There are more than 700 000 active podcasts and more than 29 million podcast episodes out there for you to choose from. Somehow we all end up finding a podcast that we love and listening to it on repeat. But then once you come to the point where you need a new show, then you’ll find yourself trying to remember how you found the previous one in the first place!
Finding a new podcast to listen to isn’t always the easiest task simply because there are so many amazing ones out there as well as a ton of bad ones that’ll make you cringe. Plus, with many podcasters struggling to increase the discoverability of their podcasts, it can be somewhat frustrating to know where to start. It can take up quite a lot of time if you need to listen to at least one episode of every podcast that someone recommended to you and by the end of it all, you might not even have found a show that you enjoy.
So to help you in your podcast search, we’ve created 6 strategies that will help you find the shows that are worth listening to!
Related read: 27 Most Popular Podcast Apps
Check Podcast Top Charts
We all have a specific genre that we just can’t get enough of; whether it’s true crime, news or entertainment, there is always a top chart that you can look at to find the most popular podcasts in that category. The top charts with help to focus your search and it will be a lot easier to find your next favorite podcast if you use this method.
You can also check out the top charts to see what is trending and what the rest of the podcasting community has voted as the best shows. There will be a sense of knowing that these podcasts must be good to make it this high up the chart. So use these lists to save you some time and avoid sifting through podcasts that aren’t the right fit for you.
Related read: 17 Storytelling Podcasts To Binge-Listen
Podcast Player Recommendations
Most podcast directories and listening apps will give you a “you might also like” list of podcasts that are similar to the podcast that you are already listening to. Their suggestions will be based on all the podcasts that you are subscribed to as well as the shows that you have listened to in the past.
They also base it on podcasts that other listeners of your favorite show are subscribed to, which gives you an idea of what others with the same interests as you also enjoy. This is a great feature and is perfect to help you discover new podcasts or podcasters that you might like to listen to in the future. It also takes very little effort on your part since all you have to do is to click on “see more” and find a podcast that you might like.
Related read: 20 Best Podcast Directories
Create a Podcast Group
Just like you would share your favorite books or favorite shows with your group of friends, so too you can share your favorite podcasts by creating a specific podcast group. This might be an obvious strategy but because it’s so obvious it often gets overlooked quite easily. Some of the best ways to set up podcast groups are by creating designated groups on social sharing sites like Facebook. This is an easy way to connect a community of people that enjoy the same podcasts as you. It’s great for sharing recommendations and asking the group their views and opinions about a specific podcast you’re considering.
When it comes to Facebook groups, you have the option to either start your own group or join an existing one. It just takes a little bit of searching to find the right group for you. If you decide to build your own podcast community, it can be a great way to fill it with your friends and family whose reviews you might trust more than the random ones you might find at the bottom of the website.
Related read: 7 Strategies for Building a Strong Podcast Community
Start a Podcast Club
Starting a podcast club is exactly like joining a book club, but instead of discussing the latest books and everything you’ve learned from them you’ll be discussing the latest podcasts you’ve been listening to and the insights you’ve gained while keeping the wine and cheese platters on repeat. It’s your club so you can decide on the “rules”.
Whether everyone listens to the same podcast or everyone listens to different podcasts and shares their thoughts and recommendations, it’s really up to you. Get creative, learn something new, and build a community of friendships around something you all love – podcasts! You can gather every two weeks or once a month; it all depends on your group and how busy they are. Make it a regular thing, and use the search power of the group to find the next best podcast for you all to listen to.
Related read: 16 Active Podcasting Communities To Join
Follow Up on Podcast Interview Guests
So you’ve listened to all of your podcasts episodes thus far and are looking for a new podcast to enjoy while you wait for the new episode to be released; why not check out the guests that were featured on your favorite show? A great way to find some fresh content that you enjoy is to go back and see who the guests were and whether or not they have their own podcasts. In most cases, the answer will be yes. Give their podcast a listen! They must be great content creators if your favorite show host was so fascinated by them that they decided to interview them.
You should also search to see whose podcasts your favorite host has been interviewed on. Often times, the podcasts they were featured on may cover the same types of topics that you are already interested in and might be something you’d enjoy listening to. If not, then you enjoyed an interesting interview with your favorite host. It’s a win-win situation!
Subscribe to Podcast Newsletters
Finally, another great way to discover new podcasts to listen to is by signing up for a newsletter like PodNews, Hot Pod News, and Pod People. In each of their newsletters, they give readers their podcast recommendations. Most blogs offer you the option to follow their newsletter, where they share the tops podcast stories and recommendations of podcasts that have been climbing the charts.
Often times there are great podcast blogs that do top roundups and include them in their newsletters as well. Signing up to podcast newsletters means that the latest podcast news comes straight to your inbox instead of you having to search the entire Internet and read a ton of blogs to find the latest and greatest of the podcast industry.
Related read: Top 12 Podcasting Newsletters You Should Subscribe To
