12 Ways to Make Your Podcast Stand Out

1.   Invest in the best quality audio. I know, you’ve heard this one before but it bears repeating. Don’t overlook, justify or underestimate the importance of quality audio production. Services like Fiverr, Steve Stewart Podcast Productions and Produce Your Podcast can support you with making sure you have the best sounding podcast your budget can afford. Because, if it hurts your audience to listen to your podcast… they’ll stop listening to your podcast.
2.  Release consistently. Pick a day and time and stick with it. Research shows Wednesday is the most listened to day of the week for podcasts but that doesn’t mean you have to release on Wednesdays. Be sure to release your episodes on the day and time your audience expects to download it. A disappointed listener will look elsewhere.
3. Purchase the url for your podcast. You may not use it right away but when you’re ready it will be yours. Currently there are no restrictions on Apple Podcasts regarding two or more shows having the same name so owning the url is critically important. If you can’t get the name of the podcast by itself, try adding the word podcast to the url. For example, if your podcast is named Salad with a Side of Fries and that domain is not available then buy SaladwithaSideofFriesPodcast.com 
4. Upload your podcast to your website or create a specific website for your podcast. If you use your existing website and it's different from the name of your show, be sure to buy the domain for your podcast and redirect it to your website. Use the podcast url when asking people to visit the website on your podcast. For example, If the url of your business website is oconnorpg.com but the name of your podcast is Beyond the Balance Sheet. Ask your listeners to go to BeyondtheBalanceSheet.com and have that url redirected to Oconnerpg.com.
5.  Transcribe each podcast episode. Services such as Descript.com are affordable and make transcribing your podcast episodes quick and easy. Use these transcripts to write your show notes, social media posts and find content for your audiograms.
6.  Take time to write detailed show summary notes and upload them to your hosting platform, your website and YouTube. Detailed show notes can be created from a transcription of your episode and should include the description of your episode, a few key takeaways, some time stamped highlights for listeners who want to go straight to the juicy stuff, your guest bio and headshot and resource hyper links of any items mentioned or promoted on the episode. This will help improve the SEO of your podcast significantly.
7.  Promote with Audiograms and use the caption feature. Companies like Wavve.co and Headliner make creating these audio clips simple. Use the cover art of the episode along with a 59-second audio clip and post to your social media. The 59-second mark is important if you want your audiogram to play in its entirety when people scroll their feeds.
8.  Upload your podcast and your audiograms to YouTube. Take advantage of the expanded discovery possibilities using the second largest search engine in the world. Be sure to upload your show notes and a link to the episode so people can link directly to your episode
9.  Do not underestimate the importance of #hashtags. Source show specific as well as episode content specific hashtags and use them in all your posts promoting the podcast. This is a step you may be tempted to skip to save time. Don’t. It can make all the difference in getting your podcast episode discovered by new listeners and press and media.
10.  Promote on TikTok. This social media platform is helping skyrocket visibility for podcasters. Be sure to use episode relevant hashtags when promoting the podcast. If you don’t want to star in your own TikTok videos, you can start out by uploading your audiograms to your account.
11.  Send out an announcement email to your guests when the episode releases. Make it easy for your guests to share their interview by including links to the episode on Spotify. By using the Spotify Android and Apple users can link directly to your episode. Be sure to include one or two pre-written social media posts in the email so your guest can cut-and-paste them. Send them a graphic image that has their image in it and an audiogram with their voice in it. Remember, the more simple and appealing you make it for them to share it…the more motivated they are to promote it. Create a template of the outreach email to be more efficient.
12.  Repurpose your content. One of the biggest advantages of podcasting is the repurposing of the content that is created. You can record your episode one time, transcribe it and then use the content to create social media posts, show notes, blog posts and articles you can post on platforms like Medium.com and ThriveGlobal.com. You become more recognized as a thought leader in your niche by having more than one piece of content to publish without having to stress about how the next content idea is going to be generated.

BONUS TIP:  Work it or Delegate it. These pointers may seem like a lot of work, but they’re all worth the time and resources you spend to execute them. If you have the budget, it’s wise to delegate these tasks to a virtual assistant or put an employee through a podcast manager training program like MyPodcastBiz.com so you can focus on creating your best content. Podcast fade can be a real issue. Be sure to get a solid work flow down so you can optimize all the energy it takes to release and promote a podcast.

The most important thing to remember when implementing any of these tips is to start where you are. You don’t have to do all things at once. Choose the top 3 items you find easiest for you to take action on and begin there. Growing a podcast is a marathon not a sprint and the more you can focus on slow and steady growth the more your podcast will shine among other podcasts.