Promotion and Marketing of podcasts can seem overwhelming. Thinking about how you could possible reach everyone on every platform on every day is enough to make you not even try. It’s okay, though. Here are 5 easy and cheap/free ways to get your pride and joy into the ears of listeners.
1. Get Attached to Key Words
How will people search for your show? They will more than likely get on Google and type in Podcasts about __________ (fill in the blank). What goes in that blank is called a key word. Get that key word inserted everywhere you can. Like in your title, show notes, describing a YouTube video, an article on your website, your social media posts, and hashtags. You may even have several words to go in that blank. Decide what the top 3 are and focus every communication that you make around those 3 words. The metadata found in show notes is invaluable for showing up in google searches. It’s seems a little too simple, but it is the #1 way that people will find you.
2. Group, Group, and Regroup
Once you have your keywords, search for groups where those keywords are used on a regular basis. Facebook Groups are a wonderful thing and you can find a group or 10 for about every topic under the son. If you can’t find one, then make a group about that topic. You will find the people who are already fans of your podcast because they love those keywords. Don’t get there and piss off the admin by promoting your podcast right away. Be better. Answer questions about the topic. Post questions about the topic. If you have an episode that would help a community member, gently let post a link. It requires monitoring those groups, but just get that into some part of your daily or weekly routine. These groups aren’t just on Facebook, of course. Search out bloggers and the emails from trade publications that you get. There is nothing wrong with contacting whoever is in charge and letting them know about your podcast (maybe with a press release). Find your people and live in that space helping members and providing information they otherwise would have to work harder to find.
I like to participate in conferences, which are all online at the moment. But someday soon, we will be able to leave our houses again and if you can get to one of those conferences in person (not exactly cheap) and be the only or one of the few people with a podcast on that topic, you will find interesting people to interview while promoting your podcast. You can even find sponsors at conferences which could help pay for getting to the conference in the first place.
3. Videos
Shoot for world domination by being accessible to people in other countries whose main platform for listening to podcasts is YouTube. If you already have videos for your podcast, good on ya! But if you don’t, you need to get to work. Don’t worry. There are tons of ways to make this easy. My favorite is Headliner. They not only work up some great audiograms (another easy way to promote) but they can take your whole podcast and just add your thumbnail as a static image to accompany your audio. Boom! Your podcast is on YouTube. (and it’s free) Don’t forget to add your keywords to the description and monitor for any comments which will also add more people to your community.
4. Exchange Podcast Promotion with other Podcasters
Get on several of the many Facebook podcasting communities and add your 2 cents wherever appropriate. There are many programs that deal specifically with hooking guests up with podcasts. You can find guests in a Mastermind club, or in the media, or in your town that focus on your topic. Contact the hosts of podcasts that you believe to be similar to yours and see if they’d be willing to trade appearances. You promote their show on your podcast and they promote yours. So many people are willing to talk on a subject no matter how popular your podcast is, they just want any kind of exposure.
5. Old Fashion Press Release
Create an impressive press release and send it to everyone. This includes media outlets, writers, influencers, anyone in your niche that you could benefit from if they were to mention your podcast. Be sure to include verbiage that you would appreciate a copy/paste to be shared anywhere and use those keywords. It’s a one-time effort and costs zero dollars. Although you can invest in a professional press release with websites like Scripted. You might have an episode on something that is highly topical or a big guest and that is a great way to grab attention. Tell people why your podcast is different than others and be sure to mention any opportunities for engagement.