With all the work that goes into the production of your podcast, you breathe a welcome sigh of relief every time you publish an episode. But the work doesn’t stop there. You will need to come up with a strategic plan to market your podcast so that it can reach a wider audience.

If you’re not sure where to start, the following post details 7 ways to market your podcast to grow your listenership.

✴ Submit your podcast to multiple directories

You could have the best podcast in the world, but if it’s not accessible all your hard work producing it won’t amount to much. Submitting your podcast to all the popular directories will ensure that your voice is heard. Apple Podcasts leads the pack for most active listeners. Google Podcasts and Spotify follow closely behind, with audiences continuing to grow on all platforms year after year. If your podcast is available on multiple directories, audiences can find you easily no matter which directory they choose to use.

Directories provide you with tools that can help you market your podcast. On Spotify, for example, you can select 4 total categories that best describe your podcast. Spotify learns its users’ listening habits and will recommend your podcast if it is relevant. Apple Podcasts employ similar algorithms that automatically place your podcast into a suitable category – making it much easier for listeners to discover your content.

✴ Share your podcast on social media

Social media is perhaps the biggest marketing tool at your disposal, and it doesn’t have to cost anything if you don’t have the budget. Each time a new episode goes live, share it on all relevant social networking sites. The platform you use the most will depend on your target audience. Younger audiences are more likely to use Twitter and Instagram, whereas older audiences are more active on Facebook.

A simple share may not be enough, however. Get creative with your podcast-related posts. Create edited soundbites that act as teasers for your full episodes. These are especially useful on Twitter. If your audio is uploaded to Soundcloud, simply share the soundbite to Twitter and users can listen to it without ever leaving the app.

Look to post your teasers a few days before an episode goes live as it will create a buzz amongst your audience. Be sure to reshare your content after it goes live too - you don’t want anyone missing out. That said, don’t spam your audience either. 2 – 3 times a week should suffice.

✴ Utilize your existing audience

Online word of mouth is a powerful way to market your podcast. A small group of loyal listeners can be more vocal than you might expect. They will happily carry your message far and wide to further extend your reach. With word of mouth marketing being one of the most trusted channels when it comes to decision-making, utilizing your existing audience can deliver tremendous results for your podcast’s growth.

✴ Create a great website

To get the most out of your podcast, you need to have a website to accompany it. There are so many ways to use your site as a marketing tool. One of the most effective methods is to post blog content that relates to each episode. Just keep the length around 300-500 words, summarising the episode without giving away any spoilers.

The presentation of your website is also key to successfully marketing your podcast. Make sure that you clearly divide your website into relevant pages, for example, an “About Us” page or an “Episodes” page. A clean layout will allow visitors to easily navigate your site and find the information they’re looking for.

We also recommend compressing any large image files, GIFs and animated icons that slow down the speed of your pages. Page speed is a component of SEO and your rankings can be affected if you don’t keep it in check.

✴ Collaborate with other podcasters

You’ll maximize your chances of success if you collaborate with other podcasters. Now, we’re not saying you should collaborate with anyone and everyone. It’s more useful to join forces with podcasters that discuss similar topics as you or can add value to your content in some way.

Compile a list of podcasters that you’d be interested in working with and contact each of them to ask if they would be willing to collaborate. You’ll be surprised at the number of positive responses that you receive. Don’t forget, collaborations are mutually beneficial. You’ll be exposed to an audience who may never have heard of you before that you can tap into and the same goes for the other podcaster as well.

✴ Start a podcast YouTube channel

A growing number of podcasts are now using YouTube as a marketing tool. Video is a great way to promote anything, and podcasts are no exception. There are a few ways to use your channel.

One option is to cut your podcast into shorter audio files and convert them to video format for upload. These can act as teasers, which are much easier to share on all social media platforms than soundbites. Another method is to record your podcast in video format alongside the existing audio version. This allows you to build a separate community on YouTube who may prefer the video version of your podcast.

✴ Run giveaways and incentives

Giveaways and incentives are a great way to market your podcast, for both new and existing listeners. Who doesn’t love to win something free? You can give away anything from a shoutout or mention in a future episode to physical prizes if you have the budget for it. To enter a giveaway, for example, you can ask your listeners to leave a review of your podcast on Apple Podcasts. This helps build your credibility and should boost your listenership.

Giveaways and incentives attract new listeners as well. Initially, they might only listen for the giveaway but since your content is so spectacular, there’s every chance that some of those first-time listeners can be converted into loyal fans. It’s an excellent way to expose your podcasts to new ears. We recommend mentioning the giveaway at the end of your episode. This will reward listeners who “saw” the episode through and genuinely listened to what you had to say.

✴ Host a Live Event

You’ve probably seen that the most successful podcasts take their show on the road and put on live events all over the country and beyond. Both from a monetization standpoint and from a marketing standpoint, putting on an event allows you to get to more people in a single moment than picking up individual followers from episode to episode. If you are able to put on the event at a local venue that will do some advertising for you and post your ticket online, you might find that you get attendees who have not heard of your podcast but are eager to attend an interesting event.

By getting new people in the audience, you have the opportunity to covert them from attendees to regular listeners. Don’t be afraid to start small with you friends, family, and local fans, and then grow your guest list over time. In this digital age, everyone is looking for more in person and human connections and community - your podcast can be a way for people to relate to you and to one another.

✴ Hard work pays off

The competition for people’s attention is so fierce that the hard work cannot stop once an episode is published. So be sure to utilize social media, collaborate with other podcasters and run giveaways among other marketing techniques. Your hard work will eventually pay off. It’s only a matter of time before your marketing efforts take your podcast to new heights you didn’t know were achievable.

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7 Ways To Market Your Podcast