In a nutshell
- The airwaves are overflowing with great podcasts but you can still get a piece of the action with an effective podcasting strategy.
- Knowing your niche, competition and audience will provide the foundation you need to get more listeners.
- Your podcast marketing strategy should be designed to create visibility and interest on multiple platforms to drive popularity.
Countless podcasts are lighting up the on-air signs and new ones are cropping up daily. But there are also millions of people tuning in to those podcasts. So, is the podcast market saturated? It may seem like it. But, if your podcast has something special to offer and you can get it in front of the right audience, there’s still room for you. This is where having a smart podcasting strategy makes a huge difference.
Whether you have an existing podcast that needs a boost or you’re just beginning, podcasts are a way to build your brand. In this article, we’ll show you how to find the right niche and give you our best advice for podcast marketing and audience management so you won’t get lost in the mix.
Nail down your niche
A big mistake people make is creating a lifestyle podcast without defining (and being dedicated to) their niche. When you do this, your content may be too broad. This lack of focus will fail to catch viewers interest. While lifestyle podcasts can and do work, they typically have some kind of focus, such as fashion, food, etc. Lifestyle podcasts that are a day in a life of the host(s) are typically successful because the hosts are famous for another reason.
A well-defined niche tells people exactly what to expect from your content and makes your overall podcasting strategy clear. For example, there are many podcasts focusing on true crime stories. But a true niche gets even more specific. James Pietragallo and Jimmie Whisman do this with their crime-based podcasts, “Small Town Murder and “Crime in Sports.”
You’ll want to consider what interests you, of course, but your expertise makes you a more valuable voice for certain niches. While sports may be a strong interest, someone with a background in animal science might be better suited to run a podcast about why animals behave the way they do or how to better share the world with wild animals.
Also, consider your personal communication style and how that affects your niche. You might be a natural comedian with hilarious commentary or you might do best with a helpful educational tone. Your niche is the core of your podcast and everything about it should reflect that.
Podcast marketing and presence
One of the unexpected things that occurred with the 2020 pandemic was a huge boom in the livestreaming industry. Now, more than ever, podcasts are driving views by broadcasting live on video platforms. You can choose to edit each episode in post-production, allow the live version to remain intact or go both routes. Either way, be consistent.
If you decide to go the video route with your podcast strategy, you’re giving yourself a huge marketing opportunity, as well. You can run it on YouTube or wherever else you choose. Then, you can use clips from your episodes to create marketable short-form content and ads on platforms like TikTok — which now allows horizontal videos — and Instagram.
When utilizing video ads, it’s important to have a strong understanding of who your audience is. You must know the basic demographics and then dive deeper into what interests them and when they are most likely to be online. This kind of information is valuable for sending ads to highly segmented categories to get better results.
On the other hand, creating a short-form channel on TikTok has multi-purpose benefits. Beyond drawing an audience to your podcast, it’s a clever way to generate additional revenue. With the right podcast content and strategy, TikTok and YouTube are both lucrative and help you audience grow exponentially.
Don’t compete, collaborate
As you gain followers, be sure to network with other podcasters. Try to connect with people in your niche and adjacent niches. Consider which industry or field experts might be a good fit as guests on your podcasts, too. If your investing podcast focuses on advice for newbies, your next episode can be a conversation with a retirement planning expert. Another episode can be cautionary tales from a former day trader who’s seen it all.
Collaborations are good for everyone involved. The podcasters each have an opportunity to be exposed to new listeners. Adding this kind of cross-promotion to your podcasting strategy increases ad views and the possibility of short-form videos going viral. Each episode with a cool featured guest is almost promised to have more views than episodes without guests, so both creators win. Plus, the audience gets to enjoy a more dynamic broadcast which keeps them coming back for more.
Relationship maintenance
Raising your audience engagement is a must to run a successful podcast in 2024. But before you can raise your engagement levels, you first need to understand who your audience is and what they want from your content. Know which social media platforms they use most and meet them where they already are.
Promote new episodes, respond to comments and ask for their input. See if they respond well to incentives for top fans. Encourage them to engage and share your podcast. If you find it’s a lot to keep up with, bring in a freelancer with social media expertise to lighten your workload.
Get behind the mic
Once you’ve got a solid grasp of what goes into a good podcasting strategy, you can focus on recording excellent content that helps you stand out within your niche. Know your audience and market directly to them. Collaborate with other podcasters and work together to elevate each other’s content. Be fully engaged with your listeners to increase loyalty. As you follow these steps, with a little luck, your podcast (and revenue) will be climbing the charts in no time.
