Happy 6-Month Anniversary, Besties! 🎉

Tips for how to make the most of your launch

Happy anniversary, Besties!

I can’t believe it’s already been six months. Time flies when you’re having fun — and I’ve been having a blast! To celebrate, I have a special Q&A with pod queens Arielle Nissenblatt and Lauren Passell all about how to launch, whether it’s a new show, a new season, or a special episode of your podcast.

And if you want to help me celebrate this milestone, I would love it if you forwarded this edition to your IRL podcast besties to help spread the word and grow this community of Besties. I have some exciting announcements coming down the pike.

What’s so special about “New Show Energy,” and why is it important to launch with an intentional game plan?

AN: PR and marketing people LOVE leaning into a launch. It gives them something to latch onto and impress upon potential collaborators in press releases and other correspondences. That’s why new show energy is so important. HOWEVER, it is also possible to generate the vibes of new show energy without necessarily having a new show to tout. And that’s by creating mini launches within each season. 

LP: You want to remind people that you’re around but also make your show’s relaunch feel newsworthy, highlighting what’s different. Announcing new show art or a themed season — or if there’s a change in direction or a new host — are great ways to get people’s attention. Consider having a big guest (even if you don’t usually have a guest) on the first episode back so you can go out with that. 

How is launching relevant for existing shows that might have seasons or series to promote?

LP: If you have existing content, create an episode of your greatest moments, or replay your best episode. Also, if you’ve already released a season, it’s an excellent opportunity to secure some feed swaps. Find podcast friends (people who have audience overlap with you) and agree to drop one of their episodes in your feed if they drop your first episode into their feed. Preferably, this will all be on or around the same day. The host of your partner show should intro the episode by saying, “We’re playing an episode of X. They’ve come out with a new season today, and we’re playing the first episode! Go subscribe to get more!” Alternatively, they could play a portion of the first episode or the new season’s trailer. You can also pay people to drop your first episode in their feeds. Ask to see their rate cards… If they don’t already have one, they’ll come up with one fast.

AN: Fabricate a mid-season launch! Maybe you have a new series within a series. Perhaps you secured a guest you’ve been after for a long time. Make ANYTHING and EVERYTHING an occasion to rally around: make artwork on Canva to celebrate, use it as an excuse to partner with shows to spread the word, and reach out to newsletters to plug. To give an example: If you have an always-on show about beluga whales, run a 5-episode arc that features only interviews with professors. Call it Beluga University.

What worked about this example:

Arielle Nissenblatt (sounds like This and That) @arithisandthat

⚡️If you’ve produced a podcast seasonally and are looking to make the transition to always-on but wondering how to launch that change… .@herfirst100K is back with season 2 today! And Tori’s intro is a perfectly-executed announcement of this shift in production schedule🎙

AN: I’m a big fan of spelling it out for your listeners. What should we expect not just from this episode, but if you’re introducing a new season, what should we expect from the following ten episodes? Make sure to indicate your game plan, what sets you apart from other shows in your niche, whether or not we should be expecting guests and anything else you think we should know. Of course, keep some things close to the chest. For example: if you have a huge guest towards the middle of the season, tease that fact, but maybe keep the name as a surprise. 

What are the different aspects of a launch plan — what’s a brief description and any special considerations for each?

LP: When you’re coming up with a launch plan for a new show, you won’t have download numbers on that show to barter with since nobody has been listening yet. You’ll have to barter something else. I did this recently for a podcast network and was able to drop partner episodes and promos onto the feeds of the network’s other shows in exchange for a drop or promo for my new show. If you don’t have that, think about what you do have. A large social media following or newsletter? Maybe you can promise a feed drop of their show into your feed at the end of your season when you will presumably have more downloads. 

This is an excellent time to consider spending some money. Ask if you can buy a feed drop or consider buying an ad with Castbox (one of the only platforms that guarantee subscribers) or mowPod (which inserts podcast player widgets on webpages that will reach your target audience).

Pitching newsletters is crucial for a launch plan. Newsletters are usually particularly interested in covering newsworthy things, like the launch of a new podcast.

AN: When planning out a launch, you can think of it in terms of:

• Pre-launch: At this stage, you’re in production. Maybe you’re building up a marketing and/or PR team. But you’re primarily focused on the content. And you should really focus on the content. Make sure it’s freaking great. 

• Trailer launch: I like the practice of launching a trailer at least two weeks before dropping the rest of your season or series. That way, you have a link to point folks to. You also get to troubleshoot any potential issues with your RSS feed. PLUS, some newsletters and collaboration partners want to be able to listen to something before they hitch a wagon to it. And still more, it allows people to hit the “subscribe” or “follow” button, which means that when your episodes start dropping, they’ll be notified.

• Season (or series) launch: Now you’re really in it. During that period between the trailer drop and the season launch, that’s when you’re building your collaboration and media lists. That’s when you’re sending out pre-pitches. That’s the pitch before the pitch. For example, “Hey, I have a show coming out soon that is a great fit, thematically, subject-matter wise, and/or tonally, with your show. What’s the best way for us to collaborate? I’d love to hop on a call and discuss.” This is when you’re building out podcast friendships that will pay off later. 

• Throughout the season: You can be active on social media, interacting with listeners, pumping up other podcasters in your niche, sharing PR wins, and generally spreading the word about the show.

How would you approach launching with a small indie budget of like $5-10K vs. launching on a shoestring with maybe a couple hundred dollars?

LP: If you have a couple hundred dollars, I would reach out to all the podcast newsletters and ask about advertising in them. (I also recommend buying an ad in The Browser.) You can also buy a Spotify ad for pretty cheap. If you have $5-10K, I would buy an ad on Castbox (reserve early, they get really booked up!) or mowPod. If possible, you want to sprinkle the ads around. But most shows require a $5K minimum. So if you just want to spend money advertising on shows, pick two that are great matches. 

AN: For this question, you have to make sure you have your goals set ahead of time. Is your goal in spending money to grow your show’s downloads, or is it awareness? To increase your downloads, I’d recommend spending in newsletters (both in your niche and podcast recommendation newsletters) for a smaller budget and spending on Castbox’s banner ad and mowpod for a larger budget. If your goal is awareness, I’d buy ads in newsletters and on social, and on Overcast, Pocketcasts, Castro, and Castbox’s featured carousel for a larger budget.

How do you approach earned media during a launch? And can you explain the magical phrase, “I’d love to develop a co-marketing strategy around the show’s launch"?

LP: My #1 go-to for earned media during a launch is newsletter outreach. Podcast newsletters are really excited to write about new shows, so you’ll have their attention for just being new. If you have something newsworthy to your story — like you’re using podcast technology in an interesting way or are doing something creative with your storytelling — someone like James Cridland of Podnews might be interested in your pitch. Other podcast newsletters (like mine) will merely be interested that you’re launching something. Put time and effort into your newsletter pitch campaign. Make sure you are subscribed to all the newsletters before you pitch. Open and read the issues for a few weeks before you pitch. And don’t just send a cold email pitch. Respond to the most recent issue of the newsletter you are pitching. I get pitched a lot of emails I don’t have time to read, but when I send out an issue of Podcast the Newsletter, I am monitoring those replies. If you respond to an email I sent out, I’ll definitely read it and know that you are a subscriber and a reader — part of my community.

Co-marketing means that when you propose a partnership with another podcast or app, you offer them something in return. So keep that in mind when writing your pitch letter. What are you offering them? How can you help them in their growth goals? 

AN: Every podcast listening app wants more people to listen to podcasts on their app. So, if you pitch the Stitcher curation team and include an Apple Podcasts link to your show… not a good move. How are you going to be a partner to the app that you are pitching? Are you going to shout Stitcher out at the end of every episode as a place to listen to your show? Are you going to include your Stitcher link in every social post? Take screenshots of the podcast on the Stitcher app and post those on Instagram? Developing a co-marketing plan with a podcast listening app means that you are offering something in exchange for that app showing you off to their consumer base. There’s something in it for both of you.

How much time do you need for a thorough launch strategy? And alternately, what would you prioritize if you only have a couple weeks before launch?

LP: There isn’t much you can do before you have something for people to listen to (like a trailer). Trailers should come out about two weeks before the launch date, so I would start pitching the day the trailer is available. (“Trailer just launched today!” is exciting.) You should do your research before then. Who will you be reaching out to? How will you contact them? What will your pitch letter say?

AN: Once your trailer is alive and out into the universe, get that social proof going. While we know that ratings and reviews don’t *actually* do anything for the Apple Podcasts algorithm, it can be pretty impressive if you have 50 ratings/reviews by the time your first episode rolls around. It gives folks visiting your podcast’s page on Apple something to read. And they’ll see that other folks have enjoyed it enough to leave a comment, so it must be worth their time. Before your show launches, you can get your social assets together. Will you post beautiful assets on social each week highlighting your guests? Will you post a thread on Twitter breaking down the thesis of each week’s episode? Make a content calendar for yourself, so you’re not scrambling to get things together each week.

Any launch mistakes you’ve seen that podcasters should avoid?

LP: It’s a mistake to do nothing and assume people will find you. It’s a mistake to pitch yourself before people have something to listen to. (Make sure you have a trailer for the new season, make sure it’s live, and make sure it’s less than 3 minutes long.) It’s a mistake to spend money on social media ads. 

AN: Lauren is spot on. But I will say spending on social media isn’t a total loss if you’re going for more of an awareness campaign. In that case, maybe send folks to subscribe to your newsletter or to an event you’re putting on that supports your podcast. But don’t drive yourself nuts trying to get people to convert from scrolling on social media to becoming dedicated listeners to your podcast.

Any super creative and out-of-the-box launch tactics that you’ve seen?

LP: I’ll never forget the video trailers Rebel Eaters Club and Cancelled made to announce their first seasons. I don’t know why more people don’t do this.

AN: Lemonada’s new show, Being Trans, had a whole launch party! It was in LA, so sadly, I couldn’t go. But it looked amazing. On a smaller scale, Paulina Salmas of An Eyesore and a Plague also had a launch party — one in Brooklyn and one in Westchester. Her podcast was about the formation of the NYC suburbs, so having one party in NYC and one in the suburbs made so much sense. ALSO, great co-marketing partners shout out every piece of press they receive on social media and in their newsletters. So, if you’re featured on Stitcher, thank them publicly. If you’re featured in the Podcast Bestie newsletter, thank Courtney on Twitter.

Great advice! Anything else you’d like to add?

LP: You probably feel like you’re the worst podcast marketer ever if you haven’t studied marketing. But marketing is really just about working with people and creative thinking. You are actually the best marketer for your show. You have been living with the content in your head and once you get over the fear of the yucky word “marketing,” you’ll have a lot of fun figuring out ways to discover your audience. 

AN: Marketing might seem daunting and boring, but I think it’s actually an incredibly creative exercise. Think about all of the fun, out-of-the-box ways you can collaborate with other creators in the space, and GO!

Thank you, Arielle & Lauren!

➡️ For all things Arielle, follow her on Twitter and subscribe to Earbuds Podcast Collective, her curated pod recommendation newsletter.

➡️ Follow Lauren on Twitter, check out her podcast growth company Tink Media, and subscribe to Podcast the Newsletter.

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