14 Ways to Grow Your Podcast Through Collaboration

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!