Tips, advice, recommendations, and more to help you on your podcasting journey, and grow your podcast effectively and for the long-term.
Three Ways to Grow Your Podcast in 2025
|
Hi there, So, the first part of the holidays are over, and now it's just the run-in to the new year. Do you have any exciting plans for the next few days, or - like me - is it more about a quiet evening at home, maybe watching a movie and enjoying your favourite tipple? Whatever you have planned, this is a great time of year to take stock of what's worked for your podcast in 2024, and see how you can improve on that in the next 12 months, as well as maybe revamping or jettisoning what hasn't. Something you might be considering is how to attract more listeners and grow your podcast, and what you could do differently to your current approach. Especially if your main option at the moment is social media (organic or paid), and you're frustrated with the seemingly ever-changing algorithms each platform sets its stall by. If that's the case, here are three alternatives that I've found to be really effective. Trailer or promo swapsIf you've never run a trailer or promo swap before, this is one of the best and simplest ways to get your podcast in front of a new audience. As the name suggests, this is where you work with another podcaster (or multiple podcasters) and promote your podcast's trailer or promo on each other's show. This can be as a pre-roll (before the episode), a mid-roll (during the episode), or a post-roll (after the episode).
Because many (most?) podcast listeners are usually listening to a podcast on a dedicated podcast app, it's easy to follow a podcast that's been promoted this way, by clicking the link to it in the show notes of the episode(s) where the promo is running, making it super easy to add to your library. Tink Media has a great trailer/promo swap database, where you can both add your own podcast and connect with other podcasters looking to work together. Pitch your podcast to industry newslettersAnother great and effective way to be more visible to new listeners is to pitch your podcast news to an industry newsletter in your niche. Since subscribers to that newsletter are people already interested in your topic, it makes it more likely for them to at least check out your podcast, and then hopefully follow if they like what they find. For my own podcasts, I've had great success by being featured in the likes of Podnews, Podbam, Pocket Casts, etc, because they're all geared around the podcasting industry, so it makes sense to share news relevant to my podcast(s). This includes launches, special anniversaries, awards, live streams, etc. To help you connect with newsletters, the good folks over at Tink Media also have a newsletter database for those newsletters and editors looking to feature podcast news. Start your own newsletterYou may already have a newsletter - if so, great! But if not, having your own newsletter remains one of the best ways to not only connect with your existing listeners and audience, but also potential listeners. It's a great way to showcase your expertise, and provide the kind of content that people are looking for, but directly to them, whether that's educational, inspirational, advertorial, or more. Subscribers to your newsletter also tend to be more involved with you and/or your podcast, since they've given permission for you to send updates direct to their email inbox. Given we all know how busy our own email inboxes can be, allowing that permission is a huge sign of trust in both you and your content, which highlights their intent and engagement. Can social media be used to grow your podcast? For sure - but I tend to find it's more for community building, awareness, and recommendations. While this can - and does - help, more direct marketing and promotion is much better for actual listener engagement and growth, and that's always nice. 😊 Let me know if you intend to try any of these in the new year, and what else you have planned - and I'd love to hear how things go! Until the next time, a very Happy New Year when it arrives, and I hope the next 12 months are amazing for all your podcasting goals! |
Be a Better Podcaster
Tips, advice, recommendations, and more to help you on your podcasting journey, and grow your podcast effectively and for the long-term.
Hi there, Oftentimes, when we look at our podcast(s) and whether it's performing as well as we wanted or hoped, we tend to look at the same things. downloads listeners reviews And, sure, while those numbers can and do tell a story they can also give us a false perception of what's actually stunting our growth, because they're primarily internal data points. A great example of this, and a story I've shared elsewhere in the past, is gaming giant Nintendo. The Nintendo guide to sight In the...
Hi there, When I was still on Twitter, I ran a poll that asked what would be the one big thing that stops you listening to your favourite podcast. The choices were Adding ads, change of format, change of frequency, or “other”. The results are below As you can see, it was pretty even between adding ads, and changing up the format. But out of 81 votes, almost 25% said “other”, and those votes primarily shared something all podcasters need to learn and/or remember to do – and that’s give your...
Hi there, There's a famous quote by Henry Ford around the idea of asking his customers what they wanted. The reply was, "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses." (Sidenote: there's a lot of debate as to whether Ford actually said this or not, but let's go with it for now.) The premise is, if you ask your customers what they want they'll tell you what they think they want, as opposed to what they actually need. It's classic Marketing 101 - when you give...