Producing a podcast is an enjoyable journey, but getting your message heard by the right people requires more than a click of a button. Distribution is the secret to podcasting success, but many new podcasters make errors that hinder growth and influence. From hosting platform choice errors to not submitting to powerful directories, these mistakes are common and can stop growth dead in its tracks. In this post, we’re going to talk about the top five distribution mistakes new podcasters make—and most importantly, how to avoid them.
Let’s check out these common mistakes.
Mistake #1: Not Submitting To All Major Podcast Directories
Podcast directories are websites or apps. These platforms are capable of capturing podcast RSS feeds. These feeds are just a way for the platform to send updates about content to the visitors.
What Happens
It is not mandatory to submit to every podcast hosting directory. But doing so can increase your reach. You may submit your podcast to a selection of directories when starting your podcast journey. However, if you want more audiences to discover your show, then you must try to submit to as many directories as you can.
How To Avoid
You can start by submitting to the major directories at first. Consider popular podcast distribution platforms like Spotify and Amazon Music. Also, try distributing a podcast through Apple Podcasts. You should also prioritise your directories. Do this based on which platforms your target audiences use mainly. Consider the less popular directories once you are done with the major ones.
Mistake #2: Ignoring SEO And Metadata Optimization
SEO is important for optimising content for search engine ranking. It improves the visibility of your content. Metadata optimization is a part of SEO. It is about crafting title descriptions to help search engines understand the content.
What Happens
You may have already realised why ignoring SEO practices is a major podcast distribution mistake. Your podcasts will be less discoverable if you don’t optimise them. It means fewer people will be able to find your podcast when they search using relevant keywords. Thus limiting your ability to reach the maximum audience.
How To Avoid
Podcast web hosting is becoming competitive. An intention to optimise content is not enough. You need to optimize your content with the right keywords. You also need to ensure that you are not stuffing keywords in your content in an unnatural way. Also, make sure that your descriptions and titles are crafted to accurately reflect your podcast’s context.
You cannot benefit from poor SEO practices. And ignoring SEO is out of the question if you want to maximize your audience base and reach. You can do your keyword research yourself. Or you can hire experts to do that for you.
Mistake #3: Not Promoting Episodes Beyond Podcast Platforms
The internet has made it possible to advertise and promote content easily. You can utilise free posts. You can also publish paid ads. Digital marketing is fast and budget-friendly. But not every podcast host is promoting their content beyond the podcast platform.
What Happens
Suppose you use Spotify’s creator version as your preferred podcast Distribution Service. Would you only settle for advertising your content on Spotify? If your answer is no, then you already understand marketing. These podcast hosting platforms do have a large base of relevant users. But these platforms are not the only place where people look for audio content.
People also listen to audio stories on YouTube. They are also active on non-podcast platforms like social media and email. If you are not promoting your content on these channels, you are missing out on potential reach.
How To Avoid
You need to build a stronger connection with your audience. Engage with them via email and social media. Utilise free and paid posts. Blogs and forums related to the topic of your podcast are also good places to promote. Imagine someone receiving a snippet or quotes from your podcast when browsing social media. They may be interested in exploring. This will get you discovered by more people.
Mistake #4: Inconsistent Publishing Schedule
Audience will wait for your podcast episodes once they are hooked. This is an opportunity to build a loyal audience base. But some podcast hosts are quite inconsistent with their release schedule.
What Happens
Imagine you follow a podcast. You like the episodes. But you always fail to keep track of when episodes are released. A new episode may be released tonight. Or maybe you get the next episode after a couple of weeks. Such erratic release schedules can cause frustration among your listeners. They may unsubscribe altogether. Or they may stop feeling the excitement for a new release. They may simply stop following up if new episodes are available.
Podcast distribution services also tend to recommend podcasts to listeners using algorithms. Erratic schedules also disrupt these algorithms. So your podcasts will be recommended less. It will also appear less in search results.
How To Avoid
You need to establish a proper release schedule. It does not matter if you release daily or weekly. Just make sure you can stick to the release frequencies practically. Your listeners must be clear on when to expect the next episode.
You can practise batch recording. It is about recording several episodes in advance. So you can ready your content before the scheduled release day. Also, keep your listeners updated. Inform in advance if you think you cannot present a new episode by the upcoming scheduled release date.
Mistake #5: Ignoring Analytics and Listener Feedback
Analytics and listener feedback are important in the arena of podcasts. They help understand the performance of podcasts.
What Happens
Analytics and listener feedback speak volumes about how your content is doing. Podcast hosts miss the opportunities to refine their content when analytics and feedback are ignored. Ignoring feedback and analytics means you don’t know what the audience is saying. You don’t know how they are behaving around your content. Are they watching till the end? Or are they exiting the podcast after some minutes? You need these insights to make the right adjustments to your podcasts.
How To Avoid
Utilise your podcast web hosting platform. You will find analytics tools to track aspects like episode watch time and subscriber demographics. Use these insights to understand what is working and what is not. Understand who is listening more and who is not showing interest. You may also use third-party analytics tools to get deeper insights like listener drop-off points. These insights can help you create podcasts that people want.
Conclusion
Practice submitting your podcasts to major as well as minor podcast distribution platforms. You want to reach as many people as you can. Make sure you are optimising your content using the right keywords and descriptions. You want your podcasts to be discoverable when audiences search using relevant phrases.
It is also important that you promote podcasts in a digital marketing sense. Promote on multiple podcast and non-podcast channels. Utilise free posts and paid ads. Also, ensure that you use a content calendar. A consistent and predictable release schedule will prevent frustration among listeners.
Finally, listen to what your audience comments. Adjust your content based on analytical insights.
