The do's (and DON'Ts!) of promoting your podcast

As anyone who's started one knows, growing a podcast is HARD! Discovery kinda sucks at the platform level, which means the that promotion is largely on your shoulders.

That said, I've worked on several podcasts over the years and there IS a simple, reliable and effective formula for how to promote every episode. Nothing fancy, just blocking and tackling - but if you put this into action every time, you will see growth!

Here's how I do it for my show, The Punk Rock MBA Podcast:

First, optimize your show for sharing

Since sharing is a critical growth lever for podcasts, you want to make sure your show is optimized to make the best impression when it's shared on social media.

Your episode titles will effectively be the headline when it's shared, so make the most of them:

• DO include the guest name, the topic of the show ("How to make YouTube your fulltime job") or something else engaging in the title
• DON'T leave the title as "Episode 12" or some other default. Because who would want to click on "Episode 12"??

Also, add episode-specific "cover art" for each episode if your host supports it:

Look for an option like this in your podcast hosting platform (I use Fireside). Note that not all hosting platforms support it, and it won't show up in all podcast players, but it WILL always show up on social media.

Without episode-specific cover art (left) and with (right). The crop isn't ideal on Facebook, but it's definitely better than the generic show graphic.

Get your guests to share it

Aside from getting big-name guests on the show, the single biggest driver of new users is getting your guests to share it on their social media.

• DO send it to the guest and ask them to post it. Send them the link along with the graphic or other asset you want them to use
• DON'T be annoying about it. If you sent it once and they didn't post it, they probably aren't going to, and asking again is likely to get you tagged as a "punisher." Many guests, for whatever reason, won't share it (especially musicians and other creative types) and you shouldn't try to force it.

Ask your audience to share it

Don't underestimate this: a few dozen people sharing the episode could move the needle for you more than a mid-level guest sharing it!

In the intro to every show, I say something along the lines of "If you want to support the show, the number one thing you can do is share it on your social media and tag me and the guest. That helps us get the word out and we really appreciate it!"

I make sure to re-share a lot of those social shoutouts so the audience feels noticed, and encouraged to keep sharing.

Share it on all your socials

And of course, you should also share it on your socials. Here's how I do it, broken down by each platform-- the basic idea is to maximize engagement by making every post feel native to the platform with a little extra TLC:

Facebook

Your biggest lever here is the text in your post-- this is your chance to sell them on the show. People DO read that stuff and remember, nobody will ever be more excited about the show than you are!

• DO take the time to write something thoughtful that tells them why they should take time out of their day to listen (could be valuable information or just entertainment)
• DON'T be lazy and just say "New episode up now!"

LinkedIn

LinkedIn isn't right for every show, but if you think it's right for yours:

• DO remember that LinkedIn is a business platform, so consider changing the caption to frame things in business terms
• DO add hashtags. LinkedIn's organic reach is much higher than other platforms, so it's relatively easy to trend and get 5-10x the reach you normally would
• DON'T use any NSFW language or images, since people are likely browsing at work

Note, as of this writing, LinkedIn doesn't properly pick up thumbnails for links. With that in mind, the post type should be a PHOTO (not a link), with a link in the caption (see example above).

Instagram feed

You can probably use the same text as your Facebook post, with the addition of hashtags and "link in bio" at the bottom of the post.

• DO take the time to research hashtags and use them - they work! If you get picked up for the right hashtag it could mean 10s of thousands of additional impressions on your post.
• DO tag the guest, and anyone else you mention on the show (which I didn't do in this example; I should have). Every one of those tags is a potential share!
• DON'T put the URL in the text itself. Since you can't click links in IG posts, when you do this it makes you look like you don't understand the platform.

I add the link to my bio and leave it there until I post a new episode, clearly labeled as "my latest podcast." Again, everyone who views your bio is a potential listener!

Instagram story

Post the graphic, tag the guest and tell your followers where they can listen: swipe up if you have it; link in bio if you don't.

• DO post this several times a week. It's good to remind people who may have missed it on launch day.
• DO add GIFs and other fun stuff to make it interesting - again, don't settle for the default!
• DO also post platform-specific links (eg, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, etc): "Get the podcast on Spotify"

Twitter

Post a photo with the link in the description (NOT a link - Twitter will screw up the graphic if you post a link rather than a photo) and tag the guest.

• DO make it stand out in the feed with emojis, some interesting copy, and line breaks. Remember: it's OK to be fun! :)
• DO pin the tweet, so everyone who views your profile will see it
• DON'T be shy about posting this several times a week. Tweets disappear fast, so you have permission.

Email

I don't currently have an email list, but I should and you should too... So do what I say here, not what I do :) One easy way to automate this is to use the RSS feature in your email software (Mailchimp's is above) which will automatically send an email every time you publish a new podcast.

YouTube

My biggest audience is on YouTube (currently 190k subs, ~1 million views a month), so I view this as my primary tool for growing the podcast.

First, I mention the podcast in the intro and outro to every one of my videos, with a CTA to click the link in the description.

I also share it on the "community" page, with a link in the description using the same copy as my tweet. Note that community posts aren't available to all channels (and the qualification for getting that feature is unclear).

I also include it as a pinned comment on every video, unless I have a sponsor for that video that requires their link to be a pinned comment.

Finally, I include a link in the description of every video. I include it on its own line, because it's my biggest promotional priority right now and I want it to stand out from all my other social links.

Conclusion

That's it! It may seem like a lot, but once you're in the groove it goes quickly. I get all of this done in about 30 minutes per episode.

And yes, there are other things you can do like quote images, animated video clips with audio, etc. If you have the resources to try those things, by all means do!

But if you don't, no worries! The strategy I've outlined here will get you at least 80% of the way there without requiring you to create any additional assets.

Wanna talk more?

Interested in talking to me more about this, or anything else related to social media and content marketing? Shoot me a DM on here, or check out my Social Media Accelerator program!