How To Promote a Podcast: 20 Tips To Get Started

Stylized graphic of a person's lower face with open mouth near a microphone in a yellow and blue duotone with a pop art aesthetic.

Published: Dec 4, 2023
11 min. read
Abbey Stephan

Lead Editor
Abbey is a digital marketer, copywriter, and lead editor. She has worked on over 200 client campaigns and WebFX, and she specializes in marketing strategy analysis and industry-specific digital marketing plans. Outside of writing and editing, you’ll likely find her taking pictures of her cat, making a new playlist, or tending to her houseplants.

Podcasts have become an auditory staple in all industries. Whether you want a pop culture update or industry-specific news, you can find a podcast for it. If you have your own podcast, your listeners are out there looking for you — it’s up to you to find them.

If you want to learn how to promote your podcast but don’t know where to start, you’ve come to the right place. This page will break down podcast promotion tips to help you find your ideal audience.

Read on to learn more! And, if you want to chat with a marketing expert about growing your audience, give us a call at 888-601-5359!

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The two pillars of podcast promotion

Before we cover how to promote a podcast, we need to talk about the basics of podcasting. Content and time are the two foundational points to know. Without them, you won’t have a marketable podcast that people want to listen to again and again.

Use these factors as a guideline for creating quality episodes that entice users to listen (and enjoy).

Content

Trying to promote a bad podcast won’t work. Gimmicks and deals may work in the short term, but for lasting success, you need high-quality content. That means putting time and effort into your content instead of talking into a microphone about nothing substantial.

Make sure that your content is:

Unique: There are tons of podcasts out there, so you need a way to make yours unique. Whether that’s a particular segment or your overall structure, your podcast should add to the overall topic and conversation without copying anyone else.
Valuable: People should feel like they take something away from your podcast, whether that’s entertainment on their commute or important news updates. What can you give them?
Personal: You make your content special. Lean into your personality (or branding) to set your episodes apart from other creators.

The more time and effort you put into your content, the easier it will be to market it as a product.

Time

The other critical part of podcasting is time.

Podcast success does not happen overnight. In fact, it might take months of consistency before you start seeing results from your podcast promotions and marketing. That doesn’t mean, however, that you shouldn’t try.

Knowing that growing a podcast takes time will help you stay on track and consistent with your approach. If you get discouraged, you can look back at where you came from and imagine what is yet to come.

How to promote a podcast in 20 ways

Now that you know the basics, it’s time to learn how to promote your podcast. Here are 20 tips, with some examples, to help you get started.

Click through this list to jump to a tip, or read on below!

1. Transcribe your episodes

The first tip for promoting your podcast is to transcribe your episodes and post them in the episode notes. Transcriptions are great for many reasons, including keyword optimization and accessibility. If users would rather read an episode, you should give them that option.

You can use free transcription tools like Cockatoo to get started or transcribe by hand if you have a short episode.

2. Share content on social media

Sharing your content on social media is a sure way to help people find it. If you don’t cross-post, it will be harder for users to find your show organically.

To promote a podcast on social media, you should:

Create a separate account for your podcast
Post snippets and trailers for new episodes
Encourage reviews and connect with users
Share your episodes on your feed and in your bio

3. Record your podcast as a video

Why not double up on media types and record your podcast as a video? Adding a visual element to your podcast will give you more content to share online.

Try taking vertical snippets of funny or quotable moments and sharing them on TikTok or Instagram Reels. You can even upload the video to YouTube so people can watch you talk instead of just listening.

Creating a video gives people more ways to enjoy your podcast, encouraging new users to find you and listen.

4. Try livestreams

In the same vein as recording, some podcasts stream live episodes every now and then to offer exclusive content for listeners. A livestream lets you talk and interact with viewers in real time, and they can enjoy the unedited version of your podcast.

You don’t have to go live all the time. Once a month could be a goal just to help you get more regular viewers. Or, if you have a special announcement, going live could entice people to tune in and hear the news!

5. Convert transcripts into blog posts

If you’ve been transcribing your episodes into text, try publishing that text as a blog post on your website. This step will help you target important keywords and get more traffic to your site and, ultimately, your podcast.

You can use a shortened version as the text and then link to your podcast episode on the page.

blog example

Or, if you want to touch on the topic without giving away everything in the episode, condense your text and encourage readers to listen if they want to learn more.

6. Optimize your website

Having an optimized website can also help people find your podcast:

website example

For example, if users are looking up new true crime podcasts, they’ll be more likely to find you if you have a website that’s effective and ranking well. Focusing on paid advertising and search engine optimization (SEO) can help you rank for related queries on any search engine.

7. Work with other podcasts

Your fellow podcasters are an efficient source of promotional material. Working with others in your industry can help you get more listeners and boost awareness while meeting new people.

You can work with other podcasts by:

Creating collab episodes
Asking to be a guest
Sharing their content on your socials (and vice versa)
Writing guest content

8. Set up a mailing list

A simple email marketing list can help users stay in the loop about your podcast, and help you learn more about your audience. Encourage users to sign up for your mailing list, and then you can share:

New episode snippets
Gated content
News and announcements
Subscriptions and offers

9. Book live shows

A live podcast recording is a fun, interactive way for your listeners to engage with your podcast. You can book shows and create a fun itinerary to engage visitors and promote your work:

live show example

You don’t have to do anything strenuous, either. Having a topical Q&A or presentation like what you do in your regular show is perfect!

10. Offer promotions

Promotional deals are a great way to capture new listeners. For example, you could run a promotion where you publish a bonus episode for those who subscribe to your newsletter. Or, you could get a discount code for listeners to check out your merch.

Whatever approach you choose, ensure you offer your customers something of value to get them excited about your brand.

11. Create merch for your listeners

Loyal listeners love merch — it’s just a fact. Creating a merch line once you have built up a fan base can help you spread the word about your show and earn some more revenue:

normal gossip merch

Keep the merch related to your show, and ask your audience what kind of merch they would like to see from you!

12. Offer paid subscription content

Paid content is a great way to earn extra revenue and get more attention on your podcast. You can also reward the super fans with bonus content and extra material they wouldn’t normally get.

For example, you could start a subscription where users can pay monthly and get an extra 2-3 episodes that month. This way, those who don’t subscribe aren’t missing out much — but they are rewarded if they want to invest.

13. Encourage ratings and reviews

Ratings and reviews can help you learn what people think of your work and what you can improve on. Ask users to leave you reviews in the platform where they listen to your podcast. If they give you a rating, that can also help you rank higher in audio apps like Spotify.

14. Invest in podcast advertising

Podcast advertising can help you pay for more traffic to your podcast faster.

You can pay other podcasts in the same industry to advertise your show, increasing your exposure and finding you more relevant listeners. Most of these ads go right into the episode, so they don’t interrupt the user’s listening experience.

From there, you can link to your show and encourage people to check it out.

15. Invite guests onto your show

Having a guest feature is a fun way to spice up your show and bring new voices onto your platform. Your guests can be from within your field or not — just having a new face and voice can help users get more out of the topic of your show.

guest feature example

If you can get an industry name on your show or someone from another podcast (like we mentioned above), that’s sure to get some attention.

16. Use giveaways as an incentive

A giveaway is another great promotion to help you give back to your listeners and hopefully earn some new ones. If you have merch, or even some related products that your listeners would enjoy, you can encourage your followers to enter.

For example, if you run a book-centered podcast, you could give a few subscribers a copy of a well-loved book. A like, comment, and share can be the entry fee, and you can get more impressions while giving back to your followers.

17. Add links from other social accounts

Be sure to link to your podcast across all your social accounts so it’s easy for users to find. If you share a new episode, you can link to the most recent one in your bio to save your followers time when they try to find it.

18. Reference older episodes in your podcast

Referencing your podcast backlog is key to promoting your older episodes. If you touch on a topic in one episode that you’ve covered before, link to the episode and invite people to learn more. You’ll earn more listens on older episodes and keep a through line within your work.

19. Create a podcast trailer

A podcast trailer can be a 30-60 second clip (or longer) of your podcast that explains what users can expect when they listen. A trailer should give users a feel for what your podcast is, how it sounds, and the overall vibe.

Be sure to post your trailer to promote your podcast on social media, email, and more!

20. Set a clear schedule

There’s nothing worse than finding a podcast you love and realizing they update irregularly. If you want to make sure people tune in to your podcast, post on a regular schedule. This way, you can create hype around your episodes before they come out and keep people interested.

Many podcasts follow the weekly format, but if you want to post more or less, just keep it consistent!

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Make your podcast heard with WebFX

Now you know how to promote your podcast. But, if you still feel unsure about your ability to earn results, the experts at WebFX can help.

WebFX is a digital marketing agency with 28 in the marketing industry. We have helped clients launch and promote podcasts across various industries and niches. We will help you earn more listeners while strengthening your content.

Want to learn more? Check out our podcast advertising services, and then request a free, no-obligation quote to see what we can do for your team!

Abbey is a digital marketer, copywriter, and lead editor. She has worked on over 200 client campaigns and WebFX, and she specializes in marketing strategy analysis and industry-specific digital marketing plans. Outside of writing and editing, you’ll likely find her taking pictures of her cat, making a new playlist, or tending to her houseplants.
WebFX is a full-service marketing agency with 1,100+ client reviews and a 4.9-star rating on Clutch! Find out how our expert team and revenue-accelerating tech can drive results for you! Learn more

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