Podcircle Podcast

Want to discover some practical strategies and common pitfalls for promoting your podcast effectively? Then this episode is for you! Join Mickenzie and Kyle as they discuss maximizing your content’s reach through various formats, avoiding predictability in your promotions, the importance of using video, and how to market your podcast even without video equipment. They also discuss leveraging guest networks, the value of strategic CTAs, and positioning yourself as a subject matter expert without falling into the "curse of knowledge". Let's dive in!

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00:00 Intro
00:32 Maximizing Your Content Reach
01:04 Avoiding Predictability in Promotions
01:52 The Power of Video in Podcasting
02:28 Promoting Without Video
03:17 Leveraging Guest Networks
04:12 Positioning as a Subject Matter Expert
07:09 Effective Call to Actions
08:12 Engaging Your Guest Network

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Creators & Guests

Host
Kyle Cummings
Kyle Cummings is the CEO and Founder of Podcircle, a podcast production agency who partners with New York Times bestselling authors, Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurs, influencers and everyone in between to produce high-impact podcasts.
Host
Mickenzie Vought
Mickenzie Vought is an expert podcast content strategist. She is also the Producer and Co-Host of the Living Centered Podcast, a leading emotional wellness podcast.
Editor
Podcircle
Premium podcast services for busy people and organizations. Visit Podcircle.com to learn more.

What is Podcircle Podcast?

Finally there’s a podcast for podcasters. Each week, join hosts Kyle Cummings and Mickenzie Vought as they share the knowledge and expertise they've gained from years of launching, running, and promoting successful podcasts. Whether you're an aspiring podcaster or you've already got hundreds of episodes under your belt, these conversations dive into the topics that matter to every podcaster — from marketing and growing your podcast, to recording equipment and best practices, monetization, cutting-edge tools, hiring help, and much more.

Kyle Cummings:

Welcome to the Podcircle podcast where we bring practical tips and insights for every podcaster.

Mickenzie Vought:

Whether you're just getting started or you're already a seasoned podcast pro, these conversations dive into all the topics that matter most to you. Alright, friends, we had so much fun a couple of weeks ago, giving you our top 10 podcast tips in under 10 minutes or so, that we decided to challenge ourselves once again. So today we are bringing you 10 do's and don'ts of promoting your podcast, and hopefully we'll be able to do it under 10 minutes. All right. 1st, do make your content go farther and optimize it from your episodes.

Mickenzie Vought:

So we talk about this all the time. It's probably old hat, but it is important to remind you. Make sure that you are getting the most out of your show from reels to YouTube shorts, blog posts, email copy, and more. We have gone through it, but there is an extensive list of both long and short content that you can get from one episode of a 30 to 45 minute podcast. So make your content go farther.

Mickenzie Vought:

Work smarter, not harder, friends. But don't, number 2, become predictable. Now here's the deal. The algorithms are smart, and so are your followers and your potential customers. So if you put out the same static image and same promo for every podcast episode, the social algorithm is going to deprioritize it.

Mickenzie Vought:

It's gonna stop showing it. It's gonna show it to less people, and then people will even start to tune it out. So you've got to change it up. You've got to change how you are presenting it when you get too much in a route, wrote, whatever that word is. I think this is the second time I've had that challenge.

Mickenzie Vought:

Whenever you get too much into that, you know you're in bad territory.

Kyle Cummings:

Alright. Number 3, do use video. That's not gonna be a surprise to anyone who Nope. Listens to this podcast, but we love video around here. We love YouTube.

Kyle Cummings:

We love the discoverability that YouTube has for podcasters. So our motto is always be recording. ABR, always be recording. Video is winning in almost every social platform right now, from Instagram Reels to TikTok, YouTube long and short form videos like YouTube shorts, which I personally love. People are finding your show through video primarily.

Kyle Cummings:

So use it if you can. But moving on to number 4, don't let not having video keep you from promoting your podcast or even from starting your podcast because it is it can be such a big barrier, to include that video element, not even just from a, okay, now I have to have like a camera and maybe get the right aesthetic, but editing is a little bit of a different ball game too. That's not a reason to forego marketing your podcast. So here's some tips on that. Instead, lean in to your email list if you have one.

Kyle Cummings:

Use the long form content and videos on LinkedIn. There's so many different ways you can repurpose that content in a text format or a, kind of a visual format for LinkedIn. Be tagging your guests on social. So if you have a great guest, be sure to tag them so that you guys can cross promote that episode. Yep.

Kyle Cummings:

You can create a blog post kinda with the main points of your podcast, which we love doing for clients here at Podcircle. Content is content is content, so we love repurposing that content. Create graphics in Canva from each episode. So whether you have a guest and you're featuring that guest, maybe you have a quote, pull a quote from that episode. Canva has lots of great templates.

Kyle Cummings:

Use that on your socials. I I talked a little bit earlier about promoting your podcast on LinkedIn. We have 2 episodes on that. Use those Canva images. Use AI to repurpose that text.

Kyle Cummings:

You know, go into chat with GPT, feed the transcript to it, and say, hey, pull out 3 key takeaways from this episode and 3 quotes, and then have a field day.

Mickenzie Vought:

Great tips. Do position yourself and your business as subject matter experts. So many times the reason that you start a podcast is because you are an expert in your space. You have something to say, right? And so whether you're a small business, a solopreneur, a coach, a CEO, a content creator, you have something to share with the world, you have valuable knowledge.

Mickenzie Vought:

And I want to encourage you to exhibit your expertise and position your show as a resource to tap into for knowledge, for expertise, for inspiration, for encouragement, whatever your niche is. But oftentimes I see subject matter experts undervaluing what they know and kind of getting squirrelly about sharing what they know. And I like to say, you've heard it before, promotion is only gross if it's not valuable. So when you are positioning yourself as a subject matter expert and solving your customers' problems, providing them solutions, you should promote what you're doing, tell them about it. If it can be an answer to their problem, they should know about it.

Mickenzie Vought:

But here's my don't on this. Don't get caught up in the curse of knowledge. So being a subject matter expert is a double edged sword. Sometimes you know something so well, you overestimate your audience's familiarity with the material. So maybe you're talking above them.

Mickenzie Vought:

Maybe you're using in group language in your promotions. Maybe you're assuming that they know something that they actually don't. And I think there's no faster way to turn off your audience. You want to equip and resource, inspire them, and position yourself as a solution to their problems, not speak above them. I have to double check myself with my expertise often.

Mickenzie Vought:

I have to ask myself, could a 4th grader understand this? Would someone who has no knowledge on this subject find it approachable? Am I creating a pathway and a gateway for someone to enter into this knowledge that I have, or am I creating an opportunity for someone to build on some preexisting knowledge that they have? We'll be talking in a couple of weeks about why you shouldn't appeal to everyone. So if you've got a niche market, like, talk to maybe the bottom of that market.

Mickenzie Vought:

And my last little caveat is don't underestimate what you know. I see subject matter experts giving way too much away because they assume that it is just common knowledge. It's not. You are an expert. You have your 10000 hours for a reason.

Kyle Cummings:

That's a really good tip and something that you helped me a ton with just in educating podcasters. The next do is to give more than you ask. Promotion doesn't always look like asking for something. I know it seems counterintuitive from a marketing standpoint, but some of the best promotion actually educates people more than it asks something from them. To put it another way, it gives more than it takes.

Kyle Cummings:

So Yeah. Every action costs something to your audience, and that's something to think about. It cost their time. It cost their resources, their attention. So use your asks wisely.

Kyle Cummings:

And number 8, the next don't is to don't forget your CTA, your call to action. Be conscientious of your asks, but still make them still make those asks. Just make them count. Tell your audience what you need from them. When you're serving them, your listeners want to give back for your valuable content, expertise, and your the way that you're resourcing them.

Kyle Cummings:

So don't be afraid to ask.

Mickenzie Vought:

And on that point of you're always asking something that you're asked to cost something, I often think about the, tax of giving my email away and how I'm kind of protective of it. Right? So that is even an ask of asking for an email is you might think, like, oh, it's no big deal. No. We value our email.

Mickenzie Vought:

We value our phone number. We value our name and who we are. So just be really intentional with how you're asking.

Kyle Cummings:

Oh, yeah. Especially the older I get, I feel like the harder it is is to get my email from me. Yes. I just I hate spam. I unsubscribe to things daily.

Mickenzie Vought:

Mhmm.

Kyle Cummings:

You know, so I I feel like it's becoming a bigger a bigger ask. Maybe it's maybe it's just me, but

Mickenzie Vought:

Yes. You are in line with the consumers. Alright. So our last 2, do tap into your guest network. So one of the best ways to grow your reach is by tapping into other people's networks, their followings, their audiences, people that are already loyal to them.

Mickenzie Vought:

So whether it's another professional in your space, another subject matter expert on the topic that you're talking about, or just a regular occurring guest, make sure that you're strategic in how and who you choose to bring in and how you choose to promote the episode. So first, be really conscious of the guest you're bringing in. And second, be conscious and make it easy for them to promote the episode. Tag them in your stories, your captions, your images, optimize show notes. Literally this week, I discovered that you can go into a story after the fact and add mentions if you forgot someone.

Kyle Cummings:

Nice. So I

Mickenzie Vought:

think that's been a barrier that I've, oh, I didn't tag them the first time. I can't do it. I had a guest come to me and say, hey. I'm not tagged in this. I'd love to share it.

Mickenzie Vought:

Will you do that? Great. I can go back and do

Kyle Cummings:

that. Yeah.

Mickenzie Vought:

So I just really encourage you to make it as easy as possible. And additionally, assign them as a speaker in your episode. If you people are going to be searching for that person in their Apple or their Spotify, that'll pull up all the podcasts they've been a part of. Make sure that your episode shows up in that feed as well. Now don't forget to let them know that the episode is out and make it easy for them to share.

Mickenzie Vought:

So sometimes we think, well, they'll just see it because people will talk about it, or you're just moving so fast, moved on to the next episode, that you don't actually take the time to go back, send a personal email, and say, hey so and so, your episode is out in the world. Thank you again for doing this. And here are some easy ways that you could help lift the episode. Give them links, provide them graphics. I have been known to be really strategic in creating assets that I know match kind of the look and tone and feel that maybe a guest has in some of their other branding.

Mickenzie Vought:

That's not always possible, but when I really wanna make it easy for a big guest that I know is gonna really help me expand my reach, I take a little more effort to do that. So the second thing is give them show notes and then make a specific ask and tell them how they can support you and the episode, and that leaves the door open. For 1, they feel valued, they feel seen, You've made it easy for them, and it leaves the door open for them to partner and network with you in the future. So those are our tips.

Kyle Cummings:

We want people to find your show, but the only way they can do it is if you're getting this podcast out into the world. And if you're feeling that podcast fatigue that comes with producing and promoting a quality show on a consistent basis, reach out to us here at Podcircle. We can help you with that. You can email me directly anytime at kyle@podcircle.com. We have a suite of podcast services that help busy business owners get back to what they do best.

Kyle Cummings:

We'll see you next week.