Market Your Podcast Like You Do Your Website

You don't see it much anymore, but there used to be this mentality with websites that "if you build it, they will come". I guess the thought was: there's loads of traffic online, and if you just throw a website up, it's bound to start collecting visitors.

Of course, this isn't true. If this site is at all accurate, there are over 1.7b (yep, that's a "b") websites online right now, and probably a billion more by the time you read this.

You pressing "launch" and expecting to start getting some traffic just isn't realistic. And we all get that. We Heads of Marketing, CMOs, Marketing Managers, Entrepreneurs, Creators, Product Owners... we all understand that we have to work hard at getting our message in front of the right audience. We know it doesn't just "happen".

So why don't we think that way about podcasting?

In my brief time in the industry, I've come to see that one of the major hangups for brands that are considering podcasting tours, or launching their own show, is measuring ROI.

And I totally understand that. It's not cheap to create and produce a good show. So as a brand, some of you want to see the result of it - and fast. You want to track how many listeners are "signing up", "converting", talking to your salesforce, telling a friend, or whatever your CTA is.

Here's the thing, your podcast is like your website.

At least, it's like your website in that there are thousands of shows launching every year, and that you can't just press "publish" and expect that thousands of listeners are going to show up.

In the same way you deployed patience, and created a strategy to get people to your website (so they could hear your message), you've got to do that with your podcast. If you're looking at podcasting as a way of jumping on the bandwagon and creating an additional lead channel that you can measure in 1 month (or 6), then it's probably not for you. In that case, you may be better serviced by doing podcast tours, and being a guest on other shows.

Better questions to ask yourself (or your team).

• Who is the audience I/my brand wants to talk to?
• What would bring them the most value possible?
• Where do they hang out, and how can we introduce them to our show, so that we can bring them the most value possible?
• Are we committed to investing in this for 50 episodes / 3 seasons / 1 year (choose yours), or looking for quick return?

So when you're asking the question: "how can we drive more listeners to our podcast?" (a great question), make sure you're approaching it with the same thoughtfulness, commitment, creativity, and resolve that you would if you were working on driving more people to your website.

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