It's one of the oldest questions in the entire podcasting landscape, and we're going to do what we can to answer it for you in this episode.

And that question is, how do I get more podcast listeners to discover my podcast?

We all want more listeners.

At the end of the day, that's what we really want.

It's that dopamine hit of seeing newer, higher numbers in your download stats each episode.

And I'm not here to try and tell you that that's a bad thing.

It isn't.

We all have our own metrics of what gives us that feeling of success, and for many it is seeing an increased number of downloads each episode.

So how do we make that happen?

Well, let's start with the basics.

Optimization.

First things first, you really need to make sure that your podcast is optimized for discovery in the various apps.

We're talking Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Castbox, and all the other little apps which spin off from the Apple Podcast Directory.

These platforms are where half of all listeners discover new shows, so ensure that your podcast metadata, like the title, the description, the category that it's in, are all optimized with relevant keywords where necessary to improve searchability within the apps.

A well crafted description isn't only useful for those apps that do index descriptions, but it's also a great way of enticing potential new listeners to click play.

They need to have an idea what your show's about before they commit to donating their ears.

The second thing we need to do is leverage our existing audience to help us with word of mouth promotion.

Never underestimate the power of a good referral.

Encourage your current listeners to share their favorite episodes with people they know, friends, family, social media followers.

Because personal recommendations carry significant extra weight and can lead to organic growth of your show.

Consider creating some shareable content like video clips, maybe quote graphics that they can grab hold of really easily and stick on their own channels that will help with distribution and amplifying your reach.

Thirdly, you might want to think about enhancing your podcast SEO, not just within the apps, but outside in the wider Google sphere as well.

It really is important to have a website for your podcast.

That means a specific website for your podcast.

If you're running a business or maybe you have a hobby which has its own main website, but you don't have a podcast website that can sometimes work against you because Google could be confused on what your content is about.

Is it about the service you provide?

Is it about the topic that you're talking about on your main website, or is it about the more nuanced podcast stuff that you're talking about on your podcast website?

If you separate the two apart, it makes it much easier for Google to track what's what.

Also, you'll be able to optimize your content with relevant keywords, and providing detailed show notes and transcripts make it easier for search engines to find you and index your content.

Potential listeners searching for these topics that you cover are then more likely to stumble across your podcast through those search results.

Fourthly, are you doing enough to engage in the existing online communities and social media channels that these people that you want listening to your show are frequenting?

Participate in the online communities, the forums, the social media groups because they're all people that are relevant to your podcast niche.

Engaging in these discussions and sharing your expertise with these people can position you as someone worth listening to, literally.

That in turn can attract more listeners that might have more hierarchy within that niche.

You could be invited to administrate these groups, which is great exposure for your podcast, or perhaps you could be invited to do webinars and talks.

However, be genuine with your engagement and avoid spamming.

Nobody wants to see someone constantly saying in my latest episode we talked about focus on providing some sort of take every time you contribute.

Naturally, weave in mentions of your podcast when appropriate and relevant.

Fifth, collaborate with other podcasters.

Now, I'm not suggesting this is all about going on every show in your niche.

Go on a couple, be picky, listen to them first, and choose the ones that you think are suitable.

Not every podcast is going to help you grow your own.

They are varying in quality.

Some of these podcasts, however, collaborating with the actual creators can be really useful.

Say, for example, you don't go on another podcast, but you have a networking event where you invite them that could be more useful.

Their talents might not necessarily lie within their podcasting ability.

They might well be great networkers though, or they might have a great YouTube channel.

You just don't know.

So it's always worth getting to know other podcasters within your niche.

And the sixth thing we'll talk about yes, utilize social media for your promotion, but don't rely on it and don't expect conversions from it.

Social media still, I argue, is very much a brand awareness tool, not a listener conversion tool.

YouTube comes into this While the podcast bros are all saying you need to be on YouTube, get your podcast on YouTube, what they're missing is the whole point that the podcast is the content.

YouTube is simply a platform and if you use that wrongly, just like any other platform, you're not going to get results.

Approach it with the right mindset, as in share your clips, but don't expect to get listeners to your podcast from those clips.

Instead, treat them as something which is essentially marketing material.

People to become aware of your podcast, do their research, and then eventually land on one of the podcast apps to consume your content.

And the same can happen with your social media channels such as Instagram, the Reels, the Tiktoks.

Don't expect listeners from it.

Expect awareness.

So there you have it.

There are some practical steps that you can take to try and get more people discovering your podcast.

As we step forward into another era of podcast discovery, I want to say a massive thanks to the podcast host who are a hosting company that recently did a survey trying to find out where actual listeners are finding their favorite new shows.

Unsurprisingly to me, but very surprisingly it seems to most of the podcast Bros.

YouTube came in at 1% so that really tells you how much value there is in getting your content rushed onto YouTube.

Very little.

Now of course, that's not a universal point.

There are of course some podcasts that do really well on YouTube and good luck to them.

But if you are looking to grow a podcast that's getting very little audience already in audio podcast apps, your time is probably much better spent trying to make sure the people that are already looking at podcast apps can find your show.

And the only way of doing that is optimizing.

By the way, if you want some help with optimizing your podcast, this is where my podcast audits can come in handy.

These are £400 and will make sure that your podcast will be found where it needs to be as quickly and easily as possible.

Book yourself in for one.

The link is in the description of this episode.

Find it at Podmastery co Discovery.

Hope you found that useful and we'll look forward to talking to you on another episode of the Podmaster.

The Podmaster is a pod nose production.

Find out more about us@podnos.co.uk.