Whether you are a seasoned podcaster or new to the industry, growing your audience is going to be one of your long-term goals.
While there are a number of different strategies you could use to market your podcast – across social media or through blogging, to name a couple of examples – podcast collaboration is a truly fantastic way to reach new communities and potential listeners.
When it’s done right, podcast collaboration takes ‘word of mouth’ marketing one step further. It’s a powerful way to draw in new dedicated listeners and encourage them to tune into your podcast every week.
You can grow your audience by…
finding other podcasters who you know will appeal to your audience,
mentioning other podcasts in your episodes,
and by appearing as a guest on similar shows.
It’s all about collaboration!
Why Use Collaboration to Grow Your Podcast?
“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else” – Booker T. Washington.
Helping others can go a really long way. There will always be fellow podcasters hoping to grow their own audiences through building relationships. Those podcasters have their own unique qualities that they bring to the podcasting landscape. Through collaborating, together you can produce some outstanding content, all while expanding your collective reach.
Here are 3 great ways to use collaboration to grow your podcast:
1. Find Other Podcasters That Your Audience Will Like
It doesn’t matter how specific or niche your podcast is, there will always be other creators producing content that’s relevant to your audience. Their content doesn’t need to be exactly the same as yours, just have a think about other subjects that your audience might be interested in.
A simple way to find podcasts with similar audiences is by searching on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify for other podcasts in the same genre. Listen to any that pique your interest. If you think that your listeners would be interested too, then why not get in touch? Approach podcasters through social media, but try to aim for creators with a similar audience size to your own. They’ll be more likely to collaborate with you if you’re on the same level.
With millions of podcasts out there, you’ll have plenty of potential collaborators. It’s all about taking that first step and getting in touch to see what they think.
2. Co-ordinate ‘Shout-Outs’ With Other Creators
One way to collaborate with another podcaster is to give each other a ‘shout-out’ – briefly mentioning that if your listeners enjoy your podcast, then they should check out another one. You could provide a short explanation as to why they may like it, or perhaps even mention a specific episode that relates to your subject matter.
Shout-outs are usually a two way street, with the podcast you are shouting out doing the same for you. That way you can equally reap the benefits of expanding your audience reach. Try reaching out to other shows that you admire and offer to do a promo swap. It’s a simple act of collaboration!
3. Appear as a Guest on Other Podcasts, and Bring Guests on to Yours
A really effective strategy is to appear as a guest on other shows, and to invite guests onto your own. This approach gives your podcast as much (free) exposure as you can get!
When you appear on another podcast that covers a topic that you are well-versed and genuinely interested in, audiences can tell. They’re far more likely then to flock to yours to check out what else you have to say. Appearing as a guest on other podcasts allows you to communicate directly with a potential new audience, in your own words, whilst at the same time, allowing you to experience new podcast formats.
By the same token, bringing guests onto your own podcast generates similar advantages. Shaking up your regular content with a new perspective in the form of a different guest, keeps your podcast fresh and engaging so your current audience is more likely to stick around.
When podcasters work together in this way, they can both achieve success by lifting each other up through collaboration.
Keep these three ways of using collaboration to expand your audience in mind, and you’ll be on your way to reaching new listeners in no time.