Podcast marketing is as important as producing it. Read more to learn how to market your podcast with essential yet straightforward strategies to drive engagement.
Most popular content creators these days have at least one podcast of their own. As a result, the podcast industry is becoming increasingly competitive for new entrants. It has become crucial to market the podcasts along with producing quality content.
Podcast marketing is a long-term journey and, it doesn't have a "one size fits all" approach. It is, therefore, imperative to test and try several marketing strategies and find out what works the best for you. Here are a few such marketing strategies to grow your audience.
- Understand Your Purpose and Leverage it
Packaging your purpose in a way that moves your audience is a great marketing technique. Listeners want a story in your podcast and also about your podcast.
Answering the most basic yet essential questions about the purpose will reveal a story that will help you to market your podcast intentionally. Tell your listeners about how you decided on the topic and what you intend to achieve with your podcast. A good story will etch your content in the listener’s mind.
- Harness the Power of Engaging Titles and Descriptions
The golden rule of podcasting is to use titles and descriptions optimally for marketing. It is statistically proven that most listeners click on the podcast with captivating titles and descriptions. In addition to making the titles and descriptions engrossing, optimize them for SEO search and include keywords that resonate with your audience.
Use the description to mention what your listeners will gain after listening to each episode and how the podcast will add value to them. If you have an imminent line-up of guests, write about them. State their qualifications or life experiences relevant to your podcast’s topic.
- Start or Update Your Website/Social Media Profiles/Blog
One of the best ways to market your podcast is to expand your online presence. A good and easily discoverable online portfolio makes it easier for listeners to learn more about you and your content.
You can either launch a full-fledged website or optimize your social media accounts. Alternatively, you can also have a blog to share transcripts or highlights from your podcast or write additional content surrounding the topic of each of the episodes.
We recommend utilizing more than one digital tool for leveraging all the potential of online marketing.
- Consistency is the Key
5-6 months is the average duration it takes to see a significant increase in listenership. However, it is pertinent to maintain consistency not just with regular episodes but also with publishing time. Sticking to a routine publishing time for your podcast will help the audience understand your publishing patterns and will habituate them to them.
To learn more about your audience’s consumption habits, follow other similar podcasts. See how and when they publish. Experiment with noticeable publishing trends and find your sweet spot. Using platforms such as Listnr will make this task easier with detailed engagement insights of your audience’s behavior.
Pro tip: Release at least three episodes on the launch day. It will help the audience to gain a decent understanding of your podcast. Don’t forget to market the first three episodes separately on social media posts and stories and spread them out strategically to gain wider exposure.
- Use Back Catalog Judiciously
Back catalog simply means all the content you have produced previously. Mentioning your previous episodes is a good way to hook your audience to your content and increase your audience reach per episode.
Remember to link the mentioned episode in your show notes to make it easier for your listeners to locate it. Back cataloging helps retain the listener’s attention by generating curiosity about similar topics or areas.
- Harness the power of the podcast community
One of the biggest advantages of the digital world is that people get to connect in multiple ways. As the podcast industry is gaining momentum, many such communities, forged by digital connections and shared interests, are coming up.
Investing in a community is the best thing you can do as a content creator. Here are a few ways to tap into podcast communities and leverage them to market your podcast.
- Network with other podcasters
Many podcast creators have formed groups/communities to come together and discuss their shared interest in podcasts. These communities are a great place to receive valuable insights about the industry and network with fellow podcasters.
Podcast communities often lend a helping hand to newbies by sharing resources and participating in the podcast marketing process by spreading the word within the community or to other groups and podcast networks.
Here are a few communities where you can network with other podcast creators.
- Be a guest and invite a guest.
This is one of the best ways to reach out to prospective audiences and network with fellow podcasters. Pitch yourself as a guest on podcast shows and invite other podcast creators as a guest. Cross sharing expertise on different podcasts will only attract more listeners to your own.
- Contact people, you mentioned on your podcast.
You will likely come across a lot of credible content during your research. Share it in your episodes instead of stashing it away in the research section. You may even contact the owner of this content and ask them if they’d like to share the episode on their social media.
Pro tip: Craft a podcast press kit that consists of snippets or quotes images for guests and mentions that can be easily shared on social media.
Podcast marketing may seem overwhelming at first. With Listnr, your marketing journey will become easier as you can access detailed engagement insights, guest invite options, and smart editing tools.
References:
https://influencermarketinghub.com/podcast-marketing/
About Ananay Batra
Founder and CEO @ Listnr Inc