And while I spent the entirety of the “Present” article last year talking about AI, I prefer not to do that again. Instead, we’ll look at the impact of current trends on podcasting — we want a fuller picture of how things are, so we can transform ourselves into the best podcasters we can be.
But first, I want to address some predictions I made.
Today’s contributor is Frank Racioppi, writer and editor of his publication, Ear Worthy.
For indie podcasters, capturing and maintaining the most listeners is a key indicator of success. First, listeners have to find that indie podcast. That step alone transforms the degree of difficulty into a math problem of improbability.
Second, indie podcasters have to hang onto to the listeners who sample their show. The abandon rate here is exceedingly high.
This second reason — listener retention — is the focus of this article.
Listeners can drop into a podcast at any time in the podcast’s lifecycle. TV shows know this, which is why they often have show recaps to help those new listeners. Podcasts often don’t do this, largely because they don’t have to unless, of course, it’s a true-crime podcast or serialized podcast such as Stolen: The Search For Jermain.
Let’s examine several reasons why podcasts do not retain the listeners that sample the show.
Podcast Advent is presented by The Unstuck Sessions. Want to start 2025 off on the right foot? What if you had an expert ready to give you the exact steps you need to take to get unstuck — in your podcast, your business, and your process? You can with the Unstuck Sessions. Get the most valuable part of my coaching at an incredibly affordable price. Get Unstuck Today.
# 1: Too much happy banter that only loyal listeners will care about.
I recently listened to a sports podcast for the first time, which had two men and one woman as co-hosts. It has been around for several years, so I thought I’d give it a chance. After listening to two episodes, I’m convinced this podcast doesn’t want or need new listeners.
Why? First, it took eight minutes to address their first sports topic, which was about Step Curry. In those eight minutes, the co-hosts talked about their weekend activities with sentences such as:
“And you know what I’ve said before about brewery tours.” The new listener doesn’t.
“We both know how you feel about talking during the football game.” The new listener doesn’t know this, either.
“I have to tell you what my cat did this weekend.” I love cats. I have one named Moogie. But I don’t know you and I want to hear about Curry and your other topics — NFL rankings, Ovechkin, and the Australian Open predictions.
As a podcaster, trying to satisfy your current audience and attract a new audience means being measured is paramount. Sure, you want the audience to get to know you with these personal anecdotes, but you don’t include anything that requires prior knowledge. Yes, you want a level of happy banter, especially on a sports podcast where I think it’s mandated, but when the pitter-patter of happy talk makes up 20 percent of your podcast, you may want to trim it down.
An indie podcast like Double Take handles this well. The co-hosts, Jess and Jenni, do a little happy banter at the beginning that lasts no more than a minute and often they offer context to their remarks. These women know that listeners came for the review of streaming shows and they deliver.
Matt Gilhooly of The Life Shift podcast is similarly concise at the show’s beginning. This superb indie podcast presents candid conversations with people about the pivotal moments that changed their lives forever. Matt knows that listeners are downloading or streaming to hear the stories of his guests — their trauma and their heroic journey of overcoming that trauma.
# 2: Not explaining what your podcast is about in the show’s beginning
Let me use Don’t Drink The Milk as an example of what to do. In its October 23 episode, the show’s host Rachel Stewart begins with how “the missionary position” is pronounced in several languages. Then, she explains the topic, gives a trigger warning and then says, “This is Don’t Drink The Milk about the curious history of things.”
Ta-Da. Right there, Stewart has teased the episode’s topic and told us what the podcast is about. Now, if you are a loyal listener, you’ve heard this intro multiple times and probably no longer pay attention. However, to that first-time listener, that brief explanation of what the podcast is about is monetization gold.
It’s baked into podcasting’s structure that every show and episode begins with intro music, unless it’s horror podcast, in which a werewolf is howling. In every show and every episode, a brief description of the podcast should be a “must-have.”
An interview show like CooperTalkusesthis phrase as its intro: Steve’s opening line of every episode: “I’m Steve Cooper and I’m only as hip as my guests” is the kind of signature line many podcasters would die for.
Salad With A Side Of Fries does this perfectly. In a recent episode with guest Sarah Thomas, host Jenn Trepeck orchestrates the perfect beginning. First, she starts with a teaser from her guest about muscle mass loss as we age, then appropriately bouncy intro music plays as Trepeck says, “Welcome to Salad With A Side Of Fries, I’m your host, Jenn Trepeck, talking wellness and weight loss for real life.”
Podcasts likeTrashy Divorcesand What A Creep also do a nice job of explaining their entire premise up front. Both shows have a simple, self-explanatory premise, yet they take the time to explain it in every episode. Why? To attract and retain new listeners.
For every podcast that explains its objective or raison d’être in its opening so that new listeners can latch on to the show, there are hundreds of indie podcasts (and good ones at that) that simply begin the show as if you, a new listener, knows about the show’s premise, the people (co-hosts) speaking, and why you should care about their latest misadventures with potty training their new Goldendoodle.
Comedy, movie, and sports podcasts are excellent at throwing numerous voices at listeners with no name attribution, and then spending precious minutes on inside jokes that only established listeners will understand and possibly laugh at.
Do I care if Skip lost all his money on his DraftKings NFL bets last weekend? No, because, as a new listener, I don’t even know who Skip is.
# 3: Use Teasers to generate interest and Segments to organize the episode
Consider Multispective, which is a podcast that shares deeply personal stories of triumph through tribulations.On the show, host Jennica Sadhwani plays a clip to hook the audience on this current episode, then she explains the show’s premise, and then the emotive intro music plays.
The teaser acts as a podcaster’s honey for its busy bee listeners. A strong teaser will induce listeners to react with: “I have to listen to this episode.”
In my previous example, Salad With A Side Of Fries begins with a teaser, and it’s a good one about losing muscle mass. I do not want to be a “flabby Frank” so I listened to the entire episode, and I’m sure plenty of others will and did.
Segments act as an organizing device. On the September 23rd episode of Podcast Workflows, host Joe Casabona discussed the utility of segments in podcast episodes. You can listen to that episode here.
In the episode, Joe observes: “To create a more engaging show, think about incorporating segments. Just like how late-night shows have defined parts, segmenting your podcast can make it more consumable and structured. You can dedicate parts of your episode to different topics or formats, such as opening monologues, interviews, and specific segments tailored to your audience’s interests.”
Have you listened to an interview podcast that ran for more than one hour? Interview podcasters can offer listeners a map to the interview by including segments. Before a midroll ad or just as a segue, a host can forecast to listeners what topic they’ll be discussing in the next part of the interview.
Joe adds: “If you’re worried that solo episodes might become stale, develop a clear structure. For instance, discuss a main topic, then showcase an interesting tool related to that topic, and finish with an automation tip. This keeps the solo content engaging and valuable.”
In short, teasers draw in listeners while segments keep listeners grounded in the structure of the show.
# 4 Comprehensive and well-written show notes can spark interest
Everyone knows what a Joe Rogan podcast will offer. The episodes of Call Her Daddy typically include details about host Cooper’s personal life, numerous sentences that includes the word F**k somewhere in the episode, or a celebrity oversharing about their privileged life.
The point is that these podcasts are so well-known that you know what to expect. There’s no need to expend resources to attract new listeners. Social media, word of mouth, and the culture at large does that job for them.
Most indie podcasts have to balance the needs of their loyal audience with the demand to attract new listeners. There are some indie podcasts that manage those two often competing goals with guile and skill, while others seem to pray that new listeners will somehow find them among the tens of thousands of podcasts available.
The written show notes can act as a powerful attractant for new listeners. Consider the show notes on Apple podcasts for The Murder Sheet:
“The Murder Sheet is a weekly true crime podcast hosted by journalist Áine Cain and attorney Kevin Greenlee. Its first season on restaurant related homicides, and features miniseries on the Burger Chef murders. If you’re looking for thoughtful, in-depth coverage of lesser-known crimes, this is the true crime podcast for you.”
It’s specific, and detailed enough so that new listeners browsing for a new true-crime podcast would stop and consider. By contrast, here’s the show notes from an unnamed true-crime podcast.
“A true-crime podcast for you.” That’s it. No detail, other than it’s about true crime. And, the podcaster thinks it’s for you. Hmmm.
A podcast trailer acts like coming attractions for a movie or like a TV commercial highlighting a TV show. However, a trailer is either a once in a podcast lifetime device, or, better yet, a once a season or introducing a miniseries device.
Show notes are like a podcaster’s roadside billboard. They’re always there. When they’re written to entice, engage, or even enrage, they can be a powerful tool for listener retention and organic audience growth.
Here are the show notes to an outstanding new indie podcast, Why Wars Happened — Season one, episode 21.
“This episode dives deep into the events leading up to Bacon’s Rebellion, a pivotal moment in Virginia’s history. We explore the escalating tensions between Virginia colonists and the Susquehannock tribe, detailing the attacks, Governor Berkeley’s strange decisions on how to respond to the attacks, and the colonies’ desperate cries for protection. This episode also shows how Nathaniel Bacon, rose to become a rebel leader against the governor’s inaction, setting the stage for a much larger conflict. Tune in to understand the complexities and motivations behind one of America’s early rebellions.”
Let’s assess what host Emily Ross has accomplished here. First, she has not forgotten to announce the basic premise of the podcast, which she does in the last sentence. Second, the show notes are not a Wikipedia entry. They’re concise and she uses strong words to attract listeners. Words like: pivotal, tensions, desperate cries, rebel leader, larger conflict, rebellions.“
For Ross, it doesn’t matter that her podcast is 21 episodes deep into the first season. She’s not given up the fight to attract new listeners, even this far into the show’s freshman season.
In the Podcasting Tech podcast, host Mathew Passy writes a flawless first sentence to his show notes. “Have you ever wondered if your podcast could be more than a passion project—could it actually become a profitable business?
Passy asks a question that is first order of importance for all podcasters. It’s a first-class technique for generating interest and attracting ears to the show.
There are now several methods for enabling AI to write show notes for a podcast. While a computer program can certainly develop serviceable show notes for any podcast, I don’t think it is able to top Passy’s existential question.
One of the best podcasts at hooking new listeners while entertaining established listeners is Nerdpreneur. Here are Frank Bailey and Chris Saunders’s goals: “At Nerdpreneur we have fun conversations with people turning their weird passion into a successful business! We interview entrepreneurs from around the world to discover the hacks, tools, and mindsets that turn nerd passion into full-time income.”
The Nerdpeneur podcast begins with a clip from the nerdy entrepreneur being featured and interviewed on the episode. Then, in a stroke of brilliance and musical and lyrical creativity, the intro music is a cool, hip-hop song that explains the objective of the podcast.
Developing a successful indie podcasts often seems to be a Sisyphean task. After the sweat of creating the podcast, then bringing it to life and distributing it, the indie podcaster now must enter the life-or-death arena of people discovering your podcast. If that happens, then an indie podcaster must attract new listeners while keeping his initial audience. That’s like juggling bowling balls while riding a motor scooter around the Arc De Triomphe in Paris.
The tools mentioned in this article may be beneficial in aiding and abetting those podcasting goals. If they do not, please feel free to message me: “You’re full of shit.” The staff will take that under advisement.
Today’s contributor isAndreea Coscai, Podcast Marketer at Tink Media and Newsletter & Community Coordinator at Earbuds Podcast Collective
So, you want to grow your podcast. As you might already know from your non-podcast-listening friends, it’s a real challenge “to convert” someone to adding shows to their daily routine. It’s possible! But it doesn’t have to be your go-to. Why not focus on the spaces where podcast listeners already spend their time looking for new content to add to their queues?
Let me (re)introduce you to podcast newsletters! If you are already subscribed to some, you know how valuable they are for keeping up with the industry, new shows coming out, or recommendations from top podcast fans. Pitching these newsletters isn’t just about growing your show—it’s about building community and supporting each other in the industry. Let me give you some pointers on why adding pitches to newsletters in your growth strategy is one of the wisest and most accessible decisions you can make. And don’t worry, we’ll also talk about how to make your pitch stand out in the sea of pitches.
Podcast Advent is presented by The Unstuck Sessions. Want to start 2025 off on the right foot? What if you had an expert ready to give you the exact steps you need to take to get unstuck — in your podcast, your business, and your process? You can with the Unstuck Sessions. Get the most valuable part of my coaching at an incredibly affordable price. Get Unstuck Today.
Why Pitch Podcast Newsletters?
Think of podcasting newsletters as a “welcome” sign laid out by the biggest podcast fans and professionals. The newsletters reach thousands of regular listeners—people who genuinely love discovering new shows and supporting podcasters.
At EarBuds Podcast Collective, we’re all about community and the love of audio. Each week, a new curator shares a list of 5 favorite podcasts on a given topic.
At Tink Media, where we self-identify as huge podcast fans, we also put a strong emphasis on community. This industry is all about supporting each other, not competing—and that’s what newsletters underline best.
The podcasting community thrives on lifting each other up. When you pitch your show, you’re not just saying “look at what I’m doing”—you’re joining a larger space.
Tips for Pitching Podcast Newsletters
Be Genuine
Subscribe to newsletters like Podcast The Newsletter, Podstack, or Podcast Marketing Magic to get a sense of their tone and interests.
Follow editors on social media, reply to their emails, and show genuine interest in their work. Engage with them before pitching your show.
Tailor Your Pitch
Personalize your email. Mention their past work and explain why your show is a good fit for their audience.
Highlight timely or relevant aspects of your podcast, such as current events or trending topics.
Show Value
Focus on how your podcast adds to the conversation. For example, if your show addresses social issues or trends, emphasize that in your email. Sounds Like Impact is a great example of a show that resonates with such audiences.
Build Relationships
Networking isn’t just for conferences. Consistently engage with editors and fellow podcasters through newsletters, social media, and thoughtful emails. Genuine connections can lead to long-term collaborations.
Pro Tip: Use Classified Ads
If you have a budget, consider investing in classified ads in podcast newsletters. They’re cost-effective and show respect and support for editors who work hard to curate content.
Final Thoughts
Pitching podcast newsletters isn’t just a marketing strategy—it’s a way to connect with a community of listeners eager to find a show like yours. Be genuine, keep pitches relevant, and take each email as an opportunity to connect with fellow audio lovers.
Have questions about pitching or want to brainstorm ways to grow your show? Let’s chat—I’m always here to talk about community-building and share ideas!
Today’s guest contributor is one who needs no introduction: Arielle Nissenblatt! Related, RSS.com is hosting a webinar with Arielle on Wednesday, December 18th.. I’m MC’ing, and she’s giving us even more tips. Register here.
I know we’re all looking for that ONE thing that’s gonna grow our podcast. I know this because when I first started in this industry, I was searching for it too. Far and wide. I asked everyone. I thought that if I asked the question the right way, the answer would be revealed to me. But with time, I came to understand that there’s no one thing. There’s many things. And we need to try all of them — constantly — in order to figure out which levers we should continue pulling to eventually find growth.
Here I am today to discuss the level of podcast press.
When you launch your show, you want it to show up on all of the podcast platforms. You probably also want to be on social media (to a certain extent – situations may vary and we can get into this another time). You probably also want to alert your newsletter subscribers (if you have a newsletter). And you may want to alert the town crier so that she can spread the news far and wide. You also want to make sure you’re getting mentioned in all sorts of relevant online publications, newsletters, podcasts, and other media that’s relevant to your show’s topic. And that’s where this article comes in.
Let’s break it down: you should seek podcast press and you should seek press in your topic area. Say you have a podcast about coffee, you want all of the coffee-related publications to mention you in some way AND you want the podcast industry newsletters all over you as well. (You probably also want coffee-adjacent publications up in your business, so factor that into your research as well).
Podcast Advent is presented by The Unstuck Sessions. Want to start 2025 off on the right foot? What if you had an expert ready to give you the exact steps you need to take to get unstuck — in your podcast, your business, and your process? You can with the Unstuck Sessions. Get the most valuable part of my coaching at an incredibly affordable price. Get Unstuck Today.
Podcast press
Here’s what to do:
Subscribe to all of the podcast industry and podcast recommendation newsletters
Read them (do not immediately pitch)
Get a sense of how they write, what segments they have, who they tend to feature
Notice: what don’t they feature very often?
Think: how can I fill in?
Reply to their email. Not every week. And make sure it’s relevant and HELPFUL. For example, “I loved the show you recommended last week about beluga whales. I listened to a similar one that I think you’d love. Here’s a link to it.”
You’re not promoting yourself yet. You’re genuinely taking the time to give value.
Establish a relationship with these writers. Follow them on social media. Tag them when you listen to a show that they recommended that you’ve fallen in love with.
Eventually, hone your pitch. Why is your show a good fit for their newsletter?
Before you pitch, ask them how they like to receive pitches. Do they need a press release? Do they just want a paragraph or two? Do they need sample audio? Do they want to receive the trailer before it goes live?
Once you know how they like to get their assets, pitch away. Make sure the pitch is personalized. Do not mail merge. We can tell when you mail merge.
I know. It’s time consuming. But it’s worth it to build genuine relationships with these writers so that they come to trust what you put out into the world.
Follow-ups are fine. Once or twice at most. If they don’t reply, they don’t reply. If they reply with a lukewarm or negative response. Take a look at the steps above this bullet point and see where you may have gone astray. (Also consider: this is my experience and it tends to work for others, but I’m not watching you type your emails). (I can if you want).
Non-podcast press
The process for getting in contact with and getting a yes from publications in your podcast’s topic area is similar to the above, however, the process for finding these publications is different.
Hopefully, you’re at least somewhat aware of the media landscape that your podcast now finds itself in. For that coffee podcast, we definitely want to be subscribed to all of the coffee equipment influencer newsletters, YouTube channels, TikToks…etc. But then we also want to zoom out a bit and get acquainted with food, drink, and other luxury-related items newsletters and publications.
What next
It’s hard to keep up with all of the publications in your orbit. But it’s worth checking in on them with some regularity in order to stay engaged in the conversations happening around your topic and to eventually (hopefully) score some press mentions.
I focused primarily on newsletters in this article, but the same principles can be applied when pitching for mentions in blogs, on podcasts, on YouTube channels, and other media. Most importantly, don’t come right out the gate with an ask. No one needs to feature you. But if you hit them with the right ask at the right time — that respects their publication — it’d behoove them to feature you because your show is just that great. So be patient and begin pitching!
Today’s article was written by my friend Jeremy Enns! Originally published at Podcast Marketing Academy
It’s hot.
You’re lying on the beach trying to enjoy your well-deserved (and long-overdue) vacation…
But you’re distracted by the never-ending beads of sweat running down your arms, your back, your face.
One drips off your nose onto the open book you’re trying to immerse yourself in, leaving a splotch in the center of the page.
You knew it would be hot.
That’s why you splurged for the beach chair with the umbrella. And the sea breeze’s caress across your skin certainly helps.
But it’s not enough.
What you wouldn’t give for a frozen margarita and a giant bottle of water right now.
Speaking of which…
You look up from your book and see what appears to be a drink vendor pulling a cart with a cooler up the beach toward you.
You’re saved!
You fish your wallet out of your beach bag, ready and eager to pay whatever audaciously inflated price your savior has the gall to charge.
As he pulls up and opens his cooler, however, you’re quickly disappointed.
Instead of ice-cold frozen drinks or water, the vendor is using the cooler to keep his freshly brewed pots of coffee hot…
“Only coffee?”
“Everyone loves coffee.”
“But on the beach? In the middle of the afternoon? On a day like this?”
“It’s really exceptional. I buy my beans from an artisanal family-run coffee plantation in Costa Rica and roasted the beans myself this morning. You’ll love it.”
“I’ll pass.”
Bewildered, you watch the same scene play out again and again as the vendor wheels his cart of steaming hot disappointment among the beachgoers laid out across the pristine stretch of sand.
Eventually, you lose sight of him, certain he hasn’t made a single sale.
You wipe a bead of sweat from your brow and turn back to your book, still hot, still uncomfortable, still desperate for relief, and still willing to pay a premium for it.
Finally, you abandon your post to seek ou search of a beach bar which is sure to have the refreshment you now find yourself craving:
A frozen coffee with a shot (or two) of Bailey’s.
Podcast Advent is presented by The Unstuck Sessions. Want to start 2025 off on the right foot? What if you had an expert ready to give you the exact steps you need to take to get unstuck — in your podcast, your business, and your process? You can with the Unstuck Sessions. Get the most valuable part of my coaching at an incredibly affordable price. Get Unstuck Today.
Perhaps the biggest misconception about marketing is that it’s about making people want your thing.
But there’s just one problem:
You can’t.
People want what they want.
Which means the real job of marketing is creating something that aligns with the market’s existing interests, needs, and desires, and communicating that connection clearly and compellingly.
This concept applies whether you’re selling drinks on the beach or trying to find listeners for a podcast.
This is an essential lesson to understand, so I’ll repeat it again for emphasis:
It is impossible to make people want something they don’t already want.
Which means the growth potential of your show is capped by the amount of existing interest or desire in your topic or category.
Of course, interest in your topic or category, alone is not enough.
Big, high-growth shows are big and high-growth for exactly three reasons:
A large number of people are hungry—voracious, even—for content like theirs — Not their exact show, but content in the same general category.
They have some obvious differentiator that gets people to give them a chance — High demand categories mean heavy competition. Winning the first click from a listener in this environment requires a distinctive, compelling, and refreshing angle, show concept, specific audience, or sub-topic.
Their show does enough of the technical things right to not turn offthose listeners who stumble across and click into it — ie. they have legitimate cover art, SHARP episode titles, solid production quality, and average or better value density.
That’s it.
That’s not to say these shows haven’t done any marketing.
Most of them do a lot of it.
But that marketing is more about accelerating existing growth than trying to kickstart it.
In other words, they’re not dependent on hustling on social media or throwing money away on ads in order to eke out a few new listeners each month.
Because the real marketing has already been done when they:
Identified an audience that had an existing interest, need, or desire that their show could fulfill.
Learned (probably through a lot of experimentation and 1:1 audience conversations) how to communicate how their show aligned with those interests, needs, and desires.
Showed up regularly where that audience was already congregating.
Consistently created a show that met or exceeded their audience’s expectations.
When it comes down to it, these four tasks are the heart of successful marketing.
So if you’re struggling to build an audience, the first question worth asking is always:
“Do I have verifiable proof that the people I want to attract are already engaging with shows or content similar to what I’m creating?”
If not, there’s a good chance your show is doomed. People want what they want, after all, and you won’t change their minds.
If so, a second question:
“Is my show at the same (or better) level of production quality, insight, humour, entertainment, and value per minute as the similar shows people are already listening to?”
If not, there is no reason people should listen to your show…which means you know exactly where to put in the work.
If so, on the other hand, one final question:
“Am I showing up consistently in places my audience is already gathering, with messaging that unmistakably conveys how my show aligns with their existing interests, needs, and desires?”
If not, you need to talk with your existing and ideal listeners to find out where exactly to show up (podcasts, newsletters, communities, forums, etc) and how to better communicate your show’s 1-sentence pitch.
They have all the answers you need.
If so, well, I hate to say it, but there’s a good chance you might be lying to yourself about one or more of your previous answers.
Which is to be expected.
It’s where we all start out as creators, before we’re forced to confront the hard cold truth:
That what we want to create matters a whole lot less than what people want to consume.
But it’s rare indeed that the thing we most want to create is the thing with the highest potential for growth.
We can rail against this and resolutely forge ahead with our art, attempting to sell steaming hot coffee to an audience who’s looking for ice-cold refreshment.
Or we can do our homework to understand what the market wants.
What people are already seeking out and engaging with.
What people are willing to pay an audaciously inflated premium for.
And we can find a way to align our work and our craft with that.
Frozen coffee with a shot (or two) of Bailey’s, perhaps.
Today’s article is our first guest contributor — my friend and Top 1% podcaster, Courtney Elmer!
Remember when celebrities used to endorse everything? It worked for a while (hello, Air Jordans gathering dust in your closet). But then came the era of the Social Media Influencer. We followed people like @alexis.belbel because they felt relatable (and, in my case, they were 5’1 and knew where to buy pants that didn’t need hemming).
But then, something even more powerful happened — the rise of the Podcast Host.
You know who I’m talking about. The binge-worthy thought leader who you listen to weekly. The one whose advice you trust because they feel like they’re speaking directly to you. And that trust? It’s the golden ticket to a podcast that drives real business growth.
Studies now show podcast listeners are 5x more likely to buy from Podfluencers (let’s make that a thing) than from social media influencers. They’re also 7x more likely to buy from podcast hosts than TV celebrities.
So, if you want real influence and to make a meaningful difference in the world, skip the brand deals and say goodbye to the days of burning yourself out on social media trying to reach a million followers. It’s time to focus on your podcast. But before you go all-in, there’s something you need to know:
Influence Doesn’t Come from Just Hitting Publish
You don’t become influential just because you start a podcast. Real influence comes from making your listeners care about what you say. Because the best compliment a podcast host can get? “OMG, I stayed in the car to finish your episode. You are talking straight TO ME!”
^^ That kind of connection is ultimately what turns listeners into leads. But it’s not what you say — it’s how you say it that ultimately builds this kind of connection.
I call it your Bingeworthy Messaging Formula, and it’s the key to turning your podcast into a lead-generating machine. Why? Because first impressions matter. In real life, you’ve got 7 seconds to make an impression. Online? You’ve got 0.05 seconds to earn someone’s trust.
Earn it, and the rest is easy. The bigger question is how do you earn that trust? (You didn’t think I was going to leave you hanging, did you?!)
Podcast Advent is presented by The Unstuck Sessions. Want to start 2025 off on the right foot? What if you had an expert ready to give you the exact steps you need to take to get unstuck — in your podcast, your business, and your process? You can with the Unstuck Sessions. Get the most valuable part of my coaching at an incredibly affordable price. Get Unstuck Today.
How to Earn The Kind of Listener Trust that Converts
Earning your listener’s trust startsbefore they ever hit play. That’s why great content alone won’t cut it. You need to communicate that your show is worth their time before they listen. In an increasingly crowded podcasting space that offers more content options than ever, “good content” is no longer a differentiator. The best content won’t do you any good if you can’t get people to click.
To do this, you need to master these 3 elements of podcast messaging:
Visual (what listeners see)
Written (what listeners read)
Spoken (what listeners hear)
But there’s more. You also need to guide new listeners through the 5 Content Gatekeepers™ that determine whether or not they hit play:
Cover Art – This is the first thing they see. It needs to draw your listener’s eye away from the other shows surrounding it so that you stand out among hundreds of other shows.
Podcast Name – Your title needs to be clear and address a real problem your listener faces (and here’s the key: your listener must be aware they have the problem and are actively looking for solutions to help them fix it).
Podcast Description – This is your podcast’s elevator pitch. Does it immediately communicate the unique value proposition of your podcast? Does it include the right, relevant keywords so you get found by more listeners in search (without overstuffing)?
Episode Titles – These are the hooks for each episode and it’s often the first thing a new listener sees when you appear in their search results. Do your titles address real pain points and speak to the unmet desires of your listener? Do they include relevant keywords? Do they make people curious enough to listen? Would you listen to an episode with that title? (Be honest).
Episode Descriptions (Show Notes) – This is the final gatekeeper before a listener hits play. It should clearly explain what they’ll get from the episode and why it’s worth their time, and strategically include relevant keywords to improve your podcast’s discoverability.
When you nail these elements, it increases the chances of your podcast getting noticed and chosen over the competition. Listeners will start to binge your episodes, come back for more, and begin to trust you as the expert who can help them solve their problems.
The Secret to Turning Listeners into Clients
Most hosts pour their heart into creating valuable content but wonder why their show isn’t growing. It’s because your podcast’s success doesn’t start with a mic — it starts in the mind. When you understand the psychology behind why listeners tune in, stay, and take action, that’s when your show becomes more than just content. It becomes a powerful tool that drives real business growth (and allows you to create the meaningful change in the world you’re here to make).
But converting more listeners to leads isn’t just about creating connection — it’s about creating the “where has this been all my life?!” kind of connection that makes listeners feel seen, understood, and ready to take the next step. That’s how you move from delivering valuable episodes to driving real business results.
When your podcast messaging speaks directly to what your listener is struggling with and shows them why you’re the one to help, your show stops being just another podcast — it becomes the go-to resource they can’t ignore. That’s when listeners stop just listening and start reaching out, ready to work with you — turning your podcast into the lead-generating engine it’s meant to be.
About the Author: Dubbed ‘The Podcast Whisperer’ by CEO Weekly, Courtney Elmer is a Forbes-featured Top 1% podcast host and industry-leading expert on the psychology behind what makes podcasts succeed or fail. As the founder of PodLaunch® and host of the globally-ranked show Insider Secrets to a Top 100 Podcast, Courtney and her team have worked closely with over 70+ entrepreneurs and experts to help them launch and grow top ranked shows that turn listeners into clients.
Want to master the podcast messaging that turns casual listeners into loyal clients? Join Courtney’s next live workshop, where she’ll break down the three ingredients you need for a bingeworthy top podcast that converts listeners to clients on repeat.
Bruce is driving and asking God for “a sign,” while ignoring literal signs in front of him that are warning him…right before he gets into a car accident.
The point being that you can find the thing you require if you look for it — and don’t ignore the obvious.
Recently, while giving a talk, I mentioned “show notes,” and someone in the audience asked, “What are show notes?”
Last week, I got an email from my friend Krystal. She talked about coaching her friend into the decision to nix show notes all together.
I’ve been considering writing a piece on show notes, and my friends… I don’t need a 3rd sign.
A movie scene that has stuck with me for nearly 30 years is from Men in Black.
Vincent D’Onofrio, playing an Upstate New York farmer named Edgar, gets killed by an alien who immediately puts his skin on and wears it like a suit.
Then, walking into his kitchen, alien Edgar immediately demands of his wife, “Sugar…in water.”
D’Onofrio perfectly plays this — moving and talking uncomfortably…as if he’s actually unfamiliar with how humans move.
But it’s the request — “sugar in water” — that always gets me. It’s odd, because even though most beverages we consume have sugar (or some sugar substitute) in it, no one explicitly asks for sugar in water.
And while it’s an odd request, Edgar’s wife obliges and watches in disbelief as he downs the entire glass.
It was so close to being believable, but it was missing something innately human.
That’s how I’ve felt about podcast pitches as of late.
So I’m thinking about joining a gym again. I’m hesitant because I don’t like paying for things I don’t use, and I’m worried I’m not going to make time to use it.
But there’s another, much bigger reason.
One of the most frustrating experiences here in the USA is cancelling a gym membership. It’s often maligned for its unreasonable difficulty. Here’s how to do it at Planet Fitness (emphasis mine):
For most locations, you can visit your home club in person to cancel your membership or send a written notification via mail to your home club requesting to cancel. Some members may also be eligible to cancel their membership online based on their membership type and the location of their home club.
Please note, to stop the billing of your monthly membership on the 17th, the club must receive written notice delivered by the 10th in person or through mail, as it may take up to 7 business days for billing changes to take effect. To stop the billing of the annual fee, cancellation must be completed by the 25th of the month prior to the annual fee date. Lastly, if your membership has a minimum term and is canceled prior to end of contract term, a $58 buyout fee is required.
So to recap:
Visit the club in person OR send a written notification via mail.
You need to do this a week in advance to ensure your request is honored.
You’ll likely incur a fee for cancelling.
This is a purposefully user-hostile hurdle too. See, you can sign up online, and upgrade your account online.
However, to cancel or downgrade, you have to go to the location. Oh, and this part:
Some members may also be eligible to cancel their membership online
I’ll take that to mean places where the club is required by law to make cancelling as easy as signing up.
I’m pointing this out because, since I’ve been hoodwinked by Planet Fitness before, I’ll never sign up for a Planet Fitness membership again. I’d rather pay more and know exactly how much I’m paying, and have the flexibility to cancel any time.
But this isn’t about gyms. This is about how we treat our listeners.
🚨 Guest post alert! I’m SUPER excited to be sharing with you an article from Tink Media and Podcast Marketing Magic. I love this advice because it’s great for the best-of lists, but it applied any time you pitch yourself! If you want more tips on how to get people to listen to the beautiful show you’re making, subscribe to Podcast Marketing Magic!
With the end of the year nearing, apps and podcast newsletter writers are creating some version of 2023 “Best Of” podcast lists (You can check out Tink’s Audio Delicacies 2023, our delicious end-of-year list, here). Getting on these lists can be great to boost the listenership of your show!
Today, let’s look at how to pitch your podcast to get on these lists.
Curators of these lists will start making them soon, if they haven’t already begun. So get your pitching gear ready and let’s get this show on the road.
But, first…
If you only have time for one thing
Word of advice: if you can find a podcast list and/or writer that’s more specific to your genre, pitch them. For example – if you have an audio fiction show, you’re better off pitching to be an audio fiction list than a broader podcast one.
Let’s begin!
How to pitch your podcast to a “best of” list
Begin with research
✅ Start by creating a list of what publications and journalists typically create end-of-year lists.
✅ Create a list of 10-15 publications and/or writers you want to include on your outreach.
✅ Make careful note of what they’ve called their lists in the past and what kind of podcasts and/or episodes have they included.
✅ Cast a wide net and go deeper. A simple Google search is a good place to start. However, look beyond the first page to see what comes up. Often, the first page throws lists made by bigger publications. These are not bad to include on your outreach list but they might not all be relevant to you.
Pick where your listeners might be
The very same Google search for “podcast best of list 2022” brings up lists created by bigger publications such as The Guardian or The Atlantic. Now, for independent and/or new creators in the audience, these can be daunting places to start. So while you should pitch yourself to these publications, you might be better off finding places and writers that are more specific to your genre. For example: if your podcast is about food, pitching to food publications might be more relevant than to The New Yorker.
If you’re running short on time, we recommend:
✅ Creating a general pitch to send to the bigger publications.
✅ Creating pitch templates which you can then customize for publications that are more relevant to your genre and audience.
💡 Pro-tip: prioritize pitching to podcast newsletters over generic media publications. The audiences of those newsletters are already podcast listeners and have a higher chance of tuning into your show, as compared to readers of generic media publications.
Give them your why
Every good pitch includes a clear, concise, and customized why. Be sure to include:
✅ Why did you choose them to pitch to?
✅ Why should they choose you for their list?
✅ Why should their readers/listeners know about your podcast?
Include your best episodes
Podcast “best of” lists could be either curations of complete podcasts or just single episodes. Either way, it’s always best to pitch a specific episode so that the person making the decision knows exactly what to tune into. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
✅ Include your trailer.
✅ Depending on whether your show is serialized or episodic, include your first or best episode.
💡 Pro-tip: your best episode might not mean the episode you had most fun creating. It could be the one that has the highest number of downloads or most listener engagement. When in doubt, put yourself in a new listener’s shoes and pick the episode you think they might enjoy the most.
✅ If you’re a serialized podcast with a lot of episodes on your feed (for example: a TTRPG podcast) be sure to link to a recap episode.
Pitch to relevant writers
In addition to publications, consider pitching your podcast to relevant writers in your field. Even if they have not curated a list in the past, you can pitch your and other shows to them.
➡️ You never know what might get their wheels turning! This might happen when pitching to writers/publications in your niche. Maybe a food magazine or travel blog has posted about some podcasts, but never made a best of list at the end of the year. Now’s your chance to encourage and help!
Make it about more than yourself
💛 Most folks receiving these pitches are busy. A great way to catch their attention and earn their appreciation is by suggesting more than just your show. This works especially well if you’re pitching to a list of podcasts in a specific genre. It’s also a great way to platform fellow creators.
With these tips, we hope we’ve set you on the right path to pitch your show for end-of-year lists. Feel free to ask any questions in the comments!
Thanks so much to Shreya Sharma and Lauren Passell for authoring this post —and to the entire Tink Media team for their contribution!
There are very few people who can go by just one name.
Prince. Madonna. Wednesday. If you Google any of these folks, the person you’re thinking of right now will show up first in the results. That won’t work for everyone.
Heck, the current U.S. President has a name so common, people are called, “Average Joe.” And indeed, if you google “Joe,” the president is on the first page, but just barely.
Luckily, when we name people, we don’t need to optimize for discoverability, SEO, or uniqueness. We have other factors (like last name and SSN here in the U.S.) to consider.
But naming your podcast — well that’s another story.
