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It’s no surprise that podcasts are on an upward rise with no peak in sight. Some credit can be attributed to the stay-at-home orders we’ve become all too accustomed to over the last year. With more free time, there’s more opportunity to listen. Podcast listening was on the rise beforehand with the opportunity to tune in during transit and travel. But the podcasts you know and love didn’t reach their current level of fame in the blink of an eye.
For any successful podcast, it takes marketing and outreach to get the word out, gather your audience, and start producing some level of profit. There are several ways to go about podcast marketing. It takes some trial and error to find the method that fits your genre and audience best, but we know you’ll find your flow.
Good Practices for Any Podcast Marketing Strategy in 2021
There are some overarching attributes that help contribute to any successful podcast marketing strategy, or even a success podcast in general. In short, you must produce quality content. Otherwise, you likely won’t gain much traction. Here are some things to keep you on track and help create that high quality podcast content you need.
Have a Purpose
There are a lot of podcasts out there that consist of two people talking about…anything. And while that’s akin to radio shows and morning talk shows, it’s not necessarily something that listeners are keen to tune in on—especially if you aren’t a celebrity. If this is your thing, then by all means go for it.
Podcast shows and episodes that have a singular purpose draw more attention. It not only lets listeners know what they’re getting into, it’s also easier for you to show up in search results. Categorizing your content is one of the best, free methods toward good podcast marketing.
Create Good Stories
Winging it just doesn’t cut it most of the time. Even if you make a comedy podcast, it’s a good idea to have some structure. That doesn’t mean you have to read from a script but having an outline of what your episode will touch on is the best way to stay on track without losing personality.
If you are going for the scripted type of podcast material, then you’ll want to hit a few key points. First, find your voice. Listeners want personality when they tune in, not a monotonous encyclopedia. Second, research your content. Back up your story with interesting facts, quote the material you used to write the content, and verbally state what your sources are.
Know Your Audience
The tone you use in your show is so important when connecting with listeners. Go for niche audiences, the people that are truly interested in your podcast. A broad audience is not a bad thing, as more people could mean higher profit. But you want listeners who actually care about what you’re providing, who interact with your show in some way. These are the people that matter, making target audience a top priority for any podcast marketing effort.
Understanding your audience is also an important factor when deciding the day and time to release your episodes. You can discover when your followers are most likely to listen and publish on those days to avoid your show getting drowned out by the competition.
Use Quality Equipment
Don’t trick yourself into thinking that you’ll purchase podcasting equipment later on once you’ve built up a following and earned a bit of income. That’s a surefire way to see your creation slide down the tubes. Investing in a good microphone, at the very least, is one of the best podcast marketing tactics to do before starting your podcast.
The microphone is your link to the listeners. If the sound quality is bad or distant, your story and purpose won’t resonate with listeners. It’s an off-putting experience for them and they won’t likely return for episode 2 (if they even finished episode 1).
You’ll also want good editing software. There are tons of free and paid editing software to choose from, which you can change up at any time without burning a hole in your pocket.
Don’t Forget Written Content
How do you expect people to know about your podcast if you leave all the written information blank or vague? Write out a clever title and description for each podcast episode and for your podcast show. Give listeners the gist of everything you offer with at-a-glance information.
You might think because podcasts are auditory experiences that the writing doesn’t matter so much, but in reality it’s one of the most important podcast marketing strategies to use. For example, which one would you click on: “Episode 7: Epstein” or “Ep 7: The Rise and Fall of Jeffrey Epstein”. You’ll most likely select the second one because it tells you who and what the episode is about.
Written content is important for SEO, too. Optimize your titles and descriptions so they appear higher in search results and get your name out there.
Successful Podcast Marketing Tactics to Try in 2021
Now that you know what you should do no matter what your podcast is about or your level of experience in podcasting, let’s get into some 2021 podcast marketing tactics that you can try. Mix and match the following tactics based on what your audience responds to, there is no one marketing method that eclipses the others.
Start With a Few Podcast Episodes
It’s recommended to start with at least 5 episodes. This is to give listeners a reason to subscribe and support your podcast.
However, we understand you may not want to release this many all at once for a few reasons. One being that you don’t have that many episodes, another reason being that you are telling an episodic story. If this is the case, you need to make the end of your episode compelling enough to make listeners click “subscribe”. Otherwise, they’ll never know when your next episode releases.
Having more than a single episode helps grow the perception of your dedication to this show. Listeners are in it for the long haul, so you need to assure them that you can provide the content they need.
Use Your Audience’s Preferred Social Platform
When understanding who your audience is, aim to understand where they spend their time online. It’s generally understood that you should have some presence on the biggest social networks, but you should also spend more time on the network that your audience uses most.
For example, if your show’s target audience is millennials who use Instagram, then leverage that network more than any other as your social podcasting marketing strategy. And don’t just publish content when you’re there. You need to interact with your followers: like their photos, respond to comments, publish polls, and ask questions.
Create a CTA and Alternative Content
Podcasting, itself, is one directional. Besides the new polling feature on Spotify, there is no way for listeners to interact with your podcast. To combat this, you need to create a call-to-action (CTA). Usually, the CTA is to “subscribe, share, and review” which is 100% fine. It seems like every podcast ends in this way, but those three things help market and grow your show.
Your CTA could also be to check out your supporting content, like a website or blog. This is where you can publish even more about your show and each podcast episode. You could write out interesting details that didn’t quite fit into an episode’s flow or record a video that supports the topic. This type of alternative content gives listeners more opportunity to interact with you. It also provides great SEO potential.
Combine the two and make your CTA something that involves consuming your alternative media. You’ll get the interaction your show deserves with some great podcasting marketing potential along the way.
Tap Into Affiliate Marketing
Don’t shy away from paid sponsorship opportunities. These serve multiple purposes, the first of which is that you make money when someone buys a product using your affiliate marketing link.
It’s also a good opportunity to create partnerships with brands that you support and think your followers would enjoy. It doesn’t always have to be about who gives you the best deal. If you are approached by a brand who may not pay the most but you really believe in their cause, then go for it. You will be more convincing to your listeners when you actually enjoy the product being promoted.
The products you promote in paid sponsorships aren’t going to attract the attention of every listener, and that’s okay. This is a great time for your listeners to tune out for a second, kind of like a TV commercial break. They won’t hate your or unsubscribe based on their disinterest in an affiliate marketing promotion.
Create an Email Newsletter
Newsletters have the best ROI of any marketing channel. You will quickly make a profit if you take the time to create a simple newsletter. It’s the perfect opportunity for you to announce new episodes, seasons, and alternative content that your listeners would be interested in. It’s also a great place for you to publish your affiliate marketing links. And there’s no harm no foul to your listeners: they subscribe if they’re interested and ignore it if they’re not.
Use These 2021 Podcast Marketing Tips to Launch Your Show with Great Success
These are the best ways to promote your show, and most can be done with little financial investment. Podcast marketing in 2021 is all about connection, so make sure you understand who you’re talking to. Don’t be afraid to hone in on a smaller, niche market. Those are the listeners who will support you to the very end.