Looking at the Joe Rogans and Alex Coopers of the world, it’s quite easy to get bogged down by your downloads, subscribers, and reviews.
But what if we told you that if you have:
- 4 or more star ratings, you have more ratings than 50% of all shows
- 11 or more star ratings, you have more ratings than 75% of all shows
- 34 or more star ratings, you have more ratings than 90% of all shows
- 81 or more star ratings, you have more ratings than 95% of all shows
With these numbers in mind, we can see that most podcasts actually don’t have many ratings or reviews at all.
But that doesn’t mean you should stop trying to get podcast reviews altogether.
In fact, these numbers should motivate you. Even if you’re able to get a handful more reviews, you’ll be leaps and bounds closer to climbing the ranks. Not to mention, you’ll also have better insights into your audience’s preferences and be in a much better position when it comes to making data-driven decisions for your show.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
In this blog, we’re going to outline 6 proven ways podcasters can get more quality reviews for their show and how to leverage the audience insights from your podcast reviews to improve your show.
What is the difference between podcast reviews and ratings?
Podcast ratings are a snapshot of the audience's overall sentiment without detailed explanations; typically denoted on a 1-5 scale.
Podcast reviews, on the other hand, are written comments. They can offer feedback such as a listener’s opinion providing insight into what audiences like or dislike about the podcast.
Podcast reviews are important for a variety of reasons, including:
- Attracting more listeners
- Establishing your podcast‘s reputation and credibility
- Receiving insights on how to improve your podcast
1. Don’t just focus on the big podcast apps
While making your podcast available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify is a must, it’s important to remember that smaller listening apps exist (and can attract highly engaged podcast listeners).
Moving away from the industry giants, here are a few apps to monitor your podcast reviews:
- Podchaser: Podchaser is a podcast database and discovery tool designed for you to share your thoughts and help others discover great content. You can respond to podcast reviews directly in the app as well.
- Castbox: Castbox has nearly 260 million volumes of audio content available for free. Uniquely, the platform allows users to comment on individual episodes including time stamps.
- Podcast Addict: With over 10 million downloads and 500,000 reviews. Podcast Addict is rated the #1 podcast app specific to Android.
CoHost Tip: Is your podcast not on the above platforms? No problem. Check out our complete guide to ensure your podcast is on all listening apps.
2. Rely on your network
When you’re starting a new podcast or have a smaller audience, one of the most effective strategies to garner initial reviews is to lean on your core fans and personal network. This includes your friends, family, and colleagues, who are often more than willing to support your efforts.
Reach out to your network, explaining how much their support in the form of a review would mean to you. Personalized messages make your request feel more genuine. You might also want to explain how reviews help increase podcast visibility and attract new listeners.
Your inner circle is likely to provide positive and encouraging feedback, helping you accumulate a small but significant number of reviews to kickstart your podcast’s reputation. These early reviews are crucial as they create a foundation of social proof, making your podcast appear established and trustworthy to new listeners.
Potential listeners are more likely to give your podcast a chance if they see that it already has some reviews and ratings–even if the number is small.
3. Throw a podcast reviews contest
Contests are particularly effective if you have a substantial audience but find that your number of reviews doesn't reflect your listener base. If your listeners aren’t quite getting over the hurdle, incentivizing them with free things typically pushes them to the finish line.
However, you can’t just promise listeners a gift card or a tote bag and call it a day. You need to incentivize your listeners with prizes that are attractive to them or provide them value.
Here are some quick tips to launch a contest that works:
- Choose your prizes: Select attractive giveaways that resonate with your audience. These could include a one-on-one coaching session, podcast merch, free access to an online course you've created, or a gift card to a complementary business.
- Promote the contest: Clearly communicate the details of your contest on your podcast, social media, newsletter, and podcast landing page. A one or two-week duration is often ideal; it provides a sense of urgency without dragging on too long. At this point, you’ll also want to make sure you have a way to contact the winner.
- Announce the winner: There are many free randomizers online that you can use to select the winner. You’ll want to select and contact the winner as soon as possible while the contest is still fresh in their minds (and yours).
4. Offer an incentive
If throwing a contest is too much of a lift, offering your audience a shared incentive is another great way to accumulate reviews without having to spend money on a prize or track individual participants.
Incentives differ from contests in that they work towards a collective goal rather than individual rewards. They can motivate your entire listener base to contribute to a shared objective. Here’s how to effectively use incentives:
- Set a clear goal: Decide on a specific target for the number of reviews you want to achieve. This could be a milestone like 100 reviews.
- Offer a meaningful reward: Choose a reward that will appeal to your audience and align with your podcast’s goals. For example, releasing exclusive premium content, hosting a special live Q&A session, or launching bonus episodes early.
- Promote the incentive and how listeners can achieve it: Promote the incentive across all your platforms. Make it easy for listeners to write a review on your platform of choice by using tracking links or a LinkTree.
- Track progress: Keep your audience updated on progress towards the goal. This can be done through social media updates, mentions in episodes, or a progress bar on your website.
5. Show appreciation for your current reviews
If other listeners see glowing reviews posted on your social media or newsletter, they’ll be more inclined to contribute to the conversation.
A quick and easy way to show appreciation for your current reviews is to make a simple, on-brand template in Canva, pop in a screenshot of your chosen review, and write up a quick social copy to post on your favorite platforms. This enhances your credibility and serves as free marketing, drawing in potential listeners who trust peer recommendations.
Take this LinkedIn post from the Transcational Analysis Podcast:
If adding reviews to your podcast marketing mix isn’t your thing, you can also respond directly to reviews if the platform allows it – like YouTube or Podchaser. Much like businesses respond to their Google Reviews, this shows your audience that you care about their feedback and are committed to providing a great listening experience.
Again, if other “silent viewers” see your prompt review responses, they’ll be more likely to throw in their two cents.
6. Good things come to those who ask
You’ve probably heard something like this at the end of your favorite shows:
“Thanks for tuning into this episode of [show title]. If you could take a quick minute to review our show, it would mean a lot to us. Simply head to our show page wherever you get your podcasts, tap the review button, and share your thoughts.”
Sometimes the best (and easiest) way to get reviews is to ask. Add a quick and clear CTA to the end of each episode kindly asking your dedicated listeners for a rating and review. Make sure you tell them how to review and what it means for you. Plus, adding that it only takes a minute never hurts.
Are you making the most of your podcast reviews?
Now that you’ve compiled a collection of ratings and reviews, it’s time to put them to good use. Every 4-6 months or so, read through your reviews and look for patterns to:
Celebrate what you’re doing well
Chances are, the vast majority of your reviews are going to be about what your listeners enjoy about your content. Is it your hosting style? Do specific topics you cover get more love than others? Find commonalities, celebrate your hard work, and keep these elements in future content.
Pinpoint where you can improve
No one likes negative reviews, but they do offer valuable feedback. Approach them with an open mind and look for constructive criticism that can help improve your podcast.
Was the sound quality lacking? Did a certain guest or episode not land? Is there a segment that’s lacking? By addressing these critiques and making necessary adjustments, you can enhance your content and show your audience that you value their input–even when it’s not entirely positive.
Tailor your upcoming content
By continuing or adding to components of your show that your audience loves and removing the parts that miss the mark, you should be in a much better spot to create a show that climbs the ranks.
Time to get to work on podcast reviews
Ultimately, podcast reviews aren’t the be-all, end-all of creating an impactful podcast, but they certainly do help build your show’s credibility and increase your visibility.
Plus, when done well, reviews can provide useful insights to improve your content and overall listener experience.
Once you’ve identified patterns in your reviews and made the necessary tweaks, we suggest monitoring how they’ve impacted your show’s performance. You can do this by leaning on audience insights and podcast analytics tools like CoHost.
To learn more about the platform and how to leverage listener demographic and psychographic data to improve your show, get in touch with our team.
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