversations on your podcast website and show notes to get them to subscribe and share your podcasts. Let them in on current developments and future lineups so they can be privy to all the latest on your upcoming podcasts.

2.12 Encourage Reviews from your Listeners

Ratings and reviews are an authentic way to add more credibility to your podcast content and a effective option if you need to know how to promote your podcast. Use witty and persuasive call-to-actions so your listeners can sign-up, rate, and review each episode of every podcast. You can further explain how this would be a great avenue to improve the content you share based on their reviews or suggestions.

2.13 Repurpose your Podcast as a YouTube Video

Repurposing simply means dishing out the same meal in a different way for more appeal. So when it comes to brainstorming different ways on how to promote your podcast, try this one. Consider repurposing your podcast content for YouTube to expand your audience reach. Simply upload a specific podcast you have in mind by converting the MP3 audio file into an MP4 version. You can use a signature brand image for visual branding throughout the entire length of the video. Also add details such as links for your websites, references, show notes, and cross-promotion links to other podcast directories platforms in the description. A great example of a repurposed podcast is The Jordan Harbinger Show that uses both the audio and visual medium to deliver some great content.

2.14 Share your Podcast on Social Media

Social media is one of the fastest ways to spread the word. However, the same yardstick may not apply when it comes to sharing podcast content over different social media channels. Since the type of audience for each of them differs, so should your podcast content formats. For instance, Facebook encourages longer formats while the same may not apply on Instagram or Twitter. Customization is the key to ensuring you tap into the right audience segments on different social media channels in order to make the most of it.

2.15 Create Audiograms

Add audiograms to your list of answers on how to promote your podcast. When you throw in an image, soundwave and an audio track to mix in, you end up with an audiogram. This is another interesting technique to market your podcast. This further adds an element of appeal for video content consumers on social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

2.16 Host Giveaways on Social Media

Who can resist a freebie? Create more waves on social media by hosting interactive games or fun contests and reward winners to generate more engagement. You can offer complementary freebies too if they choose to subscribe or answer questions related to relevant podcasts. Post that, ask followers to share “Insta-worthy” pictures and encourage them to share on social media handles.

2.17 Communicate with People and Brands You Mention

If you mention names of popular professionals, influencers, or brands, then it helps to maintain some degree of steady communication with them for authenticity and more visibility. You get opportunities to be referenced through them to their followers or audiences when you share your links on their social media handles and that in turn is a great way on how to promote your podcast using organic publicity.

2.18 Record a Tagline with Your Guest

There’s something about catchy taglines that piques your interest and stays on in the mind. It usually has the right blend of wit and information to convey the brand or product’s messaging. But how to promote your podcast with this approach? Record a signature-style tagline that guests can reiterate as promotional teasers and plug them into your podcasts before you launch them to draw attention.

2.19 Leverage Word-of-Mouth Advertising

Word-of-mouth advertising is yet another quick way on how to promote your podcast. Like they say, word spreads like wildfire so if you have top-quality content and the works, your followers will be highly likely to share good reviews and influence their social circle to tune in.

2.20 Get Media Exposure with HARO

When you need all the help you can get on how to promote your podcast, call in the big guns. Leverage the benefit of using Help a Reporter Out (HARO) service to earn mentions and links to your site in print and other traditional media assets. It’s a quick approach to gain more visibility and earn more credibility for your brand in the podcast space.

2.21 Buy and Run Paid Ads

Even with the best of organic techniques on how to promote your podcast, there may be occasions when time is of essence and it’s necessary to use the power of paid ads to speed up things. With numerous options such as Google Ads, Facebook ads, or mobile app advertising through Listen Notes or Overcast, consider the type of audience you want to cater to, the budget you have in mind and other relevant factors before you choose one to make the most of it.

2.22 Send out a Newsletter

Newsletters are a great way to personalize the whole podcast promotion experience with your followers and grow your audience. Send out updated email newsletters on a consistent schedule so your followers know when to expect one and stay engaged. Be sure to add value to the content of your email so it can help in forging a more meaningful connection with every listener. Besides show recaps and links, share nuggets of information that can benefit them and how your podcasts can make a difference.

2.23 Add Links to Your Email Signature

Something as small as adding clickable or downloadable links in your email signature will go a long way in growing your audience. Sounds far-fetched? With an ocean of search information to wade through, one can get lost or side-tracked easily. It’s so much more convenient and quick to click on the given link rather than having to type the name of an episode on a separate page. It also helps you redirect them to a specific or popular podcast as you would like to and draw their attention rather than hoping they would eventually browse their way to it.

2.24 Add Value to Online Communities

There is a constant buzz in community conversations on Twitter, Quora, Reddit and more over podcasts and it's only going to get louder. It would be wise to tap into this to gain maximum benefits if you’re finding new approaches on how to promote your podcast. You can create channels with like-minded people and encourage discussions on a few of your popular podcasts.

2.25 Leverage Influencer Marketing

The power of Influencer marketing will help you open up new avenues for growth in terms of numbers. Engage with only those influencers who have similar messaging and closely aligned audiences that match yours to begin with. You can then pirch accordingly and work on interactive collaboration to generate more visibility and grow your base.

3. FAQs

What is the best way to promote a podcast?

The best way to promote a podcast is to use appropriate podcast marketing techniques such as building a website, email marketing, social media and more based on your target audience and the type of content you want to share.