How Do You Promote A Podcast? Here's The Ultimate Guide
What is a Podcast?
A podcast is a series of online-accessible audio recordings that may be streamed on any available platform. There is no set duration, format, style, degree of production, or anything else. Like TV shows, podcasts can be divided into seasons or can be in a continuous format. New episodes are typically released weekly; however, some also prefer daily. It really depends on the host or the podcaster.
Podcasts are hosted by one or more people who conduct interviews, tell tales, or deliver the news. Meanwhile, a podcaster is a person who produces a podcast.
Simply put, a podcast is a digital audio program that you can subscribe to through your devices and listen to whenever you want.
Ultimately, podcasting is appealing because it is simple and affordable to subscribe to and even create your own show. It is the best time to create your own podcast now as it has become increasingly popular these days — and you can just talk about anything under the sun!
The Pillars of Podcasting
How do you promote a podcast? This question is probably one of the most frequently asked among starting podcasters. Well, these four pillars of podcasting will help you navigate the fundamentals of creating podcasts
1. Content
For any type of digital marketing, content is king — it always has been. That is why your audience must receive top-notch content showcasing whatever it is you want to market through your podcast. Listeners flock to your podcast because they want to gain a positive experience and to fulfill that promise, you need to create content that is entertaining, informative, and value-adding. And since it's a podcast, you may add your own personality to it. Whatever it is, make sure your podcast is enjoyable so your listeners will continue to subscribe.
2. Distribution
"Distribution" used to be the second most crucial step in the media distribution process, but now that all podcasters share their RSS feeds to the same platforms such as Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, etc., it is more important than ever to have a solid marketing and promotion strategy to let listeners know your content is available, why they should take time to listen, and how to subscribe to your podcast.
3. Discovery
Making your podcast easy to identify or discover is essential, especially since listeners have access to a massive amount of podcast channels on different platforms. Moreover, making your podcast channel user-friendly is also a plus. That way, your listeners won't have difficulty navigating your podcast channel.
4. Sales
Assuming you want to monetize your podcast, you will have to build strong foundations on the steps mentioned above and, at the same time, employ a highly competent podcast team.
Podcast Marketing Guide for 2022
Having a solid podcast marketing strategy will surely boost the visibility of your podcast. Thus, these podcast marketing tips below help answer the question, "how do you promote a podcast?"
1. Make your Podcast Relatable
Listeners gravitate to podcasts that foster emotional bonds. This means that the only option is for you to connect and make your podcast relatable to your listeners.
Your podcast needs to be seen as a buddy, mentor, or leader by the content you produce. Nobody wants to be spoken to by lifeless robots.
This is the reason we advise using this tactic first. Your podcast should have a human quality and a voice that is full of personality. Through this, you'll continue to draw in your niche audience.
2. Make a Purposeful Podcast
Studies show that purpose-driven companies have a larger market share and expand twice as fast as their rivals. This can be related to podcasting. By deliberately forging deeper ties with your podcast listeners through the purpose of your podcast, you can increase listenership in the long run. In the same essence, you can also have loyal and consistent listeners, and your podcast will remain relevant.
3. Produce Fresh and Relevant Content Consistently
How do you promote a podcast? Consistently produce new and relevant content. Well, of course, creating new and exciting content takes time, but it's always worth the effort. Providing your listeners with the best and most relevant content in every episode is the only way to ensure that your podcast can gather a devoted following.
When listeners take time to tune in, make sure you provide them with information that is more exciting and better compared to the prior episodes. Although it can be challenging to develop new ideas regularly, that's just how it is. To make things easier for you, utilize the available web resources. With the number of things you can find online, there's always something to talk about. Later on, when you get more comfortable with your entire setup, it will be easier for you to come up with content and marketing strategies that will draw out listeners.
4. Share Stories that are Relatable to your Audience
If you tell a story within your podcast, you'll definitely grab your audience's attention and encourage them to stay and listen more. Why? Because podcasts that lack a compelling narrative mostly fail to draw in their targeted listeners. In fact, research shows that incorporating storytelling into podcasts increasingly boosts listener engagement.
When telling a story in your podcast, curate it in a way where there is structure, feelings, perfect tempo, and compelling scenes. This way, you can be able to attract interest and keep your listeners intrigued. Storytelling is an effective way to market your podcast this 2022.
5. Make your Podcast Conversational
People have switched to listening to podcasts instead of radios because of the knowledge and entertainment they bring in one. With this thought in mind, do not produce a podcast that just follows a radio format. Make your podcast as conversational as you can. The most popular method these days to engage in conversations within a podcast is to invite guests.
It will be simpler for your listeners to relate to you and your guest if you engage them in a discussion. The impact, relevancy, and popularity of having guests like celebrities, thought leaders, and influencers on your show can help you draw listeners. Additionally, having them share their experiences through meaningful discussions makes your podcast uplifting, valuable, engaging, and worthwhile — it's like striking several birds with one stone.
6. Build a Personal Brand around your Podcast
Another method in podcast marketing is to create your podcast website. Having your own podcast website gives you much more control over the content you produce, which ultimately aids in building a brand for your podcast
Establishing your own podcast website allows you to link your podcast to your own URL directly. In addition, this can help you with podcast SEO and assist your listeners in remembering where they can find your podcast.
With a website, you can gradually increase your organic traffic, which might eventually overtake other sources as your main source of new listeners. You can even monetize your podcast using your podcast website too!
Podcast Promotion Strategies You Should Try
How do you promote a podcast? This list of podcast promotion strategies will teach you how.
1. Leverage your Podcast Guests
One of the ways to promote a podcast is to bring in guests. By using their quotes and creating audiograms, you can already provide adequate promotional materials for your guests. It's actually effortless to leverage your guests for additional podcast promo since they already have pre-existing networks. You just have to inform them when their episode will be out, and they'll be kind enough to market them for you on their end as well. So bring in guests as much as possible to expand your podcast's listenership.
2. Promote your Podcast on Social Media
With the popularity of podcasts now, of course, there is a lot of competition. However, if you market your podcast to social media, then maybe you'll stand a higher chance. By observing a lot of successful podcasters, the common denominator between them is taking their fight to social media and seriously creating promotional content there.
For starters, you can create teasers for every episode and release them at least a few days before the episode is aired. This way, you can build up anticipation among your audience. Once that episode airs in your podcast, share its link to all your social media accounts.
3. Optimize your Podcast for SEO
Optimizing your podcast and making it rank is one of the best approaches to promoting your podcast. Make your podcast as SEO-friendly as possible to increase visibility. To optimize it, apply current trends and include top keyword phrases. Conduct keyword research before recording your podcast so you can insert them in between your sentences.
Furthermore, it could also significantly help if you transcribe each of your podcast episodes. Although producing transcripts can be time-consuming, it can be pretty beneficial for podcast SEO. Transcribing your podcast makes it more readable and allows you to repurpose it for other digital content, such as blogs.
4. Add your Podcast to Podcast Directories
Optimize your podcast by incorporating the appropriate tags on different podcasting platforms to increase visibility. Including a descriptive title and categorical keywords may make it simpler for your audience to find your podcast.
5. Create a Community Around your Podcast.
By creating a community around your podcast, you may encourage your listeners to promote your podcast. A highly committed community can inspire listeners to keep tuning in to your podcast. Make sure to utilize communication platforms or try to create private chat groups to engage with your community.
Conclusion
We hope that by answering the question, "how do you promote a podcast," you can already establish a solid and effective podcast marketing strategy.
No matter what you want to accomplish in podcasting, we believe this roadmap will help you get there. Also, it would be a massive help if you hire podcast managers. SMART VAs podcast managers have tested various podcast marketing strategies and can help you identify which will work for you best.