An amazing podcast serves no purpose if people don’t know it exists. A person can do all that is necessary to make the podcast everything a viewer would want, but it will remain hidden in the shadows unless the owner promotes it. 

How should a person promote their podcast? What do they need to do? They may read about SEO support, bringing influencers in to attract attention and more. However, they need concrete steps they can take right away. 

The goal of promotion is to succeed on iTunes. The majority of podcast downloads and listens originate on this site, so no podcaster can afford to overlook it. What steps can the podcaster take to promote their offerings on this site? 

Simplify Sharing

Videos go viral every day, thanks to people sharing them with friends and followers. Allow guests on the podcast to share snippets and quote images with their followers. Every time they promote the podcast episode, more people learn about its existence. When the podcast goes live, send the guest sharable media, such as links or images. By providing these media to them, the podcast owner makes it easy to share with little effort on their part. 

Social Media Promotion

Share content on social media frequently. Include soundbites, images, evergreen content, teasers, and more. Determine which channels the target audience prefers and post this content on those channels. Always post an update when a new episode goes live and continue sharing tidbits from that podcast until the next one is ready to publish. When the new episode is ready to go live, share a teaser on social media 24 hours before it does. 

Launch Day

When starting a brand-new podcast, prepare and release a minimum of three episodes on launch day. People who listen may get excited about the first episode and be disappointed when there is only one available. Think of individuals who binge-watch an entire season of their favorite TV show in one sitting. Listeners who love a podcast may wish to do the same, so the podcast owner needs to ensure they can do exactly this. People refer to these as pillar episodes because they provide the foundation for the podcast. Refer back to the original episodes in future shows, as this helps to increase the number of downloads and the ranking of the podcast. 

YouTube

Repurpose a podcast in multiple ways to get more life from each episode. Many podcast owners turn to YouTube to increase their exposure. Doing so allows them to share videos on social media and obtain search engine optimization benefits. In addition, YouTube handles closed captioning and transcripts. Search engines value video significantly more than text, which means the podcast receives a higher search engine ranking when it comes with a video. 

Giveaways

Offer free items or discounts to anyone who leaves a review on iTunes. These reviews boost your podcast’s social proof and attract iTunes’ attention. Announce the giveaway on social media or during the podcast. Companies like Gleam provide solutions to run giveaways and contests across multiple platforms. Ensure you can contact the winning reviewer to avoid negative attention from not delivering the promised prize. Failing to do so could result in a loss of listeners, which no podcast owner wants.

Podcatchers

Visit the app store on a mobile device and search for apps that play podcasts. These apps, known as podcatchers, not only play podcasts, but they frequently offer suggestions to followers or subscribers and assist with discovery in other ways. However, before using one of these apps for your podcast, ensure it plays correctly on the app. No person wants to turn off potential listeners because they didn’t take the time to make certain the podcast could be heard on the podcaster. One benefit of submitting podcasts to one of these services is the service automatically downloads new episodes and alerts the subscriber so they never miss a show. 

Transcripts

A transcript of a podcast offers many SEO benefits. The podcast owner must decide whether to transcribe the entire short or select highlighted portions to share in the show notes. The transcript serves as the ideal place to collect leads as well. Furthermore, when a podcast owner transcribes episodes, new listeners can easily scan the transcript and learn if the material is something that would interest them. In addition, the transcript allows anyone to learn what is contained in the episode, even when they cannot actually listen to the podcast for some reason. 

Ratings Party

To move up in the charts and New and Noteworthy section on iTunes, a podcast must collect downloads and positive reviews in the weeks following its launch. A podcast only has eight weeks to land on the New and Noteworthy chart, with the first two weeks being the most crucial. To collect downloads and positive reviews, host giveaways. Throw a party the day of the launch and share two weeks of content related to the podcast. Email ten people every day about the podcast and have others in the organization post and tweet about the launch. 

Partnerships

Mention one or more brands in your podcast, as the brand might reciprocate. Reach out to the brand once the episode launches and let staff members know to listen for the brand name. This one step can lead to a significant increase in followers in a short time. 

Be a Guest

Appear on other podcasts in the same niche. Reach out to these podcast owners and offer to do an interview. They appreciate the proactive approach, as it makes their lives easier. They don’t have to search for a guest. This is a great way to get the word out about a new podcast and gain new followers in little time.

Use these steps to grow your podcast audience in little time. As you do so, make certain the content shared in each episode remains relevant to the target audience and cannot be found elsewhere. Podcast owners who achieve these two goals find their followers increase rapidly and they draw the right kind of attention. Implement these steps today and watch your podcast audience grow beyond anything you could have imagined.