The 5 Podcasting Strategies To Launch a Podcast With a Bang
Please note: This article comes from our friends at PodVision, who we're excited to have as an independent guest contributor! While we love sharing their insights, PodVision is a separate company from The Podcast Space, and the results they mention are specific to their own clients. We hope their experience inspires your podcasting journey!
Launching can be both the most exciting and daunting moment for a podcaster. You’ve poured yourself into this labor of love for so long and it’s finally ready to meet the world. Where do you even begin?
In this article, I’ll go over the strategies that my partner Jullian and I used at PodVision to support What Your Therapist Thinks (WYTT): a mental health show where actual, licensed therapists open up about what they’re really thinking, while answering the internet’s most burning mental health questions.
Through the work we did together, WYTT:
Reached 500,000 plays in its first season,
Topped the US Apple Podcasts Charts: #1 in Mental Health and #1 in Health & Fitness,
Secured its first sponsor.
This list will teach you how you can aim for the same results for your podcast launch.
Disclaimer: WYTT had absolutely no ad spend whatsoever. The growth was exclusively organic.
Here’s a sneak peek:
“You know the podcasting world. Kristie and I didn’t know what we didn’t know. You brought the knowledge and expertise of the industry to our show. I was shocked at how much attention the show got including multiple features by Apple Podcasts. I could have never anticipated how powerful great cover art and buzz building would be.”
If you want to get some context about WYTT’s journey right from the creators, you can listen to Felicia on Teaching through Emotions (also a PodVision client) or to Kristie and Felicia’s special in-between-seasons episode.
Strategy #1 - A fun twist to a universal topic
Mental health is one of the top podcasting genres. You’d think it’d be best to avoid it and maybe look for a more niche topic, right?
That’s one way to go.
What helped the success of WYTT wasn’t just its focus on mental health but its fun twist. In a seemingly oversaturated world of shows that discuss similar topics, WYTT has a core value and an entertaining angle: the guests are exclusively licensed therapists, and each episode includes a Reddit stories segment of anonymous people’s stories on the different topics discussed, from cheating to anxiety, with the said licensed therapists commenting on them. Kristie and Felicia had this concept ready to go when we met, and their first episodes recorded, too.
A very important note here: the fun twist will not lead to much unless it’s communicated clearly. At PodVision, we know this and we focused on this from the get-go:
A gorgeous cover art that conveys the tone of the show (hint: this is crucial for a potential Apple feature);
SEO-optimized show description, episode titles, episode descriptions, and bonus elements such as chapter titles;
A YouTube presence built with intention: dynamic visual elements, “curiosity gap” branded thumbnails, and audio/video sound design to differentiate segments;
Lastly, high-quality production is an absolute must.
Strategy #2 - A cheerleader that gets you
If you are able to dedicate a budget (however minimal) by working with someone, especially someone who gets you, this will go a long way.
Before we entered the picture, Kristie and Felicia made for great partners. It was their first time working together, but they had built a solid friendship based on trust, mutual respect, and admiration. Having co-hosts that complement each other in terms of expertise and vibe is a game-changer. To add to that, they decided to place the podcast under Kristie’s business, BestTherapists.com, to add to the show’s credibility.
This is where your cheerleaders comes in.
Jullian and I offload the work from Kristie and Felicia’s backs so they can focus on the creative aspects and the content. We’ve talked with podcasters who do everything on their own and can easily overlook really basic workflow, things like a proper production schedule. If that’s not the case for you, then you might otherwise be putting all your energy in production, and as soon as you breathe a sigh of relief that the first episodes are done and ready to publish, realize that you completely forgot about a press release.
Here’s Kristie and Felicia’s advice:
“If you want the best chance of growing quickly, getting sponsors, and more well-known guests, invest in the best help possible. Don’t half-ass it. Work with an incredible team.”
Strategy #3 - Audience development from the pre-production stage
Let’s get it clear from the get-go: audience development can’t be an afterthought. Jullian and I started working together because we realized how crucial it is to intertwine podcast production and marketing and be intentional about it. Having a strategy in place will give you some solid footing for your big launch.
Kick things off with a buzz-building campaign (more details in the next point);
Follow that with running cross-promos with a variety of like-minded shows;
Put yourself out there as an expert on other podcasts;
Be consistent with your growth efforts: review the impact, analyze, and revisit.
Putting your best foot forward from the development stages is non-negotiable. To set audience development up for success, make it top of mind from day one.
Strategy #4 - Kicking off with a bang
The number one thing that contributed to WYTT’s success was the buzz-building.
The press release was ready to go as soon as the trailer went out, and it was then sent all across the podcasting industry to newsletters and digital outlets the week before the release.
The Apple-specific artwork was just as gorgeous as the cover art itself, and it was also ready to be sent (submitted through this form). As a result, WYTT was everywhere. If you are a podcast fan or in the podcast industry, you had definitely seen it.
The biggest game-changer?
The Apple Editorial team featured WYTT in its “New Shows” carousel at the top of the US homepage. That absolutely skyrocketed downloads and they only kept going up for the rest of the season. Even before that, WYTT was featured in Apple’s “New Trailers” list and during the remainder of the season, it was featured in other Apple lists such as “For Healthier Minds”, with similar shows in this niche such as Glennon Doyle’s “We Can Do Hard Things” and Jay Shetty’s infamous podcast.
Feature by feature, WYTT topped US Apple charts and became #1 in Mental Health and #1 in Health & Fitness.
To thank Apple, we all shouted it from the rooftops. We posted on social media, and Kristie and Felicia thanked Apple with in-episode mentions and by encouraging listeners to listen, rate, and review the show on Apple Podcasts.
Important note! As a podcaster, you can pitch your show to Apple Podcasts (and you should every few months!). Pro tip: you might have higher chances of being featured if you pitch yourself to different English-speaking locations: US, Canada, UK, Australia. By working with a team with proven expertise, you can increase your chances to give your podcast the love and attention it deserves.
Strategy #5 - Timeliness
Reaching 500,000 plays in season one wouldn’t have been possible without active and intentional follow-ups after the marketing and PR efforts.
Here are a few things we focused on to maximize impact:
Being responsive to reviews, including implementing feedback;
Starting work on a second season for quick release to keep the new listeners engaged;
Developing a monetization plan, starting as simply as including a line in the episode descriptions: “For sponsorship requests, reach out to…”;
Pro Tip: You could even have a monetization strategy ahead of the release. In this case, Kristie and Felicia weren’t even sure they would go for another season, but the reception of the show gave them the boost to keep going.
Engaging with listeners by starting a Substack and social media accounts;
Themed episodes released between seasons: one on how to deal with family boundary-setting during the holidays and one about WYTT’s journey, which helped listeners get to know Kristie and Felicia better.
Timeliness was also important before launch. WYTT released season one around World Mental Health Month, which added to its newsworthiness. Launching in the fall was equally a great time per industry standards. Podcast listening generally dips in the summer so audiences come back to their listening apps with a high energy in the fall.
The results outside of the feed?
“It’s definitely put a lot more eyeballs on me and my business. This podcast already has the kind of success that makes podcasting itself seem like a realistic career. Being able to say “top ranked podcast host” definitely makes us feel more legit and certainly lends credibility in our other endeavors.”
WYTT’s success was strategy and a little bit of luck. Still, you might follow all the steps above to a tee, and other factors outside of your control, like a listening app’s editorial priorities at a given moment, might be against your odds.
The biggest takeaway is: be intentional, be bold, and be consistent with your audience development efforts. There’s no other way around it.
At PodVision, we specialize in working with podcasters who are launching a show or who want to rebrand or take their podcast out of a plateau. The first podcast we worked with end-to-end is What Your Therapist Thinks - you can listen to it wherever you get your podcasts, join Kristie and Felicia’s Substack and follow WYTT on Instagram for updates and episode highlights.
If you want to learn more about PodVision, visit our website or reach out to us on LinkedIn: Andreea Coscai (Head of Audience Development) and Jullian Androkae (Head of Production). We also support our podcaster clients with: strategy, branding and re-branding, monetization, and listening engagement, such as social media.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
PodVision is an award-winning podcasting agency founded by Jullian Androkae and Andreea Coscai that fills the gap between strategic, high-quality production and creative audience development.