How to build a profitable podcast.
Want to get more listeners? Go grab some of the marketing strategies right now!
Let's welcome our guest writer Alex Lysak!
Over the last few years, podcasts have become one of the main ways of distributing audio content online. While they started out as a fairly obscure way for people to share information, they've quickly become incredibly popular all over the world. Today, it's estimated that in 2021, 55% of the US population had listened to a podcast at some point, while 37% had listened in the last month.
Podcasts are available on all kinds of topics, including business, finance, comedy, science, sports, and much more. Starting a podcast is relatively easy, as all you need is some audio recording equipment. Some podcasts also include video feed, and a lot of amateur podcasters simply use the webcam and microphone on their computer or tablets. Setting up a podcast might be easy, but finding listeners can be a challenge for new podcasters.
Because it's so easy to create a podcast, there are lots of available podcasts out there to listen to. Although the number of podcast listeners is definitely rising, there's still a lot of competition, and new podcasters sometimes struggle to get a significant number of listeners to their show. If you want to increase your listeners, you need to make use of the right podcast marketing tactics.
In this guide, digital marketing expert Alex Lysak will be going into more detail on how you can increase your listeners. You'll learn more about the best tactics, including those that are simple and those that might take a bit more time. If you want to grow your podcast, making effective use of podcast marketing tactics to get more podcast listeners will help.
Marketing involves getting the word out to people who might be interested in listening to what you have to say. In the modern world, digital marketing and SEO are major parts of marketing, and companies like Scanteam specialize in this. Digital marketing techniques are essential for building your podcast and getting more listeners, especially for the competitive US podcasting market. These podcast marketing tips are the first thing you should be focusing on when you get started, as they're the easiest to do and the most effective.
1. Release Regular Content
A regular content schedule helps your listeners know when to expect your content, and it also helps when it comes to being found by search engines and social media algorithms. High quality is still more important than quantity, so you don't need to release a new episode every day just to stay on a schedule.
Make sure that your schedule makes sense for your topic and the types of things you have to talk about. For example, a short and easily digestible podcast would make more sense to be released every day, while a podcast that focuses on the monthly news in the industry would make more sense to be released each month.
In addition, many podcasters say new podcasts should record their first three episodes and release them all at once. This gives new listeners a better idea of your content and whether they'll want to listen to it again. Starting out as a podcaster can be difficult, but this can help give your listener count a boost early on.
2. Engage with Listeners
When you make your podcasts, make sure you include audience engagement in the script. This means you should be encouraging the listeners to engage either by leaving a like, subscribing or by leaving comments. You can also try to promote discussion in the comments by asking the listeners what they think of the topic being discussed. The best approach to frame these calls to action is to be genuine. Explain that more listeners are needed to help your podcast grow, which in turn helps you to create better content.
3. Publish at the Right Times
Publishing regularly isn't the only thing you need to pay attention to. It's also critical that you publish at the right times when your audience is more likely to be online. If you're just getting started, look at similar podcasts to see when they release. If you notice a pattern, there's a reason for it. Follow your competitor's pattern until you have your own engagement data you can analyze and make use of.
Podcast aggregators and directories, also known as podcatchers, catalog and compile lists of podcasts across many different topics. Podcast fans use these to find podcasts similar to the shows they love, and this can be a great way to find new listeners. There are many different apps and services you can use, making sure you submit your new podcast episodes to each one.
4. Community Networking
These marketing strategies involve networking with other podcasters and members of your community. Networking is important for growth and should be mutually beneficial to you and the person you're networking with.
Pro tip: Try hiring a freelancer or virtual assistant from some of the most popular freelance sites to build an outreach list. Once collected, send the contacts on the list a quick email promoting your pitch. But remember, always provide value to the person you're pitching to. Nobody likes a one-way transaction.
5. Cross-Promote Related Podcasts
Cross-promotion essentially means advertising another channel to your listeners while that channel does the same to their listeners. This is a great way of potentially reaching new people who are interested in the topics you talk about. Cross promotions should ideally always be with related podcasts, as this way, you'll get the best chance of bringing in people who are already interested.
6. Network with Other Podcasters
There are loads of online communities where other podcasters hang out, and this can be an excellent way to gain new ideas and support. Networking with other podcasters can also open up potential cross-promotions and guest appearances, so it's an excellent way of getting more people to listen to your podcast. You can also network with journalists through HARO (Help a Reporter Out). This will establish your podcast as a journalistic source, and journalists who use your information can post a link to your website.
7. Invite Guests and Appear as a Guest
Inviting guests to your show is an excellent way of reaching more listeners and producing engaging shows. Guests can provide more detailed knowledge on specific subjects and a new perspective for your listeners. They can also share your podcast with their own followers, increasing the number of people exposed to your podcast. Likewise, you can also appear as a guest on other podcasts, helping to introduce your show to more people.
When you appear as a guest or have guests on, you can produce a press kit, which gives them all the information they need about your show and makes it easier for guests to share your show with their followers. You can find guests to bring on your podcast on social media, such as Facebook groups of the subreddit r/PodcastGuestExchange. It's also possible to have success by reaching out directly to people who you think might be interested.
8. Social Media Marketing
Social media is one of the most effective podcast promotion tools in 2021 and beyond, as it lets you easily connect with people who are interested in what you have to say. Social media allows you to reach more potential listeners and give them an idea of what you have to offer. You should ideally make the most of social media to promote your podcast using these tips
9. Establish a Social Media Presence
If you really want to be successful at promoting your podcast online, social media is one of the best ways to do it. You can gain a lot of new listeners by establishing a strong presence on social media, and while this takes more time than some other methods, the results will grow as your social presence grows. Start out with a YouTube channel and also consider setting up pages on other platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Consider your audience and which platforms they're most likely to use.
To upload a podcast to YouTube, you need to convert the MP3 file to an MP4, and if you don't already have a video, you'll also need to upload a branded image or create an image slideshow of the topics you talk about. It's a good idea to add timestamps to the video so listeners can skip to certain topics. Make sure to include links to your website and a download link for episodes in the description. You should also ensure that the title and thumbnail you use are interesting. Take a look at competitor videos for an idea.
10. Create Short Content for Your Social Pages
As well as uploading your full podcast episodes to YouTube, you should also create short content to share on your social pages. This can be in the form of related videos or images and clips of the podcast itself. Clips of the podcast can be uploaded on your YouTube account and added to other social media channels too. Related videos are best for platforms such as Facebook and Instagram and can be used with tags to reach a wider audience. Different types of content work better on some platforms than others, so be sure to tailor your post to the platform and the audience.
11. Encourage Engagement
The best aspect of social media is that it's really easy to gain engagement through users commenting and interacting with content. You can create content that's specifically designed to encourage engagement, asking your followers what they think of a certain topic, as well as asking them to like and share if they agree. When followers interact with your content, it increases the likelihood of more people seeing it and interacting with it.
Any good podcaster should have their own basic website, which they use to host episodes of their show as well as keep their listeners informed on future episodes and the latest news. Your website can also be used to market your podcast, and if you use the right search engine optimization techniques, it can be a way to find new listeners. Make use of these tactics using your website.
12. Focus on Search Engine Optimisation
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of making sure your site can be found by search engines. As most people find what they're looking for online by using a search engine such as Google, focusing on SEO can have a big impact on the number of visitors your site receives.
You can improve SEO by adding content to your site. Each time you create a podcast and upload it to a listening app, create a page on your site too. Here you can include a description of the episode, a title, and some keywords that are relevant to people's searches. Use Keyword Planner to see what people are searching for about the topic. While keywords are important, make sure they're spaced evenly and don't sacrifice readability.
13. Start a Newsletter
A newsletter is a great way of ensuring that your listeners keep coming back to your show and help the overall number of listeners to grow steadily over time. You can encourage site visitors to sign up for your email newsletter in order to receive updates on the latest episode releases. Email marketing in the USA has an excellent return on investment and seeing as your listeners will be signing up at no expense, it's a no-brainer to set up an email newsletter.
Paying for advertising is the final way to increase your listener count, and while it can be expensive, it's worth it if you have a podcast that can be monetized. Before you start paying for ads, though, you'll need to know what you're doing so that your spending is cost-effective. Follow these paid advertising tips to grow your podcast.
14. Google Adwords
Google Adwords is one of the simplest forms of paid-for digital marketing. You can easily buy ads for specific search terms, ensuring that the links to your podcast or website are one of the first results shown. They're only shown to people who are specifically looking for the kind of content you're showing, so they have a higher success rate than some other forms of advertising. You can set up how long you want the campaign to run and place a limit on the spend. You pay Google for each visitor that clicks on your link, so you're only paying for results.
15. Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is one of the biggest current trends in digital marketing in the US. Influencers are people who have an influence on their followers, usually because they're experts on a specific subject. If you find an influencer who has an audience that overlaps with yours, it can be worth reaching out to them and finding out whether they'll promote your podcast.
As the podcasting industry grows, it's become more competitive for new podcasters starting out. Simply producing great content is no longer enough to get noticed. You now need to focus on effectively marketing your podcast to ensure you can find and maintain listeners who support your channel. Luckily, you don't need to be a marketing expert. By making use of the above tactics, you'll have a much better chance of success and will be able to grow your podcast successfully.
