Podcast Distribution - Shelf Space Matters

Talk with most podcasters today and you are likely to hear claims of being available on iTunes, Stitcher, Podbean, iHeart, Spreaker, and others. While we are firm believers of placing your podcast in as many places as you can within the digital landscape, we also understand the importance of owning your own shelf space.

By way of example, let's talk about the White Castle hamburger. Once just a midwest burger phenomenon, Castle stores can now be found in Arizona, Nevada, Kentucky, New Jersey, and others. The White Castle burger is also available in grocery stores like Whole Foods, 7-11, Walmart, Winn Dixie, IGA, and more. From a sales perspective, White Castle knows that when a customer walks into a Castle store, a burger will be sold. And if you've ever been into a White Castle store, you know you can't but just one. Conversely, a customer buying hamburger in a grocery store may or may not purchase a Castle burger. Castle doesn't own the shelf space and there are just too many well placed options to choose from.

Having a custom host specific app for your podcast puts you in control of your audience's listening experience. The app should contain a landing page with your logo, easy access to current and archive episodes, contact information, and links to your social media sites. Most importantly, a custom app is branded in your name making the app easy for you to promote and to be found in the app stores.

Now let's circle back to our Castle example and imagine our hamburger shopper being a White Castle fan. Chances are, a favorable experience in the White Castle store predisposes them to the brand and increases the likelihood of making a purchase. It is in this same way that we believe a custom app should be an integral part of a podcaster's digital strategy. Just as with our White Castle scenario, podcast hosts with a custom app have an opportunity to enhance their brand with a pureplay application while improving recognition in the big-box podcast houses.

In an effort to help podcasters create their own pure play custom app, Iglu Radio offers a low-cost alternative produced by industry professionals who understand both the visual and functional audio requirements of a podcaster app.

Have questions on what is the right strategy to boost your podcast's visibility? Contact us at [email protected] or 480-993-3150 for answers in a non-selling environment.