How Do I Get More Listeners On My Podcast?

One of the most common questions that is asked in regards to podcasting, is “How do I gain more podcast listeners?”

This is an obvious question to ask, especially if you have spent hours of your time and effort investing into creating podcast episodes and building up a solid core audience.

In spite of your efforts, you may feel like you are lacking the size of audience that matches the overall quality of your podcast (also see, ‘How To Start A Podcast With No Audience‘).

Do not despair if you are in this position, the biggest accomplishment is putting your podcast out there in the first place.

It is important to note that word-of-mouth will only get you to a certain place. In order to receive more new listeners, you will need to take the necessary steps in order to market your podcast properly.

Below, I have outlined some key tips for expanding your podcast audience.

These tips apply irrespective of whether you are a beginner, or you have had a podcast for a longer period of time. Everyone deserves the opportunity for their voice to be heard. 

Target A Specific Audience

Before you have implemented any particular marketing or growth strategy, you will need to ensure that you are focused on an intended audience.

While you may want your podcast to be for “everyone”, you should bear in mind that podcasts that focus on a particular niche tend to do well.

As opposed to trying to please the entire net, you should try to pinpoint the unique angle that your podcast is taking, and bring something new and nuanced to a world that is oversaturated with podcasts (also see, ‘How To Choose A Podcast Category‘).

The more specific your topic is, the easier you will find it to properly identify and grow your audience.

For instance the podcast titled “Growing Up Halal” is tailored to a specific community that identifies with the content, usually Muslim-American women who feel as though they do not have another platform that is representative of their life experiences.

Similar to this, Angela Belt’s podcast titled “The Mood Board” places focus on the intersectionality of culture, interior design, and race.

This is a highly specific and unique concept that is reflective of Angela’s own interests. The uniqueness of this podcast is vastly appealing.

If you choose to showcase a podcast that often changes topics, tones, and genres, then you may need to narrow your focus to something more specific in order to attract new listeners and retain loyal listeners more consistently.

Research Your Podcast Audience

You should take note of the area of the world that your audience lives in as well as targeting specific interests.

Using the built-in analytics that is provided by platforms like Anchor is a great means of tracking down the demographical data of your current listeners, digging deeper into this will help you to put yourself into the mind of your chosen audience (also see, ‘Anchor vs Podiant‘).

You should also engage in your own research in order to ascertain when your listeners are online, and the time in which they use their social media platforms the most.

Researching their following lists and favorite hashtags will ensure that you keep your core audience in place, and ensure that you can engage with potential listeners who may share similar interests to your current audience.

Assess Your Analytics

Assessing the annual Spotify Podcaster Wrapped is also another opportunity for you to assess your analytics and see how your audience engages with your podcast.

Doing this will enable you to ascertain how many listeners you currently have, who are committed to listening to your podcast.

You will also be able to discover the times in which your podcast is listened to the most, and schedule releases accordingly.

Thus, analyzing Anchor and Wrapped analysts will show you which episodes are attracting the most traffic, enabling you to tailor your podcast accordingly.

Connecting To Your Listeners

Once you have established who your target audience is, it is time for you to connect with them properly.

Some platforms may require more attention than others depending on your chosen audience. You should not be shy in promoting your show.

A podcast cover art is a great way to make your show stand out and get noticed (also see, ‘Podcast Logos‘). This should be something that appeals to your audience and attracts their attention.

A podcast trailer, along with a concise and informative podcast description, are also great tools to help you introduce your show and give potential listeners an idea of what it is about.

You should encourage your chosen audience to share your podcast or any podcast episode as much as possible without overwhelming them with spam content.

ALSO SEE: What Makes A Good Podcast Tips

Creating a podcast website, writing blog posts on your podcast episodes, creating engaging social media posts on different platforms, interacting with the audience, and giving them opportunities to engage with you are all important steps that will help you increase your reach.

Your website should also be optimized for SEO (search engine optimization) in order to rank higher in search engines. Your podcast SEO strategy should utilize relevant keywords and phrases in the podcast title, create backlinks from other websites such as podcast directories, and create quality content regularly in order to generate more organic traffic.

By properly connecting with your potential listeners, you will be able to build relationships and trust with them, as well as attract more listeners to your podcast episodes.

ALSO SEE: Create The Perfect Podcast Launch Plan

Furthermore, they will become loyal fans who are engaged in what you have to say and may even become evangelists of your podcast. The more engaged your fans are, the more successful your podcast will be!

You should focus on building a healthy community that is centered around your podcast. By doing this, you create opportunities for your listeners to engage with one another, cultivating a sense of community that is far reaching (even with other podcasts) and rewarding in turn.

Utilize Social Media

Whenever you have created a podcast, it is crucial to establish dedicated social media accounts, especially if you have a new podcast.

Thus, you should promote your show across all of the social media platforms in order to make it easier for people to discover your podcast, any new episode, or episode titles. Using social media also provides a continuous outlet to promote your podcast content.

For a successful podcast, you should follow these tips in order to gain the most out of marketing your podcast via social media platforms:

• Post new episodes on your personal and podcast social media channels.
• Use specified hashtags for your show in order to include listeners in the conversations.
• Include hashtags that focus on specific topics and guests.
• Tag any TV showers, artists, or organizations that have been mentioned during the podcast, especially if they have an active social media presence (use hashtags also).
• Reply to all comments where possible in order to ensure that your audience remains engaged.
• Post your podcast link in relevant Reddit groups.
• Make use of short-form video content and post on Instagram Reels, TikTok, and your SnapChat stories.
• Post shareable images including quotes from specific episodes.
• Take short audio clips from each episode and post these snippets on Instagram or Twitter.
• Host competitions and contests to attract listeners. Encouraging your followers to follow your podcast on Spotify is also key.

Conclusion

To conclude, you can easily grow your podcast audience and attract more listeners by following the tips that I have outlined in this article.

I hope that you have found this article to be insightful and informative. Thank you for reading.