6 Proven Podcast Growth Tips for Beginners

As a newbie podcaster, you probably have a lot of questions swirling around in your head. Things like is there a right way to be publishing my podcast, should I be formal or more humorous, or is there best practices to get my podcast out to new people. We have done a lot of research on the top podcasts that are winning right now, and I want to give you six of those best practices to help you stand out on your podcast.

Best Practice 1: Have a publishing schedule

Think about this. How we have been consuming content for decades now is on a television, right? And with that, you knew exactly when your favorite episodes to your favorite TV shows were going to be released.

If you think about traditional television, the traditional ways that people have been consuming content, it is by knowing when something is releasing. I encourage you to have a publishing date. It should be on the date that works for you, so if it’s Tuesdays for you or if it’s Sundays for you, you as the actual podcast producer need to hold firm to that date.

Of course there are going to be times when your podcast may not be able to come out, but come hell or high water, your podcast episode should come out on that date because you want to be someone who is trustworthy to your audience. You don’t want them to love your first three episodes and then you ghost them for the next three weeks. Get your publishing schedule in order so that your people can start to fall in love with you.

Best Practice 2: Be authentic

Be yourself, just do you. This is real when it comes to producing your podcast. Think about the intimacy of a podcast. You’re in someone’s ears. You and them are on a walk together, you and them are on a train together or in the car together. You and them are hanging out and you want to be the real you.

If you like to crack jokes between things, put the jokes in there. If you like to be more formal and more professional, make that your podcast. Be you times two. Actually bring your personality to what you’re doing.

We have our podcast that Sean and myself host, and some people really love the episodes that are just Sean because he brings a different energy than I do. Some people are on team Heather and they really love the podcast that I do. I talk faster. I use my hands a lot. Sean’s more structured and really dialed in. You just need to figure out what your personality is.

At the beginning, you’ll feel like you want to be someone else. It is kinda weird at first to start producing a podcast, especially if you’re going to be turning on the camera. You just have to be you. Pretend that it’s you and a friend across from coffee talking about your favorite topics. Pretend that it’s you and someone you’re trying to help along the journey in whatever problem you’re trying to solve. Be authentic, be yourself, and make great work.

Best Practice 3: Optimize your podcast

When you get your podcast on all of the major listening platforms, you have the ability to reach more people. What does it mean to optimize your podcast? It means that you should be looking at the analytics. Look at what episodes are winning, which ones have the most views on them and which ones have the least views on them, which ones are showing that people are listening longer versus not listening at all.

Use the analytics to optimize your podcast to be best for the listener. Fight for the listener. Fight for them to have the best experience. Distribute your podcast on all platforms and look at your analytics on a regular basis. That is going to help you optimize your podcast.

How to optimize, step by step

• Distribute to all major listening platforms.
• Review analytics weekly: top episodes, retention, and completion.
• Identify patterns in topics, formats, and lengths that keep people listening.
• Double down on what works and refine or retire what doesn’t.
• Use platform features that help with social sharing and sponsorships to expand reach.

Best Practice 4: Be present outside of your show

Podcasting right now doesn’t really make it easy for you to be communicating with your audience, so you need to go to other platforms to create deeper relationships. Share with your audience where they can be talking to you on a one-to-one basis or a one-to-many basis.

Maybe you should set up a Facebook group. Our friend Shalene Johnson has a Facebook group just for her podcast. That’s where she’s gathering ideas, having conversations, going live, and talking to her actual audience, the pod squad, that loves her content.

Maybe you want to tell people that they can reach you and give you ideas or share their stories inside of Instagram DMs. Maybe you want to create a group or something inside of the DM space where you and a few of your audience members could be having a conversation. Some podcasters actually have blogs linked to their podcast where people can go and leave more valuable interactions on their actual blog.

Let your audience know that you’re accessible. The top podcasts right now are having conversations with their audience. Open yourself up and get feedback from your audience rather than just creating in your own world. It’s better to know exactly what the person on the other side needs than you thinking you know exactly what they need.

Practical ways to be accessible

• Tell your listeners they can reach you on Instagram DMs and share their story.
• Invite voice memos or emails for topic ideas and feedback.
• Create a private or public community space where ideas can be gathered and discussed.
• Link episodes to a blog post where listeners can comment thoughtfully.

Best Practice 5: Invite guests on your show

A lot of shows depend on a single host charisma style, meaning that it’s one person talking kind of in the same way every single time. That’s not a bad idea. You can have a successful podcast as just being the only player in that podcast. Switch it up every now and then and invite a special guest onto your show.

It allows for intrigue in conversation. When someone gets to be a fly on the wall to you having an interesting conversation with someone of influence or someone that is influential to that group or that audience, it can really spark more interest in your podcast. The other benefit is that the guest then shares that episode with their audience, which can bring more eyeballs to your podcast. Even if you don’t have an interview show, you can invite people on.

Guide: steer the conversation for listener value

• Go in with the actual questions you’re going to ask upfront.
• Structure the conversation around a clear outline, such as five tips the audience needs to know.
• Keep the discussion on track so it serves the audience, not just the guest’s story.
• Land practical takeaways before wrapping the interview.

Best Practice 6: Hire help

Podcasting in itself, being a content creator in itself, is something you can do as a solo creator. If you want to reach the masses, run a business and run a podcast, or be a full-time content creator, I encourage you to hire help.

This can start with someone just editing your podcast or someone helping you with social media or someone being an assistant in the admin things that you need help with. As you grow, it is best if you can get help with your podcast. Think about this as an investment into your future.

Think about the time you’re going to get back when you can hire someone to edit your podcast. This is a rising industry. There are people that are skilled who can do it in 1/10 of the time that it takes you. Set aside some of your budget and hire help.

You can reach out on places like fiverr.com, you can go to upworks.com, or look in your own community. Who are the kids at the church who are helping do the audio and the video? Who in your community are the people that are obsessed with social media? Maybe get one of them to be a part of what you’re doing.

When you hire help, it is going to force you to be accountable, meaning that you are going to be now having someone else relying on you to get your podcast out there. It’s a good thing to push yourself outside your comfort zone and have someone help you. You could go to a podcast studio or hire a podcast helper that comes in, and you batch produce a ton of content. I am here batch recording for our podcast.

Bonus Best Practice: Keep going

The top podcasters kept going. Keep posting your podcast. Keep recording your show. One week and then another week and then another week. If you look at how long they’ve been doing it, they’ve been here for awhile.

Keep publishing your work. Keep getting your message out there. Keep going.

Final Thoughts

Pick a consistent publishing day, show up as your real self, optimize with analytics, engage your audience outside the feed, bring on guests strategically, and get help so you can focus on creating. Then keep going. Consistency and listener-focused decisions are what help podcasts grow.