Starting a podcast is exciting! But it also requires a lot of work in a lot of different areas. You may have the gift of sharing your message in a way that really draws listeners in, or you may have editing skills that can rival the pros. But creating an outstanding podcast is only half the battle. You also need to grow your community and your listenership.
And to do this well, a good marketing strategy is required.
For some, this is easy. Self-promotion comes naturally and you’re able to talk about yourself and your show with confidence and ease.
But for others, this can be a real struggle. If marketing and self-promotion are not one of your natural strengths, you may even find the thought of approaching others to talk about yourself the stuff of nightmares!
But even if you would consider marketing one of your strengths, podcasters often face the challenge of marketing their shows effectively. Don’t worry – we’ve got you covered! In this blog post, we will discuss 11 effective ways to promote your podcast even if marketing is not your strength.
Let’s get this promotion party started!
1. Get Social
The first stop in any successful podcast marketing strategy is social media. All the social platforms, from the more business-world orientated LinkedIn, to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and even Pinterest are incredible resources when it comes to promoting your podcast. And one of the things that are so great about them is that there are so many!
Because of this variety, you can work with the ones that play to your strengths, even if you technically wouldn’t consider social media marketing one of those said strengths.
Rather than thinking of social media from a promotion and marketing angle, think about it as a way to establish great connections with loads of people!
If you love making fun videos, then Instagram and TikTok are your platforms! Find ways to make those fun videos about your podcast. Or align them to your niche, and they’ll help you market your podcast!
Do you enjoying sharing thought-provoking, niche-related anecdotes, or you have more to share than what you could cover on a recent episode? LinkedIn, Facebook, or even Twitter will allow you to do this.
You’ll be serving your audience with all these types of content, but without even realizing it, you’ll also be marketing your podcast!
Related read: Social Media Marketing Options For Podcasts
2. Turn To Your Circle
Marketing may not be your strength, but there are things you’re probably doing already that are really effective podcast marketing tactics! And one of those involves your circle.
More than likely, your family and friends already know you have a podcast. But have you asked them to listen to your episodes yet? If not, start today! Your family and your friends are your built-in support team. But they can also be a part of your loyal podcast community. So share with them whenever a new episode drops!
Put those family group chats to good use and share links to your latest episode. If some of your circle don’t already listen to podcasts or if they don’t know how to access podcasts in the first place, take the time to show them how. And once they’re hooked, they can then share your show with their own circles! It’s small-scale marketing, but it all helps!
3. Don’t Skip the CTAs
A built-in way to market your podcast and grow your audience is to use a slot in your podcast episodes to share your call-to-action. This is the place where you reach beyond your circle and ask your listeners to share your podcast to their friends and family.
If you’ve done the work to build a community around your show, asking your listeners to share your podcast with their circles will not be a big ask. They love your show already! And so asking them to spread the love by appealing to them in your call-to-action is an easy and natural way to promote your podcast.
But your CTAs don’t have to be boring and run-of-the-mill! Not by a long shot! In fact, if you want your call-to-action to result in the desired action, it should be unique! Remember, podcast listeners are hearing CTAs “wherever they get their podcasts,” all the time. And so if yours sound like all the rest, your listeners are probably turning them out.
So get creative! Use music and sound, showcase your winning personality, use that razor-sharp humor you’re known for, and inject some flavor into those CTAs!
4. Look for Guest Opportunities
Another tried and tested method for promoting your podcast is to look for opportunities to guest spot on other podcasts. This is a really effective way to promote a podcast as you’re able to appeal to a whole new audience with every guest appearance.
But wait, there’s more!
This tip is two-fold. Besides looking for guest spots on other podcasts, you could also consider looking for guests to share the mic with you on your podcast.
When you have guests on your show, and both you and your guest promote the episode beforehand, you should be able to effectively reach a whole new audience through your guest. (And it’s a symbiotic trade, as your guest gets to leverage your audience too!) If you’ve done your homework and picked guests who align with your target audience, your podcast should align with their audience. And through this exchange, you should substantially grow your listenership.
Related read: Everything You Need To Invite and Book Your Next Podcast Guest (Email Templates Included!)
5. Advertise on Other Podcasts
Besides looking for guest spot opportunities, another way to easily market your podcast is by advertising on other podcasts. For this, you need to create a great trailer. (Just one of the reasons we think trailers are important! Check out the other pros here.) And then either swop or purchase ad spots on podcasts aligned with your niche.
That one podcast trailer can do some serious leg work if you’re able to find spots on podcasts who share your target audience! You’ll do the work once, and your ad or trailer will take over the marketing. A definite win for those who don’t think they have the marketing chips to grow their show!
6. Diversify Your Directories
Many podcast listeners are utilizing internet directories to discover the newest up-and-coming podcasts. So why not take advantage of it? An easy way to promote your podcast is to make sure you’re listed on as many directories as possible.
And besides the traditional directories, there are a number of fun, innovative podcast apps gaining traction. Goodpods, Podcast Alarm, and Podchaser are three examples of ‘not-your-usual’ podcast platforms. And they’re platforms that you could and should be submitting your podcast to as an effective, yet simple, way to market your show.
Related read: 21 of the Best Podcast Directories of 2021
7. Create A Website
Aside from functioning as your podcasting headquarters, your podcast website contains a host of essential data. It’s the place where you can offer show notes and transcriptions for your show. And it can also house all your other resources. It can (and should!) host your blog. Or it can be the platform from which you offer your products and services.
But if you build your website correctly, it will also aid in promoting your podcast. If you crack search engine optimization and get your website ranking highly for your keywords, then a website is one of the best resources at your disposal when it comes to podcast discoverability. This means that if you’ve got a website that’s set up to rank highly, it should come out near the top in niche-related search results. Your website then gets more eyes on your content, and by extension, more ears on your podcast.
8. Join Podcast Communities
Podcast communities are another avenue for podcast promotion if you feel like you lack marketing skills. Podcast communities are wonderful spaces where you can network with others in the industry, learn from your fellow podcasters, and keep up to date with all that’s going on in the podcasting game.
And through building these connections, you’ll be able to promote your show. While many of the podcasting communities out there don’t allow you to spam the feeds with your podcast, in most you’re able to introduce yourself and your show. This is a great way to get the word out about your awesome podcast! And many of the groups or communities have specific days, or posts where you are able to promote your show, which can really help get avid podcast listeners listening to your show!
Related read: 14 of the Best Active Podcast Communities To Join Today
9. Newsletters are Your Friend!
Podcast newsletters are a winning way to promote your podcast, whether you’ve have marketing skills or not! Because they’re podcast newsletters, they’re already hitting the inbox of people passionate about podcasting. That’s already a great win!
And there are so many amazing podcast newsletters out there! Ranging from those focused on breaking news or adtech to those focused completely on great podcast recommendations. So you’ll also be able to niche down and get your podcast in front of your target audience!
Not sure which newsletters you could use to promote your podcast? Here are some of our favorites! 18 of the Best Podcast Newsletters for 2022
10. Build Real Relationships
You may feel you lack marketing skills, but you know you are good at connecting with all types of people. That’s actually a fantastic skill all marketers should possess!
It’s one thing to win people over with glittery words and slick sales pitches. But it’s in the relationships that the real magic of marketing, and podcasting for that matter, takes place. So, use your skills at connecting with others and start building some real relationships with your listeners, your community, and even just the casual ‘passer-by’. These can mean way more in the long run than any quick marketing scheme.
Related read: Top Networking Tips – An Introvert’s Perspective
11. Amp Up Your Knowledge
Last but not least…if you don’t think you have any marketing skills, get some! Take some marketing courses, watch YouTube videos, or read some blogs (we have a few posts on podcast marketing, just saying…) and you’ll have way more marketing savvy than you did before.
Look for courses/blogs/videos that focus on marketing podcasts specifically, but you can also branch out into brand marketing or social media marketing. These will have great insight into marketing as a whole, but you can also take these strategies and adapt them to promote and market your podcast.
Closing Thoughts
So there you have it! Eleven of the most effective ways to promote your podcast if marketing isn’t your strength. We get it. Marketing is hard. But it can be especially daunting if it’s not something that comes naturally to you or that you feel comfortable doing in the first place.
If you’re an introvert, or prefer being more “behind-the-scenes”, the thought of having to reach out and appeal to people to listen to your podcast could be a little terrifying!
But we’re here to tell you that successful podcast marketing is possible even if you feel it’s not one of your strengths!
These tips will help you get your podcast in front of more people and grow your audience in ways that won’t feel like marketing.
Tweak these tips to play to your natural strengths, and you’ll be able to successfully grow your audience and market your podcast without a second thought to what you used to think you lacked!
Do you have any other tips to add? Share them in the comments below!
