How to create and promote your podcast
The 9 golden rules to successfully podcasting on Spotify:
#1 Research, research and research: you want to make sure that your thoughts and ideas are unique, that the name of your podcast is not already taken and is straightforward, and that you have enough material to share (I picked up a great tip, by the way: you should have three episodes already uploaded on launch day).
#2 Submit your work to podcast aggregators and directories: double checking is always a good idea but I’m sure you don’t need to be convinced of that. But you are still wondering about what, exactly, an aggregator and podcast directory are? The first one is your best friend, it helps you with the very technical aspect of your podcast (RSS feeds) so that listeners get notified when something new is up; the second is a podcast listening app (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, etc.) where listeners are going to find your podcast, download, listen, subscribe, share and give reviews. In our case, we’ll focus on Spotify.
#3 Publish at strategic times: this might not come as a surprise, but you need to try different time schedules to see when is the best time to reach your audience. Don’t forget that your neighbour’s best moment to upload may not be yours. Own your podcast and see what works best for YOU.
#4 Be a guest and invite a guest: give people an opportunity to really know you, to understand what your “thing” is but also to show that you have plenty of resources and that you are here to stay.
#5 Create eye-catching artwork: because it only takes a couple of seconds to judge anything or anyone, you want to make sure that your artwork catches the eye of the scroller but in a good and memorable way. Don’t forget about the unity of your theme, you want your artwork to reflect your podcast.
#6 Treat the description as a sales pitch: after seeing your artwork, you want to make sure that your Podcast’s description is catchy, honest and not too long.
#7 Spotify codes: this step might seem frightening and demoralizing, but we’re in 2021 so thanks to platforms such as Anchor, PodBean or SoundCloud, this is actually a piece of cake!
#8 Social Media: “Tell me something I don’t know”, well … make sure that you don’t forget to share your podcast on your platforms and encourage others to share, because the more the merrier!
#9 Giveaway contests: if you have been doing your podcast for a long time and are searching for a way to keep listeners motivated and active, this should do the trick. You can offer a giveaway contest after they finished listening to your podcast, offer a quiz to test their knowledge…the sky (and your wallet) is the limit!
So what now?
Whether you attended the Webinar or you’re hearing about this for the first time, if you are interested in launching your Podcast, now is your time to shine! Indeed, we have seen a dramatic increasing in Podcasting and active listening over the years. A podcast, however, is quite demanding both beforehand and during recording. Make sure that you bring new content regularly and that you have interesting topics and guests.
Now we will leave you with a few options. If you are interested in learning some more, check out the Academy’s Content Creation and Radio Journalism Diploma courses. If you are already a content creator and want to upskill, check out the PR Training Academy’s course in Podcasting. If you are curious about our podcast, check it out on Spotify.
