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"How can I grow my podcast's audience?" This is the number one question I hear when talking to podcasters.
However, the answer is not as straightforward as some may hope. Don't get me wrong—there is an answer; it's just extremely dependent on your podcast, your goals, and, most importantly, your audience!
This blog will discuss various marketing tactics podcasters can use to better reach and ultimately grow their audience. From simple social media posts to online events, this blog has you covered!
Determining your audience
First thing first, before planning out the "what" of your marketing plan, you need to consider the "who." Creating a marketing plan is great, but you want to ensure it helps move toward your goals and reach your target audience.
One of the easiest things you can do to help find the "who" is literally putting pen to paper. Write out who your ideal listener is and things about them. Listing their various traits will help you dig into who your listener is. This will help quickly paint a clear picture of who you are trying to reach on a more macro level.
For example, say I have a podcast where I discuss and review different baking recipes. It's safe to assume my podcast's audience differs from one who listens to podcasts about AI in business. Sure, there might be some overlapping interests, but they are likely few and far between.
Why? They're two different topics that serve two different audiences.
Asking questions about your ideal listeners helps you better understand your audience on a deeper level. Consider listing potential hobbies, interests, lifestyles, and demographic information. Your answers will allow you to understand exactly who you are targeting. This will help you create a more informed marketing plan.
Getting tactical
Once you know your podcast's audience, you can make an intentional marketing effort. Let's explore all the things you can do to market to your target audience.
Social media
Getting on social media is one of the easiest things you can do to market your podcast. The even better news is that your audience is likely already extemely active on these platforms.
A report by the Pew Research Center found that 52% of podcast listeners follow a podcast or host on social media. Another study showed that people who listen to podcasts are more engaged and active on social media.
Did you write anything about your target audience's age when making your attribute list? If you didn't, think about it!
Knowing your target audience's age gets you the best results from social media. Age helps determine what platforms you should be on. It also helps determine what content resonates most with your target audience.
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Take advantage of social media platforms! They are free tools that fuel podcast growth and allow you to connect with your audience more personally.
Upload to YouTube
YouTube is the largest podcast discovery platform in the world! With over 2.24 billion active users, YouTube offers podcasters ample solutions for podcast growth.
But YouTube is a video platform - what do you do if you have an audio-only podcast?
Tons of solutions exist to help get you uploaded to YouTube. One of the most direct ways is to enroll in YouTube's RSS ingestion process. You can learn how to do that here.
Another easy way is to create audiograms. Companies like Headliner offer podcasters inexpensive, if not completely free, ways to turn your audio into video.
With audiograms, you can automatically upload full-length for every episode. You can even make clips of your podcast, which are perfect for posting as YouTub Shorts! By uploading multiple formats, you reach a wider audience and create additional opportunities for discovery.
Collaborate
If you have not noticed, the podcasting community is truly a community, not a competition.
Look for opportunities to collaborate with other podcasters in your niche. Podcasts within your niche will likely have an audience you are targeting. By leveraging their existing listenership, you are directly connecting with ears you know are already interested in your podcast.
To get started, just ask! You never know until you try. The worst thing that can happen is they say no. Asking has a low risk and potentially a great reward.
Whether through guest appearances, cross-promotions, or joint events, working together helps grow podcast audiences. Collaboration also fosters a wider sense of community within podcasting.
Think outside the earbuds
When you think of marketing, what do you think of? Maybe Super Bowl commercials? Emails? Pushy people in the streets?
Well, if these are what you think of, you certainly are not wrong. However, marketing encompasses SO many different things.
While it is unlikely you can shell out millions of dollars to create a Super Bowl ad (if you can, we need to talk!), there are plenty more outside of the box -er, earbuds - things you can do!
- Add transcriptions–Adding transcripts to your podcast boosts searchability, improves accessibility, and enhances listening experiences. This is especially true if you are targeting Gen Z—over 70% of them add captions!
- Advertise your podcast—You can pay to promote your podcast on different media outlets. Some services even allow you to add different targeting parameters so you can be sure your podcast only reaches the right audience.
- Start a newsletter—Starting a newsletter is one of the best ways to engage your listeners. Since it's an email, you also create an easy WOM asset your audience can forward.
- Create a blog or websiteWebsites not only create an additional touch point, but they also boost podcast SEO!
- Sell merchandise—Merch can go anywhere! It's an easy way to earn extra cash and a great way to create living, breathing ads for your podcast.
- Post on bulletin boards—Print off a flyer or post on a digital bulletin board. Bulletin boards are great avenues for discovery; especially when hanging somewhere your ideal listeners may go, like a coffee shop.
- Join Reddit or Facebook groups–TONS of online groups are dedicated to podcast promotion, especially within particular niches. Join a group and drop your link! It's really that easy.
- Host live events–Going live is a great way to connect with and find ears. Create an event(like on Eventbrite) for additional search options.
- Ask for ratings and reviews–Ratings and reviews help listeners discover and engage with your show!
- Make a Press Release–Creating a press release for your show is a great way to market, promote, and spread the word about exciting happenings with your podcast.
Once you figure out who your target audience is, you can start getting creative with your podcast marketing. The sky's the limit. Don't be afraid to think outside the earbuds!
Deep breaths, you got this
You can do SO many things to grow your podcast audience!
Before you get going on a marketing plan, you need to learn who your target audience is. From there, you can start taking actionable steps that make sense for you and your audience.
One final thing I want to emphasize - you don't need to do ALL the things! Just some of the things. Or just one thing! The point is that you do something to help market your podcast and connect with your target audience.
