Bonjour!
There is no silver bullet in podcast marketingâyou have to try everything, experiment! And double down on the things that work. But if there was a silver bullet, it would be getting prominently featured on an app (like Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, or Spotify.) Getting features means that when people open the app, your show will be promoted in ânew and noteworthyâ or âbest food shows,â etc. Letâs talk about how to get your show featured on apps.
Before we get started:
đŞPlease enjoy this helpful Twitter thread from Jeremy Enns:
đŞMy podcast Feed the Queue featured the show S***hole Country from Radiotopia Presents. Listen here.
đŞEnter your podcast in the Podcast Partnership Databaseâwe have more than 300 shows! If you have already applied, check back often to look for potential new podcast friends. Here it is.
đŞIâm hosting another podcast marketing session with Radio Boot Camp on Monday. This is your last chance to sign up! See you there? Sign up here.
đŞFor podcast recommendations, please sign up for my newsletter Podcast the Newsletter.
Get featured.
Before you pitch to the platforms, study the podcasts that are getting featured every day to get a sense of what the platforms like to show off. Maybe there is already a carousel that your show would fit into.
Getting featured wonât change your life. It might cause a spike in your download numbers, but your great content has to keep those people coming back again. So getting featured can be lucky, and is dependent on someone behind the apps wanting to advocate for you. But itâs up to you to keep them listening to episode after episode.
Once you have the attention of listeners, keep them by setting their expectations. To avoid people angry about feeling âtrickedâ into listening (and leaving a bad review) make sure your artwork and description clearly describe what people should know before listening. I used to work in book publishing, and always did an inventory on our Goodreads reviews. We published The Goldfinch, which was beloved and won the Pulitzer. It had 3.4 stars on Goodreads. We also published a book about dirt, and that Goodreads average review was much higherâ3.9. Why? People who read The Goldfinch didnât like the characters, the ending, there was more to argue about. People who wanted a book about dirt got the book that they wanted. They were happy customers and left happy reviews.
Getting featured can be a blessing and a curse. Arielle Nissenblatt had a funny pandemic podcast called Counter Programing (to counter all the news coming out about covid, each episode featured a deep dive into a word or phrase that contained the word counterâfrom marble countertops to Count Dracula) with her friend Shira (read about it here.) They saw a huge spike, but many people who listened didnât like what they heard. It wasnât what they expected. People who listened and thought âwaitâŚthis wasnât funnyâ or âthis wasnât what I expectedâ unsubscribed, left a nasty review, and never listened again. So it was cool but also uncool.
The apps attract different types of people. Think about where your listeners are. If you have a more mainstream show, you might have more listeners on Apple Podcasts. (A lot of these people just use the app that was automatically downloaded on their iPhone.) More curious podcast listeners will explore other apps, like Pocket Casts, Overcast, Castro, or Castbox.
Cover artwork matters. We do judge books by covers when it comes to podcasts. I had one show that had the most success in gaining downloadsâCity of Ghosts. I truly believe that this is because City of Ghosts has the most beautiful artwork. When it was featured, it stood out and led many people to listen to an episode. Whether they stayed or not was all up to whether or not they enjoyed what they heard. It all comes back to shows quality.
When you are featured on one app, your numbers will rise on all the other apps. Getting featured on Pocket Casts will give you a huge boost, but youâll see a boost on Apple, etc.
These platforms want to be experienced like news feeds. They want to feature whatâs new, whatâs hot, whatâs relevant, what has a big guest. (Apple Podcasts in particular loves it when there is a big name tied to the episode or show.) When you apply to be featured using the forms (more about that below, you have to convince them that there is a real reason your content is important NOW. If Fatherâs Day is coming up and you have a podcast about Fatherhood, nowâs the to promote that content.
Itâs okay to make your content more appealing to platforms. Donât have a relevant podcast episode coming up? Plan for one around a holiday or big event.
Remember all of the other platforms. Itâs not just Apple, Stitcher and Spotify. Pitch yourself to Overcast, Castbox, Amazon Music, etc.
Use Pod.link to be neutral on your social media profiles and website. Using Pod.link will allow people to listen in the way that is best for them. (If they donât have an iPhone, you donât want to send them to an Apple Podcasts link. (But if youâre tweeting about being featured, make sure to use the link to that platform. More on that below.)
Nail the forms.
The forms:
Remember: a human being is checking these forms.
These forms often want to know which region you would like to be featured. The US region is extremely congestedâthere are more US podcasts than there are in other countries. Look at your analytics and identify the other countries that represent your other listeners. Pitch to those regions. You will have a much greater chance of getting featured.
The apps will want to know what you will do for them if they feature you. This is quite possibly the most important section of the form. Mention that you will share that you were mentioned on social media, in your newsletter (if you have one) and on your show.
When youâre tweeting about your show, an attempt to please everyone by saying âlisten wherever you find your podcastsâ pleases no one. Pick an Apple day, a Spotify day, a Stitcher day, to tweet out content using the links from those platforms. Tag the platform.
Some of the fields in the forms can be the same each time (the link to your show, the trailer drop day, the date of the first episode.) Start a google doc where you can store all this information so you can copy and paste each time. Then you donât have to reinvent the wheel every time you submit.
But make each pitch differentâparticularly the subject line. The subject line is your pitch. Accentuate the urgency of featuring the show now, the exciting thing you have going on, the episode that aligns with a holiday. (For example, if youâre pitching for Fatherâs Day, mention that you have a Fatherâs Day episode.)
Platforms generally want two weekâs notice to feature your show. So plan ahead.
Donât apply just once. I have a reminder in my calendar for submitting my shows to podcast platforms every two weeks.
Database Success Stories
Iâm collecting success stories from people who have been using the Podcast Partnership Database. Send yours to lauren@tinkmedia.co. This one comes from Corey Nathan of Talkinâ Politics & Religion Without Killinâ Each Other. Thanks to Corey for sharing his story, and for putting the database to use!
Can you say âGame Changerâ? Thatâs what the Swap Database has been for us!Â
We came across Tink Media and this awesome resource after PodMov Evolutions in L.A. Honestly, the way our team has used the database isnât magic. Itâs not some story of super-human efforts. It was just a matter of taking a few seconds to read about each podcast, one at a time, and making the decision to reach out to one other show each day. Thatâs it. And the Swap Database makes it so easy!
The responses have been encouraging and inspiring from podcasts such as Democracy Works, The Purple Principle, 70 Million and others. This might sound cheesy, but weâve even made some new friends in the industry. Weâve barely scratched the surface and have already seen the positive results from having our promo on several other shows, opportunities to be a guest, bringing interesting guests on our program and sharing lots of love on social media.Â
Itâs great to see that a small amount of effort applied consistently can have such demonstrable results, specifically in terms of our weekly downloads. And again, Tink has made it SO doable with this immensely useful tool, the Swap Database.
From the Desk of Tink
ICYMI, Tink Media is a podcast growth and ideas company that helps shows with pitching to apps and media, setting up promo and feed swaps, advertising, wild out-of-the-box thinking, and more.
This week Iâm highlighting one of our clients, Play On!
Play On Podcasts are epic audio adventures reimagining timeless tales, featuring original music composition and the voices of extraordinarily gifted artists. This is where Theatre meets Podcast, combining the modern-day audio phenomenon with the power of live performance. Starring the voice of Tramell Tillma of Severence.
xoxo lauren
Thanks for the shoutout Lauren!
Fantastic issue as always!
Not quite sure how you do this every time, but great newsletter as always. Found Jeremy Enns' tweet thread really useful!