How we launched two independent podcasts on the US Apple Charts in one week

A couple weeks ago, we were proud to launch two nationally chart-topping podcasts (one slightly higher than the other) independently out of Milwaukee.?

Although I’ll be talking about launching a podcast in this email, what I am about to go through applies to any product launch and marketing campaign.?

I also want to preface this by saying that I’ve been in the podcasting space since 2016, have worked with a number of national brands, dozens of local companies, and independent podcasters, and have failed a lot too. In fact, the main reason we took a hiatus and relaunched The GoGedders (our podcast) as Milwaukee Uncut?was that growth had been declining for?over a year and we needed a change.?

That said, let's dive in.

We've been working with Johnson Financial Group since January to lock down branding, messaging, format, and a marketing strategy for their new podcast, "Your Money. Your Mission." the show that turns complex financial situations into actionable advice. The podcast climbed up the US Apple Charts hitting #53 in Business (a giant category) and #15 in Investing (right ahead of Jim Kramer's Mad Money and several Ramsey Network shows).?

We also launched?Milwaukee Uncut, taking the place of my old podcast The GoGedders. Milwaukee Uncut features the uncut, unfiltered, entertaining stories of those working to move Milwaukee forward. We launched with two episodes: Mayor Cavalier Johnson and an episode featuring Steve Novak and Travis Diener. The show reached #84 on the charts in the "Personal Journals" category (a few spots behind TED's "Radio Hour").?

Main Takeaways You Can Apply to Any Launch/Campaign?

Before diving into what we did, I want to preface this section by saying I strongly believe there are three elements to any good campaign, product launch, or podcast launch you need to get right. If one of the three is off, like a two-legged stool, it falls apart. Those three things are offer, creative, and distribution.?

The Offer (The Podcasts)?

The offer can also mean the product. What are you selling? Is it something that people want? Is it at a good price point? Is it an offer so good they can't refuse?

In the case of these two podcasts, we needed to make sure they were something people wanted to listen to, content that listeners will consume fully, share with their friends, and come back wanting more.?

When coming up with the podcast concepts, we took a look at competitive shows (most were underperforming) as well as the shows that were topping the charts in the "Investing" category. After doing our research, we were able to conclude what worked well, what didn't, and where the whitespace was.

In the case of JFG's podcast, we created a listener-centric show that takes calls, is short and digestible, and still brings JFG's subject matter experts to the forefront to showcase their expertise and provide great advice to relatable complex?financial topics.?

With the launch of Milwaukee Uncut, we wanted to get the best guests with Milwaukee ties and have engaging, fun, entertaining conversations that told stories that haven’t been told on other podcasts before. We ended up launching episodes with Mayor Johnson, Steve Novak & Travis Diener, and YouTuber Tommy G.?

The Creative?

The creative is the branding, the messaging of the show, the ads, the social content, and in this case, the giveaways.?

Both shows are clean and straightforward with their branding, speak directly to their target audiences, and leave little guesswork on the benefits you'll get from listening to a podcast. We see a lot of brands have messaging that isn't straightforward and leaves the audience confused--this is a recipe for disaster.?

We also launched a giveaway for each podcast (Milwaukee Uncut's is still running if you want to enter). JFG is giving away $1,000 in Visa Gift Cards and Milwaukee Uncut is giving away Milwaukee event tickets (up to $400) of the winner's choice, $500 in Central Standard Gift Cards, and more. People sign up with their email and get bonus entries for subscribing to the podcasts, sharing and liking them on social platforms. This adds a virality affect. This drives a high volume of subscribers and activity in a short window which Apple's algorithm loves.?

Enter to Win Here

Win Milwaukee Giveaway Prizes:https://kingsumo.com/g/yzlzmg/milwaukee-uncut-giveaway?

The Distribution?

If you have a good offer and good creative, but you don't get it in front of the right people at the right time it won't work. For both podcasts, we used organic and paid strategies that included: email marketing, social ads (to the giveaway), organic social, affiliate marketing, and PR. This combination drove a high volume of targeted traffic to the podcasts in a short duration of time.

In Closing?

Launching a podcast or any product is a lot of work but doesn't need to be complex.?

It really comes down to having a great offer, great creative, and getting that in front of the right people at the right time.

If your company is interested learning more about how we can help you tell engaging stories, bring them to life and help distribute them to grow your business please reach out!?