May 28, 2025 • 19 mins
Not every podcaster has a big budget—and that’s especially true for nonprofits.
In this episode learn practical, low-cost strategies for nonprofit podcasters to grow their audience and expand their impact without breaking the bank. Whether you’re recording from a modest setup or working with a lean team, these tips will help you make the most of your existing resources and community connections.
From tapping into your supporter base and creating shareable content to building partnerships and using smart SEO techniques, you’ll walk away with actionable ideas to get your podcast in front of the right people—without spending a fortune.
Today's hosts: Todd Cochrane, Mike Dell and MacKenzie Bennett
Audience Growth Strategies for Nonprofit Podcasters on a Budget
1. Leverage Your Existing Supporters
Your donors, volunteers, staff, and board members are already invested in your mission—make them your first listeners and promoters.
How to do it:
Include new podcast episodes in donor newsletters, event announcements, and fundraising emails.
Ask your board members or key volunteers to share episodes on social media or forward them to peers.
Feature impact stories from volunteers, donors, or program participants—they’re more likely to share episodes they’re featured in.
💡 Tip: A short “New Episode” section in your regular email newsletter can drive consistent listens.
2. Use Social Media Strategically
You don’t need to be everywhere—just visible and consistent on the platform(s) your audience uses most.
How to do it:
Use Blubrry PAI, Headliner.app or Canva to create quick audiograms (short video clips with your podcast audio and graphics).
Share 15–30 second soundbites with compelling quotes or stats from the episode.
Schedule posts around the podcast release using free tools like Buffer or Later.
Tag guests, partners, and organizations mentioned—they’ll often re-share.
💡 Tip: Link directly to the episode page, not just your podcast home, for better click-throughs.
3. Create Searchable Show Notes
Make your content easier to discover via search engines—this is how people looking for your cause may find you.
How to do it:
Include clear, keyword-focused titles:
Instead of “Episode 7: Interview with Sarah,” try “Fighting Childhood Hunger in Columbus with Sarah James.”
Add descriptions with relevant details: 1–2 paragraphs summarizing what the episode covers.
Use AI transcription tools like Otter.ai, Whisper, or Blubrry’s own transcript service to add full transcripts (which also improve accessibility).
💡 Tip: If you use WordPress, install an SEO plugin (like Yoast SEO) to optimize each episode post.
4. Engage with Local Media & Community Newsletters
Local attention is powerful for nonprofits. Use your podcast to build regional authority and trust.
How to do it:
Send a friendly email to local newspapers, radio stations, or community websites with a recent episode link and a short explanation of why it matters.
Submit your show or episode links to local nonprofit directories, coalition email lists, or city event calendars.
Offer yourself as a local subject-matter expert or storyteller.
💡 Tip: A well-written press release or “episode spotlight” email can go a long way, especially when tied to a timely event or issue.
5. Ask for Reviews or Shares with a Purpose
Generic requests often fall flat. Get specific and connect it to your mission.
How to do it:
In your outro, say something like:
“If this episode gave you insight into how we fight food insecurity, please share it with someone who’d care.”
Ask loyal listeners to rate and follow on their podcast app—but explain how it helps the mission reach more people.
💡 Tip: Include a “Share this episode” link in your show notes and social posts for easier sharing.
6. Host a Mini Campaign or Giveaway
People love incentives—but it doesn’t have to be expensive. Think recognition, access,
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hey, everyone. I'm Mike Dell, VP of customer
relations here at Blueberry. And I'm Todd Cochran,
founder and CEO of Blueberry.
And I'm Mackenzie Bennett, marketing specialist at Blueberry.
Welcome to Podcast Insider.
Yep. Today, we're gonna dive into
how nonprofit
podcasters
can grow their audience even with a small
budget.
(00:20):
And we've got some real world tips. Plus
reminder,
Blueberry offers 10% off annual plans, which is
a great option
for nonprofits
looking to save.
You're listening to Podcast Insider hosted by Mike
Dell, Todd Cochran, and Mackenzie Bennett from the
Blueberry team,
bringing you weekly insights, advice, and insider tips
(00:42):
and tricks to help you start, grow, and
thrive through podcasting.
With all the support of your team here
at Blueberry Podcasting. Welcome. Let's dive in.
You know,
we're well aware that not everyone with a
podcast is able to create, you know, the
podcast studio of their dreams
and spend thousands each month on marketing and
(01:04):
a whole slew of other costly things for
the show. A matter of fact, they think
that probably applies to about 90%
of podcasters out there. Yeah. But there's definitely
ways to make your podcast
stand out anyway, and, you know, I I
think we should start with the audience. Start
with the existing
listeners of a show and supporters.
(01:24):
Well, you're I mean, you're a nonprofit. You
already have an audience in some capacity.
So, you know, some of those people with
an existing podcast that you have for your
nonprofit are already there, so
start with those people. You know, your donors,
your volunteers, staff, board members, you know, all
of those are invested in the mission,
(01:45):
and they can be your first listeners and
promoters and word-of-mouth. Tell them to tell a
friend, and that's one of the better ways
to grow a podcast audience. We've often heard
from nonprofits
where the
they come to us and say, hey. One
of our one of our contributors or one
of our supporters has suggested we do a
podcast.
So sometimes the emphasis for the podcast actually
(02:07):
starts
from those some same folks. So, you know,
one way to really take to kind of,
you know, get that going is once you've
decided to do the show
or you're planning to do the the show,
you announce that in your newsletter
and and event announcements and in your fundraising
emails. And, you know, if you're looking for
(02:27):
a specific line of money,
that's a great place to do that on
something that's gonna launch.
And, you know, you can even feature them
as as underwriters of the podcast if there's
specific ones that come in.
And
I really think this can drive,
you know, drive that support that you're gonna
need if you're if if financing is an
(02:47):
issue.
You know, specifically
for
leveraging your supporters that you already have,
a lot of the time, you know, I
don't have the means to donate to everything
that I want to or to donate in
the specific amount that I would prefer.
But I do have, you know, somewhat of
a following
on all of my different social platforms. That's
(03:08):
when you repost episodes. That's when you reshare,
you know, put out like, you tag them.
You do whatever.
And that all is included in in these
episodes as well. Something that's calling out something
specific that, you know, the animal shelter that
I volunteer with is doing, I'm gonna
probably repost that. Something like that. That is
that is part of how you just continue,
(03:31):
and it's it's free. So you can keep
that. I I've done that for years with
my own show and say, okay. You may
not be ready to buy this product or
service, but tell a friend
and share my link. You know? But just
if nothing else, link to the website,
and that is almost like an in kind
donation to help grow the show, get that
(03:51):
exposure.
So, you know, this this this is ties
into this social media strategy,
and we obviously can use our our AI
to help with the coming up with social
posts, but you can use Headliner and Canva
really to create quick audiograms to make stuff
that's compelling that will allow
(04:12):
your supporting base to to reshare
and post. And those fifteen to thirty second
sound bites,
again, with compelling
quotes or stats
from the episode really,
really do help.
So, you know, I think nonprofits are often
in a position
much stronger than someone that's just starting a
show already because, usually,
(04:34):
they will have an exist again, like we
said, that existing
following and, you know, Mackenzie, you just mentioned,
you may not be able to contribute, but
you can definitely help with the social messaging.
And that kinda, you know, goes along with
the value for value concept. It's, you know,
time, talent, treasure. You know, if you can't
give money,
you know, people will volunteer their time or,
(04:56):
you know, say someone's really good at social
media.
They could help you with your social media.
And they might even find an editor, might
even find a producer. You never know who's
listening to the show, who's a supporter.
Like, Mackenzie, you got a background in podcasting.
I'm sure one of your
nonprofits that you support would say, hey. We're
starting a podcast. We need some help. You'd
(05:16):
be like, hey. I can help edit or
I can help post or you know? So
Absolutely. So that all kinda comes into play
here.
And but, again, I think, you know, just
following a standard social media strategy helps you
as well
in scheduling a post around the podcast release
using
free tools like buffer or later,
tag guest partners and organizations mentioned.
(05:39):
They'll often reshare as well.
And And a lot of these sources have
a free version as well.
You know, if you if you don't have
the money to pay for the business level
plan or whatever it is, If you if
you dig deep enough for the type of
software that you're looking for, you'll be able
to find a free version probably. And here's
a social media tip. Make sure you link
(06:00):
directly to your episode page, not, you know,
podcast home or,
you know, you know, where you're hosting or
anything like that. You know, a page on
your website that has that episode on it
is the best place, and then, you know,
people will find it in the other apps
and all that, you know, kinda the Blueberry
way.
And and I would say that
(06:22):
I kinda lost my train of thought here,
but I think in the end,
you're in a great position to be able
to get that extra social media exposure
and and that and that compelling message out
there. So but, you know, again, going back
to some of the basics,
you know, you really got to pay attention.
If if you if you have a low
(06:42):
budget
and
let's say that you don't have a lot
of support
that's been stepped up to help you,
You you've gotta make your content easy to
discover, and this is how people are gonna
find you.
You have to have clear
keyword focused titles
exactly what you're the message that you're trying
(07:04):
to share. Instead of episode seven interview with
Sarah, try fighting childhood hunger in Columbus with
Sarah James.
Something that is people are gonna be searching
for specifically.
That's so important, that title and, of course,
a description that backs up that title
is really, really important as well. And, of
(07:25):
course, we've got tools to help you with
that
and so forth. But, you know, what are
some of the other things that they can
do that to improve their show notes?
I definitely think transcripts
is helpful,
and especially depending on what type of nonprofit
you are. That might be something that is
directly
helpful to your audience. Yeah. Absolutely.
(07:48):
Yeah. But but also don't just cut and
paste a transcript
as your description
that Oh, that will mess up your negative
effect as well. That will mess up your
your SEO in general. It has to is
it still recommended that you kinda just, like,
add a PDF to the page of the
transcript, or or what is it that people
should do? Yeah. I think a linking to
(08:08):
a PDF is good and clearly say transcript
of the show and then link to the
PDF and or
have the
the transcript attached as part of your your
podcast production that Blueberry allows so that And
it's part of our player. It's part of
the player. The the transcript will actually play
and show on the screen while people are
are listening to show either by mobile or
(08:30):
on desktop.
We covered it already, but the descriptions, you
know, one or two paragraphs that just clearly
covers what that episode is about
will give Google and all the other search
engines and now AI
something to bite into to know that that
episode
matches what people are searching for. And, of
course, there's lots of tools out there. There's
(08:51):
Otter for transcriptions. There's Whisper,
of course, our own internal transcript product.
And, you know, don't pay someone
to build the transcript. That's in today's age,
that's just insanity. There's great tools out there
to do this at a very, very low
cost.
A nonprofit has better things to spend money
on than fixing a transcript. There's a lot
(09:13):
of good tools for people. And then once
you've got all that figured out, you know,
once you have your system set up that
way, that's when you go out and engage
with your local media, the community newsletters,
try to create
a
larger, you know, global community online. That's kinda
what comes next. Right. You know, a lot
of lot of these local news stations, both
(09:34):
TV and radio, they're they're always hurting for
people on the morning show.
So try to, you know, get booked on
there to get interviewed, and and that really
does, you know, help your they call that
social
Oh, social awareness. Yeah. You know, one thing
that a lot of people don't realize too,
and I I know that ever since I've,
you know, basically,
(09:55):
you know, cut my
television connection,
that everything today is you know, a lot
of people are not watching TV, but I
think there's an older generation
that are supporting nonprofits
that maybe are still watching regular
TV and watching the news or whatever it
may be that comes up. So television stations,
(10:16):
believe it or not, are always dying for
human resource stories,
And they will come and, you know, if
you're doing a podcast and you got some
some promotion going on, maybe it's a fundraising
or whatever it may you can all tie
it in together,
and this is a way to get free
press. You might get to they may spend
three hours in your building or your your
(10:37):
office, and you but at the end, if
you get two minutes on broadcast, that's free
money. That's free promotion, and and I think
people don't even think about that these these
these days, but it's still available. Maybe it'll
end up as a short on their YouTube
channel. So, again, sending that email to local
newspapers, radio stations, community websites.
Of course, submit your show episodes, links to
(11:00):
local nonprofit directories,
email list, and event calendars.
And, again, if you are part of a
nonprofit and you have a specific mission,
what are you? You're already a subject matter
expert on that topic. Right? I would assume.
It's also good because whenever you do
interact with these media outlets in some capacity,
(11:21):
you're right. I don't turn on my TV
and watch the 15 channels that I get
with my antenna unless it's some something live
I feel they need to watch. Right. But
I do I do have, you know, Columbus
news outlets show up on my social media
platforms just because they know where I live.
Yep. And then I'll watch it then. If
it's, you know, a thirty second thing about
(11:42):
such and such, I will watch it then.
I'm not gonna see it on the TV,
but it will spread across, like, amongst
everyone's platforms.
All these stations have social media Yeah. YouTube
channels, Facebook
pages, whatever that they share their stories on,
not just broadcast. And they are, believe it
or not, required by law to support the
(12:02):
public interest. So if Yeah. There is
something for your community,
that's two minutes that they can tic tac
onto their annual report that says, hey. This
was in the community interest. I'm serving in
the community interest. So you just might get
it. Again, the exposure may not be that
big today on broadcast, but, again, they repurpose
that content
(12:22):
all over the place. So I think that's
that's probably a great way to do it.
Of course, reviews
and shares? I don't know. You were talking
about this more earlier, Mackenzie.
I think this this helps in the sense
of it just kind of
helps your identity
and solidifies that, yes, you are a reputable,
you know,
(12:43):
nonprofit or organization, whatever it is. You know
what you were yeah. The social proof. You
all need that. And it's it's very, very
common nowadays.
And and I am absolutely one of the
people that does it is I type in
whatever I'm searching for and then just type
in Reddit
Because I know that's gonna have people saying,
like, is this legit? Is this a scam?
(13:04):
This is not a website based on reviews.
This is people going back and forth. And
if they see something that looks spammy, someone's
gonna call it out and be like, no.
This like, that's a troll. Something like that.
So all of that
does
not like, it it accumulates.
You know? It just kinda does that social
proof, I think, at least for me.
(13:25):
And you could also, you know, in your
outro
or within the show, you know, say, hey.
I've you know, we're we're talking about food
insecurity.
Please share this with someone who'd care, you
know, whatever the topic may be.
So,
you know, ask loyal listeners to rate and
follow on if they're listening via a podcast
app. And And it kinda
(13:46):
sorry. I don't mean to cut you off,
but it kinda can give you value of,
like, what people are saying about the show
in general to see, like,
is the is the content that we're talking
about with this organization
actually valuable to the people listening? Do they
like it? You know, is this something that
is actually
worth their time? Or are they saying, like,
no. This is two and a half stars
(14:07):
because I was interested in the topic that
they said they'd be discussing,
but I didn't actually like the episode.
Like, I don't think I think they did
a poor job with it or they're gonna
say, like, I think this is really good.
So that that does help in some sense
to, you know, your content itself. You know,
some organizations that I do pay an annual
fee to, they have like, if I let
(14:28):
my subscription lapse or whatever, say, hey. Come
on back. We'll give you a a bag
or they'll have a t shirt or or
some sort of Famous tote bag. Yeah. Some
sort of giveaway. You know?
I think that there's huge potential there if
you have
if the nonprofit is developed swag,
You know? And what it could be one
(14:48):
of those, you know, shopping bags that you
don't throw away and you take back to
the grocery store.
So, you know, you know, a QR code
on that shopping bag, subscribe to the podcast
or whatever it may be.
I think that's a great idea to consider
for people that are contributing
that do specifically
contribute for, let's say, the podcast that you
(15:10):
have something. Could be a sticker,
you know, but you have to follow through.
And one of the mistakes I've made in
the past is, well, I'll send you a
sticker if you send me a sticker. Well,
two minutes later, I send the sticker, you
know, and then I get, oh, thanks. You
finally remembered. So, you know, make sure you
do it in a timely manner. But,
I think this this type of stuff people
like, you know, and people like to not
(15:31):
necessarily put stickers on their car anymore. That
used to happen in the many, many years
ago. Of course, every once in a while,
I'll see a car with a sticker on
it, and I laugh.
But, you know, if something goes on the
refrigerator, maybe it's a magnet or something. Who
knows? Because when people come My office door
is my sticker wall.
When when people come into the office or,
like, or come into your house, oh, oh,
(15:51):
oh, you support this and that. So it
kinda gives your
allows you
to, you know, probably display that you you
support this nonprofit. So these giveaways, I think,
would be cool or recognition.
Yep. And, also, you could give away some
behind the scenes content. You know? Give early
access to episodes
or, you know, handwritten note to listeners who
(16:13):
participate
and, you know, just a lot of, you
know, what goes on? How does this, you
know, how does this organization work? You know?
And that helps engagement with your
listeners that that now they know a little
bit of secrets. You know? Oh, and kinda
that insider access is kinda cool. They wanna
(16:33):
feel like that they're part of our community,
especially because so much of communities are online
nowadays. So
they, yeah, they do anything for that extra
level
of connection a lot of the time.
So
And then, you know, we could also, you
know, list your top
shares or supporters
on your website or read them out. You
know, I hear a lot of people that
(16:54):
are using Patreon.
For example, they'll say, I got a new
Patreon
listener this week, blah blah blah blah blah,
and, you know, right in the show. So
it kinda gives people they love hearing their
own name Yeah. In in media. Mhmm.
So, also, there's you you can partner with
other nonprofits or advocates. I think we've got
a few things on the list here we
can give some suggestions on.
(17:16):
You could, you know, invite leaders from other
organization to be guests on your show, you
know, that are similarly aligned to what you're
doing.
And I think that the content swaps may
work if the content aligns.
You know, if it's the same type of
content, I think there's an opportunity there. Long
term relationships,
They really do help you in the end.
(17:38):
You know, that that saying of don't burn
your bridges.
This is this is definitely one of those
one of those areas. Yeah. Build long term
relationships
with other like minded
organizations
or
advocacy groups and, you know, keeping good company?
So, again, I think it boils down to,
you know, start with partners you already work
(17:58):
with. You know, people that you know, people
that you trust and who would love your
content, maybe even get them to share it.
Maybe they don't have a podcast. Maybe they
could include it in their newsletter as well.
So there's there's all kinds of ways here
to
to really have a great strategy to grow
a show,
(18:18):
especially if you're, again, a nonprofit podcaster. But
some of these tips are works for folks
that are not necessarily nonprofits, but just trying
to grow your podcast. So I think there's
some Podcasters are unintentionally
nonprofit. You know. Well, that's probably true too.
Yes.
So I think that's a wrap on this
episode, and thank you for joining us for
(18:39):
our nonprofit
spotlight.
If you are part of a nonprofit or
podcasting on a budget, we offer
10% off on all of our annual plans.
You know, sometimes we do deals throughout the
year where it's get two months free or
something like that. So always look out for
ways you can save with Blueberry. We have
we have some options.
And, of course, don't forget to follow or
(19:00):
subscribe to Podcast Insiders so you never miss
the podcasting tips, updates, industry insights.
With the Blueberry team, you can do that
over at podcastinsider.com.
Thanks, everyone. Thank you.
Thanks for joining us. Come back next week.
And in the meantime, head to podcastinsider.com
for more information,
(19:21):
to subscribe,
share, and read our show notes.
To check out our latest suite of services
and learn how Blueberry can help you leverage
your podcast, visit blueberry.com.
That's Blueberry without the e's. We couldn't afford
the e's.
Hey, everyone. I'm Mike Dell, VP of customer
relations here at Blueberry. And I'm Todd Cochran,
founder and CEO of Blueberry.
And I'm Mackenzie Bennett, marketing specialist at Blueberry.
Welcome to Podcast Insider.
Yep. Today, we're gonna dive into
how nonprofit
podcasters
can grow their audience even with a small
budget.
(00:20):
And we've got some real world tips. Plus
reminder,
Blueberry offers 10% off annual plans, which is
a great option
for nonprofits
looking to save.
You're listening to Podcast Insider hosted by Mike
Dell, Todd Cochran, and Mackenzie Bennett from the
Blueberry team,
bringing you weekly insights, advice, and insider tips
(00:42):
and tricks to help you start, grow, and
thrive through podcasting.
With all the support of your team here
at Blueberry Podcasting. Welcome. Let's dive in.
You know,
we're well aware that not everyone with a
podcast is able to create, you know, the
podcast studio of their dreams
and spend thousands each month on marketing and
(01:04):
a whole slew of other costly things for
the show. A matter of fact, they think
that probably applies to about 90%
of podcasters out there. Yeah. But there's definitely
ways to make your podcast
stand out anyway, and, you know, I I
think we should start with the audience. Start
with the existing
listeners of a show and supporters.
(01:24):
Well, you're I mean, you're a nonprofit. You
already have an audience in some capacity.
So, you know, some of those people with
an existing podcast that you have for your
nonprofit are already there, so
start with those people. You know, your donors,
your volunteers, staff, board members, you know, all
of those are invested in the mission,
(01:45):
and they can be your first listeners and
promoters and word-of-mouth. Tell them to tell a
friend, and that's one of the better ways
to grow a podcast audience. We've often heard
from nonprofits
where the
they come to us and say, hey. One
of our one of our contributors or one
of our supporters has suggested we do a
podcast.
So sometimes the emphasis for the podcast actually
(02:07):
starts
from those some same folks. So, you know,
one way to really take to kind of,
you know, get that going is once you've
decided to do the show
or you're planning to do the the show,
you announce that in your newsletter
and and event announcements and in your fundraising
emails. And, you know, if you're looking for
(02:27):
a specific line of money,
that's a great place to do that on
something that's gonna launch.
And, you know, you can even feature them
as as underwriters of the podcast if there's
specific ones that come in.
And
I really think this can drive,
you know, drive that support that you're gonna
need if you're if if financing is an
(02:47):
issue.
You know, specifically
for
leveraging your supporters that you already have,
a lot of the time, you know, I
don't have the means to donate to everything
that I want to or to donate in
the specific amount that I would prefer.
But I do have, you know, somewhat of
a following
on all of my different social platforms. That's
(03:08):
when you repost episodes. That's when you reshare,
you know, put out like, you tag them.
You do whatever.
And that all is included in in these
episodes as well. Something that's calling out something
specific that, you know, the animal shelter that
I volunteer with is doing, I'm gonna
probably repost that. Something like that. That is
that is part of how you just continue,
(03:31):
and it's it's free. So you can keep
that. I I've done that for years with
my own show and say, okay. You may
not be ready to buy this product or
service, but tell a friend
and share my link. You know? But just
if nothing else, link to the website,
and that is almost like an in kind
donation to help grow the show, get that
(03:51):
exposure.
So, you know, this this this is ties
into this social media strategy,
and we obviously can use our our AI
to help with the coming up with social
posts, but you can use Headliner and Canva
really to create quick audiograms to make stuff
that's compelling that will allow
(04:12):
your supporting base to to reshare
and post. And those fifteen to thirty second
sound bites,
again, with compelling
quotes or stats
from the episode really,
really do help.
So, you know, I think nonprofits are often
in a position
much stronger than someone that's just starting a
show already because, usually,
(04:34):
they will have an exist again, like we
said, that existing
following and, you know, Mackenzie, you just mentioned,
you may not be able to contribute, but
you can definitely help with the social messaging.
And that kinda, you know, goes along with
the value for value concept. It's, you know,
time, talent, treasure. You know, if you can't
give money,
you know, people will volunteer their time or,
(04:56):
you know, say someone's really good at social
media.
They could help you with your social media.
And they might even find an editor, might
even find a producer. You never know who's
listening to the show, who's a supporter.
Like, Mackenzie, you got a background in podcasting.
I'm sure one of your
nonprofits that you support would say, hey. We're
starting a podcast. We need some help. You'd
(05:16):
be like, hey. I can help edit or
I can help post or you know? So
Absolutely. So that all kinda comes into play
here.
And but, again, I think, you know, just
following a standard social media strategy helps you
as well
in scheduling a post around the podcast release
using
free tools like buffer or later,
tag guest partners and organizations mentioned.
(05:39):
They'll often reshare as well.
And And a lot of these sources have
a free version as well.
You know, if you if you don't have
the money to pay for the business level
plan or whatever it is, If you if
you dig deep enough for the type of
software that you're looking for, you'll be able
to find a free version probably. And here's
a social media tip. Make sure you link
(06:00):
directly to your episode page, not, you know,
podcast home or,
you know, you know, where you're hosting or
anything like that. You know, a page on
your website that has that episode on it
is the best place, and then, you know,
people will find it in the other apps
and all that, you know, kinda the Blueberry
way.
And and I would say that
(06:22):
I kinda lost my train of thought here,
but I think in the end,
you're in a great position to be able
to get that extra social media exposure
and and that and that compelling message out
there. So but, you know, again, going back
to some of the basics,
you know, you really got to pay attention.
If if you if you have a low
(06:42):
budget
and
let's say that you don't have a lot
of support
that's been stepped up to help you,
You you've gotta make your content easy to
discover, and this is how people are gonna
find you.
You have to have clear
keyword focused titles
exactly what you're the message that you're trying
(07:04):
to share. Instead of episode seven interview with
Sarah, try fighting childhood hunger in Columbus with
Sarah James.
Something that is people are gonna be searching
for specifically.
That's so important, that title and, of course,
a description that backs up that title
is really, really important as well. And, of
(07:25):
course, we've got tools to help you with
that
and so forth. But, you know, what are
some of the other things that they can
do that to improve their show notes?
I definitely think transcripts
is helpful,
and especially depending on what type of nonprofit
you are. That might be something that is
directly
helpful to your audience. Yeah. Absolutely.
(07:48):
Yeah. But but also don't just cut and
paste a transcript
as your description
that Oh, that will mess up your negative
effect as well. That will mess up your
your SEO in general. It has to is
it still recommended that you kinda just, like,
add a PDF to the page of the
transcript, or or what is it that people
should do? Yeah. I think a linking to
(08:08):
a PDF is good and clearly say transcript
of the show and then link to the
PDF and or
have the
the transcript attached as part of your your
podcast production that Blueberry allows so that And
it's part of our player. It's part of
the player. The the transcript will actually play
and show on the screen while people are
are listening to show either by mobile or
(08:30):
on desktop.
We covered it already, but the descriptions, you
know, one or two paragraphs that just clearly
covers what that episode is about
will give Google and all the other search
engines and now AI
something to bite into to know that that
episode
matches what people are searching for. And, of
course, there's lots of tools out there. There's
(08:51):
Otter for transcriptions. There's Whisper,
of course, our own internal transcript product.
And, you know, don't pay someone
to build the transcript. That's in today's age,
that's just insanity. There's great tools out there
to do this at a very, very low
cost.
A nonprofit has better things to spend money
on than fixing a transcript. There's a lot
(09:13):
of good tools for people. And then once
you've got all that figured out, you know,
once you have your system set up that
way, that's when you go out and engage
with your local media, the community newsletters,
try to create
a
larger, you know, global community online. That's kinda
what comes next. Right. You know, a lot
of lot of these local news stations, both
(09:34):
TV and radio, they're they're always hurting for
people on the morning show.
So try to, you know, get booked on
there to get interviewed, and and that really
does, you know, help your they call that
social
Oh, social awareness. Yeah. You know, one thing
that a lot of people don't realize too,
and I I know that ever since I've,
you know, basically,
(09:55):
you know, cut my
television connection,
that everything today is you know, a lot
of people are not watching TV, but I
think there's an older generation
that are supporting nonprofits
that maybe are still watching regular
TV and watching the news or whatever it
may be that comes up. So television stations,
(10:16):
believe it or not, are always dying for
human resource stories,
And they will come and, you know, if
you're doing a podcast and you got some
some promotion going on, maybe it's a fundraising
or whatever it may you can all tie
it in together,
and this is a way to get free
press. You might get to they may spend
three hours in your building or your your
(10:37):
office, and you but at the end, if
you get two minutes on broadcast, that's free
money. That's free promotion, and and I think
people don't even think about that these these
these days, but it's still available. Maybe it'll
end up as a short on their YouTube
channel. So, again, sending that email to local
newspapers, radio stations, community websites.
Of course, submit your show episodes, links to
(11:00):
local nonprofit directories,
email list, and event calendars.
And, again, if you are part of a
nonprofit and you have a specific mission,
what are you? You're already a subject matter
expert on that topic. Right? I would assume.
It's also good because whenever you do
interact with these media outlets in some capacity,
(11:21):
you're right. I don't turn on my TV
and watch the 15 channels that I get
with my antenna unless it's some something live
I feel they need to watch. Right. But
I do I do have, you know, Columbus
news outlets show up on my social media
platforms just because they know where I live.
Yep. And then I'll watch it then. If
it's, you know, a thirty second thing about
(11:42):
such and such, I will watch it then.
I'm not gonna see it on the TV,
but it will spread across, like, amongst
everyone's platforms.
All these stations have social media Yeah. YouTube
channels, Facebook
pages, whatever that they share their stories on,
not just broadcast. And they are, believe it
or not, required by law to support the
(12:02):
public interest. So if Yeah. There is
something for your community,
that's two minutes that they can tic tac
onto their annual report that says, hey. This
was in the community interest. I'm serving in
the community interest. So you just might get
it. Again, the exposure may not be that
big today on broadcast, but, again, they repurpose
that content
(12:22):
all over the place. So I think that's
that's probably a great way to do it.
Of course, reviews
and shares? I don't know. You were talking
about this more earlier, Mackenzie.
I think this this helps in the sense
of it just kind of
helps your identity
and solidifies that, yes, you are a reputable,
you know,
(12:43):
nonprofit or organization, whatever it is. You know
what you were yeah. The social proof. You
all need that. And it's it's very, very
common nowadays.
And and I am absolutely one of the
people that does it is I type in
whatever I'm searching for and then just type
in Reddit
Because I know that's gonna have people saying,
like, is this legit? Is this a scam?
(13:04):
This is not a website based on reviews.
This is people going back and forth. And
if they see something that looks spammy, someone's
gonna call it out and be like, no.
This like, that's a troll. Something like that.
So all of that
does
not like, it it accumulates.
You know? It just kinda does that social
proof, I think, at least for me.
(13:25):
And you could also, you know, in your
outro
or within the show, you know, say, hey.
I've you know, we're we're talking about food
insecurity.
Please share this with someone who'd care, you
know, whatever the topic may be.
So,
you know, ask loyal listeners to rate and
follow on if they're listening via a podcast
app. And And it kinda
(13:46):
sorry. I don't mean to cut you off,
but it kinda can give you value of,
like, what people are saying about the show
in general to see, like,
is the is the content that we're talking
about with this organization
actually valuable to the people listening? Do they
like it? You know, is this something that
is actually
worth their time? Or are they saying, like,
no. This is two and a half stars
(14:07):
because I was interested in the topic that
they said they'd be discussing,
but I didn't actually like the episode.
Like, I don't think I think they did
a poor job with it or they're gonna
say, like, I think this is really good.
So that that does help in some sense
to, you know, your content itself. You know,
some organizations that I do pay an annual
fee to, they have like, if I let
(14:28):
my subscription lapse or whatever, say, hey. Come
on back. We'll give you a a bag
or they'll have a t shirt or or
some sort of Famous tote bag. Yeah. Some
sort of giveaway. You know?
I think that there's huge potential there if
you have
if the nonprofit is developed swag,
You know? And what it could be one
(14:48):
of those, you know, shopping bags that you
don't throw away and you take back to
the grocery store.
So, you know, you know, a QR code
on that shopping bag, subscribe to the podcast
or whatever it may be.
I think that's a great idea to consider
for people that are contributing
that do specifically
contribute for, let's say, the podcast that you
(15:10):
have something. Could be a sticker,
you know, but you have to follow through.
And one of the mistakes I've made in
the past is, well, I'll send you a
sticker if you send me a sticker. Well,
two minutes later, I send the sticker, you
know, and then I get, oh, thanks. You
finally remembered. So, you know, make sure you
do it in a timely manner. But,
I think this this type of stuff people
like, you know, and people like to not
(15:31):
necessarily put stickers on their car anymore. That
used to happen in the many, many years
ago. Of course, every once in a while,
I'll see a car with a sticker on
it, and I laugh.
But, you know, if something goes on the
refrigerator, maybe it's a magnet or something. Who
knows? Because when people come My office door
is my sticker wall.
When when people come into the office or,
like, or come into your house, oh, oh,
(15:51):
oh, you support this and that. So it
kinda gives your
allows you
to, you know, probably display that you you
support this nonprofit. So these giveaways, I think,
would be cool or recognition.
Yep. And, also, you could give away some
behind the scenes content. You know? Give early
access to episodes
or, you know, handwritten note to listeners who
(16:13):
participate
and, you know, just a lot of, you
know, what goes on? How does this, you
know, how does this organization work? You know?
And that helps engagement with your
listeners that that now they know a little
bit of secrets. You know? Oh, and kinda
that insider access is kinda cool. They wanna
(16:33):
feel like that they're part of our community,
especially because so much of communities are online
nowadays. So
they, yeah, they do anything for that extra
level
of connection a lot of the time.
So
And then, you know, we could also, you
know, list your top
shares or supporters
on your website or read them out. You
know, I hear a lot of people that
(16:54):
are using Patreon.
For example, they'll say, I got a new
Patreon
listener this week, blah blah blah blah blah,
and, you know, right in the show. So
it kinda gives people they love hearing their
own name Yeah. In in media. Mhmm.
So, also, there's you you can partner with
other nonprofits or advocates. I think we've got
a few things on the list here we
can give some suggestions on.
(17:16):
You could, you know, invite leaders from other
organization to be guests on your show, you
know, that are similarly aligned to what you're
doing.
And I think that the content swaps may
work if the content aligns.
You know, if it's the same type of
content, I think there's an opportunity there. Long
term relationships,
They really do help you in the end.
(17:38):
You know, that that saying of don't burn
your bridges.
This is this is definitely one of those
one of those areas. Yeah. Build long term
relationships
with other like minded
organizations
or
advocacy groups and, you know, keeping good company?
So, again, I think it boils down to,
you know, start with partners you already work
(17:58):
with. You know, people that you know, people
that you trust and who would love your
content, maybe even get them to share it.
Maybe they don't have a podcast. Maybe they
could include it in their newsletter as well.
So there's there's all kinds of ways here
to
to really have a great strategy to grow
a show,
(18:18):
especially if you're, again, a nonprofit podcaster. But
some of these tips are works for folks
that are not necessarily nonprofits, but just trying
to grow your podcast. So I think there's
some Podcasters are unintentionally
nonprofit. You know. Well, that's probably true too.
Yes.
So I think that's a wrap on this
episode, and thank you for joining us for
(18:39):
our nonprofit
spotlight.
If you are part of a nonprofit or
podcasting on a budget, we offer
10% off on all of our annual plans.
You know, sometimes we do deals throughout the
year where it's get two months free or
something like that. So always look out for
ways you can save with Blueberry. We have
we have some options.
And, of course, don't forget to follow or
(19:00):
subscribe to Podcast Insiders so you never miss
the podcasting tips, updates, industry insights.
With the Blueberry team, you can do that
over at podcastinsider.com.
Thanks, everyone. Thank you.
Thanks for joining us. Come back next week.
And in the meantime, head to podcastinsider.com
for more information,
(19:21):
to subscribe,
share, and read our show notes.
To check out our latest suite of services
and learn how Blueberry can help you leverage
your podcast, visit blueberry.com.
That's Blueberry without the e's. We couldn't afford
the e's.
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