How to Start a Podcast with No Audience
Have you been thinking about starting a podcast with no audience? You may not be on social media or just starting from scratch, this can feel like a huge roadblock especially if you are getting started. But starting a podcast when it feels like you aren't speaking to anyone is possible when you set up the right strategy and figure out the ways that work for growing your target audience. So, if you are ready to open the doors with no audience, continue reading.
Setup Your Podcast
We’ve talked about this before but you need to get the basics set up so that when you do start marketing your show, you have a place to point people to.
Here is our previous blog on getting your show set up. But as a quick summary -
Get all the basics set up (like getting on all the directories so people can find where to listen to you)
Figure out who your target audience is (this will help know where + how to promote your show!)
Plan and record your episodes
Get them through post-production
Publish, distribute, and market your show
This is a quick overview but to build an audience you will want to have your show set up or at least begin building hype for the upcoming launch aka you have begun the process!
Begin Building Your Audience
Since you don’t have an audience (for example you don’t have a business or a social media influence to share it with like I mentioned). You will want to begin creating one!
The reason this is important is because the truth is, that podcast organic discoverability is hard. You need to be regularly and consistently promoting your podcast to help increase listenership and engagement. People most likely won’t just come across your show so you need to be actively finding ways to get it in front of more people.
So here are some suggestions for helping build your audience from scratch:
Get on social media. The one that you have probably already considered and seems the most obvious is to create social accounts for your show (or utilize the ones you already have). This way you can share episodes and promote the show on these platforms to potential new listeners. Plus, it’s a great way to interact with your listeners. You don’t need to be on every single one but you do need to try and be where your potential audience is going to be. Consider providing engaging + sharable content such as graphics, video snippets, and quotes from episodes.
SEOify everything. We have chatted about this before when discussing increased podcast engagement, where you want to include keywords in your episode titles, episode descriptions, and if you have your show notes on your website to help increase potential SEO visibility.
Collaborate with others. Now this doesn’t have to just be other podcasters, look at influencers and other people in your industry/niche to see if there is a way to work together. You could do a guest episode (or social post), cross-promote each other, do a challenge together, or do something else that would help increase your reach through each other’s audiences.
Don’t forget about your newsletter! If you already utilize email marketing or even if you don’t, your newsletter is a great way to promote your show, engage with your audience, and have a different space you “own” to keep in touch with your listeners in case something ever happens to social media.
Consider paid promotion. There are multiple ways on social media and other channels like Google or podcasting to reach a wider audience by promoting your podcast through these paid options. Obviously, this one is going to cost but you can get really specific on who you want to target.
Go local. We have talked about this before but you may be surprised who around you locally could be benefiting from your podcast. Look at your target audience and see where they hang out such as a local coffee shop or bowling alley then see if the business will allow you to market in there with flyers or business cards for example. Also, consider using local paid promotions such as newspaper or radio ads.
Get out there. When it comes to podcasting most of the promotion and business is done virtually but don’t forget to get out there and attend meet and greets or other events to network with other podcasters and people in your target audience who could be interested in your show.
Don’t forget about your audience. Now, I know you may not have any right now (as that’s the point of this blog) but don’t forget about your friends and family and the listeners you will gain. As you get started, look to your community to help promote and get the show out there. Then as you begin building an audience don’t forget to engage and encourage your listeners to help spread the word. The recommendations from others are huge when it comes to podcasting so much so that according to Pew Research, "Not only do two-thirds of podcast listeners say they have recommended a podcast to someone else (67%), but six-in-ten have listened to a podcast that was recommended by a friend or family member, and about a third (36%) say they listen to at least one podcast that a friend or family member listens to". That's a lot of potential new listeners you could reach!
Make a Plan, Review It + Adjust
As you begin to create your plan take a peek at your target audience and start by picking a couple of the above ideas to use in your strategies and make a plan on how you are going to market (too many and it may get too overwhelming to keep up with).
Something to note: when setting your goals for your show, if you do not have an audience, that should be your first goal – to build one!
Then put your strategy plan into play. Start tracking listenership and engagement metrics. See how your show is doing every month – what is working/not working promotion-wise and are you seeing growth in your audience?
We suggest keeping the same strategy for at least 3 months but making notes monthly of stats and what is working/not working with slight adjustments to give your strategy time to work.
When it comes to building your podcast audience there is no one way that works. It takes some trial and error, knowing your audience and using the data you gather to help improve your show’s goals and in this case – going from no audience to having an audience.
Starting a Podcast with No Audience
When it comes to starting a podcast with no audience it is 100% doable, you just need to set up your podcast, pick some of the strategies to help build your audience and then put it into play.
Remember, you don’t need to have a huge follower count on IG or be a successful YouTuber to start a podcast, you have everything you need with you already to track your success and build your audience.
Let us know in the comments if you started your podcast with no audience, what worked (or didn’t!) for you? And if need help getting your show up and running, reach out to us here.
And remember, these are just some ideas on how to promote your podcast with no audience. Remember to think about what your audience likes and be creative with your promotional efforts!
Aleea
