Obviously, promoting your new podcast episodes when they first air is a must for driving traffic to your audio show. But what about your older podcast episodes? Is it smart to promote those in the present even though time has passed, or will your audience resent you for it?
The answer: you can totally promote your old podcast episodes. It's actually a really good idea to do so, and comes with several benefits. According to Podcast Maniac, those benefits include...
- New listeners discovering previous episodes they haven't listened to yet.
- A bump in downloads because new listeners will go download one or more older episodes.
- If you interviewed a guest on an episode, your ongoing promotion of the episode will show them your appreciation of their time and participation (and might get them to re-share the episode to their followers).
- And finally, a chance to keep your social feeds relevant with podcast-related posts instead of forgettable content.
Promoting your old episodes is important because the more you get your new listeners to listen, the more likely they are to subscribe to your show, and the more likely they are to engage with you elsewhere online. And if you’re trying to get podcast sponsors, your subscriber count and overall online presence matter.
So how and when should you promote your old episodes? There are some smooth ways to do so without seeming too forward to your audience. Below are five appropriate times to promote your old episode. Seize these opportunities when you can!
When an Anniversary is Coming Up
Did you release one of your favorite podcast episodes exactly a year ago? Let your audience know and share it! Did you feature a guest star on your show who is celebrating their birthday today? Wish them a happy birthday on your socials and share their episode! It's very important to keep records of release dates and other anniversaries/holidays so that you can utilize them in the future for episode promotion.
When You're Finishing Up the End of a New Episode
While you're recording your latest episode, just before wrapping up, make sure to mention into the microphone what your last podcast episode was – and urge your audience to go listen to it! It's a little shoutout that can go a long way, especially for newer audiences that have just stumbled upon your show. It's also an effective way to promote your older episodes without having to rely on social media.
When Current Events are Ripe
It's crucial to pay attention to current events so you can contribute to the conversation with a podcast episode that relates to said current event! For example, if you have a podcast episode where you rank all Marvel movies and a new Marvel movie is about to hit theaters, it may be a good time to start promoting that old episode. Stay updated with pop culture trends and the news...you may find nifty ways of connecting trending topics back to conversations you've had in older podcast episodes.
When You Have a Follow-Up Episode in Store
Are you creating a follow-up episode to a previous podcast episode? If so, make sure to promote the older episode on your socials before and/or after you post about the follow-up. Doing so will help newer listeners catch up before diving into your next episode. Dedicated fans may revisit your old work, too!
When You Have a Throwback to Share
Here's the truth...you don't actually need a good reason to promote an old podcast episode. You can do so any time. There’s nothing wrong with posting about the same thing more than once. As long as you make your posts about it slightly different, your audience won't care.
That being said, we recommend posting about your old podcast episode under the guise of a throwback! What do we mean by that? Well, have you ever seen the hashtag #throwbackthursday used on social media? Or just seen someone post about something that happened in the past while referring to it as a throwback? "Throwbacks" evoke a nostalgic feeling in your audience. Seeing something as a throwback makes your loyal follower excitedly think, "oh hey, I remember this!" And for new followers, throwbacks show that something from the past is important enough to share again. They may get curious, and check out your old episode simply due to the tiny throwback buzz around it.
Those are all the tips we have today! We hope these pieces of advice help your old episodes gain as much success as your newer ones. Keep promoting, and happy podcasting!
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