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.

It’s true that the best way to grow an audience is to create great content. But it’s rarely as simple as that. If you never do any podcast promotion, then it’s unlikely your show will fulfil its true potential.

Building a bit of marketing into your workflow from day one is advisable. There are loads of different ways to promote a podcast – some may appeal to you, others might not.

The aim here is that you can pick and choose the ones that feel like the best fit. With podcast promotion, there’s no silver bullet and no shortage of trial and error. But, armed with these tips, you’ll be ready to go out there and double, treble, or even quadruple your downloads – if you’re willing to put the work in.

Our ultimate guide to podcast promotion is a list of the various routes, strategies, and options gathered together in one place. You can pick a few and try them over time to see what works for you and what doesn’t.

And, because we love a framework, we’ve packaged our podcast promotion guide into one. It’s called SCALE

The SCALE Podcast Promotion & Audience Growth Framework

Each podcast promotion tactic in this guide falls into the following categories:

• S – Syndication
• C – Communities & Collaboration
• A – Advertising (Paid Promotion)
• L – Live & In-Person
• E – Email & Engagement

Are you ready to SCALE your podcast growth? Then let’s get into it…

Syndication

Be everywhere your audience listens and searches.

Submit Your Show Everywhere You Can

The beauty of running a podcast is that people can consume it on platforms you’ve never even heard of.

Once you submit your show to Apple Podcasts, it will appear in the vast majority of directories and apps out there. Then, Submit to Spotify, and you’re catering to the large chunk of users over there. The final place to consider is YouTube. You can put a podcast on YouTube even if you don’t record video, too, so this is definitely worth doing!

Optimise Your Website for Podcast Growth

A great podcast can still suffer from having a poor website associated with it.

Many podcasters limit their show’s growth by overlooking some low-hanging website-based fruit. You want to enable your audience and traffic to help you grow.

If you don’t have a home for your show yet, check out our ultimate podcast website guide, which covers the whys, hows, and wheres.

But here are some important things to consider right off the bat;

• Do you have an About page where you sell the benefits of why people should listen? What’s in it for them?
• Do you have a Subscribe page where you link to podcast directories like Apple, YouTube, & Spotify? You could even explain here why and how to subscribe to the show.
• Do you have a Contact page listing how folks can get in touch? Stick your email address and social media links here.
• Do you have a media kit page?
• Do you have social sharing buttons on your posts? You want to make it easy for your listeners to promote your episodes.
• Is your domain name descriptive or memorable and easy to spell?
• And does your site display properly on mobile and tablet?

Be sure to create a short promo trailer for your podcast and embed it on your homepage, too. That way, potential listeners on your site can get a taster of the show immediately!

SEO & Google Search for Podcast Promotion

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation.

No matter how or where you set up your website, you now have a base to create searchable content that can rank and be found on Google, Bing, and the ever-evolving AI search and LLMs, where an increasing number of folks are finding their info.

If you’re using WordPress, the Yoast SEO plugin is a great tool for optimising your shownotes. It’s worth checking out this full guide on how to make your podcast SEO-friendly, too.

Of course, a huge part of this is your episodes’ actual names and titles, so how do we make the most of those?

Create Clear & Compelling Episode Titles

The way you title your episodes has a significant impact on your overall download numbers.

The worst thing you can do is to use a naming system like “Episode 6” or “The Whatever Podcast – Episode 6”. You don’t need your show title in there at all. And simply labelling content with numbers does nothing to tempt anyone to listen. It gives no hint of what’s on offer, so there’s no incentive to hit play.

Be as descriptive about the ‘hook’ of each episode as you can. It all depends on the content, but there are certain formats you can use to make clicking the play button irresistible. We go in-depth in our WHISPER TITLES Framework, and the following video will show you how to utilise them in your own topic or niche.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you should try to shoehorn these episodes if they’re not a good fit for your show. Just be as descriptive as possible. Let your target audience know at a glance this is the show they’ve been looking for.

For examples of ultra-descriptive episode titles, check out our show Pocket-Sized Podcasting.

Build Great Blog Podcasts Around Your Episodes

The blog post you write around each episode is also called your podcast show notes. The more detailed and helpful these are, the more they can work as stand-alone content to get your show in front of new people.

Add links to any tools or resources mentioned in your episodes, and Google will appreciate that, too. Some folks recommend copying full episode transcriptions into your show notes, but this content is often badly written – we talk very differently to how we speak, after all. Instead, it’s better to make your transcripts available elsewhere and clearly link to them in your shownotes.

Here’s our full guide to writing great podcast show notes for a deeper dive on that topic.

Communities & Collaboration

Grow through people, shared audiences, and strong fan culture.

Run Regular Audience Surveys

This isn’t a strategy for brand-new podcasters who don’t yet have an audience. But if you’ve been running a show for six months or more, you can get some invaluable growth insights from an audience survey.

Your existing fans can tell you a lot about your show. For example, how or where did they discover it? If many listeners find you in the same place or way, you can do more of it.

Likewise, if you’ve just spent $100 on an ad campaign and literally not one person discovered you that way, you can save yourself the money in future.

You can ask your listeners what things they like about the show. What topics do they like you to cover? What would they like to hear in future episodes? Give them a place to tell you all their likes and dislikes, and then tailor your content around that data going forward. It’s a lot better than trying to guess what your listeners want!

Sell Podcast Merch

Many podcasters see merch predominantly as a monetisation strategy rather than a podcast promotion tactic. And, whilst it’s true that it can be both, it’s usually more effective as the latter.

The vast majority of podcasters use third-party print-on-demand stores to create and sell their merch. This means that prices can be high and profit margins low.

If you run a merch store in this way, it’s worth selling stuff as cheaply as possible to maximise the amount of it out there in the wild. After all, every t-shirt, sticker, or mug with your logo is like a little billboard for your show.

Here’s our full guide to running a podcast merch store, as well as our podcast monetization roundup for more effective ways to earn some pennies from your show.

Collaborate & Cross-Promote

If other podcasters cover similar topics, you don’t need to see these shows as your competition.

It’s not like old-style TV, where folks had to watch one or the other. Podcast listeners subscribe to lots of different shows, and they’ll usually be based on similar subjects.

So, what active podcasts are putting out content for the same target audience as you? Why not draw up a list and reach out to the people behind them?

Here’s our full guide on podcast collaboration and cross-promotion, with 14 actionable tips.

Working together can help share your collective audiences, which will benefit everyone. Here are some top-level suggestions:

Swap Trailers

You might initially consider doing a ‘promo swap’, where you each play the other show’s promo trailer on an episode or two.

Create Content Together

You could look at collaborating on some podcast content. A common way of doing this is to co-host an episode together, which is then published to both of your feeds.

Build a Montage Episode

If you’re in touch with a handful of podcasters in your niche, you could also create a montage episode. This is where you reach out to them with a question and have them answer it in an audio form. Then, you piece these together into a single episode.

For example, a writing podcast might ask, “What’s your best tip for overcoming writer’s block?”. Or a health podcast might ask, “What does your morning routine look like?”.

Montage episodes are well shared amongst everyone involved. In turn, everyone’s audience gets a boost as a result!

Create Content for (Or About) Others

This follows from the collaboration angle and is also based on creating shareable content.

Guest Posting

A popular way to promote your podcast is to post a guest blog on a site with a similar target audience. With a guest post, you’re creating insightful and helpful content for their readers and, in turn, can link back to your own content.

Reviews

You can also create content that’ll be well-shared by reviewing a product or service you like. For example, if you do a cooking podcast and use a specific type of whisk, you could review it on an episode, then get in touch with the company that makes it and let them know. The chances are, they’ll share it with their own audience, many of whom will be interested in your show.

Guesting on Another Podcast

Another way of creating content for others is to be a podcast guest on their interview show. However, it’s not as easy as approaching someone and saying, “Hey, bring me on, please!”.

If you’d like to be interviewed on a specific podcast, give them a thorough proposal on what you can offer their listeners. What unique insights can you bring to the table? Personalise this to the show’s format and previous episodes. Only reach out to podcasts you’ve actually listened to.

You might even want to make your proposal in video rather than in written form. This will be much more likely to resonate with the podcaster. It’ll also set you apart from the many other requests they might get in.

Here are some useful tips on how to get booked as a guest on a podcast.

Advertising (Paid Promotion)

Use strategic spend to boost visibility and reach new listeners.

Pay to Advertise Your Show

If you’re a traditionalist, you might see podcast promotion as simply paying to get it in front of some new eyeballs (or ears!).

And advertising your podcast can be a great way to kickstart your growth if you have some budget behind you.

You can pay for podcast ads to promote your show in many places. It’ll always depend on your topic and audience, but these range from Google and social media ads to newsletters and print magazines.

One of the most effective ways we’ve found so far is on the podcast listening app Overcast. Here’s the lowdown (and our data) on Overcast advertising.

Other podcast apps offering ads include Pocket Casts, Podcast Addict, and Podbay. You can find full details in our podcast advertising guide.

However, a creative “Guerrilla Marketing” campaign might be the best option for those with little or no budget!

Gain Visibility Through Financial Support

Just like the traditional advertising route of podcast promotion, you might be able to dedicate a small budget towards gaining extra visibility.

You could literally sponsor another podcast in your niche or wider topic. If done well, this could be a very effective way of gaining new listeners.

Some shows run Patreon accounts (other crowdfunding platforms are available), and rewards often include being mentioned on their episodes or websites. If you find a popular show with such a reward tier in your niche, you could chuck some money their way.

This route doesn’t only apply to other podcasts, either. Perhaps there’s a charity in your niche you could support? An example of this could be a tabletop wargaming podcast supporting a veterans’ charity. Or a writers’ show supporting an organisation that helps fund books for kids in socially deprived neighbourhoods.

Obviously, with charities, it’ll be more of a reciprocity thing than a direct transaction of money for promotion. You’ll need to be respectful here and keep in mind that this is an ongoing relationship rather than a service.

Live & In-Person

Create real-world connections that deepen loyalty and word of mouth.

Real World Podcast Promotion

Believe it or not, promoting your podcast away from the screen is possible!

For starters, are there in-person events in your area based on your topic? If you join a local club or society, you’ll naturally meet folks interested in what you do.

Are there any conferences or conventions happening in the next year? Why not inquire about running a booth or organising a session, panel, or workshop?

Finally, you can use the montage episode idea to promote your show in person with Vox pops. Vox pops are basically just clips of numerous folk answering the same question. You can record vox pops anywhere, from a dedicated event to out in the street.

If you go down this route, give each person you speak to a business card promoting your podcast. Let them know that this is where they’ll hear the finished piece. Most of them will be keen to check it out!

Email & Engagement

Build lasting direct relationships and drive listener action.

Embrace Email Marketing

When we ran our podcaster cares survey, 40% of respondents agreed that “any serious podcaster must run an email list”.

If you’re a “serious podcaster” and don’t, though, there’s no need to go on the defensive about this. If you’ve no time or enthusiasm for email marketing, then it’s better not to do it.

However, if you can muster the time and motivation, email is a great way to keep in touch with your listeners.

“But I already do that with my podcast episodes” is a valid answer. The thing about audio, though, is that CTAs are tricky. Often, our listeners are busy doing other things whilst we chat to them in their earbuds. Very few are looking at their screen or in a position to immediately click any link.

So, an email list can act as the perfect complement to your show. You can use it to mail out your show notes or any other offers, competitions, or sales you’re currently running.

If you’re interested in setting up or improving your email marketing strategy, our full guide has you covered!

Optimise Your Calls to Action (CTAs)

Finding new listeners is a huge part of this podcast promotion guide. But one place you certainly will find your target audience is at the end of each of your episodes. Those loyal folks who listen right to the end are your biggest fans, and they’ll be willing to help you out if you ask in the right way. That means honing in on your Calls to Action.

Two of the most common podcast promotion mistakes are;

1. to overlook those who are already listening
2. to waste your Calls to Action

Even if you’ve ‘only’ 20 regular listeners, those 20 people can help you reach a much bigger audience.

You can give your Call to Action (CTA) at the end of each episode. You’ve served the listener with great content, and they’ve really enjoyed and benefited from it. Now, you can ask them for a small favour.

Many podcasters ask for reviews because they think that’ll help the podcast grow. Sure, they can be great social proof, and we’ll talk more about that shortly. But don’t focus exclusively on reviews in your CTAs.

Instead of constantly urging your audience to review your podcast, try some other CTAs that could make more of an impact. A great place to start is by asking your audience to recommend the show to one friend they think would enjoy it.

You could even make an engagement-forward game out of it: ask your fans to recommend your podcast to a friend directly on social media and tag your show in the post. Then, thank that listener in your next episode!

Podcast Promotion on Social Media

Social media may seem like the most obvious place to promote your podcast. But if all you do is post, “Hey everyone, check out my podcast!” then you’ll be another meaningless voice amongst a very loud noise.

If you want to use social media for your podcast (and, by the way, you don’t have to!), then pick a few where you think your audience is most likely to hang out. In What’s the Best Social Media Platform for Podcasters, Kristina gives the lowdown on each app, from Twitter/X and TikTok to Pinterest and Reddit.

Facebook isn’t the goliath it once was, but its ‘groups’ feature can still be an excellent place to find or create communities around your topic or niche. If you can contribute to these in a way that’s positive and helpful to others, your podcast can find new listeners as a result.

You can also use micro-content to run effective Facebook ads. Or, you might opt for a platform like Instagram to pay for some potential traffic. But I’d recommend starting with a very small budget and only investing more if you see promising results.

Promoting a podcast on WhatsApp is also a thing, and joining or running a Discord community offers all the benefits of social media without algorithm-led issues and distractions.

In terms of the content you create for social media, most of these platforms now lean heavily into video, so let’s take a look at that…

Create Shareable Videos

Audio is notoriously hard to “go viral” because it’s long-form and non-visual. A good way to make your audio more shareable on platforms that cultivate short attention spans is to turn it into short video clips. Traditionally, the most popular way of doing this was with Audiograms, but creating video (especially ‘Shorts’) has become simpler and more accessible in recent years,

Perhaps the most innovative and fun approach here, though, is to have a clip from your show turned into a cartoon. We tried that with our show Hostile Worlds a while back, and got a really nice response.

Text-Message Marketing

Text-message marketing is similar to email marketing, though arguably a lot more personalised. You’ve probably had a marketing text from your local gym, hairdresser, or takeaway shop before, and you can use that same technology to grow and engage your podcast audience with regular updates and unique offers. Check out our full guide to text-message marketing to learn more.

Use Podcast Reviews As Marketing Material

As mentioned earlier, podcast reviews can be great social proof for your shows. Here are some tips and tactics for getting more podcast reviews. Once you actually have a few, you can start sharing them, too.

This is much better than telling people how great your show is – now, you have others to do it for you.

There are still some tactful and elegant ways to share your reviews on any platforms you’re active on. Even bad podcast reviews can be used humorously as part of your podcast promotion toolkit.

You can use podcast reviews on your website or on your podcast merch. You can even grow your podcast by writing podcast reviews for other shows!

Ready to SCALE Your Podcast Growth?

Hopefully, that’s given you plenty of ideas and tips for drawing up your own promotional strategy. Combine these approaches with creating great, unique content, and you’ll be well on your way to running a successful podcast.

Remember, if you haven’t done so already, check out our article on what’s a good number of downloads for a podcast. Setting realistic goals and expectations is important to avoid disillusionment with your show.

And, if you’d like some real-world examples and case studies of indie podcasters promoting and growing their shows, check out the following Podcraft episode…

Top Promo & Growth Lessons From Successful Indie Podcasters

Read article called: Top Promo & Growth Lessons From Successful Indie Podcasters

Finally, be sure to join us in the IndiePod Community, where you can discuss your latest growth plans and strategies with an enthusiastic group of like-minded podcasters. We’d love to see you in there!

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.

The podcasting world has witnessed various changes over the years, but nothing quite like the recent X-odus from X (formerly Twitter) to newer platforms like Bluesky and Mastodon.

As many podcasters and listeners have started to migrate away from the chaotic, unpredictable landscape of X (thanks, Elon), they’re finding themselves in unfamiliar territory. Daunting, I know. But I want to reassure you that this isn’t the end of your presence on social media; it’s just the beginning of a new and exciting chapter. 

So, how do you go about re-establishing your audience and finding new listeners when the platform you’ve relied on for years suddenly feels like a dumpster fire? Let’s dive into Bluesky and Mastodon together to explore how you can keep your podcast thriving in a post-X era.

Choosing the Right Platform: Bluesky vs. Mastodon

Before diving into the how, let’s talk about the where.

Both Bluesky and Mastodon offer distinct opportunities and experiences for podcasters, but understanding their differences will help you decide where to focus your energy.

Bluesky

Best For: People seeking an X alternative.

Bluesky is the new kid on the block and feels like an organic extension of X, with a similar layout and user experience. It allows you to connect with others through posts (called “skeets”), hashtags, and direct replies, and it has a familiar, X-like structure.

Bluesky could be an easy transition if you’re a podcaster who has built your brand on X. It’s smaller than X (with 32.7 million users to X’s 619 million monthly active users), but it’s growing rapidly, with a strong focus on creative and intellectual communities.

Bluesky Pros:

• A similar format to X makes it easy to adapt.
• Smaller, engaged community with high-quality discussions.
• Focus on creative industries, including podcasts.

Bluesky Cons: 

• While growing, Bluesky’s user base is still small compared to established platforms like X, meaning you may not reach as many potential listeners right away.
• Due to its smaller size, discoverability might be more limited. You may need to put in extra effort to get noticed through hashtags or guest collaborations.
• Being a newer platform, Bluesky doesn’t have the same features or integrations that established social platforms might offer, which could temporarily limit your content options.

Mastodon

Best For: Users who appreciate niche, community-driven spaces.

Mastodon, on the other hand, is a decentralized platform with a more complex structure that places social media “back in the hands of the people.” Instead of one central feed, Mastodon is made up of many “instances” or servers. This gives users more control over their content and interactions, but it also requires some learning to navigate.

Mastodon is known for its emphasis on privacy, community moderation and inclusive spaces. It’s also a bit more niche, with various communities (or “instances”) dedicated to different interests.

Mastodon Pros:

• Highly customizable with more control over your content and interactions.
• Strong focus on privacy and community-driven moderation.
• Wide range of niche communities, which can help you reach hyper-specific audiences.

Mastodon Cons: 

• Like Bluesky, Mastodon has a smaller user base than X or Instagram, making it more challenging to grow your audience quickly.
• While Mastodon has a dedicated user base, it hasn’t reached the mainstream popularity of other social platforms. You might struggle to reach a broad audience outside of your niche.
• Due to its decentralized structure, Mastodon can be overwhelming to new users. Understanding how instances work and which one to join can be confusing. Overall, it lacks some of the integrations and ease of use that centralized platforms like X or Instagram offer, making it harder to streamline your social media presence.

Tips for Reaching Your Existing Listeners and Gaining New Ones

Whether you choose Bluesky or Mastodon, I know that your goal is to connect with your existing audience while reaching new listeners who have yet to discover your podcast. 

Here’s a roadmap for doing both:

1. Announce Your New Presence

Start by informing your existing listeners that you’re making the move to Bluesky or Mastodon. This could be done in your podcast, newsletter, or through your other social media channels. Use your “break-up” moment with X to create buzz. Let your audience know why you’re moving and why they should join you.

2. Leverage Your Existing Community

If you’ve cultivated an engaged community on other platforms, encourage them to follow you to Bluesky or Mastodon. Share links, set up reminders, and offer sneak peeks at what’s to come. Consider incentivizing followers by offering exclusive content for early adopters, like bonus episodes or Q&A sessions.

“Follow me on Bluesky for exclusive pre-release content for my next episode. Only available to the first 100 followers!”

3. Cross-Promote Across Platforms

Leverage your current platform (even if it’s just a small group left on X) to direct listeners to your new profile. If you’ve already built a significant presence on Instagram or TikTok, make an announcement across these platforms as well. Don’t forget to encourage your audience to share with their friends and followers.

4. Create Platform-Specific Content

Each platform has a different vibe. On Bluesky, keep it more casual with “skeets” (tweets) that highlight your podcast episodes, behind-the-scenes glimpses and personal interactions. On Mastodon, take advantage of niche communities to connect with people who are passionate about the topics you cover.

On Bluesky

Post short, engaging updates on new podcast episodes, discussions about topics from the show or funny anecdotes that tie into your episode themes. Use hashtags to reach broader communities, like #podcastlife or #TrueCrime.

On Mastodon

Join an instance focused on your podcast’s niche (e.g., true crime, entrepreneurship, history) and share your episodes in relevant groups. Mastodon’s community is passionate about specific topics, so getting involved in these groups can help grow your audience.

5. Engage, Engage, Engage

Engaging with your followers is key on both Bluesky and Mastodon. Respond to comments, ask questions, and encourage listeners to share their thoughts on your latest episodes. The more you interact with your audience, the more you build a sense of community and loyalty.

If you’ve just released an episode, ask for feedback. “I’d love to know what you think of this week’s episode on [topic]. Drop a comment or reply with your thoughts!”

6. Join Conversations Outside Your Podcast

Don’t just talk about your own podcast. Be a part of other discussions and share your knowledge. Engage in relevant conversations on your platform of choice to introduce your podcast into the mix organically.

Podcasters Doing Well on Bluesky and Mastodon

The Accidental Tech Podcast on Bluesky

The Accidental Tech Podcast is a well-known tech show covering topics like Apple, programming, and technology in general. The hosts of ATP have recently started using Bluesky, a platform that has attracted a tech-savvy, creative user base. They are exploring this new space to engage with their audience and share their thoughts on the latest in tech.

Niche Space

Bluesky’s smaller, more focused nature may offer a different environment for discussions around tech topics. Fans on the platform might engage with posts in varying ways, and the format could encourage more detailed feedback on episodes. 

Building Connections

ATP may have opportunities to connect with other tech-focused accounts on Bluesky, such as developers, Apple enthusiasts and software creators, potentially fostering organic growth of their following. 

Better Engagement

With Bluesky’s less cluttered feed, ATP’s content might find a more focused audience, making it easier for followers to discover and engage with episode updates and discussions.

Waveform Podcast on Mastodon

Waveform, hosted by Marques Brownlee, is a popular podcast that discusses technology, gadgets, and the latest trends in consumer electronics. Mastodon’s decentralized structure and tech-focused instances have allowed Marques and the Waveform team to find communities that align with their audience’s interests, particularly in the tech and gadget spaces.

Conversation

Mastodon’s tech-oriented instances offer a space for Waveform to participate in conversations around technology, gadgets, and digital culture. The podcast may be able to engage with an audience interested in discussing the latest tech news and reviews.

Interactive Community

Fans on Mastodon could engage with the podcast’s posts by offering feedback, questions and additional insights on topics covered in episodes, potentially creating an interactive community. 

Tapping In

By joining Mastodon’s tech-focused instances, Waveform could connect with specialized communities interested in niche topics, helping to grow their audience and keep discussions relevant to their content.

Embrace the Change and Continue To Build Your Community

Navigating a post-X world might feel like you’re starting from scratch. But with the right strategy, it’s an exciting opportunity to rebuild, expand your audience and try out new platforms like Bluesky and Mastodon.

While both offer fresh possibilities, Bluesky is gaining significant momentum, making it a prime platform for engaging with your community and building meaningful connections.

So, consider this your sign to move on. Whether you’re embracing the fresh start Bluesky offers or finding your rhythm on Mastodon, it’s time to break up with your X for good—no late-night scrolling, no “just checking in.” Trust me, there are better platforms out there waiting for you.

What’s the Best Social Media Platform for Your Podcast?

Read article called: What’s the Best Social Media Platform for Your Podcast?

Have you joined us in The IndiePod Community? Conversation is one of the big appeals of social media, and TIC is a great free platform to engage, collaborate, and grow with other like-minded creators. Sign up today!

• 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.

Your podcast isn’t going to promote itself. Telling folks about your podcast is one thing. It’s another thing to get your podcast on their phone or tablet.

What if something could bridge the gap between your podcast and their device for you?

Some people may be the ideal audience for your show but say they’re “not tech-savvy.”  If there were only some way a gateway to your podcast could be a physical thing in the world that people could vacuum up with their phones, like the computer sucked in Jeff Daniels in TRON.

Oh, wait, there is! You could promote your podcast with QR codes.

What Is a QR Code?

You’ve probably seen QR (quick response) codes before. They look like little black-and-white checkerboards gone awry.

Marketers use them on food labels, signs, and business cards. It’s a unique symbol that your smartphone’s camera can read and translate into a web address.

Most smartphone operating systems have this function in their camera’s software. But, QR code reader apps are often free. Open the device’s camera and aim at the QR code. The corresponding web address will appear in the viewfinder. Tap on that, and the link opens in the device’s default browser. 

How Can I Use QR Codes to Promote My Podcast?

You can include a QR code in your image or text when you make promotional materials, such as stickers or business cards. This way, people have a tangible gateway to your podcast and can act on it easily.

That is, as long as you make that gateway clear and straightforward to use. 

What Should I Link My Podcasts’ QR Code To?

(Or, for the sake of grammar, to what destination should you link your QR code? Please, humor me. If I end a sentence with a preposition, it makes my brain itch.)

When you share a podcast using a link, keep the destination as simple as possible. Your QR code can link to: 

• Your podcast’s website, particularly the “listen now” page. Here’s ours, for Podcraft. 
• A podcast’s page on a site like Pod.link helps users choose their favorite podcasting app. Here’s our pod.link page for Podcraft. Each symbol is a directory, and they all have fans. 
• A directory that you and the user both trust. These days, linking to Apple or Spotify is common, but try not to assume where your listeners will want to consume the content.

How Do I Get a QR Code and Share It? 

Many business card and sticker designers include QR codes as an option in the design process.

Take Moo.com, for example. Their website walks you through the design of business cards, branded merchandise, or marketing materials. Generating the QR code is part of the process.

You enter the web address (or URL) you want the QR code to reach (for example, mypodcast.com/listen-now). When the website generates the QR code, you add it to the overall design, like any image.

You’ll also find loads of free QR Code generators out there, like QR Code Monkey, QRStuff, and the aptly named QR Code Generator.

Some like to print a QR code on stickers and slap them up anywhere and everywhere, like digital graffiti. Personally, I think there are more effective ways to communicate with QR codes for your podcast. Let’s look at a few. 

Include QR Codes in a Conversation

Here’s an example of a person who benefits from using QR codes:  my mom. She isn’t confident with technology. Most of her friends are women who don’t use computers frequently. They do, however, like a good story, and they all have smartphones. 

My mom carries one of my podcast business cards in her wallet. When her friends ask, “What’s your daughter doing these days?” she asks if they have a smartphone and gets them to pull it out and turn on the camera.

Mom shows her friend the card and explains that I’ve made a story they can listen to on their phone. She holds the card still, and they scan the QR code with their camera. The link pops up on their phone’s screen. They tap on it, and voilá! Adventure Awaits!

This landing page on my podcast website is a sampler platter of any of the podcasts I’ve ever worked on. Plus, it includes The Podcast Host’s links to our articles on How To Listen to a Podcast, because I like to cover all my bases. 

Next time someone asks what you’ve been up to, slip them a card while you’re catching up. 

Use your creativity to incorporate QR codes into other visual media. At a recent gallery exhibition in Malaysia, traditional ink and rice paper paintings were paired with QR codes. The codes lead to immersive listening experiences that bring the paintings to life. 

Artist Vincent DuBois sculpts QR codes in marble. Next time you’re daydreaming about possibilities for your podcast, dream of an innovative way to share a link to your show.

Podcast Promotion Beyond QR Codes

There are many ways to promote your podcast, and they all overlap. If you want more help navigating the waters of podcast promotion, why not join us in the Indiepod Community? It’s a great place to chat with other podcasters about promotion techniques; no secret code required.

It’s a good idea to create a short promo trailer for your podcast for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, you can embed it on the front page of your website. That way, everyone who lands on your site can get an immediate taster of your content without the need to jump through any hoops.

Secondly, your trailer can be featured and played on other shows. There are entire podcasts dedicated to playing trailers, but a more effective and targeted approach would be a ‘trailer swap’ agreement between yourself and another podcast to promote each other to your respective audiences.

Podcast trailer example: Hostile Worlds

Having your trailer easily accessible means you might get promotion without even being aware of it, too. If another podcaster likes your work, they can download the audio and play it on their show.

The only potential downside of having a promo trailer is if you have a bad one. But of course, after reading this guide, that isn’t going to happen.

Let’s kick things off with a few frequently asked questions about podcast trailers.

How Long Should a Promo Trailer Be?

So the infamous podcasting “it depends” answer isn’t just as wide open here.

I’d say that having two versions of your trailer, one at 30 seconds and one at 60 seconds, will cover most bases.

If you submit a trailer to a particular podcast, they will likely have their criteria. For example, Libsyn’s The Feed asks for no longer than 30 seconds.

The bottom line is that trailers are pretty short, and the seconds tick by quickly. So, how do you make the most of the short amount of time you have to grab the attention of potential listeners?

What Goes in My Podcast Trailer?

You’ve always got creative license in podcasting, but there are some bare essentials here. These may sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how many trailers leave some of this stuff out.

The Name of Your Podcast

Yeah, you’ll want to include that…

If you don’t have one yet, check out our ultimate guide to podcast names.

What’s It About, & Who’s It For?

Don’t rely on the name of your show to tell people this valuable info. Tell them yourself. You can nail this down to a sentence or two.

A popular approach is to open with a question, like, “Are you a ___ who struggles with ___? Then join us on the ___ podcast where we help you ___.”

Or “Have you ever wondered about ___?, or what about ___? Well, these are just two of the topics you’ll find us discussing each week on the ___ podcast.”

Make sure your target audience knows this is the show for them, and that people who aren’t your target audience know that it isn’t for them.

For a deeper dive, check out Who is your podcast for?

Your Website

Like any good call to action, send them to one single easy-to-remember place – preferably your own website. Don’t say things like “Look us up on Facebook” or “Find us in Apple Podcasts” and run through a list of podcast directories. This is totally redundant and a waste of valuable space.

It’s good practice on your website to have a “Subscribe and Follow” page with links to everywhere your show can be found.

If you don’t have a podcast website yet, then check out Podpage, which can get you up and running with a great site in a few minutes (with no technical knowledge necessary).

The Creative Bit: Tone & Personality

So, providing you’ve got the essential details, we don’t want this to be a rigid formula that leaves every promo trailer sounding the same.

You want yours to sound unique, and that means getting creative. That’s a challenge with such a short amount of time available, but you wouldn’t be podcasting at all if you didn’t have a creative streak in you. You’ll manage!

Your promo trailer will be the first impression of your show for most of the folks who hear it, so you want to set the mood right up front. For example, if you cover your topic in a lighthearted or comedic way, how can you succinctly convey that?

Your audio quality (as well as any music or sound effects you use) will all filter into this just as much as what you actually say, too. If you run a highly-produced series, or pride yourself on your production values, then be sure to demonstrate that in your trailer.

Publishing Your Podcast Trailer

When uploading your promo trailer to your podcast feed, it’s a good idea to backdate it to a date before the release of your first episode. That way, it’ll keep your feed tidy and can be easily found. 

With that said, many hosting providers now provide dedicated “trailer” tags to help identify them from standard episodes, and some directories and apps recognise these, too.

Once you’ve uploaded your trailer, embed it onto your website’s home or “about” page. You can also embed it anywhere else on the site you think might be useful.

If you’re looking for podcasts to run a trailer swap with, check out Rephonic’s Podcast Audience Graph to find shows with an overlapping target audience.

How to Add Your Podcast Trailer to Spotify

A large chunk of podcast consumption (around 37%, in fact) takes place on Spotify. And, Spotify has a quick and easy way to set your podcast trailer on the platform.

Log in to your Spotify for Creators account and go to settings; then, you’ll find a ‘select your trailer’ button. This means that any new listeners who find your show on Spotify will spot your trailer right away. Hopefully, that will win them over to try a full episode afterwards!

How to Create a Podcast Trailer: Anything to Avoid?

I’ve already mentioned the “find us in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Overcast…” thing as a no-no. So, are there any other things you might want to leave out?

Explicit Language

Alright, I’m not saying don’t have explicit language if it’s integral to your show’s mood or tone. But do consider that it might limit where your trailer will get played.

If you absolutely do need an explicit trailer, you might consider making an alternative clean version, too.

Asking For Stuff

The only thing you want to ask people to do here is to listen to your podcast.

I’ve heard a couple of promo trailers over the years that have managed to squeeze in requests for iTunes reviews and Patreon support. That’s something you can talk to your actual listeners about, not your potential listeners.

Your trailer should be all about them, and what they’ll get from listening.

Podcast Trailer Resources & Next Steps

Still feel like you need a helping hand getting started? Our free Alitu Showplanner will generate a first draft of a podcast trailer script for you. You don’t even need to log in to use it.

And, once you’ve created something you’re happy with, be sure to share it with us in the IndiePod community. There, you can get feedback and suggestions, and you might even find another podcaster to run a trailer swap with, too!