How to Start a Podcast

Podcast promotion: launching and growing your show

• Buzzsprout • Season 1 • Episode 10

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In Episode 10 of How to Start a Podcast, you'll learn how to launch a new podcast and our top 5 marketing strategies to gain momentum early.

Next Steps:

Gilon:

Welcome back to How To Start A Podcast, the podcast about how to start a podcast. This is episode 10. We are now launching a podcast. I'm Gilon.

Alban:

I'm Alban. And yeah, like Gilon said, We're gonna launch your podcast this episode. If you've been following along, you're about to launch your show. And we're super excited. So let's dive in to Episode 10.

Gilon:

Contrary to popular belief, launching is not just hitting, send, submit publish, once you get the whole thing, it's a whole spiel it should be if it's done, right, so we're gonna get into some of the logistics of successfully launching your podcast. Tip number one, don't trip at the finish line, you're almost there, right? Like you are there. And so let's just make sure all the work that you've put in, doesn't go to

Alban:

waste. Yeah, to be clear, our outline actually says don't tip at the finish line also applicable. Don't tip now. But also don't trip, it is easy for people to go through the entire process and get to hear and that's when stuff starts feeling real. And you start kind of doubting yourself and you're like, I just need to like launch this thing. And a lot of people will kind of like overhyped this step. So we're gonna talk about ways to overhype this step and under hype this step to actually get launched, but don't be the person who gets stuck here, let's get this podcast out to the world, because we're going to get so much better as we're actually going through and we're doing this stuff,

Gilon:

there are a couple strategies to do this. Well. So let's just hop into some of the strategies for launching successfully.

Alban:

There's two strategies that I like the one is the grand opening, this is like roll out the red carpet go and do PR, tell everybody you can you actually submit your show to Apple to say, Hey, can I get into new and noteworthy, you are going out and trying to get press in different magazines and online publications. You're spending money to get this podcast out to the world. That is definitely one big strategy that a lot of the biggest shows us. The downside of that is is intimidating. There's a lot of planning, especially when you're brand new, you're like, I've recorded three episodes. But I was learning a lot along the way. I feel a little silly, sending this out to Apple saying, Hey, can I be a new and noteworthy when I know it's just two interviews that I did at home with my Samsung cue to you, it's easy for that to be a little intimidating. There is another strategy. But anything else you wanted to say about the grand opening Jalon

Gilon:

only that it's not the only way to launch? You know, as we started talking, like when you said a lot of people don't get past this step because it starts to feel real. And I want to say yeah, it starts to feel real vulnerable, you know, that I'm about to put this idea, this thing that had been living in my mind out in the world, and how will it be received. And so if you're in that space, you can feel like, Oh, now I gotta go, you know, be out here and telling people about my podcasts to launch, there's only one way to launch and that's not true. And so I'm really excited for you to talk about the second launch strategy.

Alban:

The second one I call the soft open. And this comes from the world of restaurants. A lot of us are new restaurant launches. They will say like the big launch is on April 7, but actually on April 4, and fifth and sixth. They are open. And it's called the soft open. And this is where you think that you know what everything that goes into launch starting this restaurant, you've got all of the menu, Don, you have hired everybody. And then you start just opening the doors. You don't put out a big sign, you just have the doors unlocked. And a few people walk by and they open the door and they're like, Hey, are you open? Yeah, yeah, come on in. And they come in and they order and you're pretty much the restaurant is dead. But there's few people that came in help you work through a lot of issues. Sometimes you will actually just see family and friends of the people who own the restaurant or working there are the ones you're inviting. But you get like a pretty small group. And then people are like, hey, I want to order this dish. And they are actually figuring out like, oh, no, the chef's don't know how to make that this yet. Oh, we need a crane on that. Oh, can I get more ice? Oh, the ice machine doesn't actually work the way we thought it did. And it needs to be serviced. Before we have the big opening. You're working through all the kinks that are in this starting a restaurant business? Well, with podcasting, it can be super intimidating to do the grand open. Because I know there's a lot of stuff for me to work through. I kind of have the interview stuff down but it's not perfect. And I want a little more practice before I start really putting myself out there. Well then do the soft open. Don't put out the sign that says podcast starting today. Just push podcast out to the world and don't tell anybody and let the two or three or 10 people find the podcast and then try to see like, Okay, how's this working for me? How does this fit into my lifestyle? Are people enjoying it, and if they are, then you could start putting the promotional efforts behind it. Because you were able to, I think, succeed in a lower pressure environment, before you felt the confidence to make maybe up the pressure,

Gilon:

definitely. And I will say that I took the soft, open approach, when I launched my podcast, I definitely was like, I'm gonna publish this, and my mom knows, and my mom just posted and told the world, but I'm not necessarily posting and telling the world and to be stepping out and starting podcasts was very vulnerable for me. And so that kind of gave me the confidence to not like, tip at the finish line and not freak out at all. I was like, I'm gonna put it out there, it's gonna be quiet. And I'll tell my friend and my parents, that's it. And that gave me the confidence to just go ahead and hit publish, right to show up period.

Alban:

A lot of what's happening here. I think we used to have something on the blog about this, maybe it might not be there anymore, but it was about imposter syndrome. And it's very common right before you're hitting publish to have these feelings of inadequacy. Or if only I could get better, or who am I to do this thing? Yeah, everyone's gonna think I'm a fraud. People are gonna think it's a complete joke that I have a podcast about this. I've only been doing this thing for a few years. I'm not the expert. And it's funny that everybody I've ever known unless somebody like a complete narcissist feels this to some extent, we feel this sense of inadequacy, we feel this, like, there's already a podcast about marketing, do we need a second? And oh, there's already a podcast about this thing. It's kind of my topic is similar to this one. And what is important to remember is like, your podcast and your voice, and what you're saying is valuable, even if it's similar to other people are saying, because you have a different personality, he have different perspective. And you're bringing something different to the table. So even the two podcasts are similar. They could both be podcasts about science fiction, books, and reviews. But one podcast may actually connect with people who like certain types of sci fi books in the different podcasts, we might be talking about the different sci fi books, and maybe they have different opinions. More than two people can have podcast about this very specific book review niche. Yeah. So if you are feeling that, I hope that what you hear from us is like, I definitely felt that putting on podcasts. I mean, I think, like did you experience this to John?

Gilon:

Absolutely. That's why I did the soft, open. Yeah. And I would also say like, it's part of the process to kind of go like, who is not part of the process, but you're not special, right? Like, we are all going through this moment of like, Oh, I'm about to, I'm on the precipice of something new and different. And I feel something in that. And so it's not unusual to doubt yourself. It's not, you know, unusual to feel like, Well, who am I to do this? You know, but I would say it is also a good sign that this is the threshold crossover, right? Like you're saying, like, we've all felt this, but you want to be the person that pushes past it. And then the other thing I would say is that your voice is as unique as your thumbprint. Right, no two people have the same thumbprint. I think that's still affecting the world. But you know, to think, well, there's a podcast about this, people are talking about this, you know, who am I and I'm not an expert, all that kind of stuff is just noise, you have something to add, because you are unique. And just like Alban was saying, even if you're both talking about wrestling, you're going to come with your different histories and perspectives and likes and dislikes. And one person may be real, you know, straight up and down. And that person might be goofy and silly and put background noises, you have something unique to bring, and we need your voice. So definitely go ahead and do the thing

Alban:

I can tell you like I had specific feelings of specific people. And I was like these people who I don't even know, like, don't even really talk to but just people on Facebook, if I posted, hey, just started a podcast on this, that like friends from college, or friends from law school would be like, This guy's doing a podcast now like what is gone wrong in his life that he's doing it. So I don't think it's weird if you're having similar feelings. And if you're having those similar doubts, but that is a way for us to kind of protect ourselves from like, I really don't want to be critiqued. So maybe I'll just not even say anything, because then I definitely won't get critiqued, the thing is that you hold yourself back from doing the thing that you want to do, which is share your voice. And so the soft open, like we kind of talked about is really a nice way to ease on out there. Yeah, just put it out. And it's actually kind of cool that your podcast won't get tons of views and tons of listens in the beginning. Instead, it's going to be kind of flying under the radar for a bit. And that's kind of a cool thing, because you can start getting more comfortable with it. And then people will see your podcast maybe a year from now and be like, dang, you've been podcasting for a whole year. While you've really been doing something cool. I'm excited to check it out. So if you feel like you don't like the sound of your voice, or you're doubting whether or not you have the authority legitimacy to start a podcast. Remember, you have a different perspective. Just share it and do the thing that you want to do. And don't worry about what other people are gonna think about what you create.

Gilon:

And I think we've said this also before, you've got to begin to begin. I was smirking when Alban was talking about just put, just put it out there because consistently, my first episode is like, in my top five most listened to and I have no idea why people do that. But I can tell the difference from when I started to where I am now. And growth will happen, you know, and you just got to be okay, being a beginner, you don't start off as an expert. No, nobody ever began as an expert. And so give yourself grace, and just do it, you absolutely should just do it. Do it, just do it, press the button, do it.

Alban:

So now that we have published our podcast, and we picked one of the strategies,

Gilon:

then we're done, right, we have nothing else to do,

Alban:

well, you can be done. The downside is that, once you've done that, then you're gonna start, like maybe wanting four or five, or 500 people to listen to your podcast 500, you don't want to just stay

Gilon:

in the corner of the internet know the people, they need you.

Alban:

So in the beginning, we're nervous too many people will see it. Now that we've actually launched, we're going okay, now I'm a little nervous, too few people are gonna see this podcast, and I want to get it out to the world. So let's talk about five marketing tips for the brand new podcaster.

Gilon:

So like the soft open, there's kind of like a soft marketing strategy. And that's to share it with people who already like you, your friends and family, right. And what's really great about this is that one they do already like you so they're hopefully they're not going to be as critical maybe as like a stranger on the internet, leaving your review, that also give you really good feedback. But also, they can be a really great army of promoters for your podcast, right? So you can ask them to share it. You can say, hey, on your platforms, would you be cool? Hey, this new podcasts so great. They're a really good resource, not just to hear it to get your downloads up, but also to share it with their respective circles.

Alban:

Yeah. And what we're trying to do here is we're trying to get to like five people listening to our podcast, maybe 10. And so think of are there specific people that you want to share what you've made, that you think they would be a good fit, they really enjoy this, these people that you talk to about these topics, go in specifically one to one and say, Hey, I just made this podcast, I'd love for you to listen to it and tell me what you think. And if they like it, they will subscribe. So number one sharing with friends and family, maybe we're up to five, maybe 10 downloads per episode. Next is sharing on social media. So one thing that I see a lot of people struggle with and beginning is overwhelm, and this feeling of like, I've got to do everything. And definitely one way to feel overwhelmed is to start social media accounts on every single platform for your podcast. Don't do that. If you have a unique name that that name is available everywhere and you want to go secure them. Okay? But don't feel like you have to go and start posting on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook and Tik Tok and Snapchat and LinkedIn and bla bla bla bla bla Buzzsprout. For years, I want to say this is like seven years, maybe nine, after Buzzsprout was founded, I realized we not only were not posting on Instagram, we had not even registered the Buzzsprout domain, or sorry, the handle, it was still available like years of us using Buzzsprout and having it out and lots of lots of customers. So don't feel like you've got a rush to get all of this. And then just go and pick one, pick the one you're most comfortable with. If you live on LinkedIn, let's do your work on LinkedIn. If you think the audience for your podcast are people who are really active on Reddit, will then focus on Reddit. If it's a tick tock audience, then focus on tick tock you know, pick, what are you comfortable with? And where do you think the audience is. And then let's hone in on one place for you to promote your episode. So if you every time you put out an episode, make a couple pieces of content promoting it and share it on whatever platform you picked.

Gilon:

It's so tempting to get on all of the platforms, and overwhelm and burnout are coming for you quick when you do that. So I love that we really give people permission to only do one or two if they really want to do that. So the next one is to cross promote with other creators. This is really helpful because not only are you able to establish yourself if you decide to be a guest on the podcast as another expert you get exposure to a group of other different people. And then you get exposure to maybe their social media platform audience people right so as you're promoting each other's content, you're hopefully guesting guest starring guest podcasting. You're going to be a guest on the show. You can be a guest on their show you get access exposure to their audience, which you may not have exposure to in your own lane. And then when they promote that a whole nother group of people, potentially that you're also getting access to that you wouldn't have normally. So for instance, I'm part of a little podcasting group. And promoting is one of those things that I don't love doing. But my friends in the group are like, hey, you know, if you ever need a guest, if we ever have a slot segment that you would fit really good on, come on the podcast, oh, he put out a new episode. Let's push that, hey, guys, we're gonna push this push this. It's really, really great to cross promote with other creators.

Alban:

I love chronic cross promote with people who are not podcasting. So find people that are doing similar type content, but are on a different platform. So I've started a Dragonball Z podcast, we'll go to the top YouTube channel about Dragonball Z and one of the top blogs about Dragonball Z and one of the best Instagram channels that are posting this content, and see if you can cross promote with them. I saw this work for a Supreme Court podcast I used to listen to they were the number one Supreme Court podcast, and they partner with the number one Supreme Court blog. And so they would reference case materials that were on the blog and the blog embedded their episode and shared it. And they both grew quite a bit because it had the same audience. But they were presenting the information in different ways. And that allowed them to cross promote, you know, it wasn't zero sum and they weren't competing. Instead, they're both helping each other. So find somebody who you could work alongside of and say, Hey, do you want to have a podcast? Like, I'd love to do a podcast with you? Oh, well, I would love to also contribute to your YouTube channel in a helpful way. So see if there are creators that you could work with because you have the same audience, and they would just be interested in getting more information in a different medium.

Gilon:

Alright, so our next strategy involves Facebook groups, which are actually a really nice place to market and grow podcast related relationships.

Alban:

What I see a lot of people do wrong is they get a podcast, and then they think, well, I'll just troll through the internet. trolling. Not like not trolling, but like cruise through the internet. It's like, it's like a bolt like a boat trolling. Okay, so I'm just cruising through the internet. And I'm finding groups. I'm like, Oh, I have my Dragonball Z podcast. And now I have found the Facebook group for Dragonball Z. And so I asked to be in the group. And then I go, and I go, Hey, check out my podcast, I just made Episode One, everybody's subscribed. And then I leave. And then I realized, like, episode two have already been kicked out of the group, because you provided nothing of value. What you instead did was you showed up to a community that hadn't been built around something. And they were all contributing to each other into the sense of connection around a shared hobby. And you came in and said, Why don't you all do something for me? And everyone said, No, thanks. But it is a great way to connect with people who are already organizing around your topic. So let's say I've got my Supreme Court podcast. Well, there probably is a Reddit page or a Reddit subreddit, there's Facebook groups, there are other communities built up around that topic. Now, the right way to engage them, is to not just show up and start dropping links is to show up and actually answer questions fully. Because if you are doing a podcast are probably an expert in this area. So when you see people ask questions, like, hey, help me understand what's going on in this specific Supreme Court case? If you know, hey, I've actually thought through it. Here's what's happening. full explanation. I actually go into more detail in this podcast episode, if you're interested in listening. Now, that's not just self promotion, that's now helping the person who had a question. And that could work perfectly well, for any number of podcasts. I've got a podcast about dog breeds. And someone's confused about the difference between a cocker spaniel and a cockapoo or something. I don't know, these are actual dog names.

Gilon:

They are Yeah.

Alban:

If you know what's the difference between these two dog breeds? Oh, here's the difference. And here's like the pros and cons of these two. And here's the podcast episode about that. So don't just drop the episode. Instead, give people the exact information they want. And then encourage and invite them to come check out more on the podcast. And I

Gilon:

love that you gave an example because even in answering questions and how you participate, there's a right and wrong way. Right? Like nobody likes a know it all or that person that's like, oh my gosh, you don't know this. Like there's a way to say I'm providing information and I'm your friendly neighborhood. podcaster come check this out how you participate is just as important as not just dropping the link and dip in, you know,

Alban:

yeah, one of the things I see a lot in groups, this is every internet group. Somebody asks a question, and let's say I'm in a lot of Facebook or podcasting groups. Let's say someone says, I'm confused about how to get listed in Spotify. How do I do that? And then people go, why don't you Google it, or go to Spotify and submit, or they just dropped the URL to a blog post. That is helpful. And that is correct. But that's not what the person is actually asking for. What they're doing is they found this group. And they're saying that because they actually want the connection, they want to talk to another human about this. And if they knew, they knew they could search this on Google, and they could figure it out. But they wanted the connection with you. And now that they've asked for that connection for you, just to say, I talked about my podcasts wanting to go listen to it isn't what they were hoping for. Instead, for you give them what they're looking for, oh, here's the explanation. And you're kind of asking questions back, and you're having a dialogue. And then you say, if you want to listen to the podcast, you can, you're much more likely to convert them to listeners. So just remember, people are looking for different things. And if they're asking questions, they're probably looking for a little bit of a connection, rather than just like copy and pasting the answer into the answer box.

Gilon:

And then our last marketing tip is a little bit about ads, which can get sticky. But can you tell us what type of ads would you suggest kind of for a beginner? Yeah,

Alban:

so the best way to start with podcast ads is the podcast apps themselves. So there's people who try to do ads in Google or Facebook. And the confusing thing is that you don't know for sure that the people seeing the ads even care about podcasts, and to say like, Hey, do you know what a podcast is? But you know, I've got a podcast about baseball. And I can tell that by your interest, you're interested in baseball, but now go to your phone, download this app, search for my podcast, find the podcast, click subscribe to this whole process. And then you're listening to my show. The drop off rate is really high isn't. But what does work is for people who are already in podcasts, they're already listening. So one of the top apps that does this is overcast, is when I'm scrolling through overcast, it says, Oh, you're listening to podcasts about sports. And you're listening to a sports podcast right now, here's an ad for another sports podcast. It depends on the podcast, it could be if it's a business or technology podcast, it could be pretty expensive. But if it's arts or humor, it might be quite a bit cheaper. So maybe a few$100, you will actually get a lot of subscribers, because a lot of people will see it, click the podcast ad and start trying to listen to your podcast. So if you have money to put behind your podcast growth strategy, especially the beginning, when you're trying to get that first 100 listeners or so look up overcast ads. We also have a blog post that lists every one of the podcast apps, and which ones allow you to buy ads inside of those apps. Those are often a great way to jumpstart your podcast growth in the beginning, because once you've got a few 100 people listening, then word of mouth, and some feedback from your listeners are going to help you really escalate your podcast growth.

Gilon:

Yes, such good tips and as a beginner, right, so none of these things are going to be biting off more than you can chew. As you start off. These are all really great strategies as you are trying to promote a brand new show. So we've talked about not tipping at the finish line. The strategies you have for opening softer Grand Opening with all the fanfare and overcoming imposter syndrome. Javis Are there any resources that they can get into as they're getting ready to launch their podcast? Yes. So

Travis:

I've got a couple of resources on the subject of launching your podcast, two videos and a blog post. The first video is actually ironically enough Jalon wearing a Dragonball Z t shirt talking about how to set up an Instagram account. For your podcast, we'll answer questions about should you have a personal account or a business account, and what are all the assets that you need to get that setup all that jazz. So if you know that Instagram is a social media platform that you want to start with, as far as social media marketing, that video is going to be super helpful to make sure you have everything you need to get started there. There's also a video where we identify six ways to promote a new podcast. There is a little bit of overlap from this podcast episode. But there's also some things in there that we didn't touch on. And so if you want to get even more ideas for ways to grow your show right out of the gate, that's a great video to watch. And then the blog that Alban mentioned how to grow your podcast by advertising and podcast apps, that'll be linked in the next steps section as well in the show notes. So if you want to see what kind of podcasts listening apps could be in your budget, there is a wide spectrum from you know, a couple$100 to a couple $1,000 to depending on how much you want to put into your podcast at the beginning. That'll show you all of your options and you can find the links for all those in the show notes of this episode.

Alban:

Alright and if you are interested in learning more about how to grow a podcast, let us know so this is season one. And we are now starting to think about what would a season two of this show look like? So if you are interested in a how to grow your podcast season, let us know I am Alban Brooke on Twitter and you can reach out to me and Jalon what's the best way for everybody to reach out to you?

Gilon:

I am not on Twitter. But you can reach out to support at support@buzzsprout.com with any suggestions or ideas for season two, if you're interested in that. Thank

Alban:

you everybody for listening. We hope that you've made it through. If you have launched your show, and this podcast was important to you launching your show, please reach out to Jalon in the sport inbox or me on Twitter. Let us know what your show is. We're super excited to be part of your journey. We always end the show this way. But until next time, keep podcast

Gilon:

keep broadcasting y'all