As a creative endeavour, many people look at podcasting as a labour of love that, with a bit of luck, will take off organically. As much as one-hit wonders and overnight successes do occur from time to time, they are a rarity. While you can taste a hint of success through talent and luck, to maintain continued success you must get strategic.
Like music, art, and other creative professions, you must adopt a business mindset to maximize your earning potential. While many artists and creators might see this as “selling out”, it’s a necessary step if you want to make a career out of your passion.
Podcasting is one of the latest entertainment forms to break into the mainstream. There have been die-hard listeners for almost two decades, but the majority of people have started to catch on to the trend in the last five years. The industry is continuing to experience steady growth.
Although the growth in popularity means that there’s a market for podcasts, it also means that there is serious competition out there. There are now estimated to be over one million podcasts in existence. What’s more, a lot of popular podcasts are presented by celebrities who have access to promotional tools and cash.
To grow a successful podcast today, you need to market effectively. With this in mind, here are some key tips for effectively marketing your podcast.
Treat your podcast as a business
Without detracting from the integrity of the podcast, it’s essential that you treat it as a business. All major podcasts are run that way, meaning you have to follow suit in order to be successful.
The most important first step for establishing your podcast as a business is to create a business plan. Your plan doesn’t need to be complicated but it must be comprehensive.
Set clear goals and targets for the podcast. Work backwards from these goals and put together strategies and actions lists describing how you will achieve your goals. Finally, go about executing your plan. Re-evaluate should you encounter unforeseen circumstances.
Use social media the right way
While most people understand the importance of posting regular content on social media, many don’t realise its potential as a marketing and branding tool.
For podcasters, your social media platforms are your main advertising pillars. They are your direct communication links to listeners and provide you with the best opportunity to expand your audience.
Strategically plan each social media post. Analyze the performance of your pages and study the insights that detail audience information. Figure out what’s working and what isn’t and optimize each platform for maximum effectiveness.
Website excellence
You should be striving for excellence when it comes to your podcast website. From the overall look to the usability, and from the published content to the website analysis, your website is an essential marketing tool for your podcast business.
To ensure that you’re checking all the right boxes with your website, consider hiring a professional web design service such as beanie media to handle the design and development of your webpage.
Not only can a professional web service design a slick and highly functional website, but they can also optimize it for e-commerce. The opportunity to sell merchandise or exclusive content on your website opens up another revenue stream and even more marketing opportunities.