Growing your podcast audience from zero is a daunting task. It’s even harder with a limited or no budget. If this dilemma sounds familiar, take comfort that it’s still possible to increase your listeners for free.
The topic was hotly discussed at Podcast Movement 2024, where a panel of podcasting experts gathered to share tips on how to “Stop Paying For Listeners” through the power of organic marketing.
This Podcast Movement panel was moderated by Odile Beniflah from Ausha and included Christy Mirabal of The Podcast Academy, Lauren Passell from Tink Media, Pierre Bouvard of Cumulus Media/Westwood One, as well as The Podglomerate’s own Joni Deutsch (that’s me!). Our advice for growing a podcast audience for free ranges from audience research to email marketing.
Don’t forget to check out the full audio of this session on the Signal Award-winning Podcast Perspectives to hear all of our tips (there were too many for one article)!
So, What is Organic Marketing?
Organic marketing refers to the strategies that drive traffic, engagement, and brand awareness naturally. It drives growth without paid ads, focusing on things like valuable content, search engine optimization, social media, email marketing, community, relationships, and more.
Organic marketing is a great option for attracting, converting, and retaining an audience because it is relatively low-cost. Some are even no cost. The content you produce for an organic marketing campaign should be reused multiple times, making it an effective resource for small marketing teams.
But First, You Need to Understand Your Podcast Audience
Audience research matters. Every podcast niche expresses different patterns and behaviors, making it essential to invest time in understanding your listener. A true crime fan will discover podcasts differently from political wonks or comedy fans. Understanding your niche will help you invest in the right strategy.
Let’s break it down further.
True crime fans often share their season finale predictions or show recommendations on messaging boards, including sub-reddits or blogs. As a fan base, they tend to be insular and loyal, consuming all the true crime content they can get their hands on, including other true crime podcasts. So if you want to target true crime listeners, cross-promos with other true crime podcasts is a great option (and we’ll explain how to do it in the next section).
On the other hand, fans of political podcasts will often find podcasts through social media profiles like X (formerly Twitter), Bluesky, or LinkedIn. They may follow a mainstream journalist from a large broadcast network to their own podcast. They might subscribe to people who have worked in previous administrations. Here, reputation matters.
That’s not to say that newcomers can’t get a start in this genre, but it might be worth sourcing some guests for your show that listeners will be familiar with. To help your marketing strategy, it’s worth narrowing down your genre: are you a comedic political podcast? Do you focus on a particular cause or interest? This kind of information will help you target the right newsletters, podcasts, and social channels to invest your time in.
As Christy Mirabal explains, “It’s really understanding where your audience is living and where else you can reach them. Sometimes it’s podcasts, sometimes it’s another medium, sometimes it’s in newsletters.”
To find out more about your audience, do some research with your current listeners. Send out a survey or set up conversations with individuals who align with your idea of a “target audience.” You can also leverage hosting platform data insights for more detailed listener demographics.
“Do one-on-one interviews,” reminds Odile Beniflah. “Talk to your listeners, find out more about them. You need to do your own research so that you can find the right partnerships.”
Make the Most of Co-Marketing and Cross-Promotions
When making a list of opportunities to grow your podcast, don’t forget to include cross-promotion, a marketing tactic that is built around mutually beneficial relationships. It’s free, it’s easy, and the results can be excellent so long as you have a strategy in place.
For example, locate a few shows or networks that align with your podcast’s target audience or content. Perhaps they’re local to your region, they cover similar topics, or they have interviewed the same guests in the recent past. Contact them to see if they would be interested in running a cross-promo (whether a :30 or :60 swap of scripts or pre-produced audio to run in pre-, mid-, or post-roll; alternatively, you could exchange trailers or relevant episodes).
Don’t be afraid to use your imagination here, as you can expand cross-promos to include email newsletters, social media, etc. Likewise, stretch your search engine to include podcasts that might be more niche as their audience is likely a dedicated one that will easily convert to your show.
“Rather than [looking to] a Wondery show that’s focused on business, there are hundreds of other smaller shows that focus on the same kind of content, and you can do earned or cross-promotions with those.” – Joni Deutsch
If you’re confused about where to start with cross-promotions for audience growth, be sure to check out our blog post here, and don’t be afraid to connect with us here at The Podglomerate.
Optimize Your Podcast for SEO and Keywords
Search engine optimization, also known as SEO, is a set of strategies that helps your show become more discoverable on search engines. For podcasts, these include Google, YouTube, social media, and even podcast apps.
There are thousands of articles written about SEO for podcasters out there. We can’t cover a whole strategy in this article, but we can outline a few important notions you should master.
- SEO best practices are always changing. While optimizing for search is a great idea, an algorithm shift can take it away in a heartbeat. Don’t rely on SEO as your sole source of audience growth. Regularly review your rankings and refine your keywords.
- Make sure to use your podcast’s keywords in titles, descriptions, and episode notes. For example: our award-winning show, Podcast Perspectives, would use “podcast insights,” “interviews with podcasters,” “podcast trends,” and “podcasting tips,” just to name a few.
- Use clear, searchable phrases in episode titles, rather than clever or humorous titles. Just because it worked for bigger and established shows doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for a newer show.
Utilize Email Marketing for Engagement and Audience Growth
Email marketing doesn’t mean you need to start your own newsletter. Maximizing your podcast growth could be as simple as making a small tweak to your email signature. Adding the name of your podcast at the end of every message will act as a passive form of promotion. And it also works for LinkedIn!
If you decide to create your own newsletter for your podcast, it doesn’t have to be an overwhelming amount of work. You can easily put together an automated newsletter using free tools like Mailchimp (which is what The Podglomerate uses for our bi-weekly email newsletter filled with podcast news and tips).
Not only will this allow you to connect with your listeners on a more intimate level, but you can also give them episode updates and highlights. Of course, you also need to remind them to subscribe to the show, and you should be sure to use attribution links to track audience conversion. Check out our recommendations for attribution platforms here.
Tap into Social Media and Podcast-Specific Newsletters
If you haven’t pitched your show to podcast newsletters, you’re missing a great opportunity for audience growth! Many of these newsletter writers and editors have PR inboxes or LinkedIn DMs, where they are more than happy to accept episode pitches and podcast launch announcements.
Podcast newsletters have readerships that range from a few hundred loyal subscribers to audiences of a hundred thousand. If you pitch your show as relevant and interesting to those newsletter writers, you might just see your show promoted to those podcast-loving readers.
Each newsletter will have its niche; it will pay off to do your research before you make the introduction. The best way to approach a pitch is to identify 2-3 “hooks” in your show. What makes your podcast worth reviewing over the others? Personalize each pitch to ensure you don’t come across as robotic. Remember: podcasting is an industry that values authenticity.
Did you know that The Podglomerate has a great resource for how (and where) to pitch your podcast for media coverage? Check it out here.
Is Your Podcast on Every Platform?
It’s essential to consider all possible distribution strategies for your podcast. You may have heard that you must put your show on YouTube to grow listenership. While there are always exceptions to the rule, the data shows that a significant number of listeners are being pushed to video-first platforms.
Wait! That doesn’t mean you need to turn your show into a video podcast. But it does suggest that you should consider adding audio files to your own channel and optimizing them for SEO.
Here’s a tip from this panel discussion to get you started: use Podnews’ checklist to ensure your show is available on all popular (and even niche) podcast apps and platforms.
The Podglomerate is also a great partner to ensure your show is positioned for maximum exposure. We have a proven track record of helping clients grow their audiences easily, efficiently, and affordably. Connect with us to learn how!
So, When Are Paid Ads Appropriate?
Paid advertising is a good idea in a few different circumstances. Here are two instances where you may want to supplement your organic marketing plan with paid spend options.
- If you have an audience that’s hard to reach. (For instance, chart-topping or super popular podcasts rarely do cross-promotions, let alone with smaller or newer shows, but you might be able to engage them via paid ads.)
- If you’re seeing positive results from organic marketing, you may want to amplify your results through paid ads. Scaling can be a great investment, especially if you’re seeing profits in your own advertising revenue.
I talk through these points further in the panel discussion audio, which is available over on Podcast Perspectives. And if you’d like some advice on how to maximize your paid ad spend, we have the perfect resource for you here.
Bonus: One Easy Podcast Growth Tip You Can Try Today
Here’s a growth idea you can implement straight away. During the panel, Lauren Passell recommended asking listeners to “Text this episode to a friend” for easy, immediate shares. It’s a simple, yet novel tactic that will make your show feel more intimate. After all, a word-of-mouth recommendation is better than any paid ad.
From cross-promotion to personal referrals, the opportunities to grow your podcast for free are extensive, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Whether you’re scaling a successful podcast or starting from zero, organic marketing is a great way to see results without a huge budget. Make sure to subscribe to Podcast Perspectives for more tips on growing your show.
Have questions? Interested in working with The Podglomerate to help grow your audience? Email us to learn more about our services.
