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.
I create an entire suite and kit of resources when I release an episode. So my podcast released an episode on Monday. I sent the guest, hey. Thanks so much. It was so great talking with you.
Mickenzie Vought:We loved it. Here are assets for you to share. Here are all the links, and a couple of quotes from the episode that I thought were really poignant if you want to go ahead and share this and make it really easy. So that when they share it to their audience, then someone says, oh, what podcast was this? And it's a resource, and it might come back to you.
Mickenzie Vought:Welcome to the Podcircle Podcast where we bring practical tips and insights for every podcaster.
Kyle Cummings:From aspiring podcasters to experts with 100s of episodes under your belt and everywhere in between, these conversations dive into the topics that matter most to you. Okay. So today, we're gonna give 5 quick tips on how to grow your podcast audience. It's something that we talk about quite a bit. It's a lot of, the questions that we get here at PodCircle.
Kyle Cummings:It's definitely a felt need for folks. So jumping right in. Number 1 is to be consistent. Consistency is key and maybe the hardest thing to do. So if you've been listening to us for a while, you know that we this is something we can't stop talking about.
Kyle Cummings:And so a really important thing is just to determine a sustainable cadence. So if that's once a week, if that's Mhmm. Every other week, even if that's once a month. You know, if you've heard us talk, weekly podcasts just tend to perform better. You know, listeners kinda work it into their weekly rhythm.
Kyle Cummings:So there is really something to consider there if you can do that. But if not, there are other ways to release podcasts maybe every other week, but also to create more, social media clips out of those to to keep engagement up. And we'll talk a bit about that later. And then the the last thing on this point is to outsource your weaknesses. So hire an audio editor, a podcast editor, hire someone to write your podcast outlines or show notes, you know, edit your your clips into reels, things like that.
Kyle Cummings:That's gonna save you a ton of time. Yes. It is an investment on the monetary end, but if you're in it for the long haul, you really wanna stick with this podcast. I would say do that sooner than later because it's gonna keep you fresh. It's gonna keep you motivated.
Kyle Cummings:It's gonna keep you excited. So outsource those things. You don't need to learn how to edit podcasts, EQ, compression, background noise reduction, edit like, all that's a whole thing. That's what we do at PodCircle among all the other things I've mentioned. So delegate, outsource those things so that you can stay locked in and excited about the things that got you into podcasting in the 1st place.
Mickenzie Vought:Exactly. Let's outsource our weaknesses. The second is to network with other podcasters. And so this is something I think is kind of undervalued, and I have found it in my own life. 1, it keeps me motivated, and 2, it really does help grow your audience.
Mickenzie Vought:So have you ever heard the phrase, a rising tide raises all boats or all ships? Honestly, when you're helping other people with their podcast, there's gonna be a symbiotic relationship that's evolved. And so I really do believe in this. Podcasting is a lonely venture. None of us wanna do it alone.
Mickenzie Vought:So often it becomes this isolated thing you do in a corner. And if you're not outsourcing your weaknesses, you really are a one man show or a one woman show, and that gets really tiring. And so one from a morale standpoint, but 2 from a growing your audience standpoint, you're gonna create relationships with other podcasters so that are gonna be mutually beneficial. So here are some of the ways that Podcasters can support one another. 1st, cross promote Podcast to their audiences.
Mickenzie Vought:So, you could even share in your own feed. You could say, hey, this is a podcast I've really been loving lately. I'm gonna throw this into my feed so that my podcasters and my listeners see that. 2, you could be on each other's shows. That's a really great way to support one another.
Mickenzie Vought:I had a guest one time who emailed me after the fact and said, hey, I really loved being on your podcast. Here's a few people that I think you should have on your show that would be really great. There were people that have been on her show, and she was helping them grow their audience, and just kind of having a mutual relationship, which I thought was really great. So, refer your best guest to other podcast hosts. And 3rd, formal monthly mastermind group.
Mickenzie Vought:This is something I've never done, but I've always really wanted to. So if you are a podcaster and wanna form a monthly mastermind group, let's talk. But you can share ideas, insights, and wins, and really just make sure that you don't feel like you're alone in it. Number 3 is to leverage your email list. We just created an entire blog all about this.
Mickenzie Vought:So go and check that out at podcircle.com. But there's never a better time to start an email list if you don't have one. It's really the only marketing channel that you own. We talk a lot about this. If Facebook shut down tomorrow, a lot of us would be in a bad place.
Mickenzie Vought:But if you have your own email list, people who have said, I wanna hear more from you, who've opted into communication with you, you can continue to grow in there. And whether or not we believe it, email marketing continues to be one of the greatest ways to connect to their audience, and one of the ways that people continue to convert. How many times are you clicking on a sale, clicking on something that pops into your email? So utilize your email list, and that's a great way to grow it. So the same way that your podcast can grow your email list, your email list can grow your podcast.
Kyle Cummings:Number 4 is to create scroll stopping social media posts. Social media your social media is the key to growing your podcast. I mean, how many times have you seen a clip of another podcast on social media and you see another one and you see another one and it's like, oh, that looks like a really fun conversation, or that's a really interesting conversation. Or, wow, that's that person's an expert in a field that I'm really interested in. And then you go find that podcast.
Kyle Cummings:Or better yet, they make it really easy for you to find that podcast by, you know, leaking it out in their stories. So huge fan of that. So let's talk a little bit about it. So next to email, social is one of the best ways to get the word out about your podcast. So think outside of the box in the way that you do it and think beyond just static images, just a static, you know, square image on Instagram, LinkedIn, whatever.
Kyle Cummings:Instead, lean into video. People wanna see you. People wanna see you having a conversation. You know, they wanna see those nonverbals. So lean into that, create clips out of those episodes.
Mickenzie Vought:I just think the algorithm is gonna respond better when we've got video. They're really highlighting video. We've talked a lot about this on different podcast episodes. We did an entire podcast all about how you can use your social media to grow your podcast audience. And so you can check out episode 10 to do that.
Mickenzie Vought:But there's a variety of ways. What are some of the ways that you could utilize your social content and from one episode?
Kyle Cummings:So one of the ways is to record your virtual interviews via Riverside the way that, Mackenzie and I do here, and then use you can either you can do a couple things, produce clips from that, like we talk about a lot. And you can do short form clips, you know, like reels, like 60, 90 seconds. You can even, edit those into, like, segments, like maybe 3 to 5. And it's like that's a huge way that Joe Rogan has has grown his podcast, over on Spotify. He's releasing 10 minute clips of segments on YouTube.
Kyle Cummings:Really big fan of that. And then also creating reels, like short like, the short form content is gonna drive people to your long form content. That's kind of the way that goes. So, Mackenzie, you wanna take the next one?
Mickenzie Vought:Yeah. I think also another way to use this is if you're you're recording video, but then also utilize the audio So you can bring out little bits of it and create those waveforms we talked about in isolation. They don't work, but once in a while throwing in. That's great. Just like a really practical tip that's coming at you and you've got the scripting over it.
Mickenzie Vought:People consume in different ways. I also really love the idea of taking tangible things that come out of the conversation and reusing them. So let's say, in this episode for particular, we've got 5 points we're talking about. We could put those 5 points on a static graphic and then have that be valuable and serve our audience and not even say, these came from the podcast. Just it's another way to equip your audience.
Mickenzie Vought:And then in the caption, we might say, hey, weeks found on this in episode 13. Go ahead and check it out. But I think there's ways that you can reuse that content in a way that isn't directly saying go to my podcast, go to my podcast, but you're nurturing your audience. You're providing value to them. And when you show a podcast clip, they're gonna say, oh, there's more here.
Mickenzie Vought:So it's just a longer relationship, another way to build that. Another way that I love to use social media to grow your podcast audience is to equip those guests. So if you've got a guest, make it really easy for them to share about your podcast. I create an entire suite and kit of resources when I release an episode. So, my podcast release an episode on Monday.
Mickenzie Vought:I sent the guest, hey. Thanks so much. It was so great talking with you. We loved it. Here are assets for you to share.
Mickenzie Vought:Here are all the links, and a couple of quotes from the episode that I thought were really poignant if you wanna go ahead and share this. And make it really easy so that when they share it to their audience, then someone says, oh, what podcast was this? And it's a resource, and they might come back to you.
Kyle Cummings:Love that. To your earlier point, I just pulled up our Instagram, and you said, you know, creating different graphics and things out of the podcast. We just did this maybe a week or so ago, created a graphic called 5 ways your your podcast can grow your email list, And it's a it's just 5 tips right there. And then it's a carousel swipe over, that mentions you know, you can find that on our blog. I think we've done we talked about that in a bit in our episodes.
Kyle Cummings:So podcasts are just so great because they're content machines. You can repurpose that long form podcast episode into a blog. There's just so much content that you can create around that. So, obviously, you know, one of the many reasons we're big fans of, of podcasting over here at PodCircle.
Mickenzie Vought:Big fans. The last and final 5th tip is to give your audience a clear CTA. I really believe in this. I think sometimes we underutilize the value of asking our audience for what we want. When you consistently show up for them, they're going to show up for you.
Mickenzie Vought:You'd be surprised what your listeners are willing to do when you just ask them. So provide a clear CTA in every episode. You'll notice that at the end of this, we'll probably throw you a clear CTA. We've probably already thrown a few, hey, go check out our blog. Hey, subscribe.
Mickenzie Vought:Leave us a review. Things like that that just kinda naturally can come into the conversation. Make sure that you're doing that. I like to say it's only icky when it's not providing value. So here are a few ways to activate your listeners that you're already serving.
Mickenzie Vought:1st, you can ask them to rate, review, and subscribe to your podcast. Really easy. Tell them how to do it. Make sure they know, hey. When you're on Apple Podcast, you have to go to the actual show.
Mickenzie Vought:When you're on Spotify, you can quickly do that and click the stars. Make it really quick, make a quick statement, but tell them how to do it. They may wanna serve you, but they're not exactly sure and make it easy. 2, encourage them to join your email list for exclusive content. We really love this.
Mickenzie Vought:Every Tuesday, PodCircle gives podcast pro tips, so you could join our email list and get exclusive additional content. 3rd, provide them a way to engage with your show on social media. Hey. We just shared a reel. Go ahead and check it out, or, hey.
Mickenzie Vought:We're asking questions for next episode in our stories. Head to the stories and leave us your question, and we'll make sure we address them. Just provide them ways to engage with you. That's another CTA that you could clearly give to them. That will eventually grow your podcast because you're growing your social media audience.
Mickenzie Vought:You're serving them. You're growing your platform, and it'll end up growing in your podcast.
Kyle Cummings:That's really good stuff. So speaking of CTAs, if you get value out of this podcast, rate it, review it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, wherever you listen. If you're watching this on YouTube, go ahead and click subscribe. There, we're coming at you every week with only the best tips in podcasting, what's going on in the podcasting world, and just ways that you can grow your show, when to hire help, how to monetize. We've got a backlog now about, other than this episode, about 12 episodes.
Kyle Cummings:So if you're just finding us, go and check some of those out as well. Anything else you can think of, Mickenzie?
Mickenzie Vought:No. I hope that you found this valuable, and we'll see you again next week.
Kyle Cummings:Alright. See you next week.