Podcast Blastoff Blog

How to Promote Your Podcast (Without Annoying Your Listeners)

Nathan Fraser

So, one of the most annoying things in the world to me is bad marketing.

I see people with great products or services, mixed with horrible marketing that leads to inevitable failure. And it drives me insane.

Podcasters are often guilty of this. From their show notes to their facebook posts, podcasters are messing up, bad. "In this week's episode, we talk about blah, blah, blah." "Our special guest So-and-so joins us to discuss such-and-such".

BORING.

If this is how you promote your podcast, you've already lost my attention.

And it doesn't stop there.

One of the most common ways I see podcasters try to earn a little money is to sell some branded shirts. The go to Tee-Spring and put their "super cool" podcast logo on a T-Shirt, with dreams of making millions. They spam they crap outta their facebook feed, they tell their listeners to go buy the shirts, and they shut down the sale with nothing to show for it.

Both of these are examples of the most common marketing mistake made by business owners, as well. They make their marketing all about themselves, and how cool they are, rather than about their audience.

"We started our business back in 1975."

"We offer a superior product at a lower price."

"We were voted best in town by such-and-such magazine."

NOBODY CARES!!!

People don't care about how cool you think your business is. People don't care about how cool you think your podcast episode. People care about one thing and one thing only... themselves.

And if you want them to pay attention to you, you need to grab their attentions by addressing what's important to them. That being; themselves.

Don't tell them about how cool your latest podcast episode was. Don't tell them about how smart your latest guest was. Tell them what they will get out of listening. Tell them how their lives will be improved if they listen. Tell them what danger they can avoid if they listen to your latest episode.

Don't tell them about what you put into it. Tell them what they'll get out of it.

Same thing goes for selling branded t-shirts.

People buy clothes as a way to express themselves. But a t-shirt with your podcast logo plastered on the front only gives them the opportunity to express you. That's not gonna sell a lot of shirts.

Don't make a shirt that gives your listener the chance to tell the world about you and your podcast. Make a shirt that allows your listener to tell the world about themselves, and tie it into your podcast.

My podcast is about freedom and business ownership. My listeners care about self-ownership and being their own boss. When I make a shirt to sell to my fans, my podcast logo is the smallest thing on it. The majority of the design is about letting my listener express themselves.

The full print will be a quote that tells the world who they are and what they value. It will be a design that expresses their personality. Then, off in the corner, will be a small version of my podcast logo. But the shirt is about them, not me, and not my podcast.

And guess what; every time I do a run of them, I sell out.

So here's they point: make your promotions about serving your fans, not your own ego. If you want their attention, start where their attention is already focused; on themselves. I'm sure your podcast is great and it deserves to be listened to, but self-centered promotional tactics will not make that happen.

I want you to succeed. I want your podcast to succeed. And I don't want you to make the biggest marketing mistake that rookies fall victim to; self-centered self-promotion.