1 00:00:01,440 --> 00:00:03,120 Morgan Franklin: I'm gonna say something, and you might not 2 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:07,260 agree with me, but in my experience, this is the truth. 3 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:11,880 Marketing a podcast is harder than having a podcast now, 4 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:14,730 finding the right people that should be listening to your 5 00:00:14,730 --> 00:00:19,440 podcast and reminding them every week to listen to your podcast 6 00:00:19,650 --> 00:00:23,250 is actually harder than making the podcast itself, and that 7 00:00:23,250 --> 00:00:26,760 part isn't easy. In this episode, we're gonna talk about 8 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:31,080 why your podcast marketing isn't working, what you can do to 9 00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:35,190 improve and how we can make small changes to start 10 00:00:35,190 --> 00:00:39,780 rebuilding our listener base and engaging our existing audience. 11 00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:43,110 Hello and welcome to podcast for profit. My name is Morgan 12 00:00:43,110 --> 00:00:46,260 Franklin. I'm a Podcast Producer, strategist and 13 00:00:46,260 --> 00:00:50,970 educator. This podcast will help you create and grow a podcast 14 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:55,080 that cuts through the noise of social media and speaks directly 15 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:58,920 to your target audience. If you're ready to create a podcast 16 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:01,860 that will align you with the experts in your industry 17 00:01:01,950 --> 00:01:06,000 position yourself as a trusted leader and create another source 18 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:09,630 of revenue for your business. You're in the right place. I did 19 00:01:09,630 --> 00:01:13,320 a poll with 100 podcasters a few months ago on threads, and I 20 00:01:13,320 --> 00:01:17,790 asked, how would you spend $1,000 on your podcast? About 21 00:01:17,820 --> 00:01:21,030 80% of the people said advertising. But then when I 22 00:01:21,030 --> 00:01:23,550 asked how they would use that money on advertising, there 23 00:01:23,550 --> 00:01:27,150 wasn't really a very clear answer. And the truth is that 24 00:01:27,150 --> 00:01:31,200 most podcast marketing doesn't work that well because it's just 25 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:35,400 not at the right time and place. I've talked about this several 26 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:38,730 episodes in the past, but if, for example, you were relying on 27 00:01:38,730 --> 00:01:43,050 short form clips, on, let's say, Tiktok, or Instagram reels, to 28 00:01:43,050 --> 00:01:46,980 be converting into listeners. As my granny would say, you've got 29 00:01:46,980 --> 00:01:51,990 a long row to hoe, because think about this, you're scrolling on 30 00:01:51,990 --> 00:01:55,440 Tiktok. Maybe at the end of a long day, you're exhausted, like 31 00:01:55,440 --> 00:01:58,080 so many of us are. We're turning off our brain. We're just 32 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:01,380 flipping through these videos, even if you come across a 33 00:02:01,380 --> 00:02:04,740 podcast that you think is so funny or smart or whatever you 34 00:02:04,740 --> 00:02:08,730 may want in a podcast, the likelihood of you doing anything 35 00:02:08,730 --> 00:02:11,430 more than just bookmarking it or saving it for later is very 36 00:02:11,430 --> 00:02:15,570 slim. And honestly, how often do you go back and look at those 37 00:02:15,570 --> 00:02:19,260 saved videos or bookmarks on social media? Is this to say 38 00:02:19,260 --> 00:02:21,960 that I think marketing your podcast on short form video is 39 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:25,560 pointless. No, not at all. I think you should be using it. I 40 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:29,490 think that Tiktok, specifically is the best place for awareness 41 00:02:29,490 --> 00:02:33,240 and growth potential. The average user spends about 95 42 00:02:33,270 --> 00:02:38,190 minutes a day on Tiktok. And in the United States, we have 160 43 00:02:38,220 --> 00:02:41,700 million active users. Now, I'll let you do the math on that one, 44 00:02:41,700 --> 00:02:45,000 but what I'm trying to say is it might not be the best place to 45 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:49,110 market your podcast if you want conversion from podcast 46 00:02:49,110 --> 00:02:54,330 downloads and listens, but it is so amazing for awareness, so 47 00:02:54,330 --> 00:02:57,420 make sure that you're utilizing it, especially in the United 48 00:02:57,420 --> 00:03:01,110 States. We know that we only have until about April, that for 49 00:03:01,110 --> 00:03:04,830 sure Tiktok is going to be here. So if you know you want to use 50 00:03:04,830 --> 00:03:08,520 it, make sure that you are utilizing that time on the 51 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:11,460 platform a short form video strategy that I've not heard 52 00:03:11,490 --> 00:03:15,330 anyone talk about is using YouTube shorts, which is kind of 53 00:03:15,330 --> 00:03:19,080 the version, the Tiktok short form version of YouTube videos. 54 00:03:19,260 --> 00:03:21,780 So basically, what you would do is make one of these short form 55 00:03:21,780 --> 00:03:25,800 videos and then link your longer episode that's also on YouTube 56 00:03:25,920 --> 00:03:28,800 so that someone will hopefully subscribe to your channel, and 57 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:31,530 if you're looking for them to convert to the full episode. I 58 00:03:31,530 --> 00:03:34,650 think that utilizing YouTube and YouTube shorts is like the 59 00:03:34,650 --> 00:03:38,220 perfect conjunction, and a great place to do this, because you 60 00:03:38,220 --> 00:03:42,210 don't have to go off of another app, and people can subscribe to 61 00:03:42,210 --> 00:03:45,270 you there. You know, there really should be a place for 62 00:03:45,270 --> 00:03:47,760 brand awareness in your marketing strategy of your 63 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:51,060 podcast, because like people seeing your podcast on Tiktok or 64 00:03:51,270 --> 00:03:54,330 Instagram reels or YouTube shorts and watching that 32nd 65 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:58,410 clip, there is a place for that. Instead of having that direct 66 00:03:58,410 --> 00:04:02,100 conversion like you might have on Facebook or LinkedIn or even 67 00:04:02,100 --> 00:04:06,180 Pinterest, you need to recognize the difference, and that's when 68 00:04:06,180 --> 00:04:10,710 you can start properly marketing your podcast episodes. We have 69 00:04:10,710 --> 00:04:13,770 to understand the difference between awareness and a direct 70 00:04:13,770 --> 00:04:18,930 conversion to a potential subscriber. So when I say that 71 00:04:18,930 --> 00:04:22,200 there needs to be a right place and a right time. I mean that 72 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:26,460 your listener needs to be in the zone for listening to a podcast, 73 00:04:26,460 --> 00:04:29,940 or at the least, in the zone to be opening their podcast 74 00:04:29,940 --> 00:04:34,290 platform, app to follow your podcast. In my opinion, one of 75 00:04:34,290 --> 00:04:38,430 the best ways to market your podcast is to be a guest on 76 00:04:38,430 --> 00:04:42,150 another podcast. And I know that this isn't a task that you can 77 00:04:42,150 --> 00:04:46,200 just pay an agency to do, and it's not traditional podcast 78 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:50,550 marketing, but it's fixing the exact problem we were talking 79 00:04:50,550 --> 00:04:54,000 about earlier, about needing people at the right place in 80 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:58,590 time, if your imaginary listener is already listening to this 81 00:04:58,590 --> 00:05:01,800 podcast episode, you. That you're a guest on, then they're 82 00:05:01,830 --> 00:05:05,220 already listening to a podcast. They're already on a podcast 83 00:05:05,220 --> 00:05:09,360 platform, app of their choosing. They're getting to know you. 84 00:05:09,690 --> 00:05:12,360 They can follow your podcast while they're still listening to 85 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:16,170 this other one, and if they like you, chances are they are going 86 00:05:16,170 --> 00:05:20,040 to want to follow your podcast and listen to it. Another thing 87 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:23,040 that guesting does is it provides that social proof to 88 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:27,060 your future listener, so they know that they like the podcast 89 00:05:27,060 --> 00:05:31,050 that you're guesting on. So most likely, they trust the host and 90 00:05:31,050 --> 00:05:34,980 they want more of what they're currently getting. This is why 91 00:05:34,980 --> 00:05:38,610 you need to be strategic with the podcast that you guessed on. 92 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:42,510 That is very important to make sure that the person has an 93 00:05:42,540 --> 00:05:46,500 audience that you'd want to share, and that it makes sense 94 00:05:46,500 --> 00:05:49,980 for your time and effort. I think so often podcasters are 95 00:05:49,980 --> 00:05:52,560 like, I'm going to go on every single podcast that could even 96 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:56,070 possibly make sense. And I think that that's kind of a waste of 97 00:05:56,070 --> 00:05:59,940 time. But what I do think that you should do is investigate who 98 00:05:59,940 --> 00:06:03,510 their audiences. What is the kind of production that they are 99 00:06:03,510 --> 00:06:06,780 putting out, and do you want to be associated with that? Listen 100 00:06:06,780 --> 00:06:09,000 to a few of their episodes and make sure that this is worth 101 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:12,180 your time and effort. Make sure are people listening to this. Go 102 00:06:12,180 --> 00:06:14,460 look up their listen notes. Go see if they're ranking on 103 00:06:14,460 --> 00:06:17,730 anything. Is this worth your time and effort? Do they even 104 00:06:17,730 --> 00:06:22,050 have an audience that you would want to speak to. So that's a 105 00:06:22,050 --> 00:06:24,960 free way to market your podcast, usually. So let's talk about 106 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:29,760 paid ways to market your podcast, paid ads. Now it might 107 00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:32,340 not be paid ads in the sense that you might be thinking like 108 00:06:32,340 --> 00:06:36,540 meta or Google ads. I think that those can both be effective. But 109 00:06:36,540 --> 00:06:40,620 again, are you at the right place and the right time for 110 00:06:40,620 --> 00:06:45,300 that potential podcast listener. If I were investing $1,000 into 111 00:06:45,300 --> 00:06:51,300 paid ads for my podcast, I'd be on another podcast ads or on 112 00:06:51,300 --> 00:06:56,520 another podcast platform. So for example, Spotify. You can buy 113 00:06:56,520 --> 00:07:00,510 banner ads, you can buy audio ads, you can buy all kinds of 114 00:07:00,510 --> 00:07:04,590 ads, and that is where your listener is. You are meeting 115 00:07:04,590 --> 00:07:08,010 them at the time and place when they are looking for something 116 00:07:08,010 --> 00:07:11,670 to listen to. And you can niche this down so far. So even if, 117 00:07:11,700 --> 00:07:15,180 let's say that you have a business investing podcast, you 118 00:07:15,180 --> 00:07:17,880 can drill it down to people who are looking for business 119 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:21,960 investment podcasts. This is so easy and so specific to make 120 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:25,770 sure you are getting the person that you're looking for. And I 121 00:07:25,770 --> 00:07:27,990 know that you can do the same thing on Pocket Cast and a few 122 00:07:27,990 --> 00:07:30,210 of the other podcasting platforms. So do a little bit of 123 00:07:30,210 --> 00:07:35,730 research and find out who you can advertise with. That is a 124 00:07:35,730 --> 00:07:40,560 podcast platform where you can advertise your podcast to people 125 00:07:40,770 --> 00:07:44,790 who are looking for a podcast to listen to. There is no better 126 00:07:44,910 --> 00:07:48,990 Right place, right time than that, right another way that you 127 00:07:48,990 --> 00:07:52,590 could utilize paid ads is advertising in a relevant space 128 00:07:52,620 --> 00:07:56,130 online that is specific to your niche. So for example, if it 129 00:07:56,130 --> 00:07:59,460 were me, if I wanted to sponsor a blog post or a video of 130 00:07:59,460 --> 00:08:04,350 another podcast creator to talk about my podcast that would be 131 00:08:04,350 --> 00:08:07,530 meeting my audience, where they are and what kind of information 132 00:08:07,530 --> 00:08:09,690 they're looking for, right? Like, let's say that this is 133 00:08:09,690 --> 00:08:13,440 someone that makes all their content about podcast 134 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:17,040 microphones. If I were to buy a paid ad with that person, that 135 00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:19,800 would be my market. That would be the people who are looking 136 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:24,000 for me. So think about the niche opportunities that you have and 137 00:08:24,030 --> 00:08:28,260 the ways that you could spend your money to be closer to those 138 00:08:28,290 --> 00:08:31,890 other kinds of creators that could align themselves, their 139 00:08:31,890 --> 00:08:36,360 brand, with who you are looking to speak to, but make sure that 140 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:39,750 you are keeping in mind, would this actually convert to someone 141 00:08:39,750 --> 00:08:43,680 listening? Because we can go way off into left field, or, for 142 00:08:43,680 --> 00:08:47,580 example, you could sponsor a YouTube video that then links 143 00:08:47,580 --> 00:08:50,430 back to the episode that you want people to listen to. So 144 00:08:50,550 --> 00:08:53,850 make sure that you're being very specific with that, and that you 145 00:08:53,850 --> 00:08:58,110 have a clear path to someone actually listening to your 146 00:08:58,110 --> 00:09:02,460 podcast, or to a specific podcast episode. Most podcast 147 00:09:02,460 --> 00:09:05,730 advertising doesn't work because it's selfish, and I know that 148 00:09:05,730 --> 00:09:09,240 I've said this before, but posting about a new episode for 149 00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:12,690 the sake of sharing that you have a new episode is not 150 00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:16,980 enough. That should be the status quo. If you have a 151 00:09:16,980 --> 00:09:21,630 podcast, you should be putting out a new episode every week, or 152 00:09:21,750 --> 00:09:25,050 whatever amount of time that you normally put out a new episode, 153 00:09:25,050 --> 00:09:29,640 this is not news. So instead, take the time to tell me why I'd 154 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:33,360 be interested in this episode. Short clips from podcasts work 155 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:37,050 for a long time, and I think to some extent that they still do. 156 00:09:37,050 --> 00:09:40,200 So just taking a little clip out of your episode. But what's so 157 00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:43,800 much better is you making a piece of content that explains 158 00:09:43,800 --> 00:09:49,110 to your audience, to me, why you made that episode, take the 159 00:09:49,110 --> 00:09:53,640 time. Don't be selfish. Don't be lazy. Explain to your audience 160 00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:58,530 why you made this episode, why you think that they'd like it, 161 00:09:58,710 --> 00:10:02,640 and where they can. And listen to it. You know, time is our 162 00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:05,520 most precious resource, and if we think that someone is going 163 00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:08,820 to listen to our podcast just because it's a new episode, we 164 00:10:08,820 --> 00:10:14,820 are incorrect. If I could task you and every podcaster with one 165 00:10:14,820 --> 00:10:19,320 thing that would help convert social media content into an 166 00:10:19,350 --> 00:10:24,750 actual listener, it would be to explain where your listener can 167 00:10:24,750 --> 00:10:28,920 listen to the podcast. And I know that this sounds useless, 168 00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:33,210 but hear me out. There are so many people that you're trying 169 00:10:33,210 --> 00:10:36,420 to get to listen to your podcast episode that hardly know what a 170 00:10:36,420 --> 00:10:39,390 podcast is. And I know this sounds impossible, but it's not. 171 00:10:39,390 --> 00:10:43,560 We think podcasting is so mainstream and well known, and 172 00:10:43,560 --> 00:10:47,190 while we're getting there, for sure, you can have a beautiful 173 00:10:47,190 --> 00:10:51,390 post that is so engaging and that the person thinks, wow, I 174 00:10:51,390 --> 00:10:54,960 really want to listen to this podcast or this episode, but 175 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:59,070 they have no idea how to do it all right? So the first thing 176 00:10:59,070 --> 00:11:02,070 is, most of us are not being straightforward enough and 177 00:11:02,070 --> 00:11:07,020 reminding people clearly and consistently what the name of 178 00:11:07,020 --> 00:11:11,310 our podcast is. And I could go on an entire episode, long rant 179 00:11:11,310 --> 00:11:15,060 about this. I won't, but half the time, someone's like, listen 180 00:11:15,060 --> 00:11:18,720 to my podcast episode or showing a clip from their podcast. I 181 00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:22,200 have no idea what podcast that's from. I'm hunting around the 182 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:26,910 profile. I'm totally lost. I'm starting to think that maybe 183 00:11:26,910 --> 00:11:29,100 they don't even have a podcast. This was just a podcast they 184 00:11:29,100 --> 00:11:32,370 were a guest on, you know, and I'm so guilty of this too. I 185 00:11:32,370 --> 00:11:35,340 remember a few years ago, before I really kind of realized this, 186 00:11:35,340 --> 00:11:38,610 I would be making promotional content for podcasts that I was 187 00:11:38,610 --> 00:11:42,120 producing, and I just put the cover art for the podcast, like 188 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:45,840 so the logo so tiny on the video. And think that people 189 00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:49,140 knew what that meant. They don't. They don't know what it 190 00:11:49,140 --> 00:11:53,370 means. They don't. So what I want you to say is, I want you 191 00:11:53,370 --> 00:11:56,760 to spell it out for people say you can listen to my podcast, 192 00:11:56,790 --> 00:12:00,120 podcast for profit, with Morgan Franklin, new episodes on Monday 193 00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:04,710 on all major streaming platforms and YouTube. So tell people what 194 00:12:04,710 --> 00:12:07,860 day it comes out, tell the full name of your podcast. Tell them 195 00:12:07,860 --> 00:12:11,280 where it is, tell them if it's on YouTube. Don't leave anything 196 00:12:11,280 --> 00:12:14,070 to chance, because I promise you, people don't even know the 197 00:12:14,070 --> 00:12:17,580 name of your podcast. And another thing in this vein is 198 00:12:17,670 --> 00:12:22,260 having the correct linking to your podcast. It is 2025, there 199 00:12:22,260 --> 00:12:26,250 is no reason your audience has to look around for where to 200 00:12:26,250 --> 00:12:29,940 listen to your podcast. It better be linked everywhere. 201 00:12:30,420 --> 00:12:34,050 It's in your link tree. It's in your posts. It's connected to 202 00:12:34,050 --> 00:12:37,260 everything with the full name of the podcast. And if you think 203 00:12:37,260 --> 00:12:41,100 it's overkill, then you're probably doing it right. Because 204 00:12:41,100 --> 00:12:44,520 I'm telling you, I record anywhere from four to eight 205 00:12:44,520 --> 00:12:48,360 podcast episodes a month with guests, and these people don't 206 00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:51,630 know where to find podcasts, and they don't really understand how 207 00:12:51,630 --> 00:12:54,480 podcasts work. So they are people that are literally coming 208 00:12:54,480 --> 00:12:58,200 on podcasts that don't know how they work. They have no idea how 209 00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:00,870 to listen to them. So make sure that you are telling people, 210 00:13:00,870 --> 00:13:05,250 Hey, go listen to this episode. In the Link, in the caption, 211 00:13:05,250 --> 00:13:09,480 wherever it may be, tell people where to go. So the last thing 212 00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:12,210 that I want to talk about in this episode is being consistent 213 00:13:12,510 --> 00:13:16,560 with advertising new episodes and whether this is free or paid 214 00:13:16,560 --> 00:13:22,140 advertising, there is no reason a week goes by and you aren't 215 00:13:22,140 --> 00:13:26,460 telling people about your new episode. They say it takes eight 216 00:13:26,460 --> 00:13:30,630 to 12 touch points for a buyer to buy, and we've already talked 217 00:13:30,630 --> 00:13:32,520 about this earlier in the episode, but listeners are 218 00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:38,370 giving you their most precious resource of all their time. So 219 00:13:38,370 --> 00:13:41,190 if you really want people to listen to your podcast episodes, 220 00:13:41,370 --> 00:13:43,470 you should probably be putting out at least one piece of 221 00:13:43,470 --> 00:13:47,340 content every day, but never, ever less than once a week, 222 00:13:47,850 --> 00:13:51,210 because truthfully, at that point, why even have one. And if 223 00:13:51,210 --> 00:13:54,690 you want to work with me one on one to create podcast 224 00:13:54,690 --> 00:13:58,530 advertising that works for your podcast, my coaching information 225 00:13:58,530 --> 00:14:02,580 is in the episode description, or you can email me at Morgan, 226 00:14:02,610 --> 00:14:07,920 at Morgan Franklin dot media. You can also shop my digital 227 00:14:07,920 --> 00:14:10,170 template store that will definitely help you get started 228 00:14:10,170 --> 00:14:13,620 with making social media posts. I have Canva templates for 229 00:14:13,620 --> 00:14:16,590 social media that I've designed and perfected over the years to 230 00:14:16,590 --> 00:14:22,740 help convert followers into listeners. And as always, I 231 00:14:22,740 --> 00:14:26,760 can't wait to listen to your podcast. Hey, thank you so much 232 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:29,880 for joining me on this episode. If you enjoyed the podcast and 233 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:32,460 you'd like to hear more episodes like this one, go ahead and 234 00:14:32,460 --> 00:14:35,460 subscribe to the show. New episodes air every Monday 235 00:14:35,460 --> 00:14:38,430 morning. And if you found this episode valuable and you want to 236 00:14:38,430 --> 00:14:41,310 help other business owners and podcasters, will you leave me a 237 00:14:41,310 --> 00:14:44,550 five star review. It helps the show rank higher in the charts, 238 00:14:44,580 --> 00:14:47,970 and brings more entrepreneurs the information they need to 239 00:14:47,970 --> 00:14:50,370 start making money on their podcast.