Before you launch your podcast, so much of your time and energy will be spent getting the sound and feel just right. Choosing the right format. Researching the best publishing frequency and day of the week. You're doing all the podcast things you’re supposed to do in order to make a really great podcast. Soon the time will come to press publish, and you need a plan to promote the podcast.

Here are 5 simple ways to ask your listeners to support your podcast.

1) Ask them to sign up for your newsletter.

That being said, your newsletter needs to be subscriber-worthy. What are you doing with your newsletter beyond promoting your current episode?  How are you engaging the reader?  Is signing up worth their time?  How easy do you make it to sign up?

If you already have a newsletter with subscribers, congratulations.  You now can implement one of the most effective marketing tools a podcaster can have.  

Building an email list from scratch?  Here are some ideas to consider…

• Choose A Trustworthy and easy-to-use Email Marketing Platform. 
• Give People Incentives to Sign Up. 
• Create Pop-Ups For Your Website. 
• Leverage Your Social Media Accounts. 

Additionally,

• Emphasize how easy it is to sign up for your newsletter
• Keep stating your call to action over time 
• Put the link everywhere

It will build over time: You’ll see some fans subscribe immediately, but you’ll continue seeing substantial growth even 3-6 months after you launch. The key is consistently including your call to action and experimenting with what gets listeners excited to sign up. 

2) Ask them to write reviews or comments about your podcast.

This could take the form of 

• Leaving a review of your podcast on iTunes, 
• Leaving comments on your podcast Facebook page, 
• Encouraging comments on your podcast website blog post that features your podcast episodes,
• Setting up a Google My Business page for your podcast, or
• Ask for feedback on a Google Voice phone number.

3) Ask your listeners to share your podcast on social media by specifically tagging their friends.

Not only does this share the podcast, tagging friends can encourage the listener to comment to the tagged friend WHY they should listen to the episode.  Feedback for you, and social media loves shares.

4) Ask listeners how the podcast (or a specific episode) has helped them.

There are basically 6 things you need to do in a podcast.

• laugh
• cry 
• think 
• groan 
• educate
• entertain 
• or a combination of any of these

If you're not doing one of those 7 things, you're boring. And there won’t be any incentive for your listener to WANT to talk about your podcast.

5) Ask them to follow you on social media

Same rules apply about the why’s of following you as I just addressed with newsletters.  Make your posts engaging, interesting, inviting, and share-worthy. It can’t be just about your latest episode publishing.

If you’re looking for more tailored help, then be sure to connect with our dedicated team of podcast professionals. We’ll help your business create a podcast from planning and launching to editing, presentation skills, promotion, and monetization. 

Interested in speaking with one of our professionals? Click here! We’ve put together a questionnaire to quickly fill out.  This will help us help you prior to our first information meeting, which you can schedule when you complete the questionnaire. 

Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you.

Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com

Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic And Speak. It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast.

Recorded in conjunction with Channel 511, in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH.

Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients.

Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast.