Podcasts have been around for more than a decade but in recent years, they have seen an immense surge in popularity. According to one survey in 2017, 42 million Americans above the age of twelve listen to podcasts at least on a weekly basis.
What is a Podcast?
Previously known as “audio blogging”, podcasting has its roots dating back to the 1980s. The term podcast is formed by combining “Pod” and “broadcast”. Pod refers to iPod devices and implies that this content is portable so you can listen to it anywhere you go and broadcast is inspired by the medium of radio as podcast content can be consumed exactly the same way.
A podcast (also known as a netcast) is an episodic series of digital audio or video files which a user can download and listen to. It is often available for subscription so that new episodes are automatically downloaded via web syndication to the user’s own local computer, mobile application, or portable media player.
Where to Find Podcasts?
The best thing about them is most of them are free and are easily accessible. The easiest way to find and listen to podcasts on your phone is through a dedicated podcasting app (also known as podcatchers). On a computer, the Apple’s iTunes software is the most popular way to find and listen to podcasts.
Anyone with the right equipment can make their own podcast and freely distribute making it a powerful medium for content distribution.
Reasons Why Podcasting is Important for Your Business
As of June 2018, there are over 550,000 active shows and over 18.5 million episodes in iTunes and those numbers are climbing daily.
No wonder why many believe that podcast is the new medium for people to give advice, share stories and market their business.
“Podcasting has become such an important and integral part of my overall branding strategy, so much so that earlier this year I decided to switch from publishing 2 podcasts per month to 1 per week, a decision that has already proved to be well worth the extra effort. More and more people are discovering my brand through my podcast, and it continues to be the number one way that people discover me, more than SEO, Social Media, YouTube and links from other sites.” – Pat Flynn the CEO of Flynndustries, LLC
Lots of people want to start a podcast but only a few succeed. This is because building an audience of dedicated listeners is easier said than done. It takes an aggressive promotion and strategic planning.
Just like any other form of content on the internet, podcasts need smart marketing for it to reach more people and be a success. Here are the 10 Best Ways to Promote Your Podcast to the World.
1. Share on your social media profiles
Social networks are considered to be the fastest growing industries in the world and it is truly one of the best ways to promote your content – be it written, video or audio! It is no secret that having a social media presence is important if you want your brand to succeed.
Drop the link of your podcast in every social media profile you have to make it easily accessible for your audience.
2. Engage with your audience
Engaging with your existing followers is a great way to attract new ones. Most businesses understand the importance of growing a following but fail when it comes to actually engage with them.
Responding to comments and messages can be time-consuming but showing your audience that you care about their opinions and feedback will further establish your social media presence.
“Be grateful for all of the followers/listeners that you have. Don’t stress if your numbers aren’t where you want them to be. Enjoy the journey and watching your podcast grow.” – Vanessa Phearson of The Cleaning of John Doe
3. Start a YouTube channel
Not everyone is going to be interested in audio so recording yourself during your podcast sessions and posting the video on your YouTube channel will grab the attention of people who prefer videos.
YouTube is also a very large social networking platform and over time, you will gain subscribers and earn advertising revenue. You have nothing to lose!
A video will also give your audience the ability to engage with you because they are now able to see your body language and other mannerisms which will make them feel like they know you better.
4. Trade promotion favours
Promoting your podcasts is very much like promoting blog posts. If you are still starting, chances are, not many people will be interested in the content you put out. Find someone who targets an audience similar to yours and agree to promote each other’s shows. Lifting each other up is very important.
“ View other podcasters as your equals or friends, not competition. If your show people love, people will show you love back.” – Vanessa Phearson of The Cleaning of John Doe
5. Grow your email list
If you create content whether they are blog posts, images, videos or podcasts, it is very important to build your email list from early on.
Your email list is yours and you won’t have to worry about a third party changing the rules. Algorithms of search engines and social networking sites change constantly but you won’t have to worry about those changes when someone has given you permission to send them emails.
Whenever a new podcast is posted, send your followers an email. Another useful trick to promote your channel is to add your podcast link to your email signature. Every time you send an email, the link will be there ready to be clicked.
6. Create show notes
Show notes are the description, timestamps, and keywords that will be included with every episode you publish. Optimize your show notes for search engines and include a call to action at the end of it.
Be sure to make your show notes as interesting as possible to compel people to keep on listening to your podcast.
However, don’t give away any spoilers. You won’t want people to pass up on listening because you already revealed a lot of important information.
7. Interview Influencers
Featuring guests who have a large audience will give you exposure. Anyone interviewed is going to promote the interview to their audience which is going to send more people your way. This is especially helpful if you are still starting out.
Interviewing authorities in your niche will also establish your show as a provider of quality content.
Andy Holloway from The Fantasy Footballers said, “Guests are key to growing a small podcast as they help you gain notoriety and ordinarily guests like to share and proliferate their appearance on your show. Connect with guests in your area of expertise, invite them on and make it extremely easy for THEM to share YOUR podcast. That means after they’ve come on the show give them a pre-made tweet, links to the episode, etc for them to share.”
8. Be a guest on other people’s podcasts
Collaborating with other podcasters in your niche is another great way to promote yourself and of course, you let them be a guest on your show so they can promote their show. This cross-promotion tactic is used by a lot of content creators in growing their audience.
9. Submit your podcast to podcatchers
A podcatcher is an application you can use to subscribe to podcasts. It automatically downloads podcasts as they are posted to a site. Podcatchers allow you to collate and catalogue podcasts to be collected as new episodes are released, rather than individually seeking out podcasts to download and listen to.
Submitting your podcasts to these platforms will put your content in front of a lot of people. The more places your show can be heard, the better.
10. Run a giveaway contest
Host a giveaway contest and ask for a review on iTunes as part of the entry requirements. More reviews boost the social proof on your podcast and increase the chances of iTunes to take notice.
A great example of this is the Deconstructing Success podcast by Chris Winfield. When the show launched, he offered over $1,200 in prizes to people for going to iTunes and leaving a review of his show. Through this, he got a huge spike in initial exposure on iTunes and ended up in the “new and noteworthy” section, getting more listeners from people just browsing the store.
Your podcast is your arena where you show your expertise and passion for your chosen niche and helps establish your brand as a market leader. These tips and tricks will help you promote your podcast effectively but the most important thing that you should focus on is to produce high-quality content and provide value to your target audience consistently. When your content is good, people will surely come and listen to you.
Podcasts are indeed powerful. They educate, entertain, inspire and inform but above all else, they connect.
Bonus tip: Create an Alexa skill from your podcast with Olelo.io. It’s a great way to promote your podcast!
