How to promote a podcast: a plan for getting your first listeners

The first listeners of almost every podcast are friends, colleagues, customers and members. That is not a failure of promotion, it is how promotion starts. People share things they were part of, and they recommend people they trust.

Before you think about algorithms, make a list of the groups you already belong to: your customers, your email list, your chamber or association, your church, your alumni network, your team. Each one is a channel you can reach this week without spending anything.

The question for every episode is simple: who in those groups would care about this one, and how do I put it in front of them?

Your website is the one channel you control. Give the podcast a page with a player, a one-line description of the show, and a list of episodes with short written summaries.

Publish a transcript or a written version of each episode. It helps people who prefer reading, and it gives search engines words to index, which a pure audio file cannot. Over time, the written versions bring in visitors who never heard of the show.

If you run a business or an organisation, add the latest episode to the places people already look: your homepage, your footer, your email signature.

Email is still the most reliable way to get an episode played. A short note with one sentence on why this episode matters, and a link to listen, will outperform almost any social post.

Do not just say a new episode is out. Say what the listener will get from it. "Our member Sarah explains how she doubled her catering orders without hiring" will get more plays than "Episode 12 is live".

If you already send a newsletter, put the podcast inside it rather than sending a separate email. One message that people already open beats a new one they have to learn to trust. There is more on this in how to turn a newsletter into a podcast.

You do not need to be everywhere. Pick the one or two platforms where your listener already spends time and do them properly.

• LinkedIn works for business, professional and B2B shows. Post a short written takeaway from the episode with the link in the first comment, and tag the guest so their network sees it.
• Facebook works for local businesses, community groups, churches and anything built around an existing group. Share into the groups you are already part of, where the rules allow it, rather than only on your own page.
• Instagram works for personal brands and visual niches. Short vertical clips with captions do most of the work. See how to promote a podcast on Instagram for a full approach.

Whatever the platform, post more than once per episode. A single post on release day is seen by a fraction of your followers. A clip on day one, a quote on day three and a question on day six give the episode three chances.

If your show has guests, each one is a promotion channel. Make it easy for them to share: send a ready-to-post clip, a one-line description and the link on the day the episode goes out.

Choose guests partly for their reach in the community you want to grow into, not only for their expertise. A local business owner with an engaged following can bring more listeners than a famous name who never mentions the episode.

Most people find a new podcast through something short: a 30 to 60 second clip with captions, a quote card, a moment that made someone laugh. Pull two or three of these from every episode.

The best clips start in the middle of something interesting. Skip the introduction and lead with the sentence that would make someone stop scrolling.

Hilite can create shareable clips from an episode without leaving the editor, so making them is part of finishing the episode rather than a separate job. See clip creation.

Promotion brings people to the first episode. Consistency brings them back for the second. Publish on the same day each week or fortnight, so listeners know when to expect you.

Ask for one small action at the end of each episode: follow the show, share it with one person, or reply with a question for a future episode. Asking for everything at once gets you nothing.