The Audience Growth Podcast - Demystifying Podcast Marketing: Recent Episodes

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• Why is this an exciting change?
  • The release of impression data in Spotify's dashboard is significant because it brings data-driven insights to podcasting.
  • It allows podcasters to understand how users discover their shows on Spotify, whether through homepage features, search results, or their library.
  • This development mirrors the evolution of app ecosystems, where data-driven tools became essential for growth, leading to the success of the app industry.
  • It emphasizes the importance of podcast visibility optimization (PVO) and its impact on content discoverability.
  • Some podcasters are shifting from an advertising-driven model to a subscription-driven one, akin to the transition seen in app subscriptions.

What A/B tests can publishers now implement and measure, and what kind of results can they expect?

• Podcast publishers can conduct A/B tests to optimize elements like cover art, titles. They can also start measuring the impact of ratings on their ocnversion rate.
• Improving cover art can lead to more than a 10% increase in click-through rates.
• Changing titles to be more descriptive or engaging can enhance discoverability.
• Increasing star ratings from three to four stars can double click-through rates, resulting in more downloads and listens.

What does it change for Voxalyze and our users?

• It validates the importance of podcast visibility optimization (PVO) for Voxalyze users.
• Impression data highlights that many people discover content through search, emphasizing the need to focus on being visible in search results.
• Voxalyze users can leverage data-driven insights to improve their content's performance and visibility.

Potential future features that would greatly improve the dashboard:

• Extending the data history beyond 30 days to track trends over a more extended period.
• Providing downloadable data to enable in-depth analysis and historical record-keeping.
• Offering insights into the countries where impressions occur, helping podcasters tailor their strategies.
• Providing episode-level data to distinguish between show and episode promotion.
• Expanding insights beyond impressions to include click-through rates and conversion rates, offering a more comprehensive view of a podcast's performance.

Show notes with free template available here .

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Timestamps

1:45 About the consensus in the industry that FB ads don’t work to grow podcast audiences
2:31 Obvious pitfalls podcasters should avoid when using FB Ads to grow their podcast audience
6:14 the FB Ads pixel
9:30 Capturing email addresses for later re-engagement and audience and content research
12:39 The Right Facebook Ads Campaign objectives to capture leads
18:07 How to reduce your cost per listener
20:21 Tools to create ads
22:45 How media groups can leverage FB ads to grow the audience of their podcast

Key ideas:

About the consensus in the industry that FB ads don’t work to grow podcast audiences

• Facebook ads are usually deemed not very effective for growing podcast audiences, at least not when leveraging the traditional approach.
• The traditional approaches consists in directing traffic to podcast pages. The environment switch creates friction.
• The average cost per click on FB is fairly high so the economics of a click to podcast funnel don’t work out

Obvious pitfalls podcasters should avoid when using FB Ads to grow their podcast audience

• Avoid boosting posts. You’re missing out on targeting and campaign optimization options
• Avoid using traffic campaigns. They bring you people very likely to click but unlikely to taker the action you expect from them. There’s one exception mentioned at the end of the episode.
• A smarter approach involves using Facebook Ads Manager with specific targeting and campaign objectives tailored to your podcast marketing goals.
• Don’t run campaigns without using the FB pixel before. The FB Pixel provides invaluable insights into your audience’s behavior, leading to more efficient and effective ad campaigns.
• Pro tip: install the pixel on your website today, so FB has gathered plenty of visitor data by the time you start using FB ads.

Capturing email addresses for later re-engagement and audience and content research

• Instead of directing traffic directly to your podcast page, focus on using ads to capture email addresses from potential listeners.
• Building an email list is an essential asset for podcasters, as it facilitates listening re-engagement, content research, and targeted communication.
• Use a lead magnet to incentivize the sign up

What Facebook Ads Campaign objectives should you use to capture email addresses?

• Opt for Facebook’s “lead generation” campaign objective when aiming to collect email addresses from your audience.
• Decide between using instant forms (native lead capture forms on FB) or sending users to a dedicated landing page on your website for email capture.
• Both have pros and cons
• Instant form pros: lower friction, cheaper cost per lead
• Instant form cons: lower quality leads, potentially complicated setup to get the double opt-in depending on your CRM
• Dedicated landing page: the opposite

How to reduce your cost per lead

• Experiment with various audience segments to optimize your campaign’s performance. Example: Andrea’s podcast is geared towards people who start a business later in life so she only targets +40 individuals.
• Be open to testing different ad formats, including images, videos, and carousel ads, to find what resonates most with your audience.
• Continuously refine your targeting and creative elements based on performance metrics to drive down your cost per lead.

Tools to create ads

• Canva is an accessible and user-friendly platform for creating ad graphics and visual content.
• AI-powered tools like Midjourney can assist in ad creation, especially for those who lack design skills.

How media groups can leverage FB ads to grow the audience of their podcast

• Adopt a holistic approach to podcast growth within the context of your overall business goals.
• Blend paid advertising strategies with organic methods to maximize your podcast’s reach and impact.
• Consider running traffic campaigns when launching new podcast shows to make a splash, and kickstart a positive organic feedback loop (start trending thanks to paid downloads, get organic downloads, and keep trending). See our interview with Joni Deutsch for more details on how NPR does it.

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Full show notes available here

Timestamps

5:47 How to leverage human curiosity to drive your social media audiences to your podcast

12:03 What type of lead magnets work when appearing as a guest on other shows, and which don’t?

17:13 How to structure the lead magnet landing page to increase your sign-up rate and increase SEO traffic from Google

22:47 What email marketing tool Deirdre recommends to capture email addresses and nurture your list

24:07 Conversion rate benchmarks for your landing page

27:22 How to deliver value, properly nurture your email list, and feed your content flywheel

31:03 A summary of the 8 types of honey traps (mental models)

32:38 How can people with no marketing background implement honey traps in their content easily

Key ideas:

How to leverage human curiosity to drive your social media audiences to your podcast

• Leverage curiosity on social media to attract your audience by creating “honey traps” that trigger their interest.
• Use mental models like “The Paradox” to create curiosity-inducing content. For instance, combining contrasting elements like a million-dollar result and an unexpected method.
• Real-world examples, like a session titled “How I Made a Million Dollars with a $19 Product and a Toilet Seat,” can spark curiosity and drive engagement.
• Applying the “Cliffhanger” model keeps your audience engaged by withholding the complete story, prompting them to seek the conclusion.
• Embrace the “Boxer” model by addressing pain points and offering solutions. This formula is proven in marketing to resonate with audiences.
• Utilize the “Jaw Dropper” approach, teasing secrets or the “Marvel” technique, presenting frameworks to attract listeners who are eager to learn more.
• Understanding and applying these mental models can significantly boost engagement, as shown by Deidre’s experience, where downloads spiked by 2.5 times.
• By strategically using these curiosity-driven models, you can encourage listeners to close the loop and seek more information through your podcast episodes.

What type of lead magnets work when appearing as a guest on other shows, and which don’t?

• The traditional lead magnets like checklists and cheat sheets may not be as suitable for podcast audiences, as they are more inclined towards audio content.
• Create lead magnets that bridge the gap between the podcast content and the audience’s learning style, such as bonus clips or audio excerpts from podcast episodes.
• Utilize content honey traps to open loops and create curiosity, encouraging listeners to opt in for bonus audio content that complements the podcast episode.
• Gating relevant audio content as a lead magnet can significantly increase email list sign-ups, attracting engaged listeners who are more likely to return for more podcast content.
• Align your lead magnets with the learning preferences of your podcast audience to foster engagement and keep them within the same medium, enhancing the overall listener experience.

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Timestamps

0:01 Cost per download benchmarks

3:22 How to approach blended cost per download and cost per listener calculation

8:23 The challenges of scaling paid campaigns and how to overcome them

13:40 What is the best property or landing page to send your paid traffic to?

16:17 How to approach multi-app tracking and attribution for publishers with their own listening app?

The complete show notes available here.

Cost per download benchmarks

• Target cost per download (CPD) varies depending on factors like genre and client objectives.
• Cost per download can range from as low as 17 cents to as high as $23.
• Consider what is realistic within your available budget and desired outcomes.
• Determine the number of downloads needed to meet advertiser commitments or profitability goals.
• Balance the need for volume with a reasonable CPD; aim for a CPD below $1 in most cases.
• Be mindful of the investment made in creating a show and its potential for profitability.
• Consider factors like existing budget, desired revenue, and necessary download thresholds when determining CPD targets.

How to approach blended cost per download and cost per listener calculation

• Consider engagement metrics like completion rate and new followers when analyzing podcast analytics.
• Focus on the cost per listener rather than just the cost per download.
• Consider the blended cost per download, which includes both paid and organic sources.
• Track your total audience's growth and evaluate your total spend's effectiveness.
• Re-engaging existing listeners is as important, if not more important, than acquiring new ones.
• A long-term growth plan should include strategies for retaining and engaging both existing and new listeners.
• Utilize podcast attribution tools to gain better insights into cost-per-download metrics and optimize your campaigns.

The challenges of scaling paid campaigns and how to overcome them

• One of the biggest hurdles in scaling campaigns is the emotional impact of seeing conversion rates decrease as spending increases.
• Allowing sufficient time, budget, and space for campaigns to develop is crucial. For instance, the cost per click might start very high on social media, but after a few days or weeks, it can decrease significantly.
• Patience is necessary to observe the average cost per desired action decrease over time. For instance, if a customer stays engaged for a year and the initial cost per download is $10, the blended cost per download might be as low as $1 when they have listened to around 10 episodes.
• Unexpected events or competition from other podcasts can impact results. Understanding uncontrollable factors is essential.
• Educating clients and setting realistic expectations is essential. Communicating the anticipated fluctuations and improvements in performance helps manage their understanding.

What is the best property or landing page to send your paid traffic to?

• Conversion rate optimization is absolutely essential to decrease your CPD when running paid campaigns
• The best property to send paid traffic depends on your tech stack and capabilities.
• Ideally, use smart links that detect the user's device and existing platform to take them directly to the preferred platform (e.g., Apple Podcasts for iPhone users, Spotify for Android users).
• Consider reducing the number of steps to reach one of your episodes, aiming for a seamless experience.
• Landing pages that allow users to click on their preferred platform may require additional steps and reduce the immediacy of engagement.
• Prioritize making your podcast page easily accessible and memorable to drive conversions.
• Ensure your creative aligns with the easiest-to-remember and easiest-to-access property.

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Timestamps

1:22 The best podcast promotion channel

5:37 Establishing benchmarks

10:57 How to decide on the right marketing spend based on your goals

17:43 How to go about testing podcast networks

20:04 How to create ads that convert

The complete show notes available here.

Key ideas:

The Best Podcast Promotion Channel

• Mary's unique perspective comes from her performance background. Every decision she makes is data-driven.
• Generally speaking, keeping users on the platform where they hear/see the ad makes for higher conversion rates.
• Keeping listeners within the podcast medium reduces friction.
• Thus, Podcast-to-podcast promotion is the most effective channel to promote your podcast
• Mary found that in-network cross-promotion is 10 times more effective than other types of campaigns, including ads on other platforms and podcast ad swaps.

Establishing Benchmarks

• Establishing benchmarks is crucial for measuring the success of podcast promotion campaigns. It allows for a deeper understanding of conversion rates and helps allocate ad spend effectively.
• Due to the unique nature of each podcast show (different genres, storylines, talent, etc.), benchmarks need to be set on a show-by-show basis.
• Mary's team sets these benchmarks based on various factors such as talent, show uniqueness, and potential for scaling.
• For instance, the presence of notable talent on a show is expected to increase conversion rates.
• On top of the show-by-show approach, Mary uses weighted averages to identify acceptable and unacceptable ranges of cost per download and guide future spending decisions.
• While smaller audiences may have higher engagement rates, achieving scale is necessary for sustained growth.
• Finding the right balance between small audiences with high engagement and large-scale audiences with lower engagement is key.

How to decide on the right marketing spend based on your goals

• Establish benchmarks and goals to determine the appropriate marketing spend.
• Spending too little, like a mere $1,000, may result in limited impressions, low ad frequency and wrong assumptions about audience engagement.
• Investing in a higher spend allows for reaching a larger audience with the right message, frequency, and over time.
• According to Mary's analysis, reaching over 250,000 impressions in a 30-day period on the Realm network results in better conversion rates.
• The budget and goals of each campaign dictate the optimal spend and tactics to achieve desired results.

How to go about testing podcast networks

• Start by testing your own network and cross-promoting with smaller networks (no need for budget at this stage, ad swaps will do).
• Compare conversion rates to validate audience-podcast fit and establish benchmarks.
• Consider minimum spend requirements when scaling up to larger networks or utilizing programmatic resources.
• Prioritize collaborations and transparency with smaller networks to optimize conversion potential.

How to create ads that convert

• Fiction shows should focus on accessible angles that resonate with listeners.
• Leveraging recognizable talent, such as John Hamm, or highlighting the voice of the creator can capture attention.
• Make emotional connections and evoke curiosity within the limited timeframe of the ad.
• Transition listeners smoothly into your show or universe without jarring their audio experience. For instance, don't use "in a world where" type of ads when advertising fiction shows on a network specialized in fiction. This will only confuse listeners.

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Timestamps

1:31 What are the podcast metrics Shirley pays the most attention to
4:04 Social media metrics and using social media for creator and guest selection
15:12 Shirley’s podcast data collection, cleaning, and wrangling process
17:33 On the importance of staying up to date with industry benchmarks and creating your own benchmarks
20:55 Common mistakes and misconceptions around podcast data
24:55 On the impact of features on download numbers over time
30:47 On turning listeners into newsletter subscribers and using newsletters as an acquisition channel
34:33 Prioritizing the right channels
35:10 Cross-promotions: not such a great channel after all?
35:45 Pod People’s brand building and engagement boosting methodology

Key ideas:

Podcast Metrics Shirley pays the most attention to

• Building awareness and discoverability: downloads, unique listeners, chart rankings, and editorial submissions.
• Monitoring and increasing engagement: consumption rate, engaged listeners, and followers.
• Importance of tracking metrics against industry benchmarks and own show growth across seasons.

Social media metrics and using social media for creator and guest selection

• Social Media offers complimentary analytics for podcasting platforms.
• Importance of engagement rates for creator and guest selection.
• Shirley uses Grin, an influencer management tool, for tracking social media engagement.
• The sweet spot for engagement: creators with 10,000-50,000 followers.
• There’s a high correlation between creator engagement rates and podcast downloads.
• Engagement benchmarks: TikTok (18%), and Instagram (3%).

Pain Points in Podcast Analytics

• Lack of comprehensive analytics for decision-making and strategy.
• Challenges in aggregating and visualizing data for reporting and analysis.
• Difficulty in tracking the impact of specific marketing tactics, such as editorial submissions.

Shirley’s podcast data collection, cleaning, and wrangling process

• She uses various tools and platforms, including Megaphone, Apple, Spotify, and social media.
• No single source of truth but a composite picture from different dashboards.
• She cleans and wrangles the data with Excel formulas.
• Tracks podcast downloads and YouTube listens differently due to platform differences.
• Supplements data with surveys, pixels, and other sources when necessary.
• She doesn’t use visualization solutions like Looker or Tableau but gets reports directly from platforms.

On the importance of staying up to date with industry benchmarks and creating your own benchmarks

• Shirley keeps up with benchmarking reports from sources like Buzzsprout.
• Pod People works with 100+ shows, using aggregate data from different networks, clients, and industries.
• They set realistic benchmarks for different types of shows and seasons.
• They adapt strategies for different show formats (e.g., fiction, docu-style, interview chat shows).
• They use data and knowledge from platforms to inform future strategies.

Common mistakes and misconceptions around podcast data

• Not setting up data capturing infrastructure (e.g., a prefix for historical data).
• Clients are often unaware of platforms’ analytics tools, such as Spotify for podcasters and Apple Podcasts Connect.
• Using vanity metrics (downloads) instead of true engagement metrics, such as the completion rate and follower/listener ratio.
• Downloads can be easily manipulated (e.g., through bots and paid ads).
• The focus should be on audience resonance, community building, and actual traction.

Full show notes available here

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Show notes:

Timestamps

1:08 Tips for broadcasters entering the podcast space
07:32 How to establish relationships with podcast platforms
12:01 On specialization within podcast marketing teams
15:01 How to develop your podcast audience on a budget
18:15 PR as a podcast marketing channel
25:57 On turning things around when your audience growth is stalling
30:00 Podglomerate’s podcast launch/takeover framework

Key ideas:Tips for broadcasters entering the podcast space– Linear content doesn’t always translate well to podcasting.
– Linear radio listeners tend to skew older. Podcast audiences are younger and more diverse. This should inform the content strategy across channels. You can’t just recycle content.
– Radio and podcasts tend to be consumed at different times. This dictates the ideal time to release episodes. Radio consumption peaks during breakfast and commute, but it’s totally different for on-demand audio.
– Radio has more constraints: it must be produced for precise time blocks. There are regulations about the type of content that can be broadcasted.
– Example of radio content repackaging for podcasting: offer raw/uncensored interviews in a podcast format and encourage listeners to check out that long-form content. This is a great way to re-engage with your audience, get them to consume more of your content, and anchor on-demand in their habits.
– Podcasts and smart speakers take a growing share of the audio pie. Broadcasters must train their radio audience to follow them and find them elsewhere.

How to establish relationships with podcast platforms– Think about what you can give to your cross-promotional partners. It’s a two-way street.
– Identify your entry points at these companies.
– How? Search on LinkedIn (looking for people working on the editorial team at Apple Podcasts, for instance).
– Once you’ve identified the right contact person, do your research to find the common interest, the commonality.
– You can also offer to assist them with something they’re working on.
– Find the unique angle about your shows that will spark the editorial team’s interest (see Pride Month for Private Parts).

Resources to do your research:
– Podcast newsletters like Podnews & Inside Podcasting.
– Listen to podcasts on podcasting.
– Follow podcast influencers on Twitter.
– Maybe the people you want to connect with are thought leaders. They might publish content like articles and blog posts or appear as speakers in webinars and conferences.

– Free options to reach out: LinkedIn or Twitter DMs
– Rocketreach is a great paid option to find the contact info of relevant people at these organizations if you want to send emails.

Three important points:
– Reach out in an authentic way
– Don’t spam. You don’t want to “yell in their inbox for attention.”
– These relationships take time to build. Start networking now.

On specialization within podcast marketing teams– In 2014, Babbel already had someone in charge of the relationship with app stores
– As the podcast industry matures, similar functions start to appear in podcast marketing teams
– As mentioned, building these relationships takes time. A shortcut consists of working with agencies like Podglomerate and leveraging the existing relationships they have built with major podcast platforms.

How to develop your podcast audience on a budgetAnswers from previous episodes:
– promo swaps
– submitting your show to Castbox and Overcast
– Leveraging your assets: social media accounts, your newsletter

Joni’s take:
– Where is your audience going for news, information, and entertainment? You must first identify and research your ideal listener (age, region, interest). This will determine your marketing strategy.
– Even if you don’t have a marketing budget, you’re still investing your time, so spend it wisely.
– PR.

More on PR and podglomerate's podcast launch framework available here:
https://voxalyze.com/resources/podcast/pr-podcast-marketing-channel-joni-deutsch?

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Timestamps

00:59 What are the differences between genres when it comes to promotion?
4:52 Peter's framework for audience development on social media
10:22 How audience growth looked like on YT for Private Parts in the early days
11:49 Besides social media, what are other major growth levers for Spirit?
14:04 How many extra downloads can you expect from a platform feature?
16:43 Paid promotion: Peter's go-to channels
17:46 The impact of YT short on channel subscriber growth and full-length content views
23:02 What types of clips work well for which social media platform?
28:09 Audience research methodology
28:09 Their approach to video-to-audio conversion
34:59 Podcast Audience development in 2023

Key ideas:

What are the differences between genres when it comes to promotion?

• Spirit Studios see themselves as talent-led entertainment producers.
• They have been in the production game for 10 years.
• They started producing for TV, which influenced their approach to podcasting.
• Their secret sauce is leveraging the following of entertainers (social media influencers, reality TV stars).
• Other examples of this tactic:
• Spotify hiring Kim Kardashian to host a true crime show.
• Dan Snow's History Hit (Dan Snow is a historian but also a TV personality).

Peter's framework for audience development on social media

• The fact that their hosts are famous helps a lot with social media promotion.
• Video is especially successful. Audiences want to see the hosts, not just hear them.
• Private Parts was recorded in video format from day 1.
• TikTok is the platform with the highest conversion rate for them.
• Conversion rate: viewing a short video -> listening to full episodes.
• This is influenced by their audience's demographics.
• Social Media is not just a promotion channel for them. It's also a secondary source of monetization (Advertisement on YT, creator funds on TikTok).
• The best channel for monetization is YT.
• The channel that gives the biggest reach is TikTok.

How audience growth looked like on YT for Private Parts in the early days

• It didn't take off for a full year (be it the podcast or Youtube channel).
• An additional hurdle was that, at the time, Private Parts's core audience (young women) had not broadly adopted podcasts.

Besides social media, what are other major growth levers for Spirit?

• Famous guests: things picked up when they started inviting famous guests and piggybacking on their fan base. This sound obvious now, but it was quite novel at the time.
• Guest podcasting: Jamie (PP's host) going on other people's podcasts helped a lot.
• Platform features (Apple, Spotify). For instance, the show Homo Sapiens is focused on the LGBT community. During pride month in June, it becomes editorially relevant and usually gets featured by the platforms.
• PR.
• Paid marketing.
• PVO and SEO.

Their marketing mix is tailored to the country, genre, and audience.

How many extra downloads can you expect from a platform feature?

• The impact of editorial promotion has changed over the years.
• 3 years ago, it was a big thing. The impact is much lower now due to heightened competition in the podcast space.

Paid promotion: Peter's go-to channels

• They have found podcast-to-podcast marketing to be the most channel, much more than TV or social media.

The impact of YT short on channel subscriber growth and full-length content views

• It is difficult to measure.
• Certain guests tend to have a higher impact on listenership growth when featured in clips. Typically guests with high audience affinity, like Jamie's former Made in Chelsea co-stars
• They see a high correlation between TikTok views and Spotify downloads. This is probably related to the demographic overlap between the two. They haven't observed the same correlation with IG reels but were not able to uncover the reason.

Full show notes available herehttps://voxalyze.com/resources/podcast/grow-podcast-audience-talent-strategy/

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Show notes:

Timestamps

1:48 How to leverage owned media
4:25 How to get internal buy in to leverage owned media
7:10 Paid media
8:08 ContentAllies Listen Network
9:18 The right paid marketing channels for B2B podcasts
12:20 The economics of CLN (CPM, cost per verified listen)
19:12 How do SMB and enterprise B2B podcast goals differ?
22:32 Keywords rankings and Podcast Visibility Optimization
24:14 The specifics of B2B analytics

Key ideas:

How to leverage owned media

– They managed to exceed the download target by a factor of 7x just by leveraging owned channels; no paid marketing was involved.
– When working with B2B clients, the first thing they look at is: what is their owned media: social channels, newsletter, and website.
– Surprisingly, owned media is a low-hanging fruit that a lot of enterprise shows don’t leverage.
– In Jake’s experience, newsletters are the most effective form of owned media for podcast promotion. They convert better to listeners and subscribers.
– Pairing with PR department is also a great tip to get more exposure. Ask them if the episodes tie to any coming press release.
– One of the challenges of working with large companies is that you need to coordinate with several departments that each have their own processes.
– With so many moving parts, it can be hard to keep momentum and get analytics to measure the impact.

How to get internal buy-in to leverage owned media

– Pre-chew work for all stakeholders to reduce friction as much as possible.
– Don’t dump a giant folder on them expecting them to retrieve the information. Instead, deliver exactly what they need and not more.
– Example 1: when getting the person in charge of YouTube to upload the video version of the episode, send them an email with the link to the video file, the title, description and recommended tags.
– Example 2: when getting the person in charge of social media to post on LinkedIn, send them an email with the link to the video file, the post copy, recommended tags and accounts to tag.
– Example 3: sending the guest an email with a list of things they can do to promote, links to clips and pre-written post copy.

Paid media

– They only launch paid marketing campaigns once they have maxed out the potential of owned media channels.
– With some large clients, getting the teams to give the podcast exposure through owned media is almost impossible. In this kind of case, they resort to paid media earlier than they normally would.
– One of the biggest benefits of paid media is that it’s very predictable: you know you can hit your download target for a given cost per download.
– They had mixed results with podcast-to-podcast promotion for B2B.
– As a business, if you’re going to run ad on podcasts, it makes more sense to promote your product directly rather than your podcast.

How do SMB and enterprise podcast goals differ?

– SMB podcasts: there’s an element of thought leadership, but it’s mostly focused on ABM (account based marketing). They want to drive sales or retention, often by interviewing prospects and existing clients.
– Enterprise podcasts: they tend to be much more focused on thought leadership.
– Thought leadership as a goal can be dangerous because it’s vague and hard to quantify and report on.
– What ContetnAllies does instead is approaching each episode with an objective in mind

Examples of episode objectives:
– Tell customer stories
– Recruitment (example: what is means to be a solutions engineer at Meta?)
– Supporting product launches/product adoption
– Developing partner relationships
– Sales enablement

Keywords rankings and Podcast Visibility Optimization

– The show title is very important
– It can be tough to make big clients change the name of their show if they already have one for different reasons (branding, host egos, etc.). A good solution is too add a secondary title after a hyphen.
– They use Voxalyze to report on keyword ranking progress to their clients.

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Andi Last is the very talented media manager at Pure Financial, the company behind the 'Your Money, Your wealth' podcast. She’s grown the audience of the show by 535% in the last 3 years, and it regularly places in Apple Podcasts’ top 100 investing podcasts, a category where competition is cut-throat. In this interview, she shares a ton of tips to help you grow your podcast audience, especially if you are in a highly competitive or tightly regulated category.
In this interview, we talk about:

• download milestones

• leveraging podcasts as a channel for lead generation

• 1 very easily overlooked pitfall that podcasters should avoid at any cost (hint: it has to do with the default settings of your podcast hosting provider)

• how she leverages data to grow the show

• podcast visibility optimization

Enjoy!

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Marion Abrams is a podcasting coach, consultant, and the mastermind behind the very popular Spartan Up podcast. Under her tenure as director of podcasting, the show has generated 45 million downloads and views. In this episode, we talk about:
- the 5Ps of podcast audience growth: Purpose, Point of View, Process, Practice and Promotion
- download milestones
- how to spot shady podcast marketing agencies
- tips to get great guests on your show
- how to know when you’ve achieved content stickiness (don't spend money on advertising for your show before reaching that point!)
- how to streamline your podcast production to put out content a very high pace

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Alexis Hue is the founder of Voxalyze, the visibility and analytics solution for podcast publishers. He has audited the promotion strategy of more than a hundred shows. He has developed a framework to fix the 5 very common but deadly mistakes that hurt the audience growth of shows. In this episode, we discuss:
- how pressing publish is only half the battle and why you shouldn't neglect promotion.
- why a poorly chosen show title can make you invisible in the search engines of podcast platforms
- How well-written show titles look like.
- why insufficiently long show and episode descriptions prevent you from ranking on hundreds of keywords.
- why ratings and reviews and way more important than platforms let on.
- how you can improve your cover art to boost your listening start rate.

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The podcast landscape is evolving fast. While the number of new shows slowed down significantly in 2022, competition is as fierce as ever. In this episode, Alexis and I chat about what lies ahead for podcast publishers:
- the 3 main challenges in 2023: distribution, promotion and monetization.
- the decline of linear radio and the shift towards the digital consumption of audio content
- the transition from a duopoly (Apple Podcasts and Spotify) to an oligopoly with more big players entering the podcast space (TikTok, Youtube, Netflix)
- the increasing demand for truly innovative content
- the strategy public broadcasters need to adopt to regain control over the distribution of their content on podcast platforms

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Stephanie Arakelian is the Podcast Growth Specialist at Impact Theory. Prior to this role, she served as VP of Marketing & Audience Development at CurtCo Media, the podcast network behind the award-winning show SOLAR. She managed to hit the 1-million downloads mark for SOLAR only 3 months after launching the show. In this episode, we chat about several crucial topics of podcast marketing, including:
- how she would promote a show if she had 0 budget (ideal for scrappy podcasters!)
- how to do audience research and build listener personas for your show
- how to choose the social media platforms that are right for your show and category
- what KPIs to use to measure success
- which genres are easier to promote (fiction or non-fiction)
- which paid channel is the most effective to promote a podcast (and which one to avoid!)
- how she likes to distribute a budget across the lifetime of a show

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Still unsure if the audience growth podcast is for you? This short episode will let you listen to soundbites of the insightful podcast marketing-related conversations we've had with our guests so far. After listening to this episode, you will know for sure if the show is worth your time!