How to Promote Your Podcast: 8 Simple Strategies [2024] (2024)

Podcast promotion is essential for building your listenership, but the most effective methods often differ from traditional marketing tactics.

This blog breaks down eight different podcast promotion strategies so you can build your influence and attract the right listeners!

JUMP TO SECTION:

• Strategy #1. Lay a solid foundation
• Strategy #2. Make your content more accessible
• Strategy #3. Leverage the power of social media
• Strategy #4. Network with other podcasters
• Strategy #5. Make a podcast website with a blog
• Strategy #6. Create a podcast newsletter
• Strategy #7. Advertise in podcast apps
• Strategy #8. Track data where you can

Strategy #1. Lay a solid foundation

Even the best podcast marketing strategies can fall flat without a solid foundation. Beginning with these steps is essential to successful podcast promotion.

Know your target audience

Making great content requires that you know your podcast audience well.

Ask yourself these questions to help create high-quality podcast content they will love.

• What problem do I want to solve for my listeners?
• How can I narrow my focus to make my content stand out?
• Where do my listeners spend the most time online?

Knowing who you want to reach can help ensure you spend your resources in the right place.

Leverage your existing audience

If you already have some listeners, ask them to spread the word about your show. Even a few loyal listeners can help you expand your reach.

Include a call to action in your podcast episodes or show notes and ask listeners to leave a review or rating.

You can also ask them to share the episode on social media and include an incentive like a giveaway, shoutout, or free resource.

Submit to top podcast directories

Don't overlook getting your podcast where people can see it!

Make sure to submit your RSS feed to the top directories like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher (full list here).

Strategy #2. Make your content more accessible

The easier you make it for people to find your podcast, the better. Follow these best practices to increase engagement.

Make episode titles descriptive

Optimizing your content can have a significant effect on download numbers.

Give each episode a unique, catchy title that clearly describes the content. Try to fit a keyword or phrase associated with the episode's topic in the title, too.

🆇 "Smart Dog Podcast: Episode #15"

✅ "How to housebreak your puppy in six weeks"

Draft show notes for each episode

Podcast show notes are a value-packed piece of content that can boost accessibility and attract new listeners through search engine optimization.

Show notes don't have to be time-consuming to create. Most listeners just want a synopsis of the episode and links to the resources mentioned. You can also use show note templates if you're short on time!

Aim to create a readable summary of the main topics in your episode with chapter markers. You can include elements like:

• guest bios
• links to resources
• affiliate links
• a call to action

Create episode transcripts

Podcast transcriptions make your content more accessible to listeners who are hard of hearing.

They also help search engines like Google find your content and heighten listener engagement.

If you host your podcast with Buzzsprout, you can add transcriptions to your episodes. Some great transcription tools are:

• Cohost AI
• Otter.ai
• Temi
• Rev
• Sonix.ai
• Descript
• Scribie
• Trint

Strategy #3. Leverage the power of social media

Social media is a powerful place to connect with listeners and promote content. Here are some practical ways to harness the power of social media and attract new listeners.

Choose the right platform

Find out which social media platform your listeners use the most and focus on creating social media posts for that platform. You don't want to be creating tweets or using specific hashtags for Twitter fi you have an audience that is on Facebook!

If you have a younger audience, they're likely using Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and TikTok. If you have a podcast geared toward business professionals, it might be wise to focus more on LinkedIn.

You can link to an online poll in your show notes to better understand which platforms your listeners use.

Whichever channel you choose, actively engage your followers to learn more about the kind of content they need.

Create video clips of your podcast to put on YouTube

As of 2021, 18% of podcast listeners said they used YouTube most often to listen to podcasts.

We suggest recording video alongside your audio so you can use it to create clips to post on your YouTube channel. Video tips tend to be more shareable and engaging content, which also improves your chances of being recommended through YouTube's algorithm!

Short YouTube video clips are a great way to optimize SEO and drive traffic to your podcast or website.

You also get to interact with listeners in the comments section and get real-time feedback on your content.

As a bonus, you can also repurpose your YouTube content for Instagram reels!

Post audiograms

Podcast audiograms are a podcast marketing tool that takes a snippet of your episode overlaid with your podcast artwork and a waveform.

Audiograms promote audio on video-driven platforms and can be used to:

• share teasers of latest episodes
• promote older episodes in your back catalog
• share milestones

You can use Buzzsprout Visual Soundbites to create audiograms within your dashboard or tools like the Headliner app.

Strategy #4. Network with other podcasters

Roughly 66% of podcast listeners find new podcasts through word-of-mouth recommendations. Here are other ways to use networking to spread the word about your show.

Network on forums and online groups

Sometimes promoting your podcast means giving away a little knowledge and expertise for free.

Being generous with your knowledge encourages potential listeners to tune into your podcast to see what else you have to say.

Stay on top of the trends within your niche and share your thoughts in online groups and forums, like:

• Facebook groups
• Quora
• Reddit
• X (Twitter)

Focus on value-based comments instead of overt promotion and carefully read the group's rules before posting.

Cross-promote with other podcasters

Cross-promotion is when you work with another podcast host to promote their podcast on your show, and they promote yours on theirs.

This is an excellent way to get your podcast in front of a new audience.

You can connect with like-minded podcasters via services like Podchaser Connect, and PodMatch, or find hosts' contact information on their websites or social media.