13 Ways to Turn Non-Listeners Into Podcast Lovers

Podcasts have been around in some form or another for over twenty years. Still, sometimes you hear, “What’s a podcast?”

I often find non-listeners are intelligent, engaged people, open to new experiences. They simply haven’t had anyone hook them up with a show, a podcast listening app, or a combination of the two that’s the right fit for them.

To grow audiences of people as passionate about your show’s topic as you are, podcasters need to do the work to engage non-listeners. Not only does this grow your show, but it helps the podcast medium as a whole. It’s rare for a podcast listener to only listen to one show, so others will benefit from the work each creator does to engage non-listeners. As the old saying goes, “A rising tide lifts all boats”.

Why Podcasters Need to Care More About Hooking In Non-Listeners

Read article called: Why Podcasters Need to Care More About Hooking In Non-Listeners

We’ve written about the “Why” before; now it’s time to turn to the “How”. So here are 13 tips and strategies to reach podcast non-listeners and turn them into podcast lovers. 

Who Are These Non-Listeners?

Sounds Profitable’s The Podcast Landscape report studied “why [people] do, or do not listen to podcasts, what the barriers to future growth are, and how we can turn casual listeners into fans of the medium.” Of the 2400+ Americans surveyed, Sounds Profitable found that 28% of respondents had never listened to a podcast. When they dug a bit deeper with that 28%, they found that 10% of that group were “unreachable,” 56% were ”resisters,” and 34% were “persuadable.” 

A significant portion of people in my home state are Amish, so the “unreachable” or “resister” answers don’t surprise me. Focusing on these folks won’t help you. Just focus on The Persuadeables. 

In a nutshell, these folks who:

• are interested but lack info about how to listen
• want entertainment while they do other things
• need clarity on whether your podcast’s topic is important to them.

For the sake of argument, let’s say you’ve got a podcast about fly fishing. People spend loads of money, time and effort on fly fishing every year, but they may also prefer to listen to nature. How would you promote this podcast to people who “don’t listen to podcasts?”

Here’s a list of actions that can work, starting by focusing on the folks who are already (at least to some extent) online.

Non-Listeners Who Are Internet Users

These folks know how to use search engines, social media, and more. They may know how to use Lexis-Nexis to find loopholes in arcane insurance law, but they haven’t heard of any podcasts besides Serial and Joe Rogan. These folks are curious and busy. Play to the highest level of intelligence and cut a clear path for them so they can get to your show fast.

1. Your Podcast’s Website

A good website may seem like extra work for your podcast. But it doesn’t have to be a hassle, and it pays dividends when your show is easier for people to find.

Making a good podcast website is easy with a tool like Podpage, too. It builds it automatically, pulling all the details from your show’s RSS feed. You can customise and enhance it as much as you want, or you can leave it in its bare minimum form. Either way, you’ve already increased your chances that non-listeners will find your podcast online.

2. Show Non-Listeners How to Listen to a Podcast

What matters most is that you show people how to listen to a podcast. You can link to our explanations, here:

• What Is a Podcast?
• How to Listen to a Podcast, On Any Device, For Free!

Or, you can write your own blog post explaining how to listen find and consume podcasts. Either way, you’ve helped out non-listeners to get them closer to being podcast lovers.

3. E-Mail: Old, and Good

E-mail newsletters have become more popular over the last few years. The non-listeners in your podcast niche may subscribe to email newsletters for anything from their kids’ school to The Pew Foundation. E-mail marketing allows you to get your podcast’s message directly in front of your target audience without pop-ups, algorithms, or distractions getting in the way. Enlist your existing audience to share the newsletter with like-minded friends. Some folks would rather read than listen, and that’s quite all right.

4. QR Codes: Those Funky Little Chessboards

My favorite piece of podcast promotion success is how my mom endures her friends’ bragging about their grandchildren. When they pull out their phones to show her pictures of their little angels, she gives them my business card with a QR code and invites them to scan it.

QR codes are a great way to get your podcast’s website URL on people’s phones and right in front of them. Set up your QR code to link to a “listen now” page, showing how to listen and where to start. Even if the specific topic of your latest episode isn’t their cup of tea, another episode might fit.

5. Content Marketing in Your Podcast Niche

For every podcast topic, there’s a content hub website with blog posts about that topic. These aren’t your competition; they’re opportunities for collaboration. Reach out to the website creator and ask them to write a guest post for their site in exchange for linking to your podcast’s site. They’ll probably be happy to have you take some work off their hands in exchange for cross-promotion. In the meantime, their audience may become your audience, and vice versa.

You don’t have to be the undisputed expert on your podcast’s topic to pitch a guest post, as long as you have good writing skills, some experience and a unique perspective.

6. Influencer Marketing

The 2023 Cannes Lions report beat the drum loud and long for brand collaboration with influencers, in what they called “community-first creativity.” A YouTube or Instagram influencer with audience interests that overlap with your podcast’s topic can be a great resource for collaborative cross-promotion.

Be careful how you execute this operation, though. Make sure your podcast’s topic and style meshes well with their brand, and the timing is right. When Kim Kardashian announced she’d discovered Serial, the result was more hilarious than inspiring. The timing of her tweet seemed four years too late, though it was one month before the launch of Serial’s third season.

7. Social Media Marketing: It’s Free

Ask your listeners to post what they think of your show using a particular hashtag so that you can track the progress. When you find those posts, thank the creators for listening and mentioning your show. Their friends will see the posts and may check out your podcast. It’s not a 100% reliable promotion method, but if it weren’t for fans’ social media posts, I would have no idea what The Red Wedding is.

Ways to Reach Offline, Less Tech-Oriented Non-Listeners

People who don’t spend much time on the Internet are busy. While The Podcast Landscape report showed that The Persuadeables said they have “not enough free time” for podcasts, many said their days are full of activities that podcasts make easier, such as chores, exercising, or commuting. Many said, “I can’t find an interesting one.” That simply means they haven’t found yours yet.

8. Pimp Your Pod in Print Media

Lean into your podcast’s niche and find out what traditional media publications serve your podcast’s audience. For example, our hypothetical fly fishing podcast could be meaningful to people who read The Drake or Fly Tyer. Buying an ad in a magazine is the simplest way to get your podcast into their pages. But, you may be able to pitch an article on a topic of interest to their readers, in exchange for cross-promotion.

Newspapers are a good resource, provided your podcast has a local interest story attached to it. “Local resident makes podcast” will hit the circular file, but a time-sensitive and consequential news story can make their editor happy. Our hypothetical fly fishing podcast could offer a unique perspective on a local dam-building project. That’s worth a special episode, which (in turn) is worth sending a press release and media kit to the newspaper nearest that project. When people interested in the dam-building project read the article, they’ll know to listen to your podcast for more information.

9. Events, Conferences, and Real-Life Engagement

For almost any interest, there are conventions, conferences, and real-world meetups. The creators of our hypothetical fly fishing podcast could attend literally dozens in the US, and that’s just between January and May. If they were to sponsor just one of these events, that puts their show’s name and logo in front of hundreds of fishers. Renting booth space at any of these events is great advertising and helps you connect with people who care about your show’s topic.

10. Guerrilla Marketing

First, find a guerrilla. This isn’t as easy as it sounds: you’ll have to invest emotionally and intellectually in the issues most important to them, or they’ll never take you seriously. Also, bring fresh fruit.

In all seriousness, guerrilla marketing is fun when the podcast topic is taken seriously, the tone is lighthearted, and your PR comes as a gentle surprise.

Pub coasters, or carefully placed bookmarks can be charming when they’re useful as well as informative. Stickers make inexpensive gifts that people are likely to put on visible places to gain hipster credibility. Someone’s water bottle or guitar case could become your billboard. Back when more people smoked, matchbooks were an inexpensive and useful promotion option.

Street art or graffiti has made positive and negative impact for brands such as Nike, Reebok and H&M. But, have you considered power washing your podcast logo onto a dirty surface? It won’t disappear until the property owner cleans everything around it. For public property, that could leave your logo untouched for months. We don’t advocate vandalism, but we do want you to think of non-traditional promotion methods that get your podcast out in the fresh air.

There’s also a lot to be said for the tried-and-true pairing of a printed card, flyer, or sticker with a meaningful conversation.

Most of these methods can benefit from the aforementioned QR codes, though I’m not sure about power washing.

More Live Ways to Reach Non-Listeners

Again, your podcast niche can offer opportunities you won’t find sitting at home in front of your computer.

11. Host a Workshop

Your local library, community center, arts center or church may let you lead a workshop for people interested in the fine details of your podcast’s topic. Fly-tying, crafting or cooking demonstrations are great in person, plus you may learn a thing or two from the audience.

12. Produce an Audio Walking Tour

Do your hosting analytics show that your audience lives in a particular region? Or, is there a place that’s important to your podcast? Try making an audio walking tour. While this doesn’t overlap with your podcast’s RSS feed, it can complement your show and introduce new folks to the joy of audio.

13. Local Meetups

There’s also a good old-fashioned get-together or meetup. A local pub or restaurant may have a separate party room, or a weeknight that’s slow enough to need a dozen people interested in your topic to buy drinks and snacks. Non-listeners may prefer discussing your podcast’s topic in a social setting than experiencing it alone.

Recently, my local dog park hosted a meetup for corgi enthusiasts that drew over 2,000 people. Participants paid over $50 a head to spend two hours putting puppies in ball pits and get a photo opportunity with a couple of dogs that look exactly like 80% of the corgis in the world. Okay, that’s just my opinion. I’m sure they were very unique corgis.

You know how to catch a unique corgi, don’t you?

Unique up on it.

And that is the kind of out-of-the-box thinking you need that turns non-listeners into podcast lovers.

Pick a property and add your unique perspective.

An ever-present motif in the podcast universe is the recap podcast, where the hosts describe and discuss TV show episodes, chapters of a book, or movies in a franchise. On the one hand, there are so many of these podcasts that now media companies such as HBO rely on recap podcasts to clarify labyrinthine shows like Westworld or Lovecraft Country. It’s almost de rigeur for a network to produce a companion podcast for new dramas, as if the network says, “This show is really complex; you’ll need a podcast to explain it.”

In regard to recap podcasts, The (aforementioned) Podcast Landscape found that:

• 25% of The Persuadeables were very or somewhat likely to pay attention to a podcast about a favorite TV show or movie
• 25% of The Persuadeables were very or somewhat likely to pay attention to a podcast produced by the creators of a favorite TV show or movie (as opposed to an independent podcast)

Meanwhile, 20% of The Persuadeables said they’d be very or somewhat interested in a podcast about a favorite brand or product. Time to re-think that podcast about the secret history of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda.

No Matter What, to Turn Non-Listeners into Podcast Lovers, You Must…

Whether your ideal audience is “extremely online” or not, here are some universal truths that can make your podcast loveable.

• Audio quality affects credibility. Plosives and mouth sounds can drive audiences away; the same goes for reverb. How you record a podcast matters.
• Accessibility makes it easier for everyone to understand and share your podcast. Use transcripts: link to them in your blog posts and show notes.
• Clear links and short navigation paths remove obstacles. Label your URLs with appropriate text, not “click here for more.” Use short links when you can.
• Optimize your show for voice search.
• Consistency in your publishing schedule helps your show become a habit for the audience.
• When your audience posts reviews , mentions the show on social media, or gets in touch, thank them on the show. Help your audience feel appreciated.
• Finally, don’t underestimate co-listening. The best way to get a non-listener interested in your podcast may be to host a listening party, or play it for them and listen together.

Make Paying Attention to Your Podcast Easy.

Congratulations! You’ve finally made it to the end of this exhaustive list of things you can do to attract non-listeners to your podcast. You don’t have to do all these tasks: pick the ones you believe will make a difference to people who may be interested in your show.

Remember, it’s not about you or podcasting; it’s about your show’s topic and tone. Make the simplest possible route between people who truly love your podcast’s topic, and your show. When you make it easy for them to enjoy your perspective on something you both have in common, it’s like making new friends.