3 Proven Ways to Grow Your Podcast From Scratch

Define Your Goals and Target Audience

Before launching a new podcast, it's important to clearly define your goals and target audience. This will provide focus and direction as you start creating content.  

Here are some key reasons you may want to start a podcast:

• Share your passion or explore a topic you find interesting
• Promote a business, brand, or service
• Build a community around a niche or fandom
• Establish yourself as an expert in your field
• Generate revenue through sponsorships or advertising

Once you know your motivation for podcasting, identify who you want to reach. Get specific about their demographics like age, location, gender, interests, etc.

Outline the goals you'd like to achieve such as:

• Reach a download threshold like 100 or 1,000 per episode
• Rank highly in iTunes charts
• Get featured on other popular shows
• Attract sponsors or advertisers
• Transition to a full-time podcast business

Having clearly defined goals and audience targeting will help drive content decisions and provide metrics to track success.

Choose a Unique Topic or Angle

One of the most important things you can do when starting a podcast is to choose a unique topic or angle that will allow you to stand out. Simply copying existing successful podcasts is unlikely to garner much interest.

Research the other podcasts that already exist in your niche or industry. Make a list of the top shows and analyze what they cover and how they approach each episode. This will help you identify gaps or unmet needs your podcast could potentially fill.

Determine how you can put a new spin on an established topic or cover a subject from a different perspective than what’s already available. Think about underserved audiences you could cater to or fresh commentary you could provide.

Some examples of how to differentiate your podcast include:

• Focusing on a hyper-specific sub-niche rather than a broad topic
• Incorporating guest interviews from unique perspectives
• Having episodic stories or an overarching narrative
• Adding multimedia elements like sound effects or music
• Featuring unconventional formats like mini episodes or episodic fiction
• Providing contrarian hot takes on popular issues

The goal is to give listeners a reason to choose your podcast instead of (or in addition to) established shows. Do your research to identify where you can provide value that current podcasts lack. Then emphasize that unique angle in your branding and messaging.

Have a Consistent Brand and Title

Your podcast needs a unique and memorable name that represents your show and becomes recognizable to listeners. Come up with a short, catchy title that captures the theme and tone of your podcast. Avoid generic names that could apply to any podcast.

After choosing a title, create recognizable cover art, logo, and other branding assets to use consistently across platforms. This helps build your podcast's identity. Keep the logo, title, tagline, imagery, and color scheme the same wherever your podcast appears.

Consistency in branding makes you more discoverable and distinguishable. It allows listeners to easily recognize your show when they see it. Formatting the title identically every time also helps with search engine optimization. For example, always type the title in title case or all caps if that's your brand style.

A consistent brand and title build familiarity with your audience so they always know a podcast episode comes from you. It strengthens your podcast's unique voice and personality.

Record Professionally with Good Equipment

Audio quality can make or break a podcast. Investing in professional recording equipment results in a polished, broadcast-ready sound that impresses listeners.

The two most important pieces of equipment are a high-quality microphone and a digital recorder or audio interface. USB microphones provide an all-in-one recording solution, while XLR mics paired with an interface allow more flexibility and room to grow. Either option provides far better sound than built-in laptop mics or headsets.

When selecting a microphone, consider the pickup pattern. Cardioid mics record what's directly in front of them, reducing background noise. Condenser mics deliver crisp, nuanced audio perfect for voice recording. Dynamic mics are rugged and reliable.

Just as crucial is finding a quiet space to record. Tile, wood, or concrete surfaces cause echoes. Hang acoustic treatment panels to tame reflections. Position mics close to mouths to maximize signal while minimizing ambient noise from air vents or outside. Use pop filters to control plosives. Headphones help monitor audio quality during recording.

With quality gear and an optimized recording environment, podcasters can achieve clear, professional-grade sound. This elevates the listening experience and helps new shows stand out.

Optimize Episode Length and Structure

When first launching your podcast, aim to create episodes that are 20-45 minutes in length. This provides enough time to delve into your topic without overloading listeners initially.

Structure each episode with:

• A 1-2 minute introduction summarizing the episode topic and outline
• 2-3 content segments diving into key points around 10-15 minutes each
• A conclusion to recap and highlight key takeaways  
• Brief opening and closing jingles/music

Formatting episodes with an introduction, structured content segments, and conclusion provides a smooth listening experience. It helps focus the discussion while allowing flexibility to elaborate on details as needed.

Keep the intro and outro brief to maximize time spent on useful content. Carefully pace the segments to fit the time available. If needed, have extra talking points ready or be prepared to edit down segments during post-production.

Following this format in the beginning makes it easier for new listeners to follow along. As your audience grows, you can experiment with longer episode lengths or different structures. But when starting out, opting for a simple 20-45 minute formatted episode is recommended to promote growth.

Create Valuable Show Notes

Your podcast show notes are just as important as the audio content itself. Detailed show notes give listeners an overview of the episode, allow them to easily find parts they want to re-listen to, and help new listeners decide if your show is right for them.  

When creating show notes, write a summary of the key points and topics discussed in each episode. Break the summary down with timestamped headings so listeners can jump directly to sections they're most interested in.

Include any links, books, resources or references mentioned in the episode so people can easily find them. You can embed multimedia like images and videos to make the show notes more engaging.

Formatting your show notes well also helps with SEO. Use target keywords and links to internal show pages to help search engines understand your content.

Rich show notes take time to create, but they will lead to higher engagement, subscriptions, and shares. Treat them as carefully crafted content that complements each episode. Detailed show notes give listeners an overview before they hit play, and a reference guide afterward.

Build a Website and Social Media Presence

Your podcast needs a home on the web to drive listeners to subscribe and engage. Start by purchasing a domain name and setting up a simple website using a platform like Squarespace or WordPress. Make sure your website contains an embedded player for your latest episodes, bios for hosts, show notes, and clear calls-to-action to subscribe on major platforms.

In addition to a website, establish a presence on major social media platforms. At minimum, create accounts on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. YouTube can also be a great channel for video trailers or clips. Make sure your branding and imagery is consistent across all platforms. Post regularly about new episodes and engage with listeners. Include links to your website and podcast on all social profiles to drive traffic. Consider running contests, crowdsourcing questions, or other interactive content to generate interest. Promoting your podcast across both owned websites and social channels is key to growing an audience.

Submit to Podcast Directories

Getting your podcast listed in major directories like iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts, etc. is crucial for reaching new listeners. Each platform has specific requirements that you must follow in order to get approved.

iTunes

• Your podcast needs to have 3 episodes already published before submitting to iTunes.
• You'll need cover art that is 3000x3000 pixels. iTunes also requires you submit a 1400x1400 pixel version.
• Submit your podcast through Apple Podcasts Connect. Follow the steps to add your podcast details like title, description, author, and cover art.
• Allow up to 1 week for review. Check back on your status and make sure you've met all requirements.

Spotify

• Submit your podcast through Spotify for Podcasters.
• Have at least 3 episodes published.
• Add all the required metadata like title, description, cover art, etc. Make sure your cover art is 3000x3000 pixels.
• Allow up to 5 business days for review. Check your dashboard for status updates.

Google Podcasts

• Submit your podcast through Google Podcasts Manager.
• Have at least 3 episodes published.
• Input all metadata like title, description, author, cover art. Cover art should be 3000x3000 pixels.
• Allow 1-2 weeks for review. You can check status on your Google Podcasts Manager dashboard.

Getting listed in all the major podcast directories will maximize your exposure to new listeners. Be sure to follow each platform's requirements closely to get approved. Checking back often for status updates can help get your podcast live sooner.

Develop a Marketing and Promotion Strategy

Promoting your podcast is crucial for growing an audience. Here are some effective marketing tactics to try:

• Be a guest on other shows. Reach out to similar but more established podcasts and offer to be interviewed. This exposes you to their audience. Prepare talking points highlighting your podcast's unique value.
• Run contests and giveaways. Offer prizes to incentivize listeners to subscribe, rate, review or share your show. Require contest entries through channels you want to grow like email lists or social media.
• Strategically use hashtags. Include relevant hashtags in social posts and show notes. Join Twitter chats related to your topic. Use hashtags your audience searches for.
• Promote new episodes everywhere. Share each episode on all your social channels, email lists, and with any influencers. Make graphics and clips previewing episode content to entice clicks.
• Leverage cross-promotion. Partner with other podcasters to cross-promote each others' shows to combined audiences.
• Pitch to be featured on podcast platforms. Reach out to podcast networks and hosts to be featured in their recommendations and “New and Noteworthy” sections.
• Leverage your website. Include calls-to-action to subscribe on your website. Share episodes through your blog and email lists.

By consistently implementing a diverse promotional mix, you can systematically increase your podcast's reach, subscribers, and listeners over time.

Analyze Data and Optimize

One of the most important things you can do for your podcast is to analyze your data and make changes to optimize based on what you learn.

Review your podcast analytics regularly to see what's working and what could be improved. Key metrics to look at include:

• Downloads per episode - See how download numbers change over time and for different episode topics or guests. This helps you identify your most popular content.
• Listen locations - Where are most of your listeners based? This can inform decisions about marketing tactics and episode topics.
• Listener demographics - Analytics provide insights into the age, gender, interests etc. of your listeners. Cater content accordingly.
• Playback stats - See average listen percentage per episode. If it's low, that may indicate content that's not resonating.  
• Engagement stats - Look at follower growth, reviews, email list sign-ups, social media engagement and more.

Use all this data to make informed decisions about how to improve your podcast. Here are some optimization tips:

• If certain episodes or topics are more popular, create more content in those areas.
• If listener drop-off is high, tighten episode structure and length.
• Promote highly-downloaded episodes more to increase engagement.
• Engage listeners for feedback on episodes and topics they want.
• Adjust release cadence if needed to better match audience demand.

Regularly analyzing your data and tweaking parts of your podcast to optimize will help grow your audience and increase engagement over time. Be data-informed, but also creative in trying new approaches to bring more listeners in.

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