April 29, 2025 • 9 mins
If you think you can just hit publish on your new show and it will take off, we have some bad news for you. This strategy, or lack thereof, won't work. You have to build buzz around your show weeks leading up to your launch date.
This means using every available channel for social posts, BTS content, teasers, trailers, the list goes on. Without a real plan put into place before launching your amazing new podcast, it may as well be a whisper on the wind.
A single post or episode won’t cut it. Plan three weeks of content and promotion leading into launch day. This means posting on your channels every day during launch week
Week 1 is for buzz and submissions. Week 2 is for the trailer and audience warm-up. Week 3 is go-time: launch multiple episodes, post daily, and drive subscriptions. Asking for shares and subscriptions it goes a long way, and there's no shame in it!
Ask friends, guests, and partners to share your show during launch week. That early boost helps you climb the charts and get picked up by algorithms. Hopefully, your famous friend owes you a favor.
Bonus Insight: Most guests won’t promote after their episode drops. Get their commitment before launch week while energy is high.
Questions? Email tips@strawhutmedia.com.
This means using every available channel for social posts, BTS content, teasers, trailers, the list goes on. Without a real plan put into place before launching your amazing new podcast, it may as well be a whisper on the wind.
- Don’t Just Drop It and Hope
A single post or episode won’t cut it. Plan three weeks of content and promotion leading into launch day. This means posting on your channels every day during launch week
- Use Each Week Intentionally
Week 1 is for buzz and submissions. Week 2 is for the trailer and audience warm-up. Week 3 is go-time: launch multiple episodes, post daily, and drive subscriptions. Asking for shares and subscriptions it goes a long way, and there's no shame in it!
- Leverage Your Network Early
Ask friends, guests, and partners to share your show during launch week. That early boost helps you climb the charts and get picked up by algorithms. Hopefully, your famous friend owes you a favor.
Bonus Insight: Most guests won’t promote after their episode drops. Get their commitment before launch week while energy is high.
Questions? Email tips@strawhutmedia.com.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
If you're launching a new podcast or even a new season,
don't just hit publish and hope for the best. Today
we are walking through a three week strategy to build buzz,
boost visibility, and set your podcast up for a strong start. Hello,
(00:30):
and welcome to pod Tips Weekly. I am your host,
Ryan Tillotson. Okay, so most people think of a podcast
launch as like a single moment, like fliping a switch
to DA, but really a successful launch it's a campaign,
you know, and if you want to give your show
the best shot at growth, I recommend this three week strategy.
(00:51):
That means you give yourself three solid weeks before your
official launch date to build momentum. Here is how to
break it down. Week one, Let's start the buzz and
submit for platform promotion. This is your warm up week.
Announce the show publicly on social through email, anywhere your
(01:11):
audience already is, you know. Start that Instagram page, Facebook page,
TikTok page, you know. Start these things and start posting
content whatever you can, photos, behind the scenes, clips, your
mic setup, hints about upcoming guests. Get excitement, you know,
Let's get some awareness and some chatter going this week.
(01:32):
Let's also submit your podcast for promotion on Apple, Spotify, Amazon,
any other major platform. These platforms have official forms where
you can request homepage or category feature placement. It honestly
helps a lot, and the sooner you submit the better
because they usually want at least two to three weeks
(01:54):
notice so that they can get it out there and
approve your assets and all that fun stuff. So in
order to do this, you'll need to gather assets like
your cover art, your show description, your social links, headshots,
any early trailers or teaser clips. They're gonna want to
see this stuff so they can help promote your show.
And basically, I mean, if you really think about it,
(02:15):
the ones that I usually submit to are Apple and Spotify,
and it's like they want to know are you going
to be promoting the show on their platform? Like are
you going to say, find this show on Spotify or
you can get this show on Apple. They basically want
to know that you're going to be doing a big push,
big marketing push to promote their platform. And if you
(02:37):
can basically explain to them that you are, the likelihood
of you getting chosen to be featured is higher. But
even if you don't get featured, filling out these forms
shows the platforms that you're serious and gets your show
on the radar. The go for week one is really
just visibility and momentum for both your audience and the platforms. Okay,
(02:58):
week two, drop the trailer. That's right, you need to
make a trailer. I recommend it regardless, even if you're
gonna drop it the same week. Make a trailer because
on many platforms now there is a trailer feature and
it's often the first thing people will listen to when
considering your show. So make a trailer. I would recommend
(03:19):
making it with video so you can also push it
on YouTube, YouTube shorts, run ads behind it maybe, but
this is where things start to feel real. Upload your
podcast trailer to all the platforms with whatever you're hosting
platform is, you can get that trailer uploaded as a
trailer to of those platforms. And submitting your trailer early
can help trigger faster approval from Apple, Spotify and others,
(03:43):
because sometimes they take a long time. I mean Apple
used to for us take I don't know, sometimes a week.
Right Now we're getting approved the day of. I think
they're much better about it now. Spotify always was approved
day of, usually within minutes, but other platforms do take
more time, So get your trailer uploaded and you can
really start submitting your show your RSS feed to all
(04:06):
the platforms. And this will also allow you to start
encouraging people to follow or subscribe to your show on
whatever platform they choose that they love that they use
to listen to podcasts. Tell people get that subscription, okay.
And also in week two, continue posting content onto the
social platforms, onto your TikTok, onto your Instagram, onto your Facebook,
(04:29):
onto your LinkedIn. If you're kind of more B to B,
you know, get those short audio clips out there, get
graphics out there, get bts out there, sound bites out there,
anything that keeps this high energy. The week two is
really all about gathering followers and warming up the audience
because next week is the big one. All right, Week three,
here we are. Let's launch, and let's launch with multiple episodes.
(04:53):
Don't just drop one episode and disappear. I think when
you launch a show, you should get out more than one.
I would say at least two or three full episodes,
because if people really love it, they're gonna want to
hear more. And the more that they hear of you,
the more likely they're gonna subscribe, get hooked to you,
(05:15):
get hooked to your content. Don't just give them the one,
give them two, three, four. Maybe I know that's a
lot of work, but I really do recommend it because
if your show is binge worthy, let them binge for
a second and then let them want more. And post
every single day this week, Email your list, post on
(05:38):
social DM, your close context, all of it. This is
the launch week. Get it out there. If your show
launched on Monday, I would think you should be posting Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
If your show launched on a Wednesday, obviously most of
that posting should be done on Wednesday. But then Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
Get posting. Also this week, ask for shares, reviews, follows.
(06:02):
It's so important to build that early momentum while your
podcast is still new in the algorithm's eyes. You know,
I know we did a few episodes ago talk about
an algorithm. Spotify uses an algorithm. YouTube uses an algorithm.
So I mean it in terms of those platforms, you
know that momentum is really encouraged. And also actually, like
(06:23):
even Apple, they notice when a show is getting a
lot of views and getting a lot of reviews, and
that really helps your visibility in your categories. If you're
getting a lot of views and a lot of reviews,
you do move up into those categories. So the more
you can get people to share and review and follow,
(06:43):
the better. And if you can coordinate a few guests, friends,
partners to share on the launch too, Like assuming you
launch with three episodes and potentially that's three different guests,
who knows, maybe you do solo episodes, but like, whoever
you can utilize to get this message across, do it.
(07:03):
This is the time to ask your celebrity friend for
a favor, you know, get this out there. This is
your chance. You won't be really doing this much more.
Now's the time. Like, obviously you'll encourage future guests to share,
but the likelihood that they will is slim to none
in my experience, Like they're coming onto your platform to
expand their audience, and typically their audience is already bigger.
(07:26):
They're just hoping for a small little sliver of yours,
and they tend to not share. It's really really rare
when a guest shares. I want to say eighty percent
of the time they do not. But if you can
coordinate this three weeks in advance for friends or partners
or guests to share for the launch. That seems more
likely to me. You know, try it, but basically this
(07:49):
week week three, make it feel like a moment. Yes,
all right, And here's why the three week strategy really works.
It gives podcast platforms time to index and approve your show.
It gives your audience time to get excited and subscribe
ahead of launch, and it creates a steady build instead
of a one and done launch that no one notices. Ever,
(08:10):
you gotta remember, a launch is not a moment. It
is like a campaign. Even though I said week three
is a moment, but that is the day that is
the big one. That is the moment. That is confusing,
isn't it. I'm so sorry, But a launch is a
campaign and you are running that campaign. But anyway, this
three week strategy helps you pace it out so you
(08:31):
don't waste all of your hard work. I know that
video looks good, I know that audio sounds good. Don't
waste it. Get the message out there. Run this campaign.
You can do it. What are our three takeaways? Well,
let me tell you. Don't rush your launch. Give yourself
three full weeks to build this real momentum. Number two
tease trailer launch each week has a clear purpose. Don't
(08:52):
skip the steps. And number three make your launch a campaign,
not a single post. Treat it like the important moment
it is. Well. If you are lost within any of
these steps, feel free to shoot me an email at
tips at strawhutmedia dot com and I will happily assist you.
It's what we do every day for all of our
(09:15):
clients here at straw Hut Media, and I'm happy to
give you some advice for free. Just email me at
tips at strawhatmedia dot com. And if you know someone
who's about to launch a podcast, send this episode their way.
Maybe they'll think about it. Maybe they'll be like, oh,
let me just add a couple more weeks to this
launch to do it right. Think about it. And by
the way, if you don't already subscribe to this podcast
(09:37):
on whatever platform you're listening to, please do so. It
means the world to me. Maybe leave a review, Tell
me how annoying my voice is, Tell me how helpful
these little mini episodes have helped you. That would be
great to hear. Otherwise, love y'all have a great week
If you're launching a new podcast or even a new season,
don't just hit publish and hope for the best. Today
we are walking through a three week strategy to build buzz,
boost visibility, and set your podcast up for a strong start. Hello,
(00:30):
and welcome to pod Tips Weekly. I am your host,
Ryan Tillotson. Okay, so most people think of a podcast
launch as like a single moment, like fliping a switch
to DA, but really a successful launch it's a campaign,
you know, and if you want to give your show
the best shot at growth, I recommend this three week strategy.
(00:51):
That means you give yourself three solid weeks before your
official launch date to build momentum. Here is how to
break it down. Week one, Let's start the buzz and
submit for platform promotion. This is your warm up week.
Announce the show publicly on social through email, anywhere your
(01:11):
audience already is, you know. Start that Instagram page, Facebook page,
TikTok page, you know. Start these things and start posting
content whatever you can, photos, behind the scenes, clips, your
mic setup, hints about upcoming guests. Get excitement, you know,
Let's get some awareness and some chatter going this week.
(01:32):
Let's also submit your podcast for promotion on Apple, Spotify, Amazon,
any other major platform. These platforms have official forms where
you can request homepage or category feature placement. It honestly
helps a lot, and the sooner you submit the better
because they usually want at least two to three weeks
(01:54):
notice so that they can get it out there and
approve your assets and all that fun stuff. So in
order to do this, you'll need to gather assets like
your cover art, your show description, your social links, headshots,
any early trailers or teaser clips. They're gonna want to
see this stuff so they can help promote your show.
And basically, I mean, if you really think about it,
(02:15):
the ones that I usually submit to are Apple and Spotify,
and it's like they want to know are you going
to be promoting the show on their platform? Like are
you going to say, find this show on Spotify or
you can get this show on Apple. They basically want
to know that you're going to be doing a big push,
big marketing push to promote their platform. And if you
(02:37):
can basically explain to them that you are, the likelihood
of you getting chosen to be featured is higher. But
even if you don't get featured, filling out these forms
shows the platforms that you're serious and gets your show
on the radar. The go for week one is really
just visibility and momentum for both your audience and the platforms. Okay,
(02:58):
week two, drop the trailer. That's right, you need to
make a trailer. I recommend it regardless, even if you're
gonna drop it the same week. Make a trailer because
on many platforms now there is a trailer feature and
it's often the first thing people will listen to when
considering your show. So make a trailer. I would recommend
(03:19):
making it with video so you can also push it
on YouTube, YouTube shorts, run ads behind it maybe, but
this is where things start to feel real. Upload your
podcast trailer to all the platforms with whatever you're hosting
platform is, you can get that trailer uploaded as a
trailer to of those platforms. And submitting your trailer early
can help trigger faster approval from Apple, Spotify and others,
(03:43):
because sometimes they take a long time. I mean Apple
used to for us take I don't know, sometimes a week.
Right Now we're getting approved the day of. I think
they're much better about it now. Spotify always was approved
day of, usually within minutes, but other platforms do take
more time, So get your trailer uploaded and you can
really start submitting your show your RSS feed to all
(04:06):
the platforms. And this will also allow you to start
encouraging people to follow or subscribe to your show on
whatever platform they choose that they love that they use
to listen to podcasts. Tell people get that subscription, okay.
And also in week two, continue posting content onto the
social platforms, onto your TikTok, onto your Instagram, onto your Facebook,
(04:29):
onto your LinkedIn. If you're kind of more B to B,
you know, get those short audio clips out there, get
graphics out there, get bts out there, sound bites out there,
anything that keeps this high energy. The week two is
really all about gathering followers and warming up the audience
because next week is the big one. All right, Week three,
here we are. Let's launch, and let's launch with multiple episodes.
(04:53):
Don't just drop one episode and disappear. I think when
you launch a show, you should get out more than one.
I would say at least two or three full episodes,
because if people really love it, they're gonna want to
hear more. And the more that they hear of you,
the more likely they're gonna subscribe, get hooked to you,
(05:15):
get hooked to your content. Don't just give them the one,
give them two, three, four. Maybe I know that's a
lot of work, but I really do recommend it because
if your show is binge worthy, let them binge for
a second and then let them want more. And post
every single day this week, Email your list, post on
(05:38):
social DM, your close context, all of it. This is
the launch week. Get it out there. If your show
launched on Monday, I would think you should be posting Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
If your show launched on a Wednesday, obviously most of
that posting should be done on Wednesday. But then Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
Get posting. Also this week, ask for shares, reviews, follows.
(06:02):
It's so important to build that early momentum while your
podcast is still new in the algorithm's eyes. You know,
I know we did a few episodes ago talk about
an algorithm. Spotify uses an algorithm. YouTube uses an algorithm.
So I mean it in terms of those platforms, you
know that momentum is really encouraged. And also actually, like
(06:23):
even Apple, they notice when a show is getting a
lot of views and getting a lot of reviews, and
that really helps your visibility in your categories. If you're
getting a lot of views and a lot of reviews,
you do move up into those categories. So the more
you can get people to share and review and follow,
(06:43):
the better. And if you can coordinate a few guests, friends,
partners to share on the launch too, Like assuming you
launch with three episodes and potentially that's three different guests,
who knows, maybe you do solo episodes, but like, whoever
you can utilize to get this message across, do it.
(07:03):
This is the time to ask your celebrity friend for
a favor, you know, get this out there. This is
your chance. You won't be really doing this much more.
Now's the time. Like, obviously you'll encourage future guests to share,
but the likelihood that they will is slim to none
in my experience, Like they're coming onto your platform to
expand their audience, and typically their audience is already bigger.
(07:26):
They're just hoping for a small little sliver of yours,
and they tend to not share. It's really really rare
when a guest shares. I want to say eighty percent
of the time they do not. But if you can
coordinate this three weeks in advance for friends or partners
or guests to share for the launch. That seems more
likely to me. You know, try it, but basically this
(07:49):
week week three, make it feel like a moment. Yes,
all right, And here's why the three week strategy really works.
It gives podcast platforms time to index and approve your show.
It gives your audience time to get excited and subscribe
ahead of launch, and it creates a steady build instead
of a one and done launch that no one notices. Ever,
(08:10):
you gotta remember, a launch is not a moment. It
is like a campaign. Even though I said week three
is a moment, but that is the day that is
the big one. That is the moment. That is confusing,
isn't it. I'm so sorry, But a launch is a
campaign and you are running that campaign. But anyway, this
three week strategy helps you pace it out so you
(08:31):
don't waste all of your hard work. I know that
video looks good, I know that audio sounds good. Don't
waste it. Get the message out there. Run this campaign.
You can do it. What are our three takeaways? Well,
let me tell you. Don't rush your launch. Give yourself
three full weeks to build this real momentum. Number two
tease trailer launch each week has a clear purpose. Don't
(08:52):
skip the steps. And number three make your launch a campaign,
not a single post. Treat it like the important moment
it is. Well. If you are lost within any of
these steps, feel free to shoot me an email at
tips at strawhutmedia dot com and I will happily assist you.
It's what we do every day for all of our
(09:15):
clients here at straw Hut Media, and I'm happy to
give you some advice for free. Just email me at
tips at strawhatmedia dot com. And if you know someone
who's about to launch a podcast, send this episode their way.
Maybe they'll think about it. Maybe they'll be like, oh,
let me just add a couple more weeks to this
launch to do it right. Think about it. And by
the way, if you don't already subscribe to this podcast
(09:37):
on whatever platform you're listening to, please do so. It
means the world to me. Maybe leave a review, Tell
me how annoying my voice is, Tell me how helpful
these little mini episodes have helped you. That would be
great to hear. Otherwise, love y'all have a great week
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