140. How to Get Your Podcast in Front of More People This Month | Proven Podcasting and Online Marketing Strategies for Fast Audience Growth

You don’t need more hours in the day to grow your podcast; you just need smarter strategies. In this episode, I’m revealing three of the most effective ways to get your podcast in front of more people this month and why they work so well. You'll learn the surprising role SEO plays in podcasting success, where to focus your online marketing for maximum visibility, and what makes certain shows get recommended again and again. Plus, I’m sharing a bonus growth tactic that can give your download numbers a serious boost when the timing is right!

Take Your Next Step:

• Podcast Startup Academy: www.ThePodcastTeacher.com/academy
• Podcast Growth Collective: www.ThePodcastTeacher.com/collective
• A free consultation: www.ThePodcastTeacher.com/consult

This episode was produced by me, The Podcast Teacher! Contact me at Hello@ThePodcastTeacher.com.

Transcript

If you want more people to discover, click and actually listen to your podcast, this episode is for you. I'm sharing three strategies that work without adding hours to your workload, plus one bonus strategy that can give you a serious boost when you're ready. Hey there, I'm Julia Levine, AKA the Podcast Teacher, and you're listening to Podcasting for Solo, the show that helps online business owners grow their podcast to get more listeners, leads, and sales. Today, I'm addressing my number one frequently asked question, how do I grow my audience and get more downloads? Downloads are sometimes seen as a vanity metric, and to be honest, they are to some degree. But here's the thing. If you are using your podcast to bring in clients, those downloads really matter because the average conversion rate from listener to client is about 1%. So that means that if you want 10 new clients, you don't need just 10 new listeners, or even a hundred. You actually need closer to a thousand.

The math here is pretty simple. More downloads means more opportunities to connect, nurture, and convert, and therefore more clients. So today I'm sharing the three most effective ways to get your podcast in front of more people this month, plus a bonus strategy that you can use to multiply your results when you're ready for it. Let's dive in. Strategy number one is podcast SEO. If you've been around here for a while, you know I am a big fan of podcast SEO, and that's because it works. Your ideal listener is already searching for the content that you create. The problem is that if your podcast is not optimized for search, they're not finding it.

So simple fix. Optimize it, get found, and you're giving the people what they're looking for. To begin optimizing your podcast's SEO, start by identifying your core topics. So make a short list of the five, maybe 10 main themes that you cover most often on your show and then research possible keywords. You can use tools like ubersuggest and even Google to see what people are actually typing in. Pay special attention to the people. Also ask and people also search for sections in Google. Once you have decided on your keywords, incorporate them into your show's content, but make sure it sounds natural and not like you're snapping, stuffing your keywords in there.

Inside the Podcast Growth Collective, we spend time identifying the best keywords for your show and then placing them strategically within your podcast's metadata. There are six different places that you want to put these keywords, and I go over all of them inside the collective because the Truth is that even the best, best content won't grow your show if no one is finding it. To give you an example of just how powerful SEO can be, my student Nadia her podcast grew by 221% in just one month when we dialed in her SEO. No other changes or strategies, just SEO. SEO works on autopilot long after you publish, and that's why it's the number one strategy on my list. I am obsessed with it. And while SEO makes it easier for people to find you, this next strategy makes sure that they click and listen the moment that your new episode drops. And that second strategy is the 72 hour marketing.

First, most podcasters hit publish, maybe make one post on social and they call it a day. Marketing is not my favorite task and I've been guilty of this myself, so no shame if this is you too. But here's the secret. Podcast apps do have an algorithm and it loves when an episode gets a spike in listens in the first 72 hours after publishing. That spike tells the platform that it's worth showing this episode to more people and that can push it higher in the search results and in the you might also like recommendations section. To implement this strategy. First make sure that you are publishing regularly. A consistent schedule is really important for building loyal fans.

Every time you're putting together an episode, plan out your 72 hour marketing burst. Don't wait until the day the episode goes live because learn from me, if you wait till the last minute, it probably is not going to happen. So prep your materials in advance. The ultimate goal is five different marketing assets within those first 72 hours. This could include social media posts or carousels, emails to your list, short form videos, LinkedIn articles, Pinterest pins, etc. When you do this, stagger the content. Don't dump it all at once. Spread it out over the three days so that you are consistently driving traffic during that peak window and of course track your results.

Look at your download stats after the burst to see what worked best. For example, I often see a noticeable spike the day that I sent out an email. While the ultimate goal is five. If you're doing little to no marketing right now, that might feel overwhelming. So start by using your favorite place to connect with people, whether that's social media, your email list or somewhere else. Once you have incorporated that into your weekly routine, then you can add another and another as you feel ready and until you reach 5. This 72 hour burst strategy builds short term momentum, but this next one gets you in front of brand new audiences, even when you're not marketing or promoting anything yourself. And that strategy is guesting on other people's podcasts.

This is one of the most underused ways to grow a podcast and one of the most effective because you're speaking directly to people who already love podcasts. They're hearing you on a podcast they already listen to, so there's no platform shift, no format change. They're already in listening mode. If a podcast host is bringing you onto their show, it's essentially an endorsement. So if the listener already knows, likes and trusts that podcast host, they are likely to give you a chance because the host is putting you in the spotlight. Now, it's important to point out here that you don't need to try and be a guest on the biggest and most popular podcasts in order for this to work. Go for a quality audience over quantity. You want to connect with a host whose show complements yours and in terms of topic, style and values.

So start by researching hosts and shows to find the ones that are aligned. Then craft a relevant pitch. I provide a template inside the Podcast Growth Collective and follow up if you don't hear back. Once you land the interview. Be strategic about how you introduce yourself, the information that you share, and the call to action that you give at the end. All right, so those are the three main podcasting growth strategies to get your podcast in front of more people this month. SEO so that people can actually find your content, a 72 hour marketing burst to drive traffic within the algorithm's prime window, and appearing as a guest on other podcasts so that you show up in front of an aligned audience who already loves podcasts. I do have a final strategy for you today and I'm presenting this one as a bonus because you need to have a budget for this and I realize that not everyone is in a place for that.

This bonus strategy is using paid ads, and when the timing is right for you, this strategy can work really well. When your content and positioning are dialed in, paid ads can multiply what's already working. Think of it like pouring fuel on a fire. But I do want to be clear that ads are not a magic fix. If your titles aren't clear or listeners aren't sticking around, ads are just going to amplify your problems. If and when you are ready to try this strategy, start by identifying a budget. How much are you willing to spend per day, per week and per month to advertise your podcast? Then explore your options. You can run ads on Facebook, Pinterest, podcast player apps, and elsewhere.

Once your ads are running, monitor metrics like clicks, listens, and retention rates to make sure that your ads are worth the spend. And if you're tired of throwing episodes into the void and wondering if anyone's listening, you don't have to figure this out alone. Inside the Podcast Growth Collective, you'll get the clarity, structure and strategy to grow your show without guessing, burning out, or doing it all on your own. Head to the podcastteacher.com collective to learn more. I would love to help you get your podcast in front of more people this month. Until next time, Happy Podcasting.