The Impact of Quality: Why It’s Crucial to Double Down on Your Podcast Marketing Content

You drop a new podcast episode and then you hear crickets. Isn’t this every podcaster’s nightmare? Very few to no clicks. No reactions. No feedback. Zilch. Nada. Imagine spending hours conceptualizing a topic for your podcast and writing a script. Then, rendering a few more hours recording and post-processing it, after which uploading it on the hosting sites. All those work for naught. If value greatly contributes to success, then what happened? Or better yet, what didn’t happen?

The missing link, too often missed by many (yes, even in this highly digitalized day and age), is the digital marketing aspect.  

Many people think that when they publish something online, as long as it’s a good output, filled to the brim with substance and wit and potential virality, that it will instantly appeal to and magnetize audiences.

The brutal truth is, you could be the only one who thinks that your output is good, meaty, witty, and has viral tendencies. 

Why? Because people don’t even know you exist. People don’t know about your channel or show. 

Thus, there is a need to get the word out there. 

Back in the day, with very limited mediums, paid advertising, on-ground activations, live broadcast features on TV or radio were the only effective ways for promotion. And those days are far-off. They aren’t obsolete, though, but there sure are other ways, as of present, to market something that are deemed to be even more effective than going the old school route of paying for a commercial slot, and that is content marketing. 

With the cutthroat competition online, standing out is an imperative. For podcasters, taking into consideration the continuous growth of the industry, how is this achievable? What’s the formula for successful content marketing for podcasts? 

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Content Marketing and Why it Matters for Podcasters 

Content marketing is described as “a marketing technique of creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.”

It may come in the form of infographics, web pages, videos, books, and even podcasts. Usually, this is on the top part of the sales funnel. It’s commonly in the first stage wherein the primary purpose is to raise awareness by tapping into potential customers / followers through engaging content. However, content marketing is also a way to strengthen the relationship with existing followers or clients. 

With this, content marketing is not as simple as putting out content left and right. If you don’t strategize well, you’d waste time throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. 

When it comes to podcast marketing, it is necessary to plot the ways not only on how to produce an episode of the highest quality possible, but how to market it effectively. To do so accordingly, a foundational knowledge that you must have is knowing who your audience is. 

You want to target the right people with your content marketing strategy. Because the reality is, value is subjective. What’s valuable for some may not be valuable for others. This is why defining your target audience is a crucial step. What questions does your target audience have? What solution are they searching for? 

People listen intently to topics they are interested in understanding. On the flip side, they can easily scroll past content that doesn't resonate with them. Your content strategy should speak the language of your audience for you to be able to reach out to them and entice them to go to the next stage of the consumer cycle.  

To reach your target audience effectively, you must also know where they are amongst the sea of social media platforms online. Are they professionals who use platforms like Linkedin? Are they Gen Zs who have shorter attention spans who love short-form videos like Tiktok? Are they looking for a community to join in such as the groups on Facebook? 

By learning all these, you get to have a clearer picture of what content to produce to market your podcast and even how to create a quality podcast that suits your target audience. 

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Identifying The Big Promise of Your Podcast

Another thing that you need to nail down to implement an effective content marketing strategy is your podcast’s BIG PROMISE. 

Knowing the people who you want to listen to your podcast is one thing, attracting them to actually listen is another. 

How do you get people to click on your podcast and spend 30-40 minutes tuned in to what you have to say? 

Here goes your big promise. It is the value that you are aiming to provide through your podcast. It’s basically the WHY. Why do people need to listen to your podcast? Why do they need to tune in to your next episode? Why do they need to subscribe? The answer should be simple -  because you will provide them with the solutions to their problems, answers to their questions, and even as simple as inspiration to keep them going. 

Your big promise will also be the driving force for all your content marketing campaigns, be it through informational, inspirational, or entertaining methods. 

There’s no room for click-baiting here. You don’t want to get people into your platform and give them lackluster content. Besides, people click due to curiosity, but they stay for value. Hence, you must be able to deliver what people expect from you, and do so in a manner that would keep them coming back for more.   

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Implementing Quality Content Marketing for Your Podcast

Some proven techniques of an effective content marketing strategy include: 

• Maximizing social media for cross-promotion. Use social media to consistently promote your podcast episodes. However, do not limit your post to transactional types only. There are different ways to get the attention of potential subscribers. It can be in the form of whimsical and inspirational content, which are said to be the most shareable types of content online. Also, note that a lot of people get turned off by pushy, salesy content. Sharing other types of content that are not promotional at all is a good respite for people who are so often bombarded with ads and the like.

• Crafting long-form content out of an episode. Blog writing is still considered as one of the effective ways to build authority and credibility online. Also, this will give you a chance to expound more on the topic you’ve tackled on your podcast, only through written format this time. It also helps with search engine optimization by using the relevant keywords on the actual blogs, and by linking your episodes as it is mentioned in the blog or as part of the layout of your blog site. 

• Building an email list and sending out newsletters. As mentioned earlier, content marketing is not only meant to attract new people to your platform, but also a way to strengthen your relationship with your existing audience. By sending out regular newsletters, you can in a way keep in touch with your listeners. Newsletters are perfect for promoting new episodes, rehashing older episodes, and simply giving additional nuggets of wisdom to your community. 

• Creating a website for optimization and lead magnet purposes. One way to build your email list is by creating a lead magnet. It’s technically a free resource that people can download or acquire in exchange for their email address. What better site to redirect people to download a lead magnet than your very own website? Optimize your website by placing your profile, podcast link, and a call-to-action on what you want visitors to do after visiting your site. 

A lot of social media coaches would say that the first 24-48 hours are crucial when promoting an online content. Taking all these techniques into consideration, it may seem like a daunting task. But if you want to grow your podcast, there are no shortcuts. 

Good thing, there are tools online such as Deciphr AI that can help podcasters generate content with just a few clicks. The AI can give you the full transcript of the episode, a list of timestamps and quotes, and even detailed show notes. Deciphr Media, the agency behind the AI, is dedicated in supporting podcasters to grow their following through quality content marketing. 

But, is there such a thing as too much content? 

While there’s no measurement and limit to how much is too much, content-wise. It is never a matter of quantity, to begin with, but of quality.  

You can put out hundreds of blogs and social posts in one go, but if they are senseless and too generic, it will never hold a candle to another person’s effort of releasing only one or two blogs that are substantial and oozing with relevant information. 

Suffice to say, the quality of content that you offer in your podcast must be in-sync with that of the content that you publish all over the Internet for marketing purposes. All efforts must be tied to your intention of giving information to your followers that is going to be worth their while.