DID YOU KNOW: if you're looking to get more eyeballs & ears on your podcast, you can pitch your show to be reviewed by a critic?

In fact, there's a community of critics tryna listen to the next best thing...& then write about it!

Here's a list of some critics & how to pitch 🧵: 🔥Keep in mind:

- These are just *some* of the critics out there! There are tons more.
- Different critics prefer different emails/pitches. Do your best to respect their requests -- for the best chance of having your show selected.
- Make good shit.

If you have a podcast, you're looking to grow it, and you have some budget to spend, here's where I recommend putting your money...

This thread will outline spend opportunities for:
📱In-app
📰Newsletters

Let's gooo🧵 📱In app:

First, why spend here?

When listeners are READY to listen, they're hanging out on podcast listening apps (Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, Castbox, Goodpods...many more).

Some of the above offer opportunities for you to pay for prominent placement.

Here are 5 reasons why social media is not working to grow your podcast🧵: 1. Social media doesn’t convert so easily!

This is your sign to not drive yourself nuts trying to convert people from scrolling to listening.

Scrollers aren’t likely to become listeners right then & there. And that’s ok! Continue to build up your social presence anyway.

I think and talk about podcast marketability and growth all the live long day.

Here’s my latest theory: when launching a new show or season, your podcast needs to be EVERYWHERE.

How do you make it happen? 🧵 4 components to keep in mind:

📰NEWSLETTERS

👨‍💻APPS

🗣PRESS

👯‍♂️SOCIAL MEDIA

(There are more but we’re focusing on these for this thread)

Ok, big news for content creators👀

We talk ALL the time about podcast promo swaps. But what about newsletter swaps?!

Today, @tinkmediaco launched their Newsletter Swap Database!🚀

Use it to find newsletters to:
- collab with
- pitch to
- subscribe to! From the website:

Looking for newsletters to pitch your content to? These ones would love to hear from you!

Browse the database and if you see a newsletter you want to pitch, reach out to them using the email they’ve provided.

Wanna get your listeners to *actually* respond to your calls to action on your podcast?

Here are some ideas🧵: One is enough!

Too many commands/questions/ calls to action will result in decision fatigue and your listeners will do…nothing.

You can give a CTA at the beginning of the show and another at the end.

Experiment — which action is actually taken?

Here’s an earnest tweet about hitting 10k followers soon on this website:

A year ago, I had ~1900

I worked really hard to put out meaningful & actionable content over the past 12 months. People seem to like it.

Here are some things I did to grow & a bonus at the end for WHY👇 First up: at @beondeck, one of our speakers was @RandallKanna. She talked about growing on twitter by putting out free, high-level, niche advice. Game changing. Also, she’s very much worth a follow.

Someone just emailed me:
"I need help starting a podcast."

I said:
"How can I help you?"

They said:
"How do I do a podcast?"

My response was a series of questions.

Here's an extended version of the questions I sent in response:
🧵🧵🧵 ✅Why do you want to make a podcast?

✅What's the goal?

✅How does the podcast fit into your overall personal/company mission?

✅Who is the potential audience?

✅What's the format? Interview? Solo? Investigative? Experimental? Other?

✅How will you find a cohost?

At least once a week, someone asks me how to get more plugged into the podcast / audio space.

My answer is usually:
Subscribe to ALL the newsletters

But also, Twitter is a goldmine of info/connections to be made.

Here’s how I recommend using twitter to make podcast friends 🧵 Follow these people who tweet about podcast stuff:

@indiedropin - analytics & opportunities
@laurenpassell - marketing tips
@podcast_father - indie stuff
@PodcastsInColor - podcast news & press releases
@shreyaisms - podcast recs & thoughts
@evoterra - pod thoughts

This is a picture of my great-great-grandfather, David Blum. Taken around 1934 on a farm near Monticello, NY.

It’s possibly the only photo that exists of him. And he’s sleeping! Why is he sleeping in the only pic that exists of him?

Well…he was a really observant Jew and he believed in a strict interpretation of the Torah. He believed “no graven images” meant no photographs shall be made.

Need some Thanksgiving audio? @7ShadesofDevin’s got you covered in our mid-week mini list over at @EarbudsPodCol, ft:

✨ @Gastropodcast
✨ @Food52
✨ @BusinessInsider
✨ @andimurphy Why’d Devin choose this theme?

“Thanksgiving can be pretty predictable every year, but behind the menu are some unpredictable stories. From the history to the cooking struggles, there’s a lot we can learn. Think of this playlist as an audio menu to complement your meal.”

On Wednesday, I ran a Twitter Space with a bunch of amazing podcast newsletter writes & curators about...

How podcasters can pitch their shows to podcast newsletters!

Thank you to everyone who joined and participated.

Here's a lil recap 🧵🧵 In attendance:

✨@laurenpassell - Podcast The Newsletter & Podcast Marketing Magic
✨@JamesCridland - @Podnews
✨@adelamiz - @podcastbrunch
✨Melody - @podysseyapp
✨@erikthejones - Hurt Your Brain
✨@CaptainRonUSC - @GreatPods

Having a social media presence for your podcast is necessary (and can even be fun).

But PLEASE know that it most likely won't bring you large-scale conversions from scrollers to listeners.

Here's what social media DOES do:

🧵🧵 ✅Reminds your already-existing listeners that you have a new episode

✅Shows potential listeners that you're active on social, which is an indicator that your podcast is active

✅Gives a glimpse into the aesthetic of the show, visually, which is often an indicator of quality

Very grateful to podcast conferences & the brands that sponsor them for supplying me with my t-shirt wardrobe for the 5th year in a row now. Currently modeling the new @headlinervideo tee, which I snagged at @shepodcasts this past weekend.

For the weekends of #tweet100, I highlight a person in the #podcast space I think you should follow — someone who gives great advice & shares relevant resources.

Today, ✨@DamonaHoffman✨

Learn about Damona here👇👇 Damona spoke at @shepodcasts yesterday and was INCREDIBLE. Her keynote was concise, actionable, and presented information in a unique way.

"The very thought of 'relentless self-promotion' sounds anxiety-inducing to me. Any tips?"

That's a question we received yesterday during @SquadCastFM & @NCBalto72's workshop on avoiding burnout for podcasters.

Find my answer(s) in this thread👇👇

#tweet100 Here are a few things to AVOID when doing self promo things on social media:

1⃣Dropping links to your latest episode willy nilly w/ no explanation or context
2⃣Logging on once/day for the sole purpose of self-promo
3⃣Only following other podcast-related accounts

Here’s what I do every week to promote @SquadCastFM’s podcast, Between Two Mics. This might be helpful for some of you indie podcasters out there 👇

Context: B2M is weekly and includes interviews between @Zach__Moreno & @RockwellFelder & podcast industry leaders.

🧵🧵 I transcribe every episode on @TrintHQ.

This is a relatively new development but we’re going to keep at it a. For accessibility of our content and b. For keyword optimization.

We post our @buzzsprout pod player and the transcript & show notes on our website on Tuesday. ✍️✍️

There is no podcast discoverability problem, you're just not subscribed to enough podcast recommendation newsletters. Here are some of my favorite podcast recommendation newsletters...

(Feel free to add yours 👇👇)

Creating a podcast without a network and/or huge budget is hard work. Marketing that podcast is even harder.

@zachthemack made it look easy with season 1 of his show, Greetings from Somewhere. Was it easy though? Of course not. Greetings from Somewhere was featured in @vulture, @Discover_Pods, @Podnews, @outsidemagazine, @EarbudsPodCol, @washingtonpost, and so many more publications.

Zach hit up every possible PR outlet and was getting press left and right.