More people are podcasting than ever, but not enough podcasters are giving thought to marketing. They simply hit record, do a little light editing, and publish with their fingers crossed. Hoping for the best is a naive approach, however. Rather than relying on hope, it’s much more productive to look at the most effective ways to get your podcast recognized. You don’t need a degree in marketing to hit higher listener numbers and subscribers, but you do need to work hard to stand out in the ever-rising number of podcasts. If your podcast isn’t getting the listeners you expected, here are some marketing tips that might get more people tuning in.
1. Make Cool Stuff
Marketers are more than aware of the phrase ‘content is king’and are already sick of seeing it. However, it remains as accurate now as always. The first step to marketing your podcast is to have a podcast worth marketing. The better your podcast, the more likely that it will grow organically and via word of mouth. However, you also need to:
● Create content that engages
● Create plenty of episodes
● Stay consistent with publishing times and dates
2. Have an Audience Focus
Just like marketing for a business will fail if it tries to appeal to everyone, so too will your podcast’s marketing efforts. That means that you need to know more about your target audience, where they spend their time online, and what they are looking for from you. A business has to do customer research to guide its development, and you need to do the same.
3. Get Smart with Software
If you think that data and analytics are just for the big brands, you’re very much mistaken. Now, podcasters can very easily make use of some fantastic marketing analytics software for a major boost. The information that you get from that software makes it easier than ever to identify what is working with your marketing and what is putting people off. That means you can fine-tune your podcast growth plan and make changes quickly, efficiently, and long before any negative effects limit your future.
4. Keywords
SEO is a big and often intimidating subject, but you don’t need to learn absolutely everything about it. The key for podcasters is to understand what keywords are, the ones that match your output, and the competitors using the same keywords as you. You should use your keywords:
● In your episode titles
● On the page titles of your website
● On any images that you use
● In the meta description of your website
● In your written content
5. Podcast Titles
As well as your keywords, make sure that your titles are as descriptive as possible. If you have guests on, make sure that their names are included in the title. It’s also a good idea to have your name and the name of your podcast added to the signature area of your emails so that you don’t forget that additional push with every communication.
Podcasts are fun, and if yours is nothing but a hobby, then you may not be worrying too much about how many people are listening. However, if you want your podcast to grow to the point where it moves from side-hustle to full-time money-maker, then it’s time to start giving serious thought and time to your marketing strategy. Treat your podcast as a business,and you will stand much more chance of success.