Marketing 101

Below you’ll find resources on how to market your podcast, including past webinars AIR has hosted marketing to Freelancer Tools and a round up on useful articles.

Webinars

All AIR webinars are recorded and available for AIR members to watch at their own convenience.

  • DIY Marketing for Independent Podcast with Lynn Casper
    Independent Podcast Producer and Homoground creator Lynn Casper has been marketing podcasts for more than a decade. In this session, you will learn DIY marketing strategies to grow your podcast and web presence. By the end of the session, you’ll be equipped with the tools you need to build your marketing strategy without burning out. (2020)
  • Social Media for Podcasts
    Social media is one of the most accessible and affordable tools for podcast promotion. In this webinar, Manuela Bedoya teaches you how to use social media to promote your podcast. Learn how to promote your podcast on social media by upcycling your podcast content.
  • Making Your Show a Community Hub
    Gender Reveal host Tuck Woodstock shares how he built a successful independent podcast by treating his show like a community organizing space. Topics include collaborating with your audience, growing your podcast on a shoestring budget, and creating grants & mutual aid programs.
  • Building Podcast Audiences: Start Strong and Carry On with Rekha Murthy
    Drawing listeners to your podcast starts with a compelling presence, and keeps going till the last episode drops. Podcast Strategist Rekha Murthy takes us through how content strategy and creative outreach can get your show found, heard, and shared. (2020)
  • Monetizing Your Podcast
    Podcast monetization is one of the biggest hurdles for many podcasters. This webinar covers everything from knowing when you’re ready to start monetizing your show, to understanding how to leverage your niche and audience to get paid. 
  • Crowdfunding for Audio Drama
    Crowdfunding an audio drama is a complicated task, and it can be hard to know where to start. This webinar by indie audio drama producer and experienced crowdfunder Tal Minear, will walk you through what you need to know to raise money for your fiction podcast.
  • Let People Pay You: A Podcaster's Guide to Patreon
    Membership programs are incredibly effective for podcasters, allowing audiences of all sizes to support their favorite shows directly. Learn how to launch one, how to structure your tiers for maximum earning potential, and best practices for promoting your Patreon in this information-packed webinar!
  • Info to Insights: Using Data to Build Your Podcast Brand
    Data is everywhere, and tells amazing stories. This webinar from Award-Winning Podcaster Nicole Walker will walk you through the information you can use to gain insights about your podcast and various ways you can use these insights to tell your podcast brand’s story.
  • Creating a Podcast Pitch Deck and Budget
    Pitching your idea for a podcast? Bodies host and executive producer Allison Behringer walks you through making a winning pitch deck and a budget in this recorded webinar.  
  • Mind Your Podcast: Legal and Business Issues Facing Podcasters
    In this recorded webinar, Merlyne Jean-Louis, Esq. discusses some of the legal issues of which podcasters must be aware when they operate a podcast so they can protect their assets, brand and content. 
  • Best Practices for Audio Creators: Finding Grants for Audio Projects
    Discover how to find grants to fund your audio projects and tips for preparing a winning application with Danielle Desir Corbett.
  • 3 Part Summer Tune-Ups with Jeremy Helton (2020)
    Inspired by the AIR Tune-Ups held each year at Third Coast International Audio Festival, Jeremy Helton leads three 20-minute sessions designed to help you better understand the challenges and opportunities of podcast promotion and make a plan based for your podcast on your resources. Tune in to tune-up your podcast! 
  • NPR One -- Indie Podcasts, Big Impact with Emily Barocas
    Join AIR and Emily Barocas, Podcast Lead for NPR One, as she dives into what types of shows she's looking for, how to get your podcast on the app, and the curation and recommendation tools NPR One uses to get your show in front of more listeners!

Freelancer Tools

  • Can Audio Go Viral?
    A collection of articles about audio viralability.
  • Best Practices for Sharing your Podcast on Social Media with Simplecast
    Whether you’re a new podcaster or have been a recording pro for years, there are so many questions that can come up and swirl around for helping your podcast succeed. There can be conflicting information when trying to figure out the best social sharing practices for you and your show, but when it comes down to it, creating the best social sharing practice isn’t as hard as you may think. This article shares a few things to keep in mind. 
  • Case Study: How to Promote Your Podcast
    This case study looks into how the producers of "Pitch", a stories-behind-the-music podcast about bands and musicians, increased their audience by treating their second season as if it were an album. 
  • How do lesser known podcasts build audience?
    An article written by AIR member Ashley Milne-Tyte, creator of “The Broad Experience” podcast.

Mentors

  • Sheeba Joseph: Sheeba is a great mentor for those looking to gain insight into how to transition into audio podcasting or pitching stories to different outlets. She can teach you how to strengthen your business skills, including but not limited to podcast marketing, project management, content management, and scheduling. With a current role as Audience Growth Director for an independent outdoor podcast, she is a great fit for anyone looking to grow and market their show. Sheeba would love to work with WOC/POC and shows that work to include the lived experiences of underrepresented communities into their format or storytelling.
  • Christine Kix: Experienced in overseeing audio projects from start to finish, Christine can weigh in at every step of producing and promoting your audio project. Her experience in audio drama, fiction, and live radio makes her well suited to help you develop skills in writing for the ear, choosing music to bring your stories to life, and hone your interviewing skills. Christine can help you market and promote your podcast, and even help strengthen your grant writing skills. She is particularly interested in working with early-career and career transitioning independents.
  • Podcastivist: Media has the power to reach and influence so many people. As media creators, how do we leverage our podcasts for the greater good? How can we turn our audiences into communities that are collectively working towards the same goals? Founded by Lynn Casper, Podcastivist offers resources, consultation and strategy development for podcast creators who want to use their podcasts as catalysts for social change.
  • Rekha Murthy: Rekha is excited to help individual podcasters design a show from scratch, or refresh an existing show. She can guide folks on podcast visioning and goal-setting, design at the show and episode levels, developing a show bible or pitch, pitching to partners and funders, and creating a strong content strategy.

Other Resources

  • Apple Podcasts for Creators
    Get the resources you need to promote your podcast, launch a subscription, grow your audience, and measure your impact.
  • Transom's Podcasting Basics
    series includes a segment on hosting and distribution
  • PRX's Podcasting 101 Series
    This series has an episode on “Publishing and Distributing" and another on "Reaching Your Listeners" that address some of the basics of getting your podcast out there.

Anything to Add? 

This resource will be updated as we come across more helpful marketing resources. We'd love to see this resource continue to grow! If you know of a great resource that isn't listed here, please let us know! Email [email protected].