We have a secret: everything you want to know about growing your audience comes down to one thing - how you market your podcast to listeners. That’s a combination of a few fundamental understandings: knowing who your podcast is for, what your audience needs to know that will compel them to listen, and where and how you can get your show to them. Yes, this takes some strategy and some investment, of both time and money. Don’t worry, we’re going to break it down so you—yes you!—can become a podcast marketing pro. (Ready to start that journey right now? Sign up for our free 21-day podcast marketing course delivered daily to your inbox.)
A vital part of digital marketing is this trifecta: owned, earned, and paid media. Together, they’re the tripod that bolsters your show to stand on its own and grow.
What are the differences between these three approaches, and how do you begin to plan for them?
Owned media
Owned media is anything you have control over, which includes any and everything in your podcast’s RSS feed (including the audio, show notes, and other metadata), your website, your social media accounts, your email list, and any creative campaigns you might create yourself. Flyers at a coffee shop or the library around town? Getting up at a Q&A at an event where you lead off your question by stating your name and affiliation? Those are all marketing opportunities within your grasp.
Where can you ace your owned media?
Your website
- How to make a great podcast website(RadioPublic)
- What Every Podcast Website Should Include(Sonics Podcasts)
- How to Make a Podcast Website That Doesn’t Suck(Bello Collective)
- How to build a website for your podcast(Pacific Content)
- The 7 Best Podcast Promotion Strategies (And How to Use Them)(Patreon)
Social media
- How Radio Producers Can Make the Most of Social Media(Transom)
- Promote Your Podcast with Instagram(The Podcast Host)
- How to Promote Your Podcast on Twitter(The Podcast Dude)
- Monetization, Community Building & Social Media(Multitude Productions)
- 7 Strategies for Building a Strong Podcast Community(We Edit Podcasts)
- 12 Ways To Promote Your Podcast Within Your Existing Marketing Channels(Huffington Post)
- Gaining Listeners by Marketing Your Podcast(RadioPublic)
- Sonar Podcast Marketing™: The Solution for Digital Media Marketing and Audience Growth(RadioPublic)
Earned media
Earned media is any kind of marketing someone does on your behalf because they’re into what you’re doing, and it comes from doing what you’re doing well, and in a way that it resonates with people enough that they have to share it. This includes your loyal fans, your guests, and the press voluntarily sharing your show.
What can you do to enable earned media?
Ensure that your podcasts are sharable
- Share an episode *exactly* where you want to start listening(RadioPublic)
- A guide to creating a "how to listen" guide(RadioPublic)
- Using RadioPublic’s free embed player(RadioPublic)
Community building and engagement
- Building Your Podcast’s Community(Amanda McLoughlin)
- 7 Strategies for Building a Strong Podcast Community(We Edit Podcasts)
- Attract More Listeners to Your Podcast Without Spending Tons of Money(Podcast Movement)
- 11 Steps For Attracting New Podcast Listeners(We Edit Podcasts)
- Beyond the Headphones: How to Build a Community Around Your Podcast(Bello Collective)
- How to Grow Your Podcast: Dealing with Post-Launch Stagnation & Frustration(The Podcast Host)
Create a podcast press kit
- Press Play on a Podcast Press Kit(Bello Collective)
- Assemble a podcast press kit(RadioPublic)
- How to pitch your podcast(RadioPublic)
- Marketing your Podcast(HowToMakeAPodcast.org)
- A Guide to Unleashing Your Podcast’s Press Release(Elena Fernandez Collins)
Run a live event
- We’ll Do It Live: A DIY Guide to Podcast Live Shows(Bello Collective)
- Audio Danger: Going Live(Nieman Storyboard)
Podcast guests (both on your podcast and on other people’s podcasts)
- Your guests are an opportunity for audience growth(RadioPublic)
Paid media
Paid media is exactly as it sounds: you spend money on marketing your podcast somewhere else. This includes social media marketing, audio or web ads, and podcast cross promotion.
What can you do to prepare for paid media?
Distribute your podcast press kit
- Press Play on a Podcast Press Kit(Bello Collective)
- Assemble a podcast press kit(RadioPublic)
Cross promotion on other podcasts
- How to Effectively Cross-Promote Your Podcast(Discover Pods)
- Podcast cross-pollination: 6 lessons from a hacker podcast episode swap(Pacific Content)
