Plenty of new rising comedy podcasters and even the individuals who have been in the podcasting industry for long find different solutions to drive more comedy podcast traffic. The very basic goal of every comedy podcast is to grow in terms of quality and quantity of listeners.
The growth of any podcast indeed depends on the audience of that show. This means that greater your audience better is the growth of your show while if you fail to attract an audience to your show then you are going to have a hard time surviving with your show.
Although comedy is one genre which many of us enjoy a lot but being a comedian comes with a lot of challenges and responsibilities. Being a comedian you need to live upto your audience’s expectations. You need to have variety in your episodes which can lure your audience.
Setting up a comedy podcast is a rather difficult job but adhering to a simple guide discussed below that assists in growing your comedy podcast traffic will get you the desired results.
So lets look at some realistic measures that can help grow comedy podcast traffic.
1. Networking
Networking is overused so often these days. The thing that matters most in today’s world is networking and in podcasting, networking is talking. When you talk to someone you will definitely get to learn something new as everyone has a different experience.
The significance of networking here is to reach out to those people who have been in the podcasting industry. None other than them can provide you with the right guidance. Instead of seeing your companions as competition, try to make the most out of their experience. Learning through someone else’s experience will help you a lot.
This will help you expand your listener base to a great extent. The best way to start networking is to make the best of your already existing contacts. You can even interview someone who has been in the podcasting industry for long, this will help you attract an audience massively.
You never know if a partnership with someone is one the card. If not you are not losing anything instead you are only going to learn new things.
2. Podcast Hosting
A basic requirement for any comedy podcast is a good host which will help you elevate your audience. A good host will help you with appropriate publishing tools, media hosting and content delivery.
Another primary importance of a good host can be seen when your podcast starts growing. As your podcast grows there is a need for a reliable and genuine network along with sufficient storage space to handle your content.
Some might argue that there are plenty of hosting companies that allow you to upload podcasts for free. But I will personally suggest you to think broader.
As you move on and your comedy podcast grows then you’ll face many problems with your host. Some common problems include downloads will be stopped, you’ll lose your audience, and your wish of making your podcast big will soon come to an end.
If you dream of making it big be prepared to make some genuine investments which you will realise in the long run to be a game changer.
3. Optimize Your Show
You all must have heard a lot about this term SEO. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation. This is a set of guidelines which you need to adhere to, to make your show visible to the audience on such a crowded search engine where there exists billions of websites.
You cannot even imagine how competitive a search result can be. Everyone wants to rank at the top as that is the only way how you will be able to drive in more traffic to your podcast.
A common practice to rank your site higher on a search engine results page is by using the appropriate keywords,link-building,Social Media promotion, and several other ways. You can read my article on Comedy Podcasting SEO for more information.
In a similar way there is competition with your comedy podcast. If your podcast launches on iTunes and makes it to the ‘Note and Noteworthy section’ then you will definitely be able to drive more traffic for your podcast. Don’t expect to see your podcast rank first on the list if you have just started. To come to that rank you need to put in a lot of efforts and it takes time. What you can start doing is to prepare quality content, write appropriate titles and descriptions for each episode.
“Start Small, Start Early”
This quote is a real motivation for me so I thought this might just work out for you as well. By this I just mean that start working on optimising your podcast from the very first day irrespective of what results you get. Even if you start with small changes, a year from here you’ll be way ahead.
4. Interact With The Audience
This might seem a bit confusing but what I really mean by interacting with the internet is that sometimes achieving success all alone is not that easy. Interacting with people across the globe can sometimes shape your path and eventually lead you to success.
The internet is all covered with plenty of community platforms that can be used to network, discuss, and put up your queries. Use these platforms to interact with experts or even new podcasters who may have an outstanding idea.
If you are addressing a group of individuals who are new to podcasting then you have to be very confident about your knowledge. They can be converted into your audience in future. Build some genuine connections to whom you can reach out in need. This is a very genuine and organic way to let people know about your show.
5. Use Social Media Accounts
Comedy Podcasting is a tough job and requires adequate time and commitment to produce and publish your podcast but keep in mind that along with this you need to keep up with social media accounts as well.
Be aware that your audience for your podcast are also the ones who are following you on social media. Keep them updated on all your near future plans. A twist that you can bring to your social media account is putting your sneak peek with a celebrity as your instagram story or Facebook live, wherever you have a better audience. You can also upload a section of your episode on YouTube.
The more platforms you spread your content across, the better are your chance of increasing traffic for your comedy podcast. But be cautious about being consistent with your posts and don’t let your audience down. They look up to you for a reason. It is really difficult to create a permanent audience while it takes only seconds to move them away.
You can ask your audience to tag their friends in an Instagram story so that your name goes a far way ahead. Audience is ready to do a small favour if you continue to give them quality content.
6. Create Streams Of Content
Another way how you can get more listeners for your podcast is by converting your readers to listeners. Another efficient way of increasing the traffic for your podcast is to leverage your already existing audience.
If you own a blog then letting your readers know about your comedy podcast can be really beneficial for you. Similarly you can let your listeners know about your blog. This way your audience will become more connected with you and they will want to hear from you as much as possible.
Having a podcast expands your audience beyond iTunes and makes you more visible to a user. Maintain your blog well with original content giving the audience an idea of what you have been doing so long. Through your blog you can also let them know about some other topics related to your niche which might interest them.
7. Encourage Listener Interaction
Podcasting has evolved dramatically through these years and has now become such a medium, which allows your listeners to think of you as a friend whom they are very close to. This makes podcasting an ideal platform for you to interact with your audience.
A way to interact with your audience is to let them ask you questions on social media. You can either take out time to answer these directly on social media or create a Q&A section on your show. Talking to your audience develops a strong between you and your audience. This also gives you an idea of what your audience wants, needs, and expects from your comedy podcast.
You may receive some valuable feedback from your audience on how you can improve your podcast and let you know what they like about your podcast. This will give you an insight into what you can keep up for your next episode.
Another possible way is to create a Facebook Community for your podcast where all your audience comes together and discusses the episodes and thus form an informal relation with you.
8. Reach Other Markets
Marketing your podcast is essential for increasing your reach. The basic ways of marketing your podcast is by owning a blog, running a YouTube channel or posting about your podcast in various magazines.
Engaging other influences of your niche on your episode could help you reach out to more people and further create a reliable listener base.
Another strategy to increase traffic for your podcast is to post about your new episode on various social media accounts and ask your audience to further share your content on their personal and business accounts. Your audience can itself have a lot of impact on the amount of traffic that you experience.
9. Promote Giveaways
This strategy is used by many companies as well including the tech giant Amazon. Hosting a contest or giveaway makes your audience more involved in what you are doing.
What you can do is give away some things to your audience in return and ask them to leave a comment on your episode on iTunes. As a comedian, you can giveaway anything like a headset, smartphone, etc. Start with small giveaways.
You can even give prizes to those who tag their friends or share your comedy podcast with their friends. Keep the motive of the giveaway alive. Make it fun and keep your audience engaged. This creates a buzz around your show.
10. Join Many Directories
Smartphones have shaped the era of technology in a whole new way. With smartphone applications on the uprise and many people finding shows that they can listen to by browsing through podcast directories.
If you look to make your podcast grow well then you need to get your podcast to as many of these directories as possible to have a greater chance of being navigated.
Applications of either iOS and Android not only help you expand your reach but also increases the monetization capabilities of your show. These were some of the most generic ways of making growing your comedy podcast traffic.
Hopefully, you have got an insight into how you can grow your podcast traffic with some rather simple techniques and make an impact via your point of view and show.
