Podcasting is hard, and it can be hard to stand out among the 362,000 active shows, especially since each one is fighting for some attention. So, when you receive a message in your inbox promising you growth and success, why wouldn’t you take the chance?
These “podcast promoters” often boast that they can secure thousands of downloads for your show in a small amount of time. They promise that you can grow rapidly and start monetizing almost immediately with their assistance. It almost sounds too good to be true, right? That’s because it usually is.
Growing a podcast audience is similar to growing a garden. If you want a huge, beautiful garden, then you need to cultivate the soil, plant the seeds, water the plants and flowers, and tend to their various needs. Sure, you could hire a person to do all of that for you, but be wary of the gardener who claims they can cultivate a huge, beautiful garden in only a week. Those roses you bend down to smell might be made of plastic!
There’s no secret key to success, especially if that success comes as quickly as the next sunrise. The only tried-and-true way to grow your audience is to put in the effort required to do so. Luckily for you, RedCircle offers an abundance of ways to carefully cultivate your garden of listeners.
Red Flags 🚩
You may be wondering why even bother staying clear of these promoters? ‘If they can help my podcast grow, then that’s all that should matter!’ While it’s true that they may be able to get you plenty of downloads quickly, those downloads might be considered ‘fraudulent’ by your hosting platform. This could lead to losing your ability to monetize or even being kicked off the platform entirely! It’s not worth risking your entire show.
The best way to prevent being duped by “podcast promoters” is to make sure you know how to spot them! If something ever seems off during your conversations with them, then always go with your gut and exit the situation.
Let’s take a look at the most common red flags so you can protect yourself in the future!
They Offer Vague Information
One of the more obvious red flags to watch out for this the level of information these podcast promoters offer you. They claim that they can secure thousands of downloads for your show, but never dive deeply into the strategies of how they’ll achieve this.
A reputable promoter is transparent with their methods for success. They don’t withhold information or answer with vague statements. They should be able to articulate exactly how they plan to promote your show, with clear, definable outcomes and metrics for success.
Their Testimonials & References Aren’t Verifiable
People love giving reviews in today’s world. People leave reviews for their favorite shows, they write entire blog posts for the new movie they just saw, and some even create hour-long episodes sharing their opinion on the last slice of pizza they had. There is no end to the amount of review content available.
A reputable promoter should be able to provide references for real podcasts that have used their services and succeeded. It’s important to carefully review these podcasts, too! Do the reviews on Apple look real? Do they have an active and engaged following on social media? Anything that tips you off to actual engagement rather than a paid-for audience.
Their Communication Skills Are Lacking
You want to be cautious of folks who use high-pressure sales tactics to get you to say ‘yes’. This means not allowing you time to think about working with them and demanding you to go with them right away. Good promotion services will understand your need to do your own research and weigh your options.
Good promotion services also understand the need for open, clear, and frequent communication. A good promoter will send you regular updates on their progress and share insights with you. If you don’t hear from them after agreeing to their services, even to answer a simple question, then that’s a big red flag.
It Seems Too Good to Be True
If it seems entirely too good to be true, then it most likely is! They may entice you with promises of high rankings in podcast apps (like Apple Podcasts) or hundreds and thousands of new listeners within a week. But remember – those promises are usually empty and sometimes even fraudulent. Specific rankings in podcast apps are extremely hard to promise given the complex algorithms, and the real human vetting process, that goes into creating those rankings. It’s just not as simple as they promise.
If you feel like something is off during the conversation or during your investigation, then go with your gut and deny the service. There are plenty of other ways to cultivate an audience!
Real Strategies ✅
Now that we know what to look out for when figuring out growth strategies, let’s take a look at all the reliable ways podcasters just like you have cultivated a community of engaged listeners!
Leverage Your Network
Podcasting is all about creating connections – with your audience and your peers. One of the best ways to reach new audiences is to work with other podcasters. There are a myriad of ways to collaborate with other podcasters, but the trick is knowing who to partner with. You want to pare down your choices by selecting shows with similar topics. Careful not to focus only on shows with large audiences! You want to work with a show whose audience may actually be interested in tuning in to yours. Being promoted or guesting on a show with a large audience, but one that isn’t remotely interested in your content, isn’t going to move the needle.
Once you’ve identified your perfect partners, the next step is to propose a cross-promotion or offer to host them on your show! Your hosting platform may even offer opportunities to collaborate with other podcasts (like RedCircle does!)
Distribute Widely
An easy, yet often ignored, route to reaching more listeners is ensuring that your show is added to every available listening platform, including social media. There are dozens and dozens of places online where your potential audience could be hanging out. Larger podcast listening platforms like Apple and Spotify are notoriously difficult when it comes to podcast discoverability. Many of the shows offered on their homepages are already well-known or part of well-known networks. Independent creators often have a hard time cracking the front pages.
That’s where these dozens of other places prove useful! It can be much easier to reach your desired audience by distributing your show on these various channels. For example, you can create short-form content of your show for Instagram or TikTok, utilize their hashtag algorithms and reach people who are more likely to be interested in your content.
YouTube has even begun showing its unique capability to reach new audiences. Recent reports have shown that YouTube is growing as a great podcast discovery tool. Sharing your content on their platform could help to bring in new listeners!
Nurture With Content
Finally, just like a huge, beautiful garden, you need to nurture your audience! This can be done through accompanying content like newsletters, blogs, and other forms of content created for different mediums. Engage with your audience through different methods and channels and see what sticks. You never know if that weekly newsletter or quick Instagram update will make a difference if you don’t try.
Every podcaster wants to see their audience grow! But you have to be careful who you partner with to reach those growth goals. If a deal seems too good to be true, then it probably is. Protect yourself from being taken advantage of and keep your eyes out for red flags. There’s no shortcut to success, just like there’s no shortcut to cultivating a stunning garden.
Interested in taking your podcast to the next level? Sign up for RedCircle today and receive a free 7-day trial for any of our plans!
