In the following checklist, I’ll summarize the best tips and tricks to promote your podcast or talk radio show online.

Think of your show as a product

Let’s start with a thinking exercise to get you in the state-of-mind of a marketer. This means your podcast needs a marketing plan, materials, and working hours. As long as your podcast is your hobby or side-gig, you can manage this by yourself. But once you want to focus more on growth and monetization, you will want automated machines to do the marketing for you. This goes for podcasts and any other side-project or product.

Design your show branding – Logo & cover photo

You’ll need a logo and a cover photo that can be added to all your services and social accounts. You can use Visme or Canva if you don’t have design skills, friends, or budget.

Create social media accounts 

Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are considered must-haves. But if your podcast is about a specific niche, you should consider additional platforms that might be relevant, such as Pinterest for DIY projects, LinkedIn for business-oriented podcasts, Instagram for travel and other visual inspiration, Twitch for gaming or TikTok for easy and fast paced video content. 

Find your podcast RSS feed 

You’ll need that in order to list your podcast into a variety of directories. This will help potential listeners find your podcast in their favorite app or search engine.
Want to learn more about RSS feeds? Here is another audioburst article about how to find your podcast RSS feed url

Create your own Podcast website with podcasting template 

Own your content and data. First for yourself, second for SEO. 

Every product must have a website. That way when someone searches for your content, they’ll find YOU and not your competitor or another alternative instead.

Trust me, you’ll find this tip extra useful when you’re growing and ready to monetize your content.

You can start with wix.com, WordPress, webflow or PodcastPage. All of them have ready-made templates for podcasting.

Don’t forget to check analytics and track your performance.

Start building your email marketing list

Ask any marketer and they will always say – email is still the best marketing tool. 

Maintaining a mailing list will increase your community growing efforts and connect the listeners with you. 

I recommend using ConvertKi, Revu, Mailchimp, or your website solution.

The next step will be automating the process by sending your followers a short burst from your new episode.

Get your podcast automated transcripts

Get automated and editable transcripts for free here. It’s a good idea to proofread them before publishing as a blog post.

List your podcast in content-based directories

You want listeners who care about the topic(s) you are talking about. Those types of listeners will engage more with your show and help you grow.  So list your podcast in content-based directories like Audioburst search (through Audioburst Creators) and Google (through SEO)

Find online communities of your niche listeners

Search Twitter, Reddit, and Facebook for dedicated communities. Participate in threads, ask & answer questions, and please – don’t spam. Once you have short videos to share – this is where you will share them.

Create short audiograms (video clips) out of your podcast.

Make #SierraLeone Famous is OUT NOW!

Ep 2: Yelibas in a Koinadugu King’s Court – The Myth and Sounds of Sierra Leone’s Balanji with Medo Kuyateh and Alpha Kandeh #griots #africanmusic #oralhistory #podcast #AfricanHistoryClass

Listen. Subsribe. RT – https://t.co/x8NpUgMHjh pic.twitter.com/juIGgNdCzG

— VickieRemoe.com (@VickieRemoe) July 7, 2020

In podcasting, short video clips are called audiograms. 

Use social media for sharing short clips, not the entire episodes. The soundbite will form as a bait for potential listeners. Make sure you cut an interesting part that could act as a stand-alone file as well.

Automate the process and create free short clips on Audioburst for Podcast Creators

Find and use hashtags and topics for every episode

Use your podcast transcripts and hashtag services like Hashtagify to find hashtags and topics that you didn’t think of. 

Re-purpose your content

You are an Audio content creator, so start creating content. 

Use Audioburst Creators to search and browse your backlog of content and share relevant bursts, soundbites, and quotes about trending topics.

Boost your podcast with paid ads

Free and viral marketing will bring you some success, but when you are ready to scale, consider promoting your content to highly targeted audiences. The best call to action would be “Subscribe.” That way, the next time you post an episode, you will reach them organically.

Collaborate with other podcasters

2 is bigger than 1. Find others who talk on the same wave and leverage each other’s audience to do a mutual promotion or even a crossover episode. Try services like Audry or podcast guests.

Get reviews 

Reviews are getting great attention in search engines. 

Submit your podcast to review sites such as Discover pods. and podchaser, and consider asking your audience to add their review. Then embed the positive reviews into your website. This will assist in your Google ranking.

Summary 

To summarize, think of your podcast as a product to market. On top of that, the most important tip is to “act, test, and improve.” Start with the free plans of the services listed here and then once you see the results you wished for, you are ready to scale. If you don’t, try switching to another service. There is always an alternative to any product or service.

I invite you to save or print this list as a checklist, without the images and videos, so you can work with it towards your goals as a podcaster