Tweak #19: Pitch your show to be featured on the apps
Where did all these downloads come from?!
I have a little secret to tell you. You know how you’ll be scrolling social media and you’ll see a podcast celebrating the fact that their little show has been featured on the Apple Podcasts? Usually in a section that looks like this?
I’m here to tell you that most of the time, that show applied to be there. No shade meant at all—many shows apply to be featured on Apple Podcasts and very few ever see it happen. And when it does happen, it usually leads to a giant spike in downloads.
So it’s something worth celebrating—but nobody ever says “Excited to share that after applying once a month for over a year and starting to feel like it was never gonna happen and maybe we should just stop, we saw a bump in our download numbers and had no idea why and then a random listener told us our podcast was featured in Apple Podcasts!” But rest assured, that’s how it happens for those of us without marketing departments (and, from experience, sometimes for those of us with marketing departments).
If you want that to happen to you—that fateful day when you’re like “weird, why is this episode doing numbers” and you search the apps and ask around and finally find out that you were featured—you’ve got to apply.
The good news is that Apple Podcasts is just one of the many podcast apps you can apply to be featured on, and you should apply to them all regularly—as in, set a calendar reminder every 1–3 months and treat it like regular upkeep of your podcast. Below are links to the guidelines and application methods for five different apps. So many chances!
But first, some general guidelines.
General guidelines about pitching your show to apps
Something to remember when pitching anything—your podcast to an app, an article to a news outlet, a business to investors—is that the person you’re pitching to doesn’t care what you get out of it. They care what they get out of it, and you need to tell them what that is.
The editors of podcast apps want to show that their app is the place to go for finding good podcasts, which means choosing a pleasing variety of quality shows (from people who will, in turn, promote that podcast app in their own stuff).
When you answer the always-present question, “Why should your show be promoted?”, take that into account and give details about why your show would be a great choice for their needs. How is it unique? Why should you be featured now — do you have an important episode coming up? A high-profile guest? Include anything that would make the editor take a second look.
And don’t forget about their need for promotion. Include details about how you’ll co-market their app, maybe by linking to your show on their app, putting a badge on your website, or recommending that listeners consume your podcast on their platform (or all of the above).
Most of the time, these editors plan their picks thematically, and your show (or episode) needs to fit into the theme. They also need particular materials: artwork in a certain format, a description of a certain word count, etc. Pay close attention to the submission criteria and make sure you’re fulfilling it to a T.
Got all that? Ok, here are the links you’ll need to pitch your podcast.
How to pitch Apple Podcasts
How to pitch Spotify
How to pitch Castbox
How to pitch Pocket Casts
How to pitch Amazon Music
Good luck. May the download spikes be plentiful, and the attribution clear.
Excellent advice, Ashley, and something I think a lot of podcasters probably aren't even aware is an option. I was featured a couple of times on Pocket Casts, and the result spoke for itself, with the added bonus of listeners sticking around afterwards. Highly recommended as another growth tactic.