The more places your show can be heard, the better, as you want to make it as easy as possible for listeners to find your podcast wherever they go. Start with Apple Podcasts (iTunes), Google Play and Spotify. From there, you can check out numerous other directories and apps, though many podcast apps pull from Apple Podcasts.
You should have a podcast website, whether one provided by your podcast host or one you create on your own. This serves as the hub for your podcast and you can provide additional information and ways to connect with listeners. By building content here, you can practice search engine optimization to be found easily.
Focus on making good episode descriptions with keywords that will help potential listeners find you. Think about podcast/episode titles as well (Apple podcasts are monitoring for the keyword “stuffing” so don’t artificially do this, but make titles clear and appropriate for what they’re about/what people might search).
Create social media accounts (if you haven’t already) and build your social media community. Focus on creating community and sharing, not just posting your own things/self-promoting. Find like-minded people/communities on social media, follow them and engage. Share your episodes on social media.
Instead of just recording the audio version, record a video or turn it into an “audiogram”. This could attract new attention from people who prefer videos or primarily use sites like YouTube. You can make this even easier by choosing a podcast hosting platform that already has an auto-share to YouTube function (such as Libsyn and Podbean).
Inviting guests on your podcast can help broaden your audience since the fans of the guest will often listen to the podcast and may turn into regular listeners. Influential guests help build awareness for your podcast. Seek out guests and create a solid pitch for why they should come on the show. Also, make it convenient for them, treat them with respect and make it easy for them to share the show.
You can also be a guest on other podcasts. It’s a great way for new listeners to get to know you and to build a network with other podcasters.
Podcast apps can help you grow your podcast audience by reaching passionate podcast listeners right in their favorite podcast app so that they can subscribe/download your show right away. Overcast provides the option to advertise by podcast category and the Podbean app has banner ad spots so that people see your ads on front and center right after opening the app.
Cross-promotion within other podcasts is effective. You’ll likely hear such promo spots in most of your favorite podcasts including the big ones like NPR. However, it takes a lot of time to find and contact podcasts and set this up. A more efficient method might be using one of the podcast advertising platforms such as PodAds or Dynamo. You’ll need to spend some money but you’ll save valuable time. You can also reach a broader range of listeners than via personal connections.
