My name is Dana Escamilla, and I’m the co-founder of the reality TV blog Taste of Reality.
Close to a year ago, we decided to start a podcast as a way to reach new audiences and expand the types of content we publish.
We learned quickly that starting a new podcast and building an audience can be tough and can feel like an uphill battle!
In this article, I’m going to share tips we use to help our guests to promote their podcast episode on our show.
Ask Your Guests to Share
One of the tough lessons we learned while promoting the Taste of Reality with Troy Turner Podcast is landing a popular guest on your podcast (in our case a Bravolebrity such as a Real Housewife) is only half the battle.
The other half is getting the guest to promote their episode of your show to their fans and followers.
Definitely ask your guest for an upfront commitment to share on their social media channels, and then ask them to share just after the interview where they had a really good experience.
In most cases, when asked, we typically receive a ‘yes!’ and a commitment to sharing in some form.
The lesson – always ask your guest to share and try to get a commitment.
With that being said, the reality is when the time comes to promote the episode, many won’t share which can be very disappointing and frustrating!
There are many reasons why a guest may not share such as you may only be tagging them in Instagram and not Facebook and it’s hard and time consuming to repost in Instagram.
Or, they may not realize the episode is out, especially if they aren’t sure when the episode will be released.
Regardless of the reason, ensuring you have done all you can to notify them and make it as easy as possible to share in social media is crucial!
Email with Link to the Episode on Your Website
When the episode goes live on your website, email the guest and or their publicity contacts with a link to the page.
By sending a link to the page on your website, they can easily listen to the episode (embed the episode whenever possible), and read the show notes which should include the guest’s social handles and website links to any relevant products they may be promoting.
If the show notes really showcases the guest and their offering, they may be more likely to share and cross promote.
In your email, be sure to ask your guest to share this link in their Facebook and Twitter accounts!
Sharing on Facebook
Facebook is an easy way for a guest to share in their newsfeed.
First, share the link to the episode page in your Facebook page and if they are a public profile or have a page, tag their name and / or page in the caption of the post so they get notified.
If you tend to share an image from Instagram directly to Facebook, take the extra step to go into Facebook and change the Instagram @username to tag the Facebook profile and or page.
💡Related Reading: Learn how to add your podcast to Facebook here.
Sharing on Twitter
Twitter is another quick and easy way for guests to retweet and get the word out!
Again, share the link to the episode page in your tweet and be sure to include their Twitter handle and any relevant hashtags in the caption.
Sharing on Instagram
We’ve learned that Instagram is one of the more challenging ways for guests to share a post.
My tip is to create a post and tag the guest in the photo as well as in the caption so your fans know a new episode is live.
Also be sure to include all relevant hashtags!
Depending on the guest, they may not repost because it can be cumbersome.
Another reason is the value of the visual grid. Some guests may prefer to keep a curated photo and video grid on their profile and if the design of your post doesn’t flow with the look of their grid, they may not want to share it.
The work around to all of this is to also create a story. Stories are incredibly easy to share and don’t live on forever in the grid. When creating your story, tag the guest and include any relevant hashtags.
If you have over 10,000 followers on your Instagram account, you can also include a link to your episode page and encourage your followers to swipe up to listen!
As you build up your stories, you can also save them as highlights so existing and new podcast followers can do a quick run through of your guests by episode at any time!
Wrapping It Up
In closing, getting your podcast guests to promote their episode and your podcast overall is an important piece in building an audience around your show.
Finding ways to make it easy for them to share will be critical and the more you do, the more success you may see in growing your listeners.
