Your Guide to Effective Podcast Marketing

For many nowadays, the suggestion to start a podcast in 2023 is often met with a myriad of emotions. Excitement is one of them. Then again, so is doubt. Even fear. As huge as podcasting is becoming, those who are serious with their podcast production ambitions need to know that talking into a microphone and putting the content out is far from it. Once all that is done, then comes the part where one needs to promote and market their content.

Unless you get involved with content creators that already have huge followings, your podcast’s growth is not going to soar overnight. Promotional and marketing efforts are crucial in spreading the news that you’ve got hot new content just waiting for consumption. Before we discuss the various strategies that one can take, it is also crucial to determine the answers to the following questions:

Question # 1: Who is the podcast meant for?

This basically narrows down your audience. If you can identify your target market, then all of your subsequent efforts will go much smoother. You’ll be able to pick and choose the strategies and tactics needed to best market your podcast.

Question # 2: What is your content trying to provide?

Are you trying to be educational or are you leaning more towards entertaining your audience? If you think you got what it takes, then are you going for both? The purpose of your content goes hand in hand with whom your intended audience is. Not every demographic responds to the same kind of content, and that holds true for marketing efforts.

Question # 3: What sets you apart?

As with anything popular, there are bound to be similar products being put out for the audience to select from. Those who really want to reach a wider audience should determine why their soon-to-be listeners should pick them over the other dozen or so content with similar offerings.

Question # 4: What works for you and what does not?

Admittedly, this is a question that you need to keep asking again and again and again, as opposed to just at the start of your podcast creating career. Marketing a podcast can be surprisingly similar to marketing just about anything. Rather than rest on your laurels after something good, you must continue to test, do analysis, tweak, and then optimize to ensure that the good results keep coming.

Now that we’ve got those concerns out of the way (at least for now), we can turn our attention to what specific strategies you can put into play. While the methods you can go mad with are theoretically endless, let’s just stick with six of the best and most important.

Strategy # 1: Place focus on your titles and descriptions

Remember that your show and episode titles are the first things that your listeners will notice. Then your description. These bits of info will inform them whether your content is what they want or not. Working on creating enticing titles and descriptions will make the likelihood of your show gaining traction that much higher.

Strategy # 2: Supplement your podcast content with content from your website or blog

Having a website or a blog is a great way to attract audiences beyond just those who already listen to your podcast. Through these platforms, you can reach others who may not necessarily stumble into your content on their own, thus attracting newer people. Websites can also serve as the place where you can make your show episodes available in the first place, whether exclusively or not. Another good reason why a website or blog is a great way to market your show is because it can provide all the information about the show that your audience won’t be able to get anywhere else.

Strategy # 3: Start with more than one episode

This strategy may mean more initial work for everyone, from the host to the guests, the podcast editor, podcast engineer, and others, but it will be worth it. Experts even recommend releasing up to five to ten episodes from the get go so that your show will have a higher chance of hooking your audience. Should you opt for just one or two episodes upon release, then your audience will have less reasons to be engaged by your work and will be less likely to subscribe. Not to mention, new podcasts with more than a single episode on release will just look more committed.

Strategy # 4: Do not neglect SEO optimization

Your websites and even your podcasts’s descriptions and titles are all optimizable for search. The best and easiest way to do this is to include relevant and high-ranking keywords in them, particularly if those same keywords are the type that your audience is most likely to use when they search your the type of content that you cover. In this way, SEO optimization for podcasts can be quite similar to what YouTube videos need.

Strategy # 5: Put out timely content

When you put out your content also matters a lot to the success rate of your marketing efforts. For those who are just getting started, it is advisable for you to take a look at when similar podcasts post their new episodes. Another key element to the posting of timely content is knowing the habits of your target audience. Those who, for example, are more likely to listen in the middle of the day may not be able to find or access your newest episode if you release it later at night.

Strategy # 6: Invest in quality content

The most basic strategy is also the most relevant one. No matter how good your concept may be, it will not matter if you do not back it up with high production value. To produce quality content, you will need to have the right equipment. A decent microphone and the appropriate software are must-haves, after all. Then, your content needs to come across as well as it possibly can. This can happen in the form of well-told stories. Humans are natural storytellers and our brains are still hardwired to be drawn towards stories. Lastly, there is your CTA or call to action. A powerful one can help move your listeners through the marketing funnel.

As you can see, there are several varied ways for a new podcast creator to market their content. Give the strategies stated above a shot and tweak your application methods as you go along. For those who want to learn even more in-depth strategies and tactics can still book a free discovery call and have a chat with the folks at Podcast Engineers. Stop hesitating and get started on your journey to successful content creation today!