How To Grow a Podcast

7 Ways To Promote Your Podcast To The World

Once you’ve taken the big step to launch a podcast the time has come to share it with the world. Let’s take some steps to promote your podcast. In this article I’ll share two ways Habanero Media has found to successfully grow a podcast with detailed step-by-step actions.

Growing a podcast is not a quick task. It takes patience, tenacity and optimistic enthusiasm. With time and persistent work, you too can attract a loyal following of listeners.

There are a number of steps to promote a podcast. Yet it all boils down to two pathways:

1. Somebody tells you to listen to a podcast
2. Your podcast gets mentioned on someone else’s podcast

Consider the podcasts that you listen to now.

How did you hear about them? Most likely you listen to a podcast because someone recommended it to you. Right?

Advertising, bus benches, sky writing and door hangers are not relevant in this situation. Word of mouth is how podcasts spread. It takes a viral process to grow a podcast.

Ask Your Network For Help

Let’s start with the first promotional path, getting others to share your podcast. Consider your existing networks: social media, email lists, friends and family.

Reach out to everyone in your network and personally ask them to share your podcast with their friends. We’re not talking about publishing a post that announces a podcast. I mean reaching out, one by one, with a personal phone call, email, or a personal direct message from the social media app. You are going to ask for help.

For example you might say:

“Hi, I just published a new podcast episode. This is the link. Today I’m trying to grow the podcast and share it to the world. I’m wondering if you could help. Would you please share this episode with people you know? They might find this topic interesting and it will help my podcast. I would truly appreciate your help”

You will get one of three responses:

1. Yes — Thank them and ask why they shared your request or enjoyed your podcast. Always ask for advice on how you can do better
2. No — Respect their wishes. They may actually ask to unsubscribe
3. None — Resend out the request in another way “ I didn’t hear from you and thought I would try again …. “

Join Forums Your Audience Hangout

Consider your ideal listener and look for places they hangout. Start with social media. Look for conversations where you can help and join the conversation. Provide interesting ideas, thoughts, helpful facts, encouragement, advice and an empathetic ear. It might be a specific industry or set of businesses. This is especially true if you host a B2B podcast.

Once you build a relationship with the group, start sharing links to your episodes. Only do this in comments and never in a post. The goal is to not look overly promotional. Instead be helpful. It’s a slow process to grow a podcast so be patient.

Here’s an example comment:

“This is a good question and I see the issue this way ……. By the way, I did an episode on this topic on my podcast, you might find it helpful ADD LINK HERE”

On each of the following forums, step into the conversation and add value.

• Join a Facebook forum and comment on posts. Many of these are private. Read the rules and never ever violate their trust. Add advice, encouragement and slyly mention an episode that is relevant to the conversation.
• Join a LinkedIn forum — not as engaging as in Facebook (sadly LinkedIn has failed to invest in it’s forums) , contribute advice, fun facts, ways to save time, better understand, and encouragement. Slyly mention an episode that is relevant to the conversation.
• Use hashtags to look for posts on relevant topics in LinkedIn. Comment on the topic, add value and befriend the author of the post. Look for #hashtags for relevant topics.
• Look for #hashtags in Instagram and build trust with posts and shares
• Look for #hashtags on Twitter, again build trust and
• Reddit has forums and are often closely moderated. Don’t break the rules. Follow the sames rules being helpful and providing interesting information
• Tik Tok is a new social media forum. Use #hashtags to look for your audience

Complete Your Profile So It Leads People To Your Podcast

When creating your profile, make sure it has links to your podcast and website. When people see your posts, they will get curious. Curious people will snoop on you and review your profile.

Completely fill out all the information with your audience in mind. If possible, include links. Make it easy for people to find your podcast. One by one you will grow your podcast. In time your listeners will share with others and it will start to grow on it’s own

Website Must Teach How To Subscribe to Podcast

When driving people from your profile to your website, make it easy for visitors to find your podcast and subscribe. Clear and concise directions go a long way towards growing a podcast.

Have links that explain how to listen on:

• Apple
• Stitcher
• Google Play
• Spotify
• iHeartRadio
• Radio.com
• Deezer
• PlayerFM
• Overcast

Also add links that make it easy for people to acknowledge your podcast on social media e.g. click here to tweet how you love this podcast ….

Become a Guest on a Podcast

One of the best ways to promote your podcast is to become a guest on someone else’s podcast. Search for interview based podcasts who have a similar target audience.

Listen to a few of the episodes and understand the host’s agenda. Find the following:

• What is the primary mission of the podcast?
• What kinds of guests are a perfect fit for the podcast?
• What novel thing can you share that differentiates you from other guests?
• How do they like to interact with the guests?
• What is their style and do you fit in?

From this research create a compelling pitch to visit the podcast. Specifically list the value the listeners will experience. Make it clear in your pitch, that you understand the listener. Make it clear that you understand the mission of the host.

Next, provide an easy way for the host to pick you. Give the host five questions they can ask. Pick questions that will make for an interesting conversation. Be the guest the audience will remember for years.

Consider the following questions crafted personally for you.

• How did you become an expert on this topic?
• What’s your story entering this area of interest?
• When you started your journey, what was that like?
• Where are you at now, regarding your journey?
• Where do you see things going in the future?

Casually mention your podcast while answering the questions. Mention how these topics are covered there too. Create curiosity for the listeners to learn more about your podcast. Again, don’t be heavy handed and overly promote your podcast. This requires a deft touch.

At the end of the interview your host will ask you to share contact information. Have a call to action. Give something away of value: a physical book, an eBook, a checklist, an experience. This is called a lead magnet. It will attract qualified leads.

Create a landing page on your website so visitors can sign up for the lead magnet. Once you have their email, you make it easy for them to subscribe to your podcast.

Expect the host to interrupt and over-talk you. Expect the host to show off, dominate and play the expert. Read their personality and give them what you want. With their constraints, do your best to engage the audience and attract their attention. Lower your expectations and be rewarded when the host is kind, generous and fun.

Conclusions For Growing a Podcast

The average podcast only lasts 10 episodes before podfading. Those that remain have on average 140 downloads per episode. Does that sound like a lot?

Picture a room filled with 140 people. Now consider yourself the guest speaker in that room. Each time you speak, most of those people will return. Think of the influence you have on this group. Envision what you can do to guide their thinking and add value to their lives.

This is the power of podcasting. This is how our Habanero Media podcast agency sees the world. Each episode is a unique opportunity to make a difference, the very definition of brand.

Now aspire to grow a podcast, your influence, your authority, their trust and your brand. Good luck.