To be brutally honest, you do have time to podcast. You simply don’t have time for the frustration that can happen when obstacles get in the way of doing what you want to do. However, there are ways to eliminate obstacles that cause frustration.

How Much Time Do You Need? 

Let’s estimate the size of our problem. When we say, “time to podcast,” how much are we talking about?

Colin has written an excellent article about how much time it actually takes to run a podcast. It’s a multi-faceted issue, depending on what kind of podcast you produce and how frequently you want to release episodes.

Some podcasters estimate the time they’ll need by multiplying their episode length by four. This means a 15-minute episode would take roughly one hour to complete, a half-hour episode would take roughly two hours, and so on. Others say that for multi-layered sound design, you should estimate an hour of editing for each minute of audio per episode.  

The most important part to remember is that recording is not what takes the most time to work on your podcast. Other tasks can take longer. All together, you have to think about:

• Planning & Scheduling
• Setting up
• Recording
• Editing & Mixing
• Writing Shownotes
• Uploading & Publishing
• Promotion

The good news is that once you know how long it takes you to make an episode, you can plan accordingly. And, once you’re better acquainted with the tasks, you can complete them faster. 

Free Up Some Filled Time

A productivity meme that gets thrown around a bit is, “You have the same number of hours in the day as Lin-Manuel Miranda or Beyoncé.” Yes, it’s true that a day has 24 hours, no matter who you are. But Beyoncé and Lin-Manuel Miranda also have different support people and systems at their disposal. You might not have a staff, but you can make time-saving support systems. 

Queen Bey may have an army of personal assistants, but Trello can manage anything. Lin-Manuel Miranda may have someone to wait in line at the post office or the bank for him, but you can use that time to listen to raw audio before editing. A robot vacuum can’t clean your floors as well as you can, but it can clean a little bit every day, giving you more time to podcast more frequently. 

Thinking like people who record for a living can help you find ways to use technology, strategies, and support to make time for podcasting.

I’ll go into detail later about tools you can use to make your podcasting time more efficient. For now, think about your daily tasks and brainstorm some ways to subcontract tasks out and make time in the rest of your life.

Sacrifice The Habits You Want to Change Anyway

Let’s get the hard part out of the way. Everybody has at least one habit they don’t need. For anyone who makes digital content, these distractions tend to pop up in the digital realm. But, there are other ways to block the time bandits and open the door for podcast productivity. 

Screens Want Your Brain. 

Okay, that’s a vast oversimplification. But Nir Eyal, author of the book Hooked: How To Build Habit-Forming Products, shares how tech companies create systems to grab and hold your attention as long as possible. He admits, “I could easily escape discomfort, temporarily,” via his phone use.  But he’s also found that roughly 85% of smartphone users never adjust their smartphone’s app settings to keep their phone from interrupting or distracting them.

If you want to spend less time looking at your phone, here’s how to do it: 

• Adjust iOS Screen Time Settings and notification settings. 
• Set up Digital Wellbeing on an Android phone. 

Another simple hack is to go into your phone’s accessibility settings and adjust the color filters. These are meant to improve accessibility for colorblind users. If you turn on the wrong filter, though, your phone’s screen will become really boring. You can always change it back later.

Smartphones aren’t necessarily the enemy. There are tons of podcasts in there, right? Instead of scrolling through social media, try these on for size: 

• Use a note-taking app to stash ideas for future episodes. 
• Bookmarking apps like Instapaper to save and read your research, or Feedly can help you keep up with news about your podcast topic.
• Read through your favorite media host’s knowledge base to learn how all of its features work. You may find features in there that save you hours.
• Subscribe to some podcasting newsletters to learn what’s happening in the podcast sphere.

If you use phone activity as a reward, do it intentionally. Use timers, use headphones, and enjoy that reward unapologetically, within limits. When I play an open sandbox game, and I give myself only 15 minutes, I play hard. I’m fast-traveling and scooping up resources like Scooby Doo in a haunted house in the last act of the episode. 

Think about it this way: is scrolling through feeds on your phone (or any other habit, really) helping you get your show planned, scripted, edited, uploaded, and so on?

If not, then cut down.

Waking Up and Sleeping Well

Productivity gurus claim that waking up early is the best way to gain time. But this isn’t true for everyone. 

On the one hand, many people derive peace and satisfaction from waking up while the house is quiet, and getting a bit of recording done before the neighbors can start mowing the lawn. On the other hand, sleep deprivation can lead to poor decisions and sloppy podcasting. 

From my own experience, early mornings are good for short work sessions, like writing episode ideas or season plans in a notebook. This way, you get a small win to fuel your motivation for later in the day.  Plus, you’ve got something in place to look forward to when you work on your podcast later. 

This works best when you turn the light off and close your eyes earlier. Don’t deprive yourself of sleep. You’ll miss details that pile up and make audio that you’re not proud of. It’s one thing to find time to podcast and another to poke holes in your mental and physical health. 

Being Proactive vs Reactive 

A lot of time is wasted when you go through life reacting to things instead of sticking with your original plan.

Tim Ferriss’s classic book The Four-Hour Work Week covers this in detail. Like Nir Eyal, Ferris recommends minimizing electronic notifications. Ferris schedules a block of time to respond to messages, like Cal Newport’s time-blocking strategy, which you can find in his books  Deep Work, and Digital Minimalism.  What Ferris and Newport recommend is: 

• plan out your day, 
• set time to work thoughtfully on the tasks you need to complete,
• don’t let anyone or anything get in your way. 

This is great advice, and I’m sure Messrs Ferris and Newport’s experiences prove that it works for them. It’s terrific advice, especially for men, who benefit from gender gaps in responsibility for household chores, the wage gap, and multigenerational caregiving. When you have less autonomy over your time and effort, engaging in productive thinking is harder. 

However, all podcasters can and should learn from their methods, which are:

• Use time blocking to plan your days and your week. 
• Schedule time to work on your podcast and nothing else. Don’t multitask. Relax and give your full attention to the task at hand. 
• During a work session, turn off, mute, or block anything else that gets between you and the task you’re doing.
• If you have the luxury of a separate room, use it. If you don’t, headphones are your friend. 

If you were at work and someone called your home phone, the phone would ring, and they would leave a message. You’d call them back later. The same goes for when you’re working on your podcast. 

Make Your Podcasting Work Sessions More Efficient

We’ve discussed ways to carve out time and build boundaries around it. Now, let’s look at ways to make your time in the workspace more effective. 

Batching 

When you make a dozen cookies, if you bake each one at a time, you’d drive yourself crazy. That’s why you mix up a batch of cookies and bake them all at once.

Batch processing is when you set out a block of time to perform the same step on multiple podcast episodes at once. Allegra Sinclair, creator of Your Confident Self, praises the method’s momentum:

“I produce in batches all the way down to creating my show notes, episode description, and the blog post that accompanies the podcast episode. Once I’m in the rhythm to do a particular task related to my podcast, I do as many as possible in the allotted time.”

Batch processing is how Rob Oliver broke the world record for the longest interview marathon in the spring of 2023.

Teaming Up Can Help You Find Time

The expression “Many hands make light work” is true more often than not. Find a podcaster friend to work with. Whether you schedule work sessions together, swap tasks, or any of the many other ways that podcasters collaborate, you’ll feel more energized and engaged if you’re not alone. 

True, not everyone is a great co-worker. But you’ll find that tasks like editing, promotion, or planning feel less like chores when someone else is working alongside you. And, when you feel better about work, you can get more done. 

Body doubling, or working alongside another person who’s also working, is a great way to boost your productivity and mood. A coffee shop or library can be a good place for knowledge workers to congregate. If that’s not possible for you, try a virtual co-working session. 

Productivity Tools Aid Efficacy

Earlier, I suggested deploying technology to handle your tasks outside of podcasting. Here’s a list of ways you can use technology to get more out of your podcasting time. 

• Trello is a great project management tool. We love it so much here at The Podcast Host that we even have a course about using it in our Academy. 
• Another powerful project management tool to help you organize your work is ClickUp. Check out Tae’s in-depth review of ClickUp and why she loves using it for her podcast.
• EditPoint is a phone app to listen to your audio and mark it for later editing. Walking the dog or waiting in line just turned into time to podcast. 
• AI tools like Buzzsprout’s Cohost AI, Capsho, and many others can write your podcast’s show notes and promotional materials while you tackle a different task. 
• Meet Edgar can post all of your social media updates for you.
• Scheduling recording sessions doesn’t have to mean playing phone tag. Doodle uses calendar-based polls to set up meeting times and adjusts itself for time zones, so there’s no confusion about when exactly to meet. Book Like a Boss is another scheduling tool, with customizable features that help you set up meetings with shared information. If you’re not playing email catch-up with people, or waiting for them to respond, you suddenly find time you didn’t know you had.
• Finally, Alitu can take some of the editing work off your to-do list. It does all the complicated and steep learning curve processes like Compression, EQ, and Noise Reduction for you, automatically. It’ll also remove long pauses and filler words in the click of a button, and you can delete text in its automatically generated transcripts, which will then chop out the corresponding audio, too. If you like the sound of Alitu, then there’s a free trial available to kick the tires on it.

Treat Yourself Like The Star You Are

I keep a dry-erase board on the door to my office, with a line drawn down the middle. On one side, I write what I’m doing (working, obviously) and what time I’ll be available. On the other side, it says, “leave a message,” with a blank space and a magnet. Anyone who needs to tell or show me something can put it on the board. Telling people what I’m doing respects their time. When they leave a message or follow up later, they respect mine. 

Then, when I’m in that room, I do what the board says I’m doing. Setting intentions and following them is powerful stuff. 

Schedule your work sessions on a calendar, and set boundaries around your workspace. If someone infringes on your time to podcast, say, “I have to work.” 

You Are Worth the Time It Takes to Make a Podcast

We all have busy lives with distractions, responsibilities, and interests. If you say, “I don’t have time to make a podcast,” make some. Use technology to eliminate what you can, and swap tasks with friends (like dog-walking or cooking) for what you can’t. Put barriers between yourself and habits that don’t help you. Use the time you have more effectively by using good procedures and tools. When you get stuff done, you feel good about yourself, which makes you more motivated.

Carve out that time with a chisel and hammer. Your audience might not be right in front of you, but they need you and your podcast.

Question: How much time does it take you to make a podcast episode, right through from planning to publishing? And what tools and tactics have you put in place to minimise its footprint on your schedule? Be sure to let us know in the IndiePod Community.

Once, the Internet was an information superhighway. Now, it’s an urban center out of Blade Runner. Everywhere you turn, someone wants to sell you something, the pavement is slippery, and you’ll never know who’s a bot.

Fortunately, this means people appreciate sustained individual attention more than ever.

To sustain your podcast audience relationship, a sound email marketing system can help you cut through the clutter and engage with your audience. Specifically, Beehiiv helps you use email to engage your podcast audience meaningfully and monetize your content at an affordable price.

A quick heads up before diving in. Our link to Beehiiv is an affiliate, which means we’d earn a commission should you choose to sign up through it. Rest assured, this doesn’t cost you an extra cent, and doesn’t cloud our judgment when writing fair and honest reviews!

What is Beehiiv? 

Is it a website? Is it an email platform? It’s both. Though Substack grabs a lot of attention, Beehiiv provides greater value for money. 

Podcasters need to engage their audience in a meaningful, trackable way, without exhausting their resources. Though email newsletters may seem old, they avoid what promoters call “interruption marketing.”

Social media feeds want you to keep paying attention to their platform, though they interrupt your scroll with ads. Email newsletters use a promotional approach that’s more respectful to your audience. They’ve chosen to get emails from you. You can track which messages they open or links they click on. This consensual flow of information is worth building on, and that’s what Beehiiv is doing.

Beehiiv’s founders came from the Morning Brew newsletter and launched Beehiiv soon after the pandemic skyrocketed demand for trustworthy news sources. Tyler Denk’s growth plans circumvented algorithms by incentivizing sharing and improving SEO. He and his co-founders brought everything they learned at Morning Brew to Beehiiv. Now, those growth philosophies can work for you. 

Beehiiv Review: Features

Beehiiv helps you create an email that includes almost any element you can put in a blog post. Then, you send it to your audience. In return, you get data you can use to learn what the audience wants more of or doesn’t. 

Plus, your newsletter recipients can communicate with you via replies or comments. Each email is a blog post; the URL is your newsletter issue’s title. These fit into a simple website. And, you’re not married to one newsletter. Even the free tier allows you to make up to three separate publications. 

Your subscribers can read your content in their email or on your website, or you can link to outside content. It’s as easy as social media. I’ve been using Beehiiv to edit and publish The Fiction Podcast Weekly for a few months now, and I’ve enjoyed learning more about newsletters and experiencing Beehiiv’s growth. Here’s a screenshot of the newsletter’s web page on Beehiiv.

Let’s look at how you can use Beehiiv to cross-promote with other creators, share audio, track your audience’s response, and monetize your messages.  

Recommendations and Cross-Promotion

Do you know other podcasters who use Beehiiv? You can recommend each other’s newsletters. Know any experts in your podcast’s niche who publish via Beehiiv? Why not work with them, too? When someone signs up for your newsletter, Beehiiv can show them your choices of newsletters that they may enjoy. Beehiiv guides you through setting up a Signup Flow, so new followers can check off whether they’d like to subscribe to the newsletters you recommend, too.

Embed Audio in your Newsletter

Not all email marketing platforms can make your newsletter readable and audible. With Beehiiv, you can embed audio files in your newsletter issues, or turn each issue into a podcast episode with a few clicks. These options are only available for certain paid plans (Max and Enterprise) but may fit your needs.  

You can embed audio files in the body of your newsletter just like images. First, add an audio block from the embeds menu.

Then, upload the audio file or drag and drop it into the audio block. You can customize the look using Beehiiv’s block menu. You can also choose to make this block visible only to paid subscribers. 

To listen, recipients click the link in their email, which takes them to the website version of your email message. 

Beehiiv can also turn your newsletter into a podcast. Once you’ve set up an audio RSS feed for your publication, you can choose whether to enable audio when you publish each episode. Pick out a voice to read the newsletter. Then, choose whether or not you want the episode’s dialogue to read: 

• A direct transcript of your text
• An AI-generated summary of your text
• A custom prompt, such as “read a summary of this newsletter issue in the style of Marvin the Paranoid Android.”

An important consideration: Beehiv’s knowledge base advises, “Unfortunately, audio previews aren’t available in draft links or post previews. If you want full control over what is read aloud, we recommend choosing the Transcript audio content type.” 

The RSS feed will publish the episodes to whichever podcast directories you choose. 

Tracking your Audience Data

Tracking audience behavior is simpler with email than with a podcast. Instead of counting downloads to IP addresses, you can track how many open your message and what they click on.

Beehiiv’s analytics help you see how many recipients opened the email and what they clicked on. And, with Beehiiv, you can segment your audience to send different email messages to different segments. 

This might not seem like such a big deal, but most email marketing software only offers Beehiiv’s features at higher prices, or if you’re bringing in thousands of email addresses. 

Monetize Your Content with Beehiiv

Monetization is simple, too. Pick out Beehiiv’s Ad Marketplace ads and include them in your posts. Or, use Boosts to recommend other Beehiiv newsletters to your followers. When recipients click through and subscribe, you get paid. 

You can also sell premium subscriptions and/or set up a gate in your newsletter to remind recipients to subscribe for premium content. To participate in the Ad Marketplace or Boosts, you’ll need to purchase a paid tier. Which brings us to…

Beehiiv’s Pricing

Beehiiv offers a free tier with loads of features and flexibility for folks just starting out. You’ll get the community and learning needed to grow your following. However, Beehiiv’s monetization programs are available in paid tiers. These prices are effective when you pay annually. Unlike other email newsletter platforms, Beehiiv doesn’t charge a percentage, but a flat rate. 

• Launch. Beehiiv’s free tier allows you to maintain up to 2,500 subscribers, unlimited sends, campaign analytics, and access to its recommendation network. Optimized deliverability, audience segmentation, and custom domains are included in the free tier. You can also publish three different newsletters. 
• Scale. For $49/month, you get everything from the Launch tier, and you can send your newsletter to up to 1000 paid subscribers. This tier includes the Ad Network and Boost Network, plus Beehiiv’s Referral Program, where you can reward your current subscribers for sharing an affiliate link to your newsletter. The Scale tier includes Beehiiv’s AI, survey forms and polls, access to Beehiiv’s user community on Slack, and a team of up to three users for your account. 
• Max. For $109 a month, you get everything from the Launch tier and unlimited seats for your team, as well as the ability to create up to ten publications. The Max tier includes Audio Newsletter features, Beehiiv’s NewsletterXP Course, and the ability to use direct sponsorships to advertise storefronts. 
• Enterprise. You get everything from the previous tiers, custom subscriber limits, subscribers and publications, a designated account manager, dedicated IP addresses, invitation-only webinars, and an expedited customer support queue. Beehiiv’s sales department negotiates the price for this tier. 

In addition, when you sign up at the Scale or Max levels, you get a 30-day free trial. However, the free trials don’t include monetization features or extra logins. In the first month, you can build your Beehiiv skills without the paid features that affect other users (such as Ads and Boosts). 

Is Beehiiv Good for Podcasters? 

Did you skip to the end without reading the rest? Beehiiv is less expensive than other email marketing platforms for the features you get. For podcasters growing their email list from the ground up, the ability to make a newsletter that’s as feature-rich as Beehiiv’s, for free, is unusual.  

Once you’ve gotten the hang of the basic features and built a relationship with your audience, you can expand to include your audio in the newsletter, monetize, and grow. 

Tracking listens, however, is another story. I scoured the knowledge base: though you can tell how many recipients clicked on the link to your audio, I couldn’t find whether or not you can tell how long people listened. You’d have to check your dashboard within each directory to track listens. 

Beehiiv is good for podcasters because it offers more features and flexibility at affordable prices than other email marketing software. However,  your podcast, your audience, and your needs are a unique mix. Maybe your audience enjoys a brief reminder to listen to the latest episode, but doesn’t need the audio served directly to them with a silver spoon. Maybe your newsletter provides bonus content for your podcast listeners, rather than replacing the feed. Think about what your audience needs and whether or not Beehiiv makes audience engagement easier for you. 

Beehiiv: You Structure the Hive, They’ll Share the Pollen

In 1973, Karl Von Frisch won the Nobel Prize for deciphering how bees dance to communicate. By moving in patterns of ellipses and carefully counted wiggles, a honeybee can tell thousands of her sisters which direction to fly, how far, and what the reward will be. 

Wiggling your spiracle at a crowd can be tiring, but maintaining a relationship with your audience doesn’t have to be. Beehiiv can make sharing your latest episodes and supplementary information with your fans much easier. You don’t have to do any complicated dance moves unless you want to. 

Beehiiv isn’t the only way to reach your fans, by the by. Our guide to keeping in touch with your followers can show you how to simplify audience engagement. On top of that, our Indiepod community is a great place to discuss audience engagement, promotion, the finer points of recording, and so much more.

In the past year or so, I’ve noticed that many new audio drama and fiction podcasts have descriptions that follow a non-fiction format. But, fiction or audio drama podcasts have different audience expectations, so the needs are different.

Over the next few paragraphs, I’ll show you how to use your fiction-writing skills to craft a concise, plot-focused, and clear audio drama or fiction podcast description that’s easy to share and commit to.

Why Do Audio Drama and Fiction Podcast Descriptions Matter?

When I say “podcast description,” I don’t mean the episode descriptions or show notes. I’m talking about what the audience gets in exchange for paying attention to any or all of the episodes in this feed.

In our Discovery survey, we found that the podcast description is the top reason respondents choose a podcast. 

We’ve written a comprehensive guide to writing nonfiction podcast descriptions. But fiction podcast descriptions have different expectations.

Nonfiction podcast descriptions speak to who the audience is in real life, while fiction podcasts speak to the audience’s imagination.

A nonfiction podcast description can promise what the audience will get in exchange for their attention, but fiction’s impact has too many variables to make those promises. The sole element podcasters can control, and the promise you can keep is what we’ll hear, not why we should listen. 

How to Write a Fiction Podcast Description

50% of respondents to our Discovery survey told us that they start searching for new podcasts by opening up a podcast directory or app. Chances are good that your audience will find your description there or in a newsletter for podcast listeners or communities where people interested in audio drama or fiction podcasts congregate.

Your prospective audience knows what they’re looking for and where they want to find it.

Avoid Redundancies

Your podcast description doesn’t need to explain that your show is:

• A fiction or audio drama podcast
• A “movie for your ears,” “cinema of the mind,” or “radio play”
• Created by a brilliant writer or hard-working production team

Let it go.

People who search for audio drama and fiction know what a podcast is. What potential audiences don’t know is your story. That needs to be front and center in your podcast description. 

Now that we’ve eliminated redundancies, let’s address what your podcast description needs and why. Your fiction or audio drama podcast needs to be: 

• Shareable
• Easy to display in posts
• Actively focused on the plot

All three of these elements overlap with and complement each other. Let’s look at how to make these elements work best. 

Brevity Makes the Magic Happen

Whether your podcast hosting service gives you 100 or 10,000 characters for your podcast description, the first characters matter most. Any time someone posts a link to your podcast on social media, the platform pulls a limited number of characters from the destination URL to describe that link. 

How many? 

Any number I research for you today could change tomorrow. Social media platforms can change their character display limits on a whim. And, platforms collapse posts to make scrolling easier. To show the audience what your podcast is about, you want to get the logline in the post’s first hundred or hundred and twenty-five characters. Here’s an example of how a podcast link appears on Bluesky: 

I disappointed myself. Where’s the logline? It’s fragmented and hidden under the world-building. I’ve rewritten this description multiple times, but different directories display different versions of the description from my hosting service.

When a post clearly shows what to expect in the podcast, people are more likely to pay attention, and your fans can share the post easily. Keep your audio drama or fiction podcast description concise and to the point. The point, of course, is your logline, which we’ll get to next.

Stick to The Logline or Plot

When your fiction podcast description focuses on the logline, the audience knows what to expect. Your story might give audiences a world more vast and detailed than all of Lord of The Rings. First, you have to give the audience a point of entry. The logline gives casual browsers a handle to grab. Keep your podcast description concentrated on the throughline or narrative spine. 

What Makes a Great Logline?

Screenwriters use the term logline; others call it a throughline, an elevator pitch, or a narrative sentence. You may have also heard the term “tagline,” which is different.  Backstage Magazine has a detailed explanation of what a logline is and how to write a good one. In the meantime, let’s get back to your podcast description. Your logline needs to include the story’s: 

• Primary character(s)
• Inciting incident
• Protagonist’s goal
• Conflict and stakes

Here’s an example using the description and tagline from Six Minutes.

“Eleven-year-old Holiday is pulled from the icy waters of Alaska with no memory of who she is or where she comes from. And when she begins to develop incredible abilities, she’ll soon learn she’s not alone in the world.” 

The podcast art includes the tagline: “Before she was a girl… she was a weapon.” 

The tagline implies the elements of the logline, but it’s shorter and more mysterious. Let’s return to the description and break down what makes it effective. 

The logline tells you about the following: 

• The primary character (Holiday, an eleven-year-old girl with memory loss)
• The inciting incident (pulled from the icy waters of Alaska)
• The primary character’s goal (learn she’s not alone in the world or learn her identity)
• The conflict and stakes (no memory, begins to develop incredible abilities)

The tagline informs our understanding of the main character, conflict, and stakes. But, it lacks specificity that gives the potential audience something to grasp.  The podcast description tells us whose story this is, what they want, what’s in their way, and how they will get it. 

Now that you know what elements to include, let’s clarify and polish your logline.

Clarity Matters

Many audio drama and fiction podcast writers labor over their scripts for years. Some of these stories have vast tomes of world-building knowledge, with religions, currencies, alphabets, laws, hierarchies, dynastic feuds, and revolutionary shoe fashions. Cool. And some people want to include all of this background information in the podcast description.

Your description has to pique their interest. Then, your episodes can help them invest emotionally. Once they’re cosplaying as your characters, you can sell the spinoff graphic encyclopedia and vinyl record set explaining all aspects of your audio drama universe. But first, the description has to give casual browsers a handle to grab. 

There’s more lore in Lord of the Rings than in the Prose and Poetic Edda combined. But the Tolkienverse has influenced so many and endured for so long because, ultimately, it’s about an underdog who trades comfort for adventure.  That’s seven words.

Take, for example, The Dex Legacy. This epic saga includes political intrigue, war profiteering, interplanetary colonization, and intergenerational trauma. How does one fit all of that into a pithy, contagious description?

“Join Varian, Isra, and Ren as they battle to maintain every ounce of their humanity against a despotic regime determined to turn them into monsters.” 

That’s only 147 characters. I’m not saying this is easy. If you practice writing haiku, you may find it simpler. 

In as few words as possible, tell us about the person who wants something and what they risk to achieve it. Don’t tell us their tactics or how the process changes them. Let us experience those actions and changes as an audience. When you keep your podcast description simple, we can find something familiar in the logline and latch on. 

Active Voice Persuades

Surprise! All that time in seventh grade with Warriner’s English Grammar and Composition does matter. In the podcast descriptions I’ve shown you, nearly every verb uses active voice.

When you choose to use active or passive voice, neither is better or worse. But, active voice uses fewer words and implies forward motion. The sole exception is in the description for Six Minutes, where “Holiday is pulled from.” In this case, the passive verb tense avoids spoiling Holiday’s mystery or complicating the description.

Active voice piques your audience’s curiosity with a brief and dynamic description.

Don’t Be That Podcaster

Every time I edit the Fiction Podcast Weekly, I look for audio drama and fiction podcasts that have recently launched, published a new season, or reached a significant milestone.

Without fail, the podcast descriptions make me wonder who is telling these fiction podcasters to shove as many words into that podcast description as possible. At the same time, I’m scanning through all this text, exhaustedly praying for a logline, until I turn into Detective Mills at the climax of the movie Se7en, screaming, “WHAT’S IN THE BOX?” while John Doe drones on and on like a sad robot.

All audiences need to know is who wants what, how hard it will be to get, and what’s lit a fire under them this time.

Keep it brief, direct, and active.

Tell us what’s in the box so we can press play and share your show. 

Sign up for the Fiction Podcast Weekly newsletter. Whether you’re a creator, avid listener, or just audio drama-curious, don’t miss out on getting this essential bulletin delivered to your inbox every Friday!

Is The Emperor Naked?

if you don’t know the story of The Emperor’s New Clothes, you should. It’s an allegory for groupthink and trying to convince oneself that something is true.

Tech companies use podcasts as loss leaders to sell advertising and gather user data. Not only does this provide income, but it also drives up their stock prices. Plus, tech companies want people to make podcasts and buy the gear to make them. The global Audio Equipment Market was valued at $12.13 billion in 2020, and it is expected to reach $73.7 billion by 2030.

The tech industry benefits from podcasters using their products for creative expression. Podcasters make their products evoke productivity, creativity, and talent. If tech companies are The Emperor, podcasters aren’t just his subjects, but also the weavers making his invisible clothes.

The attention economy can also take a toll on our health. While you’re trying to make a podcast, a million digital enticements compete for your attention. It’s hard to make anything when you’re pressured to consume everything.

When you look around and see a lot of podcasters putting in a lot of time, money, and effort for little reward, you can start to wonder, is podcasting worth it? What, then?

Note the Negativity, Then Move On.

Bearing all this negative stuff in mind, how can podcasters move on? Let’s take a look at some parts of this puzzle.

Who Cares About Your Podcast?

When you have thoughts about “so what” and “who cares,” stop, and answer the question. You know who does care? Your audience avatar. Your ideal listener is the person who needs your podcast the most and can’t find it anywhere else. Figure out exactly who this person is, when they listen, what they do when they listen, and what your podcast does for them. This can help you determine, for example:

• how long each episode should be
• what your sound design should be like
• the best way to present your topics
• where and how to promote new episodes

Your ideal listener has a mirror-universe doppelganger, just like Mr. Spock wearing a goatee. This audience troll says irritating, negative things while you’re working. Grab that troll by the scruff of the neck, and let them spit out all their nasty little statements. Figure out exactly who they are. Not only does this give you a clear idea of who your podcast is not going to motivate, but also, by contrast, it tells you more about what not to do. And, when you’ve heard from your audience troll enough times, it becomes easier to shut them up. You know your podcast isn’t for that kind of audience.

Don’t Buy All The Gear, All The Time

There’s a joke in the zeitgeist about the podcaster who finally made money from his podcast by selling all his podcasting equipment. Podcasting can be expensive. The more money you spend, the more pressure builds. For years, everyone here at The Podcast Host has tried to be the Jedi Knights of podcasting, saying, “you don’t have to buy all the gear.” We recommend a lot of podcasting equipment, but we also try to find ways for people to make a podcast with the minimum amount of equipment. We also search for a balance between quality and price.

Take the pressure off yourself. Don’t buy tons of expensive gear, expecting it to make you sound good. Instead,

• research gear before you buy it
• experiment with technique before replacing or upgrading your kit
• be smart and careful with your purchases.

It’s easier to feel like your podcasting is worth it if you don’t have a big chunk of debt hanging over you. The reverse is true, too. It’s easier to feel like your workout is worth it if you treat yourself to a new pair of running shoes or workout clothes occasionally. If you have a few extra bucks and you want to buy yourself a gift, do it.

Attention is a Valuable Resource

The same mindset is true for our attention. Columbia University Law professor Tim Wu wrote a book called The Attention Merchants, all about who engineers and profits from grabbing and holding your attention.

In a 2018 interview with Vox, Wu said, “I’ve been very interested in…feats of concentration that people used to perform all the time — [such as] writing a book in six weeks or a computer program in a few days… I do think it’s become considerably harder in our environment to enter important and deep states of focus and concentration, because we surround ourselves with technology, whose business model is to distract us…. Our computers are ostensibly productivity-enhancing machines, but they also are loaded with platforms whose business model is to consume as much of your time as possible with ads and noise and distraction.”

Not only is it hard to produce a podcast (because you’re competing with distractions), but it’s also hard to get anyone to pay attention to your podcast, because they’re distracted too.

So, how can you make your podcasting worth it with all that nonsense?

• Treat the audience like the valuable resource they are. Thank them in your intros and outros. Make it easy for them to get in touch.
• Guard your time and focus like the valuable resource it is. Practice digital minimalism. Minimize your social media use.
• See other independent podcasters as potential collaborators, not competitors. Swap trailers for each other’s shows, write social media posts promoting each other’s content, and partner up to produce special episodes.
• Consider what podcast production tasks you can do without electricity. Many distractions run on it: try using a tool like a planner or journal for some tasks.

Podcasters are part of the attention economy, making avoiding distractions difficult. But, you don’t have to consume a steady stream of digital media to know what’s happening in podcasting. Practice self-awareness and build boundaries between your podcast and whatever sustains you emotionally and intellectually.

Why Are You Doing This?

My mom would ask this question when she caught four-year-old me drawing on my dolls’ faces. It sounds like, “stop it,” but it’s not, necessarily. Every podcaster should know why they’re producing a podcast. Once they know the answer, they can focus their efforts and make a sustainable workflow. Why do you want to produce a podcast? Maybe it’s:

• to tell a story that no one else can
• so you can make money or get a better job
• to enhance your existing career or business
• because experimenting with immersive or dynamic audio is interesting
• to build empathy and understanding
• for some people, to become famous

Once you know why, that reason helps you with every aspect of your podcast workflow. You’ll better know who you want to reach, how, and what you want to share with them. There are so many really good reasons that podcasting is worth it.

The “famous” part is one that you may have to reframe. While Andy Warhol said that everyone wants to be famous, for about fifteen minutes, it’s not sustainable or realistic. It’s highly unlikely that you’ll be Rogan or Oprah, because they’re statistical outliers who each had a big following before they started. You can, however, be your amazing self and have a unique podcast niche with a loyal audience.

Would you rather be famous, or respected? They’re not the same thing. At times, the steps you take to get a lot of attention can dilute or undermine getting sustainable, meaningful engagement.

Podcasting Is Worth It When You Keep It Simple

Think of podcasting as a communication tool, like mailing a letter or drawing a picture. You have interests, skills, and talents. There are topics and stories worth sharing. People, out in the world, that you have never met, can benefit from your podcast. You should be aware of the reasons that podcasting might not be worth it. Knowledge is power. This will help you make strategies to dismantle that cycle of negativity. Life is short. Share your story.

Picture it: You’ve launched your podcast, published some episodes, and gotten good reviews or positive feedback from your audience. What could be better? When your audience wants to support you, reward them with some podcast bonus content. We’ll discuss what to make, how to deliver it, and how to make your podcast bonus content as effective as possible. 

The Medium and The Message 

Like ad fitness and brand suitability, the best bonus content complements the podcast it supports. When brainstorming, stay consistent while building on the podcast’s existing material. If you have a tennis podcast, don’t reward your supporters with a 45-minute lecture about coal mining. Not only do you want to keep your topic in mind, but you also need to consider your show’s:

• Value proposition
• Ideal audience
• Tone or mood

Once you have those nailed down, consider the medium you want to use for your bonus content. This will affect your podcast workflow in the future. In the meantime, let’s look at different podcast bonus content types. 

Audio Bonus Content

This differs from early access to episodes. Your bonus content audio won’t be available anywhere else; it’s only available to your show’s supporters. Some may be material you recorded for an episode but couldn’t use. Other options are material recorded specifically as bonus content. Let’s look at some options and how to make them most effective. 

Outtakes or “Bloopers”

This kind of bonus content audio is the easiest to come by. Every podcast recording has moments where someone stumbles over their speech or says something odd. But, if you’ve ever watched movie blooper reels, you know that a long string of mistakes followed by “sorry, let me try again” isn’t wildly interesting. 

But you may find some gems. Once, my husband walked in while I was recording an episode of ADWIT to tell me that dinner was ready. My co-host, Sarah, asked what’s on the menu. Instead of hitting “stop,” I handed over the mic and let him tell her what he’d cooked and how. She was so excited about my husband’s cooking that she proceeded to share every detail of her recipe for crispy jacket potatoes. Is this relevant to a podcast about writing techniques for audio drama podcasts? No. Is it valuable, funny, and rewarding? In hindsight, yes. So, I’ll save that audio for bonus content.

Don’t forget to maintain your audience’s expectations. Use the same standards and editing clean-up (such as noise reduction, volume leveling, etc.) that you would use for your podcast’s published audio. Yes, Hollywood movie blooper reels often have the bare minimum of clean-up. But you want your supporters to understand your podcast bonus content, so make sure it’s clear. 

If your show is “clean,” don’t use explicit material when you pick deleted audio. Though they happen frequently and may be funny at the moment, an expletive in the middle of a kids’ podcast isn’t funny enough to be worth using in bonus content for supporters. 

Extras

Whether this audio comes from your usual recording sessions or you write and record it separately, extras enhance the audience’s understanding of your podcast’s topic. Think about how a movie’s “DVD extras” or “Blu-ray extras” are material from the movie that’s been cut for time. They may shift focus from the main plot but also help the audience understand the story and characters. 

For example, the end-of-season episodes in David Tennant Does a Podcast With… are montage episodes. They include interview material outside the interview’s throughline. For example, in Tennant’s interview with James Corden, they talked about Corden’s past television shows. But, the Season 1 montage episode includes how James Corden feels about Oasis’ album “Be Here Now” and why. Corden’s feelings about a pop album from 1997 would be superfluous to the casual listener. But, to an audience emotionally invested in the podcast’s conversations, Corden’s capsule album review is a pleasant surprise.

Not only do montage episodes of guest extras make great bonus content, behind-the-scenes material showing how you make your podcast can be valuable to your audience. Does your podcast have terrific original music, or meditative sound beds? These can make good podcast bonus content, too. 

Printables

What aspect of your podcast’s topic benefits from written descriptions and pictures? Can you type it up, create some images in Canva, and save it as a PDF? Whether you call it a printable, a template, or a PDF, these resources are simple to make and share. 

Recipes, workout routines, coloring pages, knitting techniques, vintage maps, or articles you used for research make good podcast bonus content.

As printable bonus content, I created a written and illustrated guide to how I plan an audio drama story arc for a season. After saving this as a PDF, I gave it away as a reward to participants in our audience survey.

These PDFs are simple to share, so make sure your podcast’s name and URL are visible in the document. If someone gets supporter’s remorse and tries to repurpose your PDF, make sure the recipient knows who made it. Canva can help you watermark your images for no additional cost.

Whatever you do, make sure the information on that PDF is something you’ve created, bought the license to share, or is in the public domain. Don’t copy and paste other people’s material into your podcast bonus content. It’s one thing to share your grandmother’s recipe for fig bars and another to copy a Martha Stewart recipe. At worst, you’ll get a cease and desist order, and at best, you’ll ruin your reputation. 

Tangible Bonuses

Tactile objects can feel like special gifts. This podcast bonus content option doesn’t have to be complex. Never underestimate the good feeling of real mail from a real person. 

Now that we’re deep in the digital age, personal mail you can hold in your hand feels special. Handwritten thank-you notes, postcards, and letters are all simple ways to show gratitude for your audience’s support.  You can also send the same bonus content resources you’d use for the printable PDFs mentioned earlier. Print them on quality paper that feels good to touch, and include a personal note to say thanks. 

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When I started supporting Long Cat Media on Ko-Fi, I received a theatrical program for their podcast, The Ballad of Anne and Mary, and a copy of Chart Toppers magazine, a satire of British pop music fan magazines from the 1980s. The former enhanced my experience of listening to their musical, and the latter gave me a nostalgic twinge. These also showed the quality of their non-audio work, which made me more likely to buy their posters or tote bags.

Enclose an introductory note with tangible materials. Particularly if you produce a true crime podcast, mailing printed research materials without an introductory note could scare your supporters. And, you don’t want to send anything much heavier than a standard letter, as it can get expensive. This brings us to the key challenge of podcast bonus content…

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Delivery Methods

Remember how I said earlier that the medium you choose for your bonus content will affect your production workflow? I wasn’t kidding. 

Let’s say you have a crowdfunding campaign for your podcast, in which everyone who pledges $20 gets bonus content. If that bonus content costs you more than $20 to make and deliver, you may as well not have bothered. Once you know how much it will cost (not just money, but also time) to make and deliver the bonus content, figure out how much your audience should pledge to get it. 

Make sure you can get the bonus content to them in a timely fashion. If enough time passes, not only will your supporters feel ignored, but by the time they receive it, your supporters might not care. 

Here are some strategies for delivering your podcast bonus content. 

Delivering Audio Privately

A simple method is to use a private RSS feed for your supporters. Publish the bonus content to the private RSS feed, and send them the RSS feed URL. You may want to include a brief explanation, so they know how to use that RSS feed with their favorite podcast listening app. 

Another delivery method favored by many podcasters is to embed a podcast player in a password-protected page of your podcast website. Check the knowledge base or support documents of your website platform to learn how to password-protect a page. Then, embed the episode’s player in the page, and set the password. Share the web page’s URL and password with your supporters, so they can listen to the bonus content. 

You could also upload bonus content to YouTube and set the video as unlisted. This way, only people with the video’s link can open it. Then, email the YouTube link to your bonus content to your supporters. This doesn’t prevent the supporter from sharing your link with non-supporters, but it’s a straightforward option for you and your audience. 

Delivering PDFs or Printables

While this may seem too obvious to include, my experience with podcasting has taught me that nothing is completely self-explanatory for everyone. 

Like the aforementioned password-protected page for audio bonus content, you can save a document as a PDF, make it a page on your podcast website, and set up password protection. You can also save the PDF document in Google Drive, and make it only shareable to certain email addresses. Or, you could simply email it.

Delivering Tangible Rewards

Again, don’t make physical rewards significantly heavier than typical mail unless you have to. Murphy’s Law dictates you’ll suddenly learn that you have fifty fans living in remote locations on the opposite side of the planet.  And, if you’re making bonus content for a true-crime, mystery, or horror podcast, don’t make the envelope or packaging too authentic. The last thing you need is for your audience to complain that they never received their podcast extras because you stamped it all over with “WARNING: CRIME SCENE EVIDENCE” or something along those lines.  Let your podcast bonus content travel incognito and surprise your supporters when they get it. 

Above all, don’t make podcast bonus content you can’t deliver! In the early days of crowdfunding, blue-sky thinking would take the reins and invent unrealistic stretch goals for high-dollar-value pledges. To make $100 pledges seem more realistic, some creators would promise exorbitant rewards for huge pledges. One creator offered, “Pledge $10,000, and I’ll have dinner with you and paint your portrait.” Rewards like this take time and effort that can take you away from your podcast workflow. Extraordinary rewards won’t help you make more episodes of your regular podcast, let alone bonus content.

Again, bonus content that complements your show, enhances the audience’s understanding of your topic, and isn’t expensive or difficult to deliver will make your podcast’s bonus content reward your audience. 

How to Make Your Bonus Content Go Further

Once you’ve produced your podcast’s bonus content and are ready to send it, ask the recipient to post on social media that they got it and tag your podcast. This confirms that they received it and makes your supporters’ social media followers and friends wonder what the mysterious reward is and how they got it. Turn that supporter reward into future promotion. 

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Bonus Content is a Return on Your Supporter’s Investment

Think of your audience as a fairy godparent, making it easier for you to make your show. They’re doing it because they want more of your ideas. So, share the concepts, methods, or stories that only the most devoted fans of your show will enjoy. 

When you plan to create your podcast bonus content, don’t start what you can’t finish.  Instead, keep delivery methods in mind as you plan your campaign. This way, you won’t have to change tactics after your campaign is underway. 

Have you ever created bonus content for your podcast? Have you ever signed up to recieve bonus content from another? We’d love to hear your stories, lessons, and opinions on bonus content in the IndiePod Community!

A media kit makes it easy for people to find, understand, and share your show. Some people find this intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be.  PodKit helps you…

“Ditch manual work and get a sharable Media Kit page with a real-time view on your analytics and content to land bigger guests & sponsors.”

Is Podkit a good tool to promote your podcast? Let’s find out.

What is Podkit? 

Podkit is a website that takes your podcast’s information and creates a web page to share. The form you fill out supplies the title, description, and host’s names. You can download and save or print a PDF, or share the page URL. Most podcast media kits are like this, though Podkit uses embedded video.

Podkit also links to a blog and a beta podcaster’s community on Slack, to help you learn more.

By the way, we use an affiliate link to Podkit, meaning we’d earn a small commission should you sign up for the Premium tier through it. Rest assured, affiliate links never cloud our judgment, though, and that won’t prevent me from giving my honest thoughts on the tool.

How Does Podkit Work? 

Though Podkit has a free tier, I sprung for the Premium tier to test more features. Podkit’s checklist walks you through the steps.

Setting Up Podkit

Fill in your title, the host’s name, and podcast description. Then, add URLs to published links to your podcast episodes. 

Podkit asks for your “main platform.” You can choose between YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn. Don’t worry about verifying your RSS feed or including a website. I have both, but Podkit doesn’t ask for either.

Copy and paste the URLs from your accounts on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Instagram, TikTok, or LinkedIn. Podkit pulls stats and posts from these URLs. However, not all these platforms are connected to Podkit. Apple Podcasts, for example, is “coming soon.” 

If you have an episode on Spotify you’d like to feature, you can enter the URL for that episode, too. 

You can choose two of the media kit colors. The page background is the thumbnail of the YouTube video of your choice. You don’t have to own the video—any video will do. Here’s a version of the media kit I made using a link to a YouTube video of The Graham Norton Show.

It looks super. Maybe people will think Emma Thompson and Robert Downey Jr. have been on my show.

Enter the URL of an episode from Spotify to feature on the media kit. The process is the same as with YouTube; no ownership confirmation is necessary. 

What Does Podkit Do With This Info?

Your media kit displays:

• the total number of fans from all platforms combined,
• the average number of listeners,
• the number of episodes. 

Podkit’s sample page displays the show’s Apple Podcasts listener demographics, Spotify overview, and most recent posts on Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn. All the information available on each platform is conveniently compiled in one location.

When I clicked to join the beta community, Slack greeted me to explain that the link had expired. I know what “beta testing” means, but I expected a little more for a paid account.  

Podkit prompts you to find a sponsor. First, fill out a form with your show’s title and description. Then, choose from Podkit’s list of affiliate programs, one of which is, curiously, anchor.fm. Spotify for Podcasters absorbed Anchor (changing the name and re-branding) in March 2023. Including Anchor in the affiliate list makes me believe Podkit lacks adequate information about affiliate marketing or podcasting business news.

Pricing and Features

Free: You can connect up to two platforms, and your stats update every 14 days. You can download one PDF version of the media kit per month, and Podkit’s watermark will grace your media kit.

Premium: For $9 per month, you can connect all (available) platforms, and your stats update daily. You can download an unlimited amount of PDF versions of your media kit. This tier includes access to Podkit’s Beta Podcasters Community. Plus, you can reach out to up to 100 affiliate sponsors from their list. This tier includes 24/7 customer support, and, at this level, your media kit is not watermarked.

Invite Only: This tier provides all previously mentioned features, plus unlimited sponsors on Podkit, a special media kit for your network, and private beta access to features.

What Can Podkit Do for Your Podcast?

If your podcast is on Spotify and/or YouTube, Podkit can provide a stats page as pitch material for sponsors. This may be a good fit if you already have high download numbers.

In time, Podkit may expand connections to podcast directories and sponsorship opportunities.

Currently, Podkit isn’t ready to help independent podcasters promote their shows. Some bugs need help, such as the lack of connection to Apple Podcasts, the expired link to their Slack community, and the anchorless link to their blog.

Spotify podcasters who want to monetize may find the Spotify Partner Program’s terms and conditions don’t fit neatly with Podkit’s sponsorship program. Always read the fine print.

Displaying my show’s statistics on a publicly available page made me anxious. Do I really want the latest version of my podcast’s numbers available to anyone, anytime? What if I went on vacation? What if a troll brigade attacks my Apple Podcasts reviews? Statistics don’t govern a sustainable content strategy.

People who want to share or sponsor your show need more information than download numbers. They’re not the same as listens. Ad fitness has less to do with numbers and more with psychographics. Podkit is a convenient way to funnel numbers from multiple social media sites to one page. But it doesn’t substantiate your show and what it can do.

Is Podkit The Way To Promote Your Podcast? 

If you want to find opportunities for hosted ad reads for your podcast or YouTube channel, Podkit could be an efficient way to show sponsors your download numbers.

But download numbers don’t tell us what goes into a show or its impact. Download stats aren’t hard to artificially inflate, as in the 2017 case of Maximum Media’s use of a click farm, or MowPod’s use of mobile game ads.

If I write a feature article about a podcast for any publication, I need a relevant angle for the readers. To understand the show’s relevance, I would need the podcast’s media kit to explain the show’s value and ideal audience. Download numbers and social media platform stats don’t show how or why the show is meaningful.

Podkit is fine if you need to compile statistics into one page and “ditch manual work.” But, if you consider your podcast more than “content” or “inventory,” consider making your own media kit instead.

Our Podcast Promotion Guide can help you find inventive ways to get your show in front of the people who need it most. And, our Indiepod Community is a great spot for discussing strategies and tips to grow your show with other podcasters. Check out our recent discussion about Winning Content Collaborations With Bigger Podcasters Than You, for some ideas.

• Nurture your audience, within your episodes and on your website, social media, and newsletters.
• Reward your audience, but be careful of unhealthy parasocial relationships.
• Connect with other podcasters in online community spaces and in real life.
• Remember: these are human beings, not chatbots.

Most people go into podcasting because they’re interested in communicating with others. But, with all the tasks in a podcast workflow, it’s not so easy to connect with a podcast community. On the flip side, promoting a show to your audience is hard without a community. You can end up in a lonely feedback loop.

Not only do you need a community of avid podcast listeners who are interested in your topic, but you also need a community of fellow podcasters to provide support, answer your podcasting questions, and understand your challenges. Get both of these nailed down, and you’ll improve your podcast growth, not to mention your mental health and general well-being.

Let me show you some ways to build your podcast community, avoid social traps, and connect with fellow podcasters and the podcasting industry.

The Audience, or the Reason You Went Into Podcasting in the First Place

Of course, you want to communicate with your audience. Communication is key to building word of mouth and promoting your show. Sometimes, though, it’s intimidating, and it can take you away from your other podcasting tasks. Here are some ways to reach your audience without changing your podcast workflow.

Build Community Inside Your Podcast Content.

Thanking your listeners by name doesn’t cost you a thing. When you get feedback, reviews, or questions, thank the sender by name. This makes the audience feel appreciated and come back for more.  

Another way to put your audience in the show meaningfully is to start with a voice feedback survey. Ask questions about your show’s topic, and they can contribute answers. Speakpipe, Tellbee, and other web-based voice recording and transcription services are good ways to let your fans be part of your show.

Live streaming a podcast episode is another great way to get your audience involved in your podcast community. This lets you make video content and repurpose portions for Instagram or YouTube.

Build Podcast Community Outside Your Episode Content

You can be the producer of a thousand people’s favourite podcasts, but unless you give your audience a straightforward route, they won’t get in touch with you.

Build a Home Base for Your Podcast

Yes, you need a website. Many podcasters roll their eyes because it’s extra work. No, making a website doesn’t have to be hard. But, your podcast website helps new listeners find your show. Search engines index websites, not the contents of podcast directories. If someone wants to give you money, how else should they find you?

Most media hosting services include a simple website as part of the package. Podpage is an easy way to make a site, and so is Wix.

Your podcast website needs an email address or a “contact us” form. At the very least, put an email address in your show notes.

Is Social Media a Good Club for Podcasts?

Social media is a good podcast discovery tool, but it’s not great. Your Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram or Facebook presence can be an avenue for engagement. But, your posts compete with everything else on the platform. Social media sites are meant to hook users and keep them scrolling, not going to another site to listen to your cool podcast. It can help get your show in front of people who might not see it otherwise. However, you should weigh up whether social media negatives outweigh the positives.

Your Podcast’s Community vs Social Media Platforms

You can build a podcast community within social media sites, like a Facebook group or a subreddit discussion group. These are great because they’re meant for discussion. People can easily discover your podcast there, but just as easily scroll on. Again, people will likely spend time on any social media site because they like that specific platform. They’ll enjoy the content you put there, but aren’t likely to follow you off-site without a compelling reason.

Social media marketers use the adage “never build on borrowed land” to caution people about prioritizing their social media presence over buying and making their own websites. If you tried to have a Facebook Live event on Monday October 4, 2021, you probably didn’t enjoy it much. Different social media platforms come and go.

Spammers and trolls thrive on big social media platforms because they’re easy to join and hard to moderate. If you’ve ever been in a Facebook discussion group where suddenly someone interrupted, trying to sell you bitcoin, you know how things can fall apart.

If you create a community group on a platform that anyone can join, have a friction point before people can get into the group. Ask them some relevant questions proving their interest in your podcast’s topic. Make sure they understand your terms and conditions. Otherwise, you can start with lively discussions and end up with spam and fights.

Newsletters for Your Podcast Content

Making a newsletter is one way to avoid the social media doomscroll trap. Who doesn’t love getting emails from their favorite podcast? Start with a call to action in your episodes. Offer your audience something they can only get via email, like a PDF of a favourite recipe, maps, art, or visual assets related to your show. Make something that complements your existing podcast content, that you don’t mind giving away. This gives your audience incentive to sign up. Maintain your email list with an email marketing tool suite to keep it organized with minimal fuss, and protect your audience’s privacy. This way, your relationship with your podcast community can be more direct and personal.

Private Platforms for Your Podcast Community

If you don’t mind more work, you can use a private social media platform.

For example, Discord is an invitation-only, topic-based social media platform with many features. Mostly text-based, it resembles Slack or Internet Relay Chat if you’re old enough to remember it. It’s free, but users can purchase Nitro to upload more data and get special features. Discord has a knowledge base of safety features, training for moderators, and a keyword blocker. The features include text and/or voice chat and a library of app integrations. You can even host live events for your podcast community with Stage Channels.

Circle resembles Facebook circa 2007, without the ads, games, and pokes that made it infamous. You can create subtopic channels, automate welcome messages, and host live events and on-camera discussions within your community. Pricing starts at $39 a month, with a 14-day free trial. But you can monetize community participation. Let’s say, for example, your podcast is about fly fishing. You can have people join the discussion groups for free, but charge admission for the content about how to tie fishing flies.

Running a private podcast community is more work, obviously, than a discussion group on a wider social media platform. Include something in your community that adds value at least once a week, separate from your podcast content. It can be an on-camera demonstration, posting your latest episode, behind-the-scenes content, or whatever you and your audience want to share. Otherwise, there’s little reason for people to keep coming back.

Regarding community moderation, check in at least once daily to see how things are going. Someone who seemed genuinely interested in your podcast community when they joined might forget their manners. One rude person can be a huge turn-off for others and make people stop participating.

Podcast Community and Parasocial Relationships

Whatever the platform, watch out for any aspect of your community that makes you or your audience uncomfortable. You want your community to be friendly and supportive, generate good word of mouth, and help your show grow. Unfortunately, some people can misunderstand or exploit podcasting community support.

In Mikhaela Nadora’s paper, Parasocial Relationships with Podcast Hosts, she discusses social deixis (how podcast hosts address the entire audience as one important person) and spatial deixis (simulating physical co-presence). These factors create the illusion that the podcast host and listener share an experience.

“Podcast listeners report effects of intimacy, which leads to greater authenticity and conversation practices than radio. When hosts share personal topics, as discussed above, it is considered a sign of intimacy.”

It’s great that podcasts make us feel less lonely. When people in your audience make friends with each other, that’s even better. However, parasocial relationships (a connection where one party thinks they have mutual magnetism and the other doesn’t reciprocate) happen quite a bit in podcasting. They can have dangerous results.

Your podcast community should be a place where you and your audience can be safe. People who are online often (like podcasters) should protect their online activity. Use strong passwords and two-step authentication. Take extra steps to protect your audience’s privacy. When you participate in podcast community events in person, take whatever precautions you need to keep a safety zone around yourself. We can all share ideas and values, but the minute someone makes you or someone else feel uncomfortable, get help.

Connecting With the Larger Podcasting Community

There are three ways to connect with your fellow podcasters. One is to go to a park in the morning, find a quiet bench, sit down, and toss handfuls of stale popcorn onto the sidewalk. If you really want to impress the podcast community, bring sunflower seeds.

(Checks notes) I’m sorry. That’s pigeons, not podcasters.

There are two ways to connect with your fellow podcasters: in-person or online. The latter is less work but requires more frequent involvement. The former can be more work and investment in terms of time, travel and money. But it can have a greater impact on your podcast growth.

Online Podcast Community: Frequent, Accessible, Low-Impact.

Like the online community you’d create for your audience, there are online communities for podcasters. They’re a good way to get help with obstacles, find shows interested in swapping trailers or interviews, or learn what people think of different products or services based on their experience. Remember, though, they’re not a great place to promote your show. Text-based interaction can make it hard to read social cues, so read the community’s rules and spend some time reading posts, before jumping into discussions.

Facebook Podcasting Communities

These podcast communities are often the easiest to set up and join. Since there are so many, think about what you want to get out of them before you join. Is it specific enough? For example, the Audio Drama Hub is for people interested in making audio drama and fiction podcasts. The Underdog Podcast Community is for independent podcasters. There are Facebook podcast communities for different hosting services, genders, countries, cities, audience sizes, and pretty much any niche you can think of. Moderation and content vary. Most groups have regulations about self-promotion. Otherwise, the podcast community devolves into a chain of posts shouting, “You should listen to my podcast. Here’s a link. Okay, bye.”

Discord Podcasting Communities

When Patreon first started, Discord servers were a feature of many campaigns. So, more often than not, podcast-related Discord communities tend to focus on an individual show. But, Discord communities seem to proliferate like bunnies.

Some Discord communities for podcasters include:

• The WGA Audio Alliance, for fiction podcast writers.
• The Podcasters’ Community – a general podcasting community with dozens of channels for subtopics, almost anything from editing to food.

Anyone can join Discord, but communities are invitation-only. Invitation links can expire based on how the server owner sets their permissions. That said, finding and joining a Discord podcasting community is not hard. If you sign up for almost any podcasting newsletter and read each issue carefully, eventually, you will come across a post promoting a Discord community that you’ll find interesting, with a link.

Follow a Podcast About Podcasting and Join Their Community

If it’s not already obvious, where there’s a podcast about podcasting, chances are there’s an online community related to it. For example, we have our PodCraft podcast, and The Indiepod Community. As our Community Manager, Allegra, says, “This community exists to provide a safe space for podcasters to make connections and get the help and encouragement they need to grow their podcasts without the icky sales posts, unreliable information, and post-and-ghost behaviours you see in some other groups. There is none of that here, just useful information and community. We want no podcasters left behind!”

In general, approach online communities with an open mind, pay attention to details, and don’t put your self-promo on blast. A quiet, supportive person needs to show up frequently to make an impact, but they’re more likely to gain followers and invitations. Nobody likes a blowhard. Everybody likes a butterfly.

In-Person Podcast Community: Infrequent, Unusual, High-impact

Podcast conferences, meetups, and mastermind sessions are a great way to meet other podcasters and learn more about your craft. These happen less frequently and require more time, money, and effort. Many of these opportunities have virtual attendance options for those who can’t make that investment. Virtual attendance is great if you want to pay attention to lectures or panel discussions, but you miss out on personal interaction. Here are some important in-person meetups that you should know about. Don’t forget to check our Events page for more.

Podcast Movement

This organization is so big that it’s split into two separate conferences for different needs. Podcast Movement is the annual conference with education, networking, a trade show of different products and technology, and, of course, parties. Podcast Movement Evolutions is a more affordable event meant for podcasters. This event focuses more on education to “directly benefit anyone currently involved with, or looking to get into, podcasting and the podcast industry.” Podcast Movement prides itself on being big, and is not only for podcasters but also for those interested in the industry’s fiscal possibilities.

Podcast Brunch Club

Avid podcast listeners who take their consumption choices very seriously will benefit from Podcast Brunch Club. Producers can benefit from knowing what podcast aficionados prize in a good podcast, but otherwise, this group is audience-specific: “like a book club, but for podcasts.” They have virtual and in-person meetings, and club chapters meet from Shanghai to Santa Cruz.

Their website includes articles and interviews with podcast creators, and their membership shares themed playlists of episodes. Again, this group is for audiences more than it’s for podcasters, but podcast producers can learn a lot from this community’s meetups and content.

How Successful Creators Build Loyal Communities 

Read article called: How Successful Creators Build Loyal Communities 

Podcast Growth Mastermind

A mastermind is an opportunity to learn from leaders and peers in a particular field or industry. It’s a small-group discussion where experts and laypersons gather for structured discussion and tasks to accomplish a goal. They can be virtual, in-person, or hybrid. Accountability, networking, and inspiration are just some of the benefits. Plus, it sounds like a comic book villain or a board game that your older cousins always beat you at playing on rainy days.

Type the phrase “podcast growth mastermind” into any search engine, and you’ll find dozens, all varying in content, format, price, and quality. These usually have paid admission, a set number of seats, and an attendance policy. Since podcasting is so new (20 years might seem like a long time) and depends so much on virtual content, the leader could be someone with decades of experience in podcasting and related fields, or they could be someone who has made one podcast (if any).

How do you know which podcast growth mastermind to choose? Get the one who has the biggest cranium. They must have a lot of smarts in that noggin!

In all seriousness, find one where the goals align with yours, and they’re familiar with and sympathetic to your topic. Strategy varies for different kinds of podcasts. You wouldn’t ask a golf pro how to cook a hamburger. Well, you might, but you wouldn’t get mad if they weren’t good at it.

Afros & Audio

This podcast community helps Black independent podcasters and audio professionals at every stage of their journey and workflow, from how to start a podcast to networking and educating others. Afros and Audio focus outward (representation in the greater podcast industry, shifting the conversation beyond representation) and inward (creating networks to share resources). Founder Talib Jasir has education and experience in storytelling, wellness and yoga, public policy, and social justice. So, this organization is uniquely poised to make podcasting a tool for people to improve their lives both behind the mic and within the headphones. Their annual conference has almost always been in a Mid-Atlantic city, which makes me have a soft spot in my heart for them.

How to Choose The Right In-Person Podcasting Community?

Price, location, and schedule will obviously affect your choices. If all of these factors are equal, check the organizer’s “about” page. Look for a mission statement, or find out what their values are.

For example, hashtagimpact has an altruistic value statement focused on empowering podcasters. At the very least, the “about” page should have a bio that tells you the organizers’ experience and goals. Ask yourself if the language they use feels right for you.

Whether they say things like, “we strive to build a safe space for emerging creatives of diverse experiences to lift their voice,” or “Hack your growth to extreme measures with pros who have skin in the game to take it to the next level and gain l33t status,” you can read between the lines and find a good fit. It never hurts to search for information about the event or organizers separately, to find what others have said about them.

You might have to spend money, time, and effort, but you’re more likely to feel you’re growing in the right direction. Besides, since these events are less frequent, you can commit to different events at different times. The in-person events we mentioned are just a few of the worldwide menu of podcasting meetups, conferences, and events: for more, check our Events page.

You Can’t Spell Podcast Community Without You and I. Or Taco, For That Matter

This is a massive amount of information to digest. But community is complicated. It’s a multifaceted prism of expectations and behaviours.

Podcasting sharpens what community refracts.

Hey, that’s pretty good. I should put that on some podcast merch.

Building your podcast’s community doesn’t take too much work, provided you intentionally include it in your workflow.

Social media is useful, especially for promoting your show to new people. But it shouldn’t be the only way you interact with your audience. Private channels can be more work, but they make more meaningful connections. Podcasting affects its audience differently than other media, so beware of parasocial relationships. Connecting with the podcasting community worldwide requires different kinds of effort and return. Online engagement should be frequent, focused on support and advice, and less on self-promotion. In-person engagement requires more personal investment, but the rewards exceed your podcast; it can enhance your self-esteem and change you for the better.

What matters most is that you approach your podcast community from a place of gratitude and support. When you thank and help others, over time, you’ll get much more out of your podcasting community than you expected.

According to data from our recent Podcast Discovery Survey, a decent chunk of listeners find new shows based on recommendations from podcasts they already enjoy.

It’s no secret that for podcasting to grow, podcasters have to promote each other’s shows. And audiences want podcaster recommendations. In the following paragraphs, I’ll show you some time-tested podcast cross-promotion strategies and case studies to inspire you. 

What Does Podcast Cross-Promotion Mean?

I asked different podcasters what kind of podcast cross-promotion tactics they’d used and how they’d worked out. One podcaster told me a long, detailed story about promoting his own show. When I asked the question again, he told me the same story in greater detail. Clearly, I should have used different terminology. 

Podcast cross-promotion is when you find a podcast in your niche (or a niche that complements your podcast) and make a deal where you publicize their podcast to your audience. In exchange, they share your podcast with their audience. 

Our Discovery Survey asked, “When you want to find a new podcast, what do you do first?” The second most popular choice was “Listen for recommendations on the podcasts I already enjoy.” And, when we asked, “How did you discover the podcast you listened to most recently?” the top choices included a recommendation on another show or the creator was interviewed on another podcast. 

Audiences want your recommendations. This isn’t competition. Podcast cross-promotion is like an extra gift for audiences. They enjoy your ideas and conversations, so why not show them the wider world with shows that are like yours? 

Five Tried and True Methods

While these aren’t the only ways podcasters can work together for cross-promotion, these are five tried and true methods that have worked for podcasters since time immemorial. Or, at any rate, since podcasts have existed. If you haven’t tried at least one of these promotion methods, you’re ignoring a good opportunity right in front of you. 

1. Trailer Swap or Hosted Ad Read

The simplest cross-promotion method is to swap trailers. First, make sure you have a great podcast trailer, with a clear call to action. Include a short link or a PrettyLink to get people to your website’s “listen now” page. Not only is this easier for the audience to remember, but a PrettyLink can include tracking data. Edit their trailer into your podcast, wherever it fits best, and ask them to do the same. 

Hosted ad reads work similarly. Write a few talking points for the other podcaster to cover, including your podcast title and description. Keep it brief and casual. Ask the podcaster you cross-promote with to write the same thing for you to read on your podcast. If you can, include links in the show notes in your trailer swap or hosted ad read swap. It can be as simple as “If you enjoyed this, you’ll like [XYZ.]” If your podcast’s title is hard to pronounce, this helps.

2. Interview Swaps

If your podcast is an interview show, you’re probably always cross-promoting. When you find podcast guests, you’re promoting authors with a book to advertise, yoga teachers with a class to sell, and so on. Swapping interviews with another podcaster is pretty much the same thing. The difference is how you each address the same overall topic or niche. 

Learn what makes your shows similar and different. Then, discuss how your perspectives on the same issue complement each other. Make this about elevating your show’s topic. Maybe you’ve each got a show about fly fishing, but yours focuses on Montana, and the other podcaster focuses on Iceland. What can your audiences learn from each other’s shows? 

3. Podcaster Cross-Promotion Events

As podcasting matures, cross-promotion events mature and stabilize. Some started as a request to post on social media with celebratory hashtags. Now, there are opportunities for education, fundraising, and more. For example: 

• International Podcast Day celebrates “the power of podcasts” with live-streamed webinars, branded social media images and videos, and awards. This is a great time to publish a special episode, such as a montage, panel discussion, or interview swaps.
• Podcasthon is “the world’s largest podcast charity initiative, bringing together podcasters globally to raise awareness for charitable causes.” All you have to do is register and produce a podcast episode that raises funds for the charity of your choice. Publish it during the week of Podcasthon, and the organizers will share your episode. You get to be part of a movement, raise funds for a charity that matters to you and your audience, and get free promotion. What’s not to love?

4. Co-Hosted Live Events

Whether streamed or in-person, live events grab attention and feel more urgent than anything pre-recorded. Ever notice how when you watch Saturday Night Live, even a day or week after the broadcast, the audience’s presence and the shared moment make the event feel more important? Here are some ways you can cross-promote podcasts, live: 

• Live-stream an episode with other podcasters, whether co-hosted or a panel discussion, focusing on a topic of shared interest. 
• Share a booth at a conference related to your show’s topic. You can share the cost, and take turns being in charge of the booth when the other needs to take a stretch break. You can work together to get people to sign up for a mailing list, give out business cards or stickers with QR codes, and chat with people in your niche. Plus, you’ll learn more about the topic of your show from people at the conference. 
• Co-host a meetup or event. Is there a local business that you and a podcaster in your niche can work with? How about an event space? Your yoga podcast can sponsor a class at a local studio, or your beer podcast can host a tasting at a local brewery. Use your creativity, keep it simple and have fun. 

5. Podcast Cross-Promotion in Spotify

Many podcast directories offer suggestions for further listening. But, in Spotify, podcasters can control the “More Like This” tab. Matthew shows you how, in this video:

Spotify displays your choices as “Host Recommendations,” giving the shows in that tab extra cachet. Get together with another podcaster for a link swap, and put each other’s shows in this tab.

But remember, you can swap links in your show notes whether you use Spotify or not. It’s easy to type, “If you enjoyed this, you may also like…” and link to another show in your episode’s notes.

How to Find Cross-Promotion Partners 

You can start by looking up other shows in your podcast category on Apple Podcasts. Try to find other independent shows that seek out the same kind of audience that you do. Then, narrow the field with discovery tools, communities, or networks.

You may find that “big” shows with thousands of downloads daily might not respond to your email immediately (if at all). They may work with a publicist who’s overwhelmed. Or, they might only be willing to work with shows with a certain number of downloads. 

Podcast Discovery Tools

A good tool to pinpoint possibilities is Rephonic. This website helps people discover new podcasts and helps podcasters connect for cross-promotion or guest opportunities. You can search by title, topic, or publisher. What’s cool (and useful in this case) is Rephonic’s 3D graph tool. It shows a visual web of shows with similar audiences, based on the notion of “people also subscribed to…”

Click and drag to move the web around and learn which podcasts have audience overlap. Click on them and get more information. Is the show active? Are they open to guests? If so, they may be open to other collaboration opportunities as well. 

Podchaser has user-created lists of podcasts with shared attributes. The reviews and credits can help you get more information to find out if a particular show is a good fit for a partnership.

Listen to a few episodes and find out if the tone, interests, and so on match yours. If you feel good while listening to it, get their contact information from their show notes or website, and write a simple pitch. If you don’t feel good about it, pass. Life is too short to offer cross-promotion opportunities to podcasts that make you uncomfortable. 

Communities and Networks

Another way to find podcast cross-promotion opportunities is to join a podcasting community or network. 

A few online communities that help podcasters help each other are:

• The WOC Podcasters Community
• The Audio Drama Hub
• ShePodcasts
• Our Indiepod community is free to join, and the discussions cover all aspects of podcasting. 

Joining a podcast network is another option, though this can be more difficult. Sometimes, investors fund the network (such as iHeart Media) and have strict rules regarding inclusion to protect their ROI. Other networks are extensions of legacy media organizations (such as The New York Times) and use their podcasts to promote their existing business.

But, a network can cross-promote your show for you, and, in some cases, can find revenue opportunities.

I’m not saying you can’t or shouldn’t join a podcast network. Read through the network’s website and any relevant news stories about the network to determine whether or not they’re a good fit for your show and vice versa. Then, find out if they’re open to pitches.

Podcast Cross-Promotion Case Studies

Some creators use a mix of tactics in their cross-promotion campaigns. Others stick to one strategy, taking the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach. Here are a couple of case studies that may give you some ideas of what’s possible for your show.

Am I Old Yet?

Flloyd Kennedy is the creator of Am I Old Yet?, a comedy about a woman of a certain age who suddenly develops mysterious superpowers. She pitched her show to the Fable and Folly Network, and joined several years ago. Trailer exchanges and host-read ads have helped this comedy find a wider audience. Here’s how she described her experience:

Since joining Fable and Folly, they have arranged trailer swaps for me with a range of shows, and there is a small increase in downloads, on and off.  But when they asked Midnight Burger and Amelia Project to do hostread promos, I went from 100 downloads a week to 1,000, over the four-week campaign. Then they dropped back down, but to slightly higher than before… definitely worth while, if only for the HUGE lift to my self esteem.

Quest Friends!

Kyle Decker, creator of Quest Friends! has been a guest on various shows in his show’s niche. He shared the results of his show’s audience survey with us:

“50% of my fiction podcast’s superfans came from cross-promotional efforts or paid promos. Notably, the most successful crossover spots were bonus fiction episodes I made for non-fiction podcasts.”

The paid promotions were short ads or feed drops of Quest Friends. Even though these were paid opportunities, the fact remains that many people find their next show from their current favorites.

Running an audience survey is a good way to learn how your current audience finds you and show that you care what they think. If you survey your audience, ask what shows besides yours they follow. This can provide possible leads for your next podcast cross-promotion.

A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats

Podcasters spend so much time and effort promoting their own shows that they forget to promote others. It’s easy to get tunnel vision and not reach out to other podcasters around you. But, when you view your fellow podcasters as peers, not competitors, you can work together to expand your shows’ reach.

Sometimes, you see that there are a lot of other podcasts similar to yours, and it makes you feel like, “Wah. I am a water droplet in an ocean. How will anyone ever notice me?” Sometimes, you see that there are many other podcasts similar to yours, and you say, “Hey! I am a water droplet in an ocean, and together, we make a WAVE.”

If you’re still deciding whether to cross-promote with other independent podcasters in your niche, visit us in The Indiepod Community. Podcasters, from beginners to experts, enjoy lively discussions about all aspects of podcasting. You’ll learn, laugh, and make some friends along the way.

Collaborating with other podcasters is a fantastic way to grow not just your podcast but your podcast topic and the creative endeavors of others.

Collaboration differs from cross-promotion because you’re not just talking each other up. Instead, two entities work together to make a third, greater, production. It requires mutual respect, trust, and a willingness to cooperate.

In this article, I’ll show you fourteen ways to grow your show through collaboration with other podcasters and beyond. This includes tips on monetization, asymmetrical collaboration, and ways to team up outside the podcasts themselves. Let’s get into it!  

Ways to Promote Your Podcasts with Collaborative Episodes

When you promote a podcast through collaboration, you don’t just introduce another host to your audience. You accept each other’s perspectives on your podcast topic and build something new.

For example, Wild for Scotland, an immersive travel podcast, collaborated with 1000 Better Stories, a climate action podcast. Host Kathi Kamleitner used her love of wild places to shed light on How Seawilding is Rewilding Loch Craignish. Both podcasts benefit from each other’s insight, and so do their audiences.

Here are some ideas to get started:

1. Co-hosting Episodes

Partner with a podcaster to co-host an episode. This joint effort can blend the best of both shows, attracting fans from both shows. Co-hosting can add a fresh perspective to your usual topic. Like an episode swap, the episode would be played on both feeds. However, you’d work on a new idea that complements both podcasts. 

As a bonus tip, Podcast Marketing Magic recommends playing half the episode on one feed and half on the other, which means listeners need to check out both shows to complete the full episode.

2. Live Streams

Host a live stream or webinar with another podcaster on platforms like YouTube, Twitch, or Facebook. It can be a Q&A, a discussion on a common topic, or a fun, interactive session. When you promote a podcast through collaboration in live events, you’ll also get input from the audience.

3. Larger Content Collaboration

Mini-series, joining resources to examine a topic that might be “too big” for one podcast alone. This is akin to the co-hosted episode idea but can be used for multiple episodes or an entire season. 

4. Panel Discussions

Organize a panel discussion with multiple podcasters on a topic of mutual interest, then play the episode on every feed, with clear links to each podcast involved. What’s a topic you’re curious about that other podcasters can help you explore? 

5. Crossover Episodes

This collaboration strategy works well for audio drama and fiction podcasts.

Try writing an episode where the characters of one show meet with the characters of another and work together to solve a problem. Not only does each show’s existing audience get treated to characters and interactions outside their usual consumption habits, but they also experience their favorite characters in unusual situations. 

6. Creating a Podcast Network

Joining or forming a network of podcasts can help cross-promotion and leverage each other’s strengths. This can also make podcasts more appealing to advertisers or sponsors. What’s a common interest that you and other podcasters share? What can you make together with that shared idea? 

7. Montage Episode

Think about your podcast’s niche or topic and what other podcasters have said about it. How do those podcasts collectively make that topic more interesting? Ask other podcasters in your niche to send clips around a particular topic from their shows. Or ask their permission for you to seek out and use them. Then, edit them together into a montage episode. You promote their podcast and others while promoting a shared topic. In turn, these podcasts may promote you to their followers.

Collaborating Outside of Your Podcast

Tired of promoting your podcast the same way over and over again? When you collaborate to promote a podcast or two, you may make something better than the sum of its parts. 

8. Newsletter Collaborations

Your newsletter is a good spot for collaboration. You can write and edit a section or issue of their newsletter, and they can do the same for you. For example, The Fiction Podcast Weekly occasionally includes guest editorials from different podcasters. Not just a cross-promotion opportunity, these editorials share ideas and strategies about fiction podcasting to improve the endeavor. 

9. Social Media Takeovers

Allow a fellow podcaster to take over your podcast’s social media for a set period of time and vice versa. This may seem less collaborative and more like cross-promotion. But, if they make social media posts in your show’s style, it can create engaging content and introduce each podcast to a new audience.

What if you both have podcasts about baking, and you focus on pies while they focus on cookies? They can post about what cookies make great pie crust in your social media feed while you post about baking with fruit in theirs. Each of you explores something new, and so does your audience. 

10. Joint Contests and Giveaways

Organize contests or giveaways that encourage listeners to engage with both podcasts. What if each podcast had different clues to solve a shared mystery or puzzle? Or, maybe your pie-baking podcast can work with a cookie-baking podcast to give away coupon codes for special baking ingredients to make the perfect graham cracker. 

11. Shared Survey

Learn more about your topic and broader audience by co-running a listener survey to which both audiences can respond. Then, pore over the data together and share the results in a co-hosted episode. Maybe together, you’ll learn what makes the perfect vegan diabetic-friendly dessert.  

Revenue Growth Through Podcast Collaboration

Not only can podcast collaboration help you grow your download numbers, but it can also provide some decent monetization opportunities. 

12. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing programs are good revenue tools for many podcasters. What if your podcast signed up for an affiliate program with another show? Picture two baking podcasts promoting fancy stand mixers to both audiences, then splitting the proceeds. This is where “the more, the merrier” applies, rather than “too many cooks spoil the soup.” 

13. Exclusive Content Collaboration

In the same way you work together on episodes, series, or co-hosting, you can collaborate on bonus or exclusive content. If both podcasts have memberships on the same crowdfunding platform, it’s even easier. Maybe you can share a clip of outtakes or extra material from a co-hosted episode. Or, you can work together to make bonus material for both supporter groups. Collaborative bonus content gives an extra incentive for both sets of listeners to sign up. 

14. Merchandise Collaboration

Nowadays, podcasters can sell anything from t-shirts to rechargeable Bluetooth speakers with their show’s logo. Most branded merchandise retailers have order minimums: it might not be worthwhile for one show to order 100 units. But, if two or more shows get together and agree on the art and copy, they can work together to order and sell more merchandise. Then, more interesting merch options open up. What would you rather sell for a baking podcast, t-shirts, or aprons with pockets? 

Tools to Find Podcast Collaborations

Now that you’re armed with great ways to collaborate with other podcasts, you need a few willing partners. Maybe you already have a couple of shows in mind, but what if you don’t? Well, there are a couple of tools from Rephonic that can help.

• The Podcast Audience Graph lets you look up any podcast to see the other shows its listeners enjoy.
• Discover New Podcasts lets you enter a list of podcasts you like and then churns out recommendations based on them.

Try them out, create a shortlist, and then you can start to dig deeper, checking which podcasts are still active and the best ways to reach out to them. Feel free to send them a link to this post, too!

Good Practices for Collaboration

When you work alone on your podcast, you do the work and reap the rewards. You also take responsibility for mistakes. Collaboration, however, requires letting go of one’s ego and sharing the spotlight. Here are some tips for healthy, fruitful collaboration.

Start small

If this is your first time collaborating with other podcasters, or you haven’t collaborated on a project for a while, try working with one podcaster first. Then, think about expanding to work with more than one podcaster. This limits the number of variables, personalities, and potential obstacles. 

Brush up on your collaboration skills

Active listening, emotional intelligence, compromise, and patience are essential to good co-production. 

Make the most of each other’s skills and resources

Do they love promotion while you love editing? Do they have access to a fantastic research database while you have more time to read and analyze articles? Figure out how both of you can best contribute to this project. Don’t end up with one person doing all the work while another gets all the credit. 

Set expectations

Write out expectations for the collaboration beforehand. No matter how simple or complex the plan is, knowing what to expect from each other helps you avoid misunderstandings. 

The Campsite Rule

Think about the campsite rule for your podcast collaboration. Literally, “the campsite rule” means that when you camp, you treat the place respectfully and leave it in a better state than you found it- no trash, damage, etc. As you work with other podcasters, you want to set each other up for success and make something you couldn’t have alone. This way, you’ll build better relationships with other podcasters, enhance your reputation, and grow. 

Teamwork Makes The Dream Work

So much of the popular wisdom about podcasting puts success in competitive terms. Instead of thinking about download numbers, chart placement, or average star rating, think about cooperation. Collaborating with other podcasters is fun and opens up more opportunities. Our Indiepod Community can help you meet and share ideas with other podcasters. Plus, we have discussions, live training sessions, and more. Come join us and build your next productive relationship.

And, if you’re looking for a full range of podcast promotion strategies to grow your show, from advertising and email marketing to in-person events, then be sure to check out our comprehensive guide!

A List of Podcast Awards and Competitions in 2025

This is by no means an exhaustive list of opportunities. You’ll notice that many fees are dynamic. Often, competitions incentivize sending in your work early by charging lower “early bird” fees and higher fees for later deadlines. I’ll update this information as deadlines, fees, and opportunities change. For now, here are a few of the opportunities for podcast awards and competitions.

The Ambies: The Awards for Excellence in Audio

The Ambies are the award effort of The Podcast Academy, whose “mission is to support podcast makers and advance the cultural merit of the medium.”

“Through programs including The Ambies, we celebrate, inspire, and connect creators from around the world, while attracting new audiences to their work.”

• Fee: TBA. In 2024, the fees were $150-$250. 
• Deadline: Submissions for 2025 occurred over the summer of 2024. Stay tuned for next summer’s entry period. 

The Audio Production Awards

Recognizing and celebrating outstanding achievements in Audio production. The Audio Production Awards are open to all: from freelancers to those working at production companies, with brands or broadcasters, independently, or in any form of audio (which includes podcasts, radio, audiobooks, and more).

• Fee: TBA. In 2024 it was £35+VAT to £55+VAT. Audio UK members get a discount. 
• Deadline: TBA. 

The Independent Podcast Awards TBA

The Independent Podcast Awards “were launched for those podcasts that are truly free of corporate ties. If you create a podcast but don’t think you have a chance of winning an award against some of the bigger players, this is the place for you and your show.” 

The Independent Podcast Awards will reveal the winners at the event at Kings Place in London on the evening of Wednesday, the 23rd of October. 

• Fees: TBA, may vary by category. 
• Deadline: TBA

The International Women’s Podcast Awards

The International Women’s Podcast Awards “recognize moments of brilliance in podcasting and the women and people of diverse genders that produce them.”

“Celebrate these intimate moments of podcasting brilliance and the women and non-binary folk that make them happen. [The organizers, Everybody Media] don’t look at the genre your podcast is in, and we don’t care how many downloads you’ve had.”

• Fees: £30 per entry for independent and charity podcasts, and £65 for those run by corporate entities or production companies.
• Deadline: Monday 17th March, 2025.

Jar Audio Emerging Women in Podcasting Pilot Competition

“It’s never been more important for women to use their voices. At JAR, we recognize the power and potential of women creators and are very proud to announce the 3rd annual JAR Audio Emerging Women in Podcasting Pilot Competition. 

We encourage all women-identifying emerging podcast creators to pitch us their ideas. The winner gets a professionally produced audio podcast pilot episode, with full support from JAR’s talented team. Importantly, creators retain full ownership rights to their projects.”

• Fee: Not mentioned, ask JAR for details
• Deadline: 1st May 2025

The New America Award

The Society of Professional Journalists’ New America Award honors public service journalism that explores and exposes issues of importance to immigrant or ethnic communities in the United States.

• Fees: $40 for SPJ members, $60 for non-members
• Deadline: March 11, 2025.

New Jersey Web Festival

NJ Web Fest says, “Submissions from all over the world, and from every genre, are welcome. Quality is the only criteria: we want to showcase the very best. We accept webseries, short films, pilots, trailers, music videos, narrative fiction podcasts, actual play fiction podcasts, actual play livestreams, and short scripts, so that all digital creators can experience the #JerseyMagic!”

• Fees: $40-$69
• Deadlines: Early Bird, Jan 12, 2025, Regular Deadline, March 16, 2025 and June 19, 2025 is the Late deadline. 

The People’s Choice Podcast Awards

The People’s Choice Podcast Awards “is the longest-running premier podcast awards event in the podcasting space, open to shows worldwide.”

“Designed from the beginning to allow fans to show their appreciation by nominating their favorite participating shows. Culminating with a live-streamed awards show on International Podcast Day.”

• Fee: TBA. 
• Deadline: “The Podcaster Registration Period will be announced in February, 2025.”

The Podcasting, Seriously Awards Fund

This award differs from the others; it’s worth knowing since it covers fees for podcasters who might not be able to afford to enter podcasting competitions. LWC Studios launched The Podcasting, Seriously Fund to support independent BIPOC, Queer and Trans audio producers in both submitting high-quality work to media/journalism awards and receiving further production education and training.

With AIR, Pacific Content, Acast, Triton Digital, and Sounds Profitable as Fund Partners, the Fund helps independent U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia-based audio professionals to submit their work to competitions and attend them. 

• Fees: None. 
• Deadline: Rolling: The Fund accepts applications year-round. 

The Signal Awards

The Signal Awards “seek to honor and celebrate the people and content that raise the bar for podcasting. Luminaries and leaders within the industry will judge Shows, Limited Series & Specials, Individual Episodes, and Branded Shows & Advertising across categories ranging from Best Innovative Audio Experience to Best TV & Film Recap.”

• Fee: Varies, $195-705
• Deadline: TBA

The S+T+ARTS Prize Africa

The S+T+ARTS Prize Africa is a competition for works at the intersection of the arts and technology that strive towards a positive social, humanitarian, economic or political impact.

The competition is open to citizens and residents of all African countries, as well as legal entities registered on the continent. All forms of artistic works and practices with a link to innovation in technology, business and/or society are welcome.

The winner of the STARTS Prize Africa Grand Prize commits to accept the award in person at the Award Ceremony and to present the work at the STARTS Prize Forum. Both will take place during the Ars Electronica Festival on September 3 – 7, 2025 in Linz, Austria. 

• Fees: None. 
• Deadline: March 5, 2025

Top 50 Over 50 Podcaster Awards

The Top 50 Over 50 Podcast Awards “honor outstanding podcasts hosted by creators over the age of 50. These awards showcase the creativity, wisdom, and impact of seasoned voices in the podcasting world. Our goal is to highlight the incredible talent and inspire a new generation of creators.”

• Fee: $50
• Deadline: Feb 28, 2025

T.O. Webfest

T.O. Webfest is designed to support, connect, promote, and celebrate independent content creators from Canada and worldwide. The TOWF Conference offers engaging keynotes, panels, networking sessions, web series screenings, and an Awards Gala!

This opportunity is mainly for web series, but they also want podcasts: fiction, unscripted non-fiction, and Actual Play. 

• Fees: $35-$75. 
• Deadlines: Early Bird, February 28, 2025, Regular Deadline, May 15 2025, and June 6, 2025 is the late deadline. 

Tribeca Audio Storytelling

Deep in the Tribeca Festival is the Tribeca Audio Storytelling Competition. “Tribeca’s audio storytelling program is dedicated entirely to scripted content, with a focus on excellence in writing and performance.” 

• Fees: $30-$40. 
• Deadlines: The official deadline is January 15. The extended deadline is February 12. 

The Whickers Podcast Pitch Competition

The Podcast Pitch follows the growing global trend towards solo, episodic listening to factual audio on the move and replaces the Radio and Audio Funding Award (RAFA). Single-episode proposals will also be considered. The application is open to all independent podcast makers who fulfill the application’s core criteria.

The Podcast Pitch is a joint initiative with Sheffield DocFest. The Whickers are giving the winner a £15,000 production award and £5,000 to a runner-up. Six finalists will also receive a free pass to the Sheffield Documentary Festival in June 2025, two nights of accommodation, a contribution of up to £400 per project towards their travel expenses, and access to top industry professionals and commissioners of the audio world.

• Fees: “There is no entry fee, but any form with uncompleted obligatory fields will be automatically disqualified.”
• Deadline: February 28.

So, SHOULD I Enter a Podcast Award?

Without a doubt, winning a podcast award or competition feels good. And, of course, it can help you promote your show. But not all podcast awards and competitions are alike. Some aren’t necessarily rewarding. In this article, I’ll show you how to evaluate podcast awards and competitions, how to apply to them, and how to get the most out of the contest, whether you win or not.

What Makes an Award Rewarding?

Because the podcasting medium is so new, there’s minimal precedent for what makes a podcast award or competition either prestigious or beneficial. As podcasters, we should take the initiative and evaluate available opportunities to determine if they’re worth the time and energy.

Chiefly, podcasters need to weigh how much they have to put into the application process compared to what they will get from it. What does the award organizer require? Is there a one-page form or a ten-page form? Do they want audio files, links to the show, or a script? What kind of fees or ticket prices are involved? There are a lot of considerations that can affect your decision-making process, and they all involve time and energy.

Eligibility 

Before attempting to enter any podcast awards or competitions, the first thing to check is whether or not your show is eligible.

Region or country of residence, creator demographic, podcast category, and production time frame can all affect eligibility. Usually, your podcast must have published episodes within the most recent year or season to be eligible if the award is annual. 

In some cases, the average independent podcaster can’t enter. A committee picks the nominations, and then either a jury or public voting determines the winners.

In other cases, your podcast has to be completely under wraps all the way up through the winner’s announcement. The panel judges only unpublished shows for some competitions, such as the Tribeca Festival and the Austin Film Festival’s podcast script competition. Tribeca, for example, wants to premiere the project at their Audio Storytelling festival, just like they do with their film festival. You can’t launch the show until after you’re notified. 

Fees and Other Costs

Another aspect to consider when exploring competitions and awards is whether they charge a fee to apply. How does the fee measure up to your other podcasting expenses? For many competitions, the earlier you submit your application, the lower your fee, and fees increase with later deadlines.

Some organizations use fees to make sure that only companies above a certain income level can apply. For example, in the case of the 2018 Webby awards, entry fees ranged from $175 to $475 per entry. This relatively high price knocks most independent podcasters out of the competition.

Sometimes, the competition’s organizers require that the nominees be present at the award ceremony to win. Recently, this sparked controversy when the British Podcasting Awards changed ticket prices for their awards ceremony, starting at £295. 

These ticket prices would make it difficult for anyone to attend unless they represented one of the corporations for whom podcasting is a side venture.  Fortunately, the BPAs saw the light and instituted a tiered pricing system to accommodate podcasting companies with more modest funding. 

The fees pay for resources to make the award or competition happen, such as a per diem for evaluators, or a website. Personally, I compare a competition’s fee to my monthly media hosting expense because that number stays the same for years at a time. I’m more likely to apply if the fee is equivalent to less than a month of media hosting. If the fee amounts to more than a month of hosting, I take a tough look at any possible benefit of applying. 

Is This Award a Good Fit for Your Podcast?

Podcasting awards and competitions all have different reasons for existing. Some are simply a way for a media company to promote itself. Other competitions want to aid in the discovery of new and exciting content, raise professional standards, or celebrate the medium. You need to ask yourself if this is the kind of organization you wish to associate your brand with: Do they make the kind of show you make? 

Take time to find out who or what podcasts won in the past. Do they have the same kind of resources and audience that you have? Technically, my podcast is eligible for a Peabody Award. But, most Peabody winners have full-time teams working on every aspect of production. My show doesn’t. In my case, applying for the Peabodys might not be worth it. That’s not a pejorative view of my show or the award, merely a description.

You also want to look at the prize. Is it money, production, training, or credit toward a company’s goods and services? What about the second prize or finalist level? Is this tier’s prize something that raises your podcast’s profile?

Beware of vampire award systems. Check the organization’s mission statement or “about” page. Some competitions are so new they don’t know what podcasters really need in a prize. If they offer “exposure,” remember, you can always expose yourself.

Others are flat-out scams. Fiction writers and essayists have been a target of contest scams for much longer than podcasting has existed. Fortunately, they share valuable intel. It’s worth your time to read Victoria Strauss’ Awards Profiteers: How Writers Can Recognize Them and Why They Should Avoid Them, and Anne R. Allen’s Beware Bogus Writing Contests! Look For These 8 Red Flags. These blog posts show a lot of the tactics that people use to make and promote predatory contests to people in any creative field.

Be sure you’re not being drawn into something that costs you money and doesn’t benefit you much.

Good Reasons to Apply to a Podcast Award or Competition, Even if You Don’t Win

If the application doesn’t take time and effort away from your podcasting workflow, the fee is manageable, and if the prize helps your podcast to gain an audience, then you should apply. It’s good PR for your podcast, and deadlines are motivating. For example, applying to a competition is a great way to set yourself up to achieve a SMART goal. It never hurts to light a fire underneath your own cooking pot. Some people need deadlines to be more productive. 

If the podcast award or competition is connected to a conference or festival, applying raises the stakes for attending. You’re not just there for the show; you’re invested. Award ceremonies can help you meet new people, go places, and have interesting experiences. Despite the added expense, it can be fun.

If it inspires you to improve your work, motivates your progress, and helps you share your work with the world, it’s good. But, if the application process requires you to put more into the award or competition than you get out of it, put that time and energy into something else for your podcast.  

Second Place Isn’t a Bad Place

Moreover, even if you don’t win, you may be able to use the festival in your media kit (i.e., saying it’s a finalist or second-rounder). I have sent scripts to the Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference twice, and the script made it to the finalist level both times. Including this in any description of those scripts shows people that an independent, unbiased expert gave them a seal of approval. 

High-profile competitions may have so many applications that, even if you don’t win, being a finalist is a big deal. Philip Thorne and Øystein Brager sent The Amelia Project to The Austin Film Festival in 2017 and reached the finalist level. Thorne said this experience “gave us that extra push we needed to launch our show. We learnt from some of the most innovative audio dramatists out there, workshopped our script and our pitch, and had BBQ and beers with like-minded and inspiring people.”

For Thorne and Brager, the finalist level fueled them to make The Amelia Project one of the most enduring and engaging podcasts today.

One More Great Podcasting Opportunity

All Hear, The Everything List for Audio Opportunities, is a monthly newsletter that curates and shares an exhaustive list of opportunities for audio creators. I’m not exaggerating. The master list includes grants, education, accelerators, residencies, competitions, and more. Some opportunities are national, others local, so make sure you read the fine print.

Thinking of applying to any podcast awards or competitions? Tell us all about it in the IndiePod Community.