Podcasts are one of the most popular new forms of media entertainment and an important marketing tool, particularly for businesses. But a creating a good podcast is only half of the battle. A podcast marketing plan template will help you promote your podcast to your audience and focus on building your list of subscribers.
An effective podcast marketing strategy begins with a great plan. A plan should take into account things like content, objectives, the target audience, and the necessary resources for hosting and launching the podcast.
Click Use Template to get started now, or keep reading to learn more about creating a marketing plan for your podcast.
How to Create a Marketing Plan for your Podcast
Creating a marketing plan for your podcast is essential if you want to ensure your podcast is seen and heard. When creating a marketing plan for your podcast, it’s important to take the time to do the necessary research and to create a system that is organized and measurable.
First, you need to define your objectives and ultimate goal. Think about specific goals such as obtaining a certain number of listens, downloads, and subscribers. Also, it’s important to decide what techniques and tools you will need to effectively reach your goal.
Additionally, create a timeline for when you will execute the different marketing strategies and tactics and determine the way you will measure their effectiveness.
Finally, it's a good idea to plan out the budget that you’re willing to invest into the marketing of your podcast. Having a clear budget will enable you to better measure the success and effectiveness of your strategies. By taking the time to do the necessary research and thoughtfully plan out your strategies and tactics, you can create a tailored and highly effective marketing strategy for your podcast.
If you want to access a complete template including sample calendars, task lists, and document templates (including this one) for every stage of podcast production, check out our comprehensive Podcast Planning Template.
Podcast Marketing Plan Checklist
1. Outline Objectives and Budget
When building a marketing plan for your podcast, it is important to first outline your objectives. You should create specific, measurable, attainable and relevant objectives that are time-bound. For example, your objective can be to reach 5,000 downloads within a certain time frame, or to get in contact with a certain ideal customer each week. Having concrete objectives will help you stay on track and measure success.
Once you've outlined your objectives, decide on a budget to achieve those goals. How much are you willing to spend to reach these goals? Understanding your budget and goals will help you measure the effectiveness of your marketing strategy.
2. Identify Target Audience
Your podcast's success is dependent on the quality of content you create and its effectiveness in engaging the audience you want to target. Knowing and understanding your target audience is key.
Start by researching who your ideal listener is, including their demographic and psychographic information. Also find out where they hang out and spend their time online, or in real life. With this information, you can begin to form a plan to reach them.
3. Choose Marketing Channels
Once you know your target audience and objectives, you should select marketing channels that are most effective and most efficient in reaching them. You should think about which channels are the most cost-effective and have high ROI such as organic social media accounts and word-of-mouth. Additionally, some channels may be better for building awareness, such as email marketing, press releases and podcast directories.
4. Create Marketing Content
Aside from the podcast itself, you'll need content to promote each episode and build a base of subscribers. Consider creating assets for content marketing such as cover art, short previews of podcast episodes, and trailers. Also, focus on raising your own thought leadership by engaging and being active online in the channels and communities where your listeners hang out. Planning ahead and creating content to share before each episode goes live is critical in marketing success.
Top 10 Podcast Marketing Tactics
Below, we've outlined our top 10 marketing tactics that you can use to promote your podcast.
1. Create a Website
Creating a podcast website can help potential listeners find your show and learn more about what topics you cover. It is also a great way to launch episodes, blog posts or other relevant information. Check out our Podcast Checklist and Launch Template for tips to get a website up and running fast.
2. Create Social Media Channels
Having a presence on the main social media platforms can be a great way to drive more people to your podcast. You can use your own personal or business social media profiles, or create entirely new ones specifically for the show. You can use these platforms to engage with other potential listeners, share snippets of the show and promote upcoming episodes.
3. Create an Email List
Having an email list of your most engaged listeners can be powerful for promoting new episodes or sharing important content. You can segment your list to ensure messages are more targeted and relevant to the individual. It's important to add subscribe links on your website, social channels, and other channels to grow this list as much as possible.
4. Have Guests Promote Show
Using podcast guesting to promote your podcast can be a great way to get new listeners. It is important to tell guests that you would appreciate them spreading the word about your show. Focus on hosting guests with large followings for the broadest reach.
5. Get Featured on Other Podcasts
Reaching out to other podcast hosts getting yourself featured as a guest is a great way to spread the word about your podcast. Consider doing a 'guest swap' and inviting the podcast host on your show as well if they have a large audience (see point above).
6. Speak at Events
Speaking at public events can be a great way to gain attention for your podcast. You can promote your show while giving attendees valuable insights on your topic of expertise.
7. Use Paid Ads
While expensive, paid ads are a quick and easy way to grow your audience. If scale is important, paid ads can be a go-to channel to quickly ramp up your show and save time instead of organically building an audience. However, it's important to have a clear understanding of your ROI to ensure your budget is being used effectively. It may make more financial sense to spend more time on free channels.
8. Create Short Clips of Podcast
You can generate more interest in your podcast by creating short clips of quotes included in your podcast and sharing them on social media or other channels. These clips can quickly entice listeners to subscribe to your show and hear upcoming episodes.
9. Influencer Outreach
Building relationships with other podcast hosts, bloggers and influencers can be advantageous for promoting your podcast. Reaching out and forming connections with the right people in your niche can be very effective in getting your podcast more exposure.
10. Outreach to People Mentioned
For each episode, find any person or company mentioned in the episode. Reach out to them and let them know they've been mentioned, and ask them to share the episode. This is a win-win as it helps to promote both of your brands.
How to Use our Podcast Marketing Plan Template
The fastest way to create a successful podcast marketing plan is to start a template. Our podcast marketing plan template has been designed to help you create a comprehensive plan for your podcast, including goals, target audience, and tactics to reach them. This will help you stay organized and plan how to launch episodes, market to your audience, and measure success.
Our fully customizable template includes:
- Objectives
- Budget
- Channels
- Content Strategy
- Results and Analytics
Get started with our template today to begin organizing and planning your podcast's marketing strategy.
Create your Podcast with Assemble
Utilize our template to get started fast on launching your podcast and collaborating with your team.
1. Open the Template
Open this template by clicking Use Template. The template will be created within a new blank project in Assemble.
2. Edit the Template as Needed
Click anywhere within the text to begin adding to or editing the template.
3. Share the Document
Click Share and select Share Document to easily distribute the document to your entire team with one click. You can even track who has viewed the document.
4. Save the Updated Template
Next, click the menu in the top right and select Save as Template to save it into your your personal template library.
Producing a Podcast with Assemble
Assemble enables podcasters to create a centralized hub to manage their entire project from start to finish - including documents, calendars, task management and asset management.
By using this podcast marketing plan template, you'll get access to all of Assemble's powerful features. Assemble helps you keep production moving quickly and efficiently with our advanced collaboration tools built for producers.
Get started for free by clicking Use Template to begin exploring all of Assemble's features today.
