If You Build It, They Won’t Come (Unless You Have a Visibility Plan)
“If you build it, they will come” is such outdated advice. It doesn’t work for podcasts or online businesses and I know that can be upsetting. But the podcasting landscape has changed so much over recent years and we really have to change along with it. People won’t listen to your podcast if they don’t know it exists. So, how can we let people know our podcast is out there? We have to get visible!
It takes so much more effort than it used to for a customer to click “buy” these days. There’s so much noise in the online space that you have to compete with and it’s hard to do it if no one knows who you are. That’s just the reality we’re facing as podcasters these days.
That’s why today I’m sharing why you need to incorporate a visibility strategy into your overall podcast growth plan. I’ll share what visibility is and how it differs from marketing, some actionable tips you can use to raise the visibility of your podcast, and more. I know it’s scary to get out from behind the mic, but if I can do it, you can do it, too. Let’s get seen!
The podcast landscape has changed
It is so much harder to organically find listeners for your podcast than it was even four years ago. The number of podcasts has grown, the way the apps do their searches has changed and grown, categories are very saturated. It's a lot harder to just get found, unless you have tons of downloads.
So, when you're starting out and you're trying to grow, that can be really frustrating because you feel like nobody is going to see you or find you. I promise that they will, but you just have to get in front of listeners. You have to put your podcast in front of people who are not only wanting to listen to podcasts, but who also need a problem solved that you can help them with.
This is why it’s so key to incorporate a visibility strategy into your overall plan for podcast growth. Remember that visibility is different from marketing. Think of marketing as Instagram posts, TikTok videos, email funnels. It’s a much colder way of bringing awareness to what you do. Whereas visibility is about being in front of people who are primed and ready to find solutions to their problems. It’s a much warmer way of letting people know what you share and teach online.
Actionable Tips to Increase Your Podcast Visibility
The first thing I’d recommend to get more visible is being a guest on other podcasts. It’s such a missed opportunity if you don’t do this. Podcasts are really special because they're longform content where you get to sit down and talk to somebody and share what you do, why you do it, and how you do it in such a way that allows you almost an hour's worth of people's listening time. That does not happen very often. By being a podcast guest, you get to share exactly what you do and also share your message. Listeners can then vet if your services or offers are going to work for them and get a gauge for who you are. Plus, there are valuable networking and connection opportunities when you are on other podcasts that can lead to referrals down the road.
Another way to get visible is to be a guest teacher in a membership or group coaching program, or even a speaker at an online summit. This will get you in front of an audience who's really excited to hear what you have to say. They’re primed and ready for you to speak on the topic you want to speak about, and so you walk into it with confidence and excitement. It’s the exact opposite of when you’re posting into the void on Instagram and just hoping that the right people will see it (spoiler alert: it doesn’t happen nearly often enough!).
Collaborations are yet another way to get more visible. You can get really creative with these, whether they're swaps, doing lives, doing classes with people, hosting events with people, whatever. Find ways to collaborate with other people who have similar audiences to you or are in a similar space. It’s such a great way to grow your following and meet people and to start establishing yourself as a person who does XYZ.
Get visible in ways that excite you
I will never tell you to do something that's going to add hours and hours to your schedule. Visibility is not about that, I promise. It's about doing it at a pace and rhythm that works for you. So, think about how much time you have to devote to getting visible. If it’s only one thing a month, that’s fine. It’s still movement forward. If it’s two or three things, great. Figure out how many pitches you want to send each month or how many collaboration opportunities you want to seek out.
Once you start seeing the benefits of visibility in terms of podcast growth, then you can pull back on other areas that may feel a bit more draining or time consuming. Maybe you don’t really need 10 TikTok videos a week, for example. What’s important to remember is that you can’t do everything all at once because you will burn out. But it's incredible how just a few opportunities can really start to propel the momentum forward. And that's really what I want for everyone when they start working on their visibility strategy.
I know it’s hard to put yourself out there if you’re not used to doing it. But don’t be afraid to be seen. People want to know you, they want to listen to your podcast, and they want to buy from you, but they can only do so if they can find you and see what you have to offer.
Are you ready to build your podcast strategy, simplify your marketing, and finally make your podcast work for you? Join the Strategic Podcast Academy, my signature group program that’ll support you with monthly training, resources, and an amazing community!
LINKS:
Join the Strategic Podcast Academy!
Ready to get your own personalized Action Plan and Strategy for your podcast? Book your strategy intensive today!
Unlock your FREE Podcast Content Kit
The Transcript for Podcast Your Business:
132: If You Build It, They Won’t Come (Unless You Have a Visibility Plan)
[00:00:00] Caroline Hull Podcasting has changed. The way you get listeners is completely different from how it was ten years ago, and that's not a bad thing. It just means we have to adjust. Here's the thing. “If you build it, they will come” just does not work for podcasting anymore. So today I'm going to share one of the strategies you need to incorporate into your plan for growth for your podcast so you can actually grow your audience.
[00:00:35] Hi there and welcome to Share, Strategize and Shine. I'm your host, Caroline Hull, a podcast strategist and CEO of Wild Home Podcasting. I've built my entire career through podcasts by sharing my experience using strategic systems and shining a light on the power of podcasting. If you are looking to cultivate leads for your membership, group program or consulting services, I'm here to help you create a holistic and integrative podcast strategy that will let your business thrive. Let's dive in.
[00:01:10] Welcome back to Share, Strategize and Shine. I am so excited. This is our first full episode with the new name and it just feels so good to be podcasting under something that just feels so aligned and so right for what we want to do here at Wild Home Podcasting. We are going to be adding a new segment to the podcast and I need to give credit to my amazing Alyssa, ops manager, for this idea. But what I really want to do is to share more real world like actually happening real life things in podcasting and podcast strategy. You know, we work with clients and we're constantly managing things. We are troubleshooting, we're helping them grow, and I want to share more of that. And so we're going to have a segment where we share a problem each week that we have solved. And this week the problem actually applies to my own podcast.
[00:02:10] So if you listen to the mini episode where I talked about why we were changing the name of the podcast, you will have heard me talk about the fact that I wasn't showing up very good in the search on the apps. Now I noticed a couple weeks ago there is another issue, so if you are on the app on your computer, the Apple Podcast app, and you go to your podcast, you scroll down to the very bottom, you will see suggested podcasts. Now, this is a really great way to check and see, like, am I in the right category? Am I using keywords that are aligning me with similar audiences to the one that I want? And it's just a really great way to kind of gauge the temperature of where you're showing up in the app.
[00:02:55] So a couple weeks ago I was looking at my own podcast and saw something very unfortunate. There was literally only one podcast suggested for my podcast, not a great thing. And honestly, I've had suggested podcasts multiple before, so I was very shocked by this. So one of the reasons why we changed the name of the podcast was because we felt like the name well, it didn't capture the essence of what we were doing, you know, philosophically and all of those things. But also I was having a really hard time popping up in the search. And I think it's because the old podcast name had two very bland search terms, I think. So when we changed the name, we obviously updated everything, the description, all of that good stuff. When I went into the app, it was probably the next day after I made the switch. I was super excited to see that not only did I have more than one podcast suggested, I had pages of suggested podcasts, and there were podcasts that definitely had audiences that align with mine. So cool. And you know, the other thing about that is, is what that tells me is that now my podcast is being suggested as well to people who listen to those podcasts, most likely. And just to know that that is happening and that we we fixed that huge problem was, oh, such a relief.
[00:04:25] And that doesn't mean if you're kind of seeing the same thing going on with your podcast, this does not mean that you need to change the name of your podcast. It could be that you just need to tweak your description or like if you have a subtitle or words after your podcast name, maybe those need to be tweaked. What I would do, if you're kind of facing the same problem you feel like you're not showing up in the search is where you want to be. And the suggested podcasts don't make sense is start looking at podcasts that would have similar audiences to yours and see what they're doing. Like look at their category, look at the suggested podcasts, see if you can figure out some adjustments you can make to your own podcast so you show up correctly in the search. Let me tell you, I think this is huge for not just discovery, but like we want the right people to discover us when they're browsing the app. And so that is something that I really wanted to work on. So it was really exciting to see that it happened so quickly.
[00:05:27] So let's go back to what I said about if you build it, they won't necessarily come. I know a lot of business owners, when they hear that, are going to be upset. I know that if I were listening to me and I was a podcaster, I would be upset to hear that as well. You know, a lot of us got into podcasting because we wanted to use it as a way to create visibility. And I do still think there is an aspect to that, and there's definitely still a lot of value to having a podcast, but we need to think about it a little bit differently because not only has podcasting changed, but the online marketing business world has changed so much as well. You know, it takes a lot more, I feel like, and I've talked to a lot of people who are seeing similar things. It just takes a lot more for people to click buy than it used to. I think there's this, you know, very much we really want to know, like and trust. And that's where the podcast is so great because it is this piece of longform content that does give you that know like and trust factor in a way where like a social media post doesn't necessarily do that. And so when I think about my podcast, I really think about it as a piece of the funnel, like step two or three in the funnel, you know, the big entire funnel. And so that really kind of shifts the perspective.
[00:06:56] But I know that you're probably hearing that and you're still saying, but Caroline, I really wanted my podcast to be the way that I was visible. And I get that. The problem is, is that it is so much harder to just organically find listeners for your podcast than it was even four years ago. The number of podcasts has grown. The way the apps do, their searches has changed and grown. You know, categories are very saturated. It's a lot harder to just get found, right, unless you have tons of downloads. And so when you're starting out and you're trying to grow that can be really frustrating because you feel like nobody is going to see you, nobody's going to find you. And they will. But you just have to get in front of listeners. And that really is the key here is that you have to put your podcast in front of people who are not only wanting to listen to podcasts, but are wanting to listen to and need the problem solved that you are presenting. We actually just had a masterclass in the Strategic Podcast Academy where we talked about visibility, and that's that's the piece that I'm talking about today, is having a visibility strategy as part of your growth for your podcast. I actually was not planning on doing the Masterclass this month, but. I think because we are really feeling this this energy, this push and pull that's happening with online, the online space and podcasting. A lot of people were like, this is like what I need. I need to know how to grow my podcast. And even when I'm having conversations with my clients and they say, Well, how do I grow my podcast? And I'll say to them, like, where? Well, how are you? How are you sharing it? How are you getting it out there? And so we had a masterclass and we talked about visibility and you know what that means and what it should look like for your podcast.
[00:09:07] You know, the thing is, is podcasting has changed, but it's not a bad thing. It just means that we have to adjust. And this is where the visibility playing comes into place, right? This is the adjustment. This is the thing that is going to help you grow. And this is a huge part of the framework that we use for podcast strategy at Wild Home Podcasting. So in all of our strategy calls, we will sit down and we'll talk about, you know, all the things and then we'll talk about growth and what the plan is for growth. And the plan is that you have to get visible to people to who want to hear your podcast.
[00:09:46] So what does visibility mean? Visibility can mean a lot of things, but I really want to separate it out from marketing. So like when we think about Instagram posts and being on Tik Tok and Pinterest and email, to me, that's marketing, right? Visibility to me is getting in front of people, right? Like actually being in the room sometimes virtually, but actually being in the room with people who are primed and they're ready to either not necessarily buy, but they're ready to find solutions to their problems. And so you getting in front of them, they're like, yes, I want to sign up for that thing. Yes, I want to listen to the podcast. For me, like, I feel like social media and those kinds of things are more awareness. And a little bit colder. Visibility feels a lot warmer to me. Right. Like I'm getting in front of people who are warmer to the idea of accepting what I am teaching and sharing.
[00:10:49] And so visibility, the first thing I always say is you have to be on other podcasts. If you are not being on other podcasts, you're missing out on a huge opportunity, even if you don't have a podcast. You know, podcasts are a really special place because they're longform content. Like how often do you get to sit down and talk to somebody and share what you do, why you do it, and how you do it in such a way that allows you, you know, almost an hour's worth of people's listening time. That does not happen very often. And podcasts is a great way to do that, because not only are you sharing what you do and you're sharing your message, but you can actually kind of vet if it's going to be if it's going to work for you, right? So you can look at some of these episodes, you can look at what they're talking about and you can kind of get a gauge on who their audience is and if that's going to work for you, if it's worth your time. Right. And so it's not just like necessarily taking a shot in the dark and posting on Instagram and hoping the right people find you, we're literally, like choosing to get in front of the right people. And that's that's what visibility is all about.
[00:12:01] And so the other piece that I really love about being on other podcasts is the networking and the connections that occur when you do this. I mean, I think with any kind of visibility, this is where we're going to be talking about a couple of things. But this is something that happens and such a great byproduct. I was telling my Academy members, like when anybody thinks of podcasts and they say or they're talking to somebody and somebody says, I need help with my podcasts, I want them to think of me. I want them to say, I know somebody, I know Caroline. That's what she does and that's what I want for my for everybody, for my clients, for my members, for all of you who are listening. Like, I want you to be known for the thing that you do. And creating these connections and being on other podcasts is going to help you get there, right? And so that's a really, really important piece of visibility. And I'll be honest, like I have not been on a ton of podcasts lately. You know, I had a baby. She's three now, but she's still my baby. I had a baby. The pandemic happened and I had to really, like, pull back on how much visibility I was doing. But this is something that I'm diving back into, and I'm already seeing the benefits of these connections and this networking that's happening. And so definitely, like, if there's anything that you take away from this episode, it's that you need to be guesting on other podcasts.
[00:13:26] Some other forms of visibility that I really love is, you know, guest teaching and membership and group programs. Speaking at an online summit. I cannot just leave and go to events and speak. That's not something that's super accessible to me right now with the age of my kids and everything that's going on. And so being able to do anything virtually, I'm like here for it. I'm like, Ready, Let's do that. So I love all of those kinds of things. And again, what's neat about things like online summits and teaching inside of group programs and master classes and things like that is that you're getting in front of an audience who's really excited to hear what you have to say. Like they're primed. They're already ready for you to speak on the topic you want to speak about, and so you can kind of walk into it with some confidence and and, you know, and be excited that you're going to be speaking to people who are really ready to hear what you want to say. I feel like sometimes when I post on Instagram, it's like shouting into the void, Hey, look at me. I do this thing over here. And that's where visibility is so different, is that that's not what's happening at all. Like you're literally walking into a room or like, Ooh, what are you going to say? I'm ready to take notes. You know, it's a completely different feeling. And so I love that, and I'm really hoping to do more of that.
[00:14:47] Another one is just collaborations and you can get really creative with these, whether they're swaps, doing lives, doing classes with people, hosting events with people, whatever. It is like finding ways to collaborate with other people who have similar audiences to you or are in a similar space. I think that is such a great way to, again, not only grow your following, but also meet people and to start establishing yourself as a person who does this, you know, after you do this visibility piece they come to your podcast in theory, right? Because they've heard you and they want to hear more and then they get to know you more. They get to know your philosophies more. They become fans. They join the email list, you know? So that's why I talk about your podcast being a, you know, a part of the funnel and then having these strategies to get in front of new audiences.
[00:15:43] You know, I mentioned that I have not had a very solid visibility plan in place for the last few years. And that's really just because of life circumstances. I've had a lot going on in the last couple of years. You know, I've had a kid, had a global pandemic, had a husband that was working in health care during the global pandemic. So that was like a whole to-do. And then, you know, recently had surgery. So I'm just now jumping back on to this and really getting a plan in place. But let me tell you, like, my life does not lend to doing this all the time. And I said this to my academy members as well, like, I am never going to tell you to do something that's going to add hours, hours to your schedule. It's not about that. It's really about doing it at a pace that works for you. And so finding a rhythm that works for you as well. So really thinking about, you know, how much time do I have to give to this? If it's one thing a month, that's fine. That's still movement forward. You know, if it's two or three, great. And so figure out like how many pitches you want to send each month or how many opportunities you want to seek out. So that way you can kind of start to gauge and plan like how much of this am I going to do each month? And then, you know, here's the thing. Once you start seeing the benefits of this, then you can start pulling back on some other stuff you're doing. Maybe you don't need to post ten TikTok videos a week. Maybe you can cut it down to five, you know, really kind of gauging what's working best for me and what's helping me get the most momentum for my podcast and what should I be spending my time on. And I think that's a really crucial piece of this, is just making those decisions smartly and not trying to do everything all at once because you will burn out if you do that. But it's incredible how just a few opportunities can really start to propel the momentum forward. And that's really what I want for everyone when they start working on their visibility strategy.
[00:17:51] I had a client strategy meeting recently and we were actually talking about this exact thing. I probably talk with my clients about visibility all the time because, you know, they always want to know, okay, how do we get to the next level of growth? And I'll say, okay, we'll have you get another podcast, you know. And so we were talking about their podcast and their numbers, where they are, where they're going, and they had recently launched their podcast, had a really great launch, especially because they were audience building as well, which just adds a whole other layer, you know, when you talk about launching and growing a podcast. But they did a really great job in the beginning and, you know, life happens like it's summer. We all had kids, we all have kids. And so we were busy. They were busy. And so we started talking about, okay, well, what's what's happened since you launched? Like, let's kind of look at the activities we've been doing to grow our podcast, what's been going on. And we had an incredible realization about visibility, which I really wanted to share with you. So when they launched their podcast, they were doing all the things, collaborations, they were reaching out to people. I think they even did some events. So really getting the podcast in front of audiences that they knew were going to want to listen to it, and it made such an impact on their launch. They had an incredible launch. And what's really amazing is that they've maintained that level and that's because their content is so engaging and on point for their ideal listeners. So that's a whole other conversation to have, but definitely super important. And so that brought us to where they are now, which is not a terrible place, but they do want to grow. We all want to grow. And so we started talking about, Well, are you still doing the things that you were doing at the launch? And they said no, which is no big deal, no faulting here. And, you know, life got busy over the summer. I don't mind it for sure. We were all doing summer things and I wasn't really, you know, doing a lot of putting a lot of energy into promoting my podcast. And neither were a lot of our clients. And that's fine because frankly, audiences slow down during the summer. But as we were talking about moving into the fall, the realization that a lot of what they did at the launch they need to keep doing and do now was huge. And it really is going to make such a big impact. Especially I think when you have a super niche podcast, you really do need to get out there more. I feel like and so we started brainstorming, you know, what are the things you want to do? What are some creative ways you can get out there when you're doing events? What can you do to make sure the podcast is front of mind for people and really started to come up with a plan.
[00:20:40] And so that's what I want you to do too, is really think about the activities that you love to do. Like out of the things that I mentioned today, what are the things that excite you that you want to do more of? If that's podcast guesting, start there, you know, start making a list of podcasts you want to be on, decide how many you're going to pitch a month and get started doing that. When you go on these podcasts and these events and things like that, make sure you mention your own podcast. Make sure you have a call to action picked out to share and you know, just really make sure that you're there to share your message, shine like you do and share your podcast, because that's really what's important.
[00:21:26] And so, yes, the podcast industry has changed, but I really only think it's for the better and I really am excited to see where it goes and how it helps business owners grow their programs and their memberships, because I think it's going to be such a much more intentional growth than what we've seen in the past. And I want to leave you with one thing, because if you're anything like me, I love to be at home in my office behind my microphone and nobody to see me. And it's hard to put yourself out there when you're not used to doing it. And we recently started posting our episodes on YouTube in video form and, you know, it definitely takes a little bit more planning on my part. And I'm like looking at my office right now. We're going to be redoing it a little bit over the weekend. And you know, it feels like you have to have everything perfect and you don't. And one of my online business friends that I follow posted this and we'll link to the post in the show notes because it's just so great. But she wrote this down and it just made me feel like it was written for me. And maybe it'll help you as well as you work on gaining the confidence to start your own visibility plan. But this is what her post said is said, I'm ready to be seen. It is safe to be seen. I can be seen. And you can be seen, too. I know that we love podcasting because it's audio, but people want to get to know you. They want to really buy into what you do and who you are and be a part of your world. And so don't be afraid to get out there and start sharing it.
[00:23:17] Thank you so much to listening to this episode. I really hope it helped and be sure to connect with me on Instagram. Any feedback you want to leave? I would love to hear it and also leave a review if the podcast resonates with you in any way and is helping you grow your own podcast. Like I want to know, I want to hear that. Somebody who just the other day messaged me on Instagram and said that my content has helped her so much with her podcast, and I want to know that. I want to know that it's resonating with you and that it is helping you grow your podcast and your business and make some movement forward. So please let me know. DM me on Instagram. Leave a review and I'll be back next week with a new episode.
[00:23:59] Thank you so much for listening to Share, Strategize and Shine. To give your own podcast some shine, download my free podcast content by heading to the link in the show notes. Be sure to leave a review and connect with me on Instagram for more podcast strategy insights. Until next week.
