Podcast Cross-Promotion: 5 Must-Try Methods for Smart Growth

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.