Podcast Marketing Beyond Social Media: Easy, Natural Ways to Share Your Show

Meet the Host

Hey, I’m Andi Smiley — your friendly podcast coach for moms! I help you start and grow a podcast that feels fun and fulfilling (not overwhelming). I started this podcast to have real conversations and share helpful tips with moms who want to share their voices without burning out. Let’s make podcasting sustainable and joyful.

Links

• Book your 30-minute Podcast Jumpstart session

• Buy my podcast planner (use FPG10 for 10% off!)⁠

• The Friendly Podcast Guide on Instagram

• The Friendly Podcast Guide on Threads

Unedited transcript of the episode:

 Most of the time. Social media is exhausting for me, which is why I spent this entire month telling you about ways to market your podcasts that have nothing to do with social media. And today’s episode is both the easiest and hardest way to market your podcast.

And I promise to explain what that means in the episode.  Hi, I’m Andy Smiley, your friendly podcast guide. I help you start a podcast that is fun and fulfilling. I share tips, stories from my own journey and insights from podcasters I admire just as a reminder, if you only have the capacity to implement one thing at the end of the episode, I’ll tell you what that one thing should be so you don’t feel overwhelmed trying to figure out where to start.

So I know that these ideas may seem a little weird for marketing your podcast, but hear me out, I really think they can help. So the first one is networking events. And I feel like when most people picture networking events, they picture like a hotel bar or something where people have name tags and they’re walking around trying to tell you about their stuff.

So those aren’t the networking events that I go to. I go to. Really fun networking events, either in person or online, that are specifically for moms like me and also for my ideal listener, which is moms who are considering starting a podcast. So when you are choosing a networking event to go to choose one that fits, you, choose one that sounds.

Fun and invigorating and not boring. Don’t just pick the first one that you find on the internet. Find one that is going to be a good experience for you. That sounds fun, okay? Don’t go to a hotel bar with name tags if that’s not what you wanna do. If that’s your jam, go enjoy the whole experience. But that is definitely not my cup of tea.

So. This is me telling you there’s more than one way to do a networking event, and you can find one that’s gonna be the best fit for you. And as a side note, a networking event doesn’t have to be named a networking event either. So like if your podcast is about DD, then going to a business networking event probably isn’t gonna be a great place to.

Talk about your podcast, but maybe like a DD convention would be a great place for you to go and find people to interview. And also people that will enjoy your show and find your show useful and delightful. So not every networking event is made for every person, and the networking event that’s gonna be best for your podcast might not even be called a networking event. So I feel like this is obvious, but I’m gonna say it anyway.

These events are a great opportunity for you to talk about your podcast and how it could possibly help the person that you’re talking to. These events are also a really great way to find possible guests, like I said earlier, because I’ve noticed that when I can connect with someone in person instead of just on social media or even through email.

I’m able to tell pretty quickly if the vibe is vibing or not, and if they would be a good fit on my show or not. While in an email it takes longer, or social media, it takes longer to kind of suss that out. So when you’re going to a networking event, you can be not only looking for people that your podcast will help, but also looking for people that could be really good guests on your show.

So I’m hoping I’m not the only person that has a hard time introducing myself at networking events. Maybe I am, and if I am, then you can just listen to this part and like let it go. In, one ear out the other. But if you also have trouble introducing yourself at a networking event, then here is like a template that you can use.

Even write it down. That’s what I’ve had to do in the past. Just so that like you have it in your back pocket and you’re ready. Okay, this is a template I’ve used in the past. Hi, I’m fill in the blank with your name. I host a podcast for Fill In Who Your Ideal Audience is where I talk about.

Fill in your topic. I started it because fill in reason and it’s been such a fun, creative outlet. So now I’ll do it for me so that it doesn’t feel so templatey. Hi, I’m Andy. I host a podcast for moms who are looking to start a podcast where I talk about how to start a podcast without burning out.

I started it because I wanted to have adult conversations and because I love podcasting and it’s been such a fun, creative outlet, ta-da. Then people know a little bit about you and you can start that conversation and obviously I feel like if you said it verbatim, that would be a little bit weird, but this just gives you context.

This gives you things to say when you were introducing yourself. To a stranger at a networking event.

I’ve kind of alluded to this, but the reason that I think networking events are such an amazing tool for you to find your listeners, and also find possible guess is because I’ve noticed that every time I make a connection at a networking event, either virtual or in person, that connection is so much more valuable, like so much more valuable and it sticks and like I’m way more likely to promote their stuff. They’re more way more likely to promote my stuff.

It’s just that connection is just so. Much deeper, so much faster when you meet in person, or at least like face to face on the internet, like virtually instead of um, just seeing their stuff on social media. Also as a bonus tip, if you meet someone cool at a networking event, send them a quick message like that day or

in the next like week you don’t have to pitch them anything in this message, but just keep the connection open, that’s what can help your relationship continue to grow after. As an example, a while ago, I met an amazing lady at a virtual networking event who ended up becoming a client without me even selling her on my services.

We connected, we chatted, then she found me on social media afterwards and we like stayed connected via social media. And then a month after she found me on social media, I started advertising a podcast launch group, that I was doing. And she signed up and she was a delightful client and I am so glad that I made that connection and we’re still friends.

before I tell you about the other less traditional way of marketing your podcast, I want to quickly tell you about something that’s been helping so many moms take action on their podcast Dreams. My podcast Jumpstart sessions. So you’ve been thinking about starting a podcast, but every time you think about actually starting questions pop up, what mic do I need? How do I get my show on Apple podcasts?

What if I start and then get overwhelmed? I get it. Podcasting can feel super overwhelming, but that’s exactly why I do free 30 minute podcast jumpstart sessions. It’s just you and me on a call chatting about your questions and figuring out what’s actually holding you back.

By the end, you’ll know exactly what to do next. Plus, I’ll send you my favorite mic recommendations, the best podcast hosting platforms, and the next two steps to get your show started. I only do a few of these calls each month, so grab yours before they’re gone. Go to the link in the show notes to book your free podcast Jumpstart session.

Let’s make this podcast happen. Remember earlier when I said that this was both the easiest and the hardest way to market your podcast? This specific marketing tool is what I was talking about, and it’s talking about your podcast in everyday life. First of all. On a basic level, that’s really easy, right? There are people all around you all the time in your everyday life, or you’re texting people, or you’re going to the grocery store.

All of those things, there are people all around us, right? So we could talk to any one of those people about our podcast.

But that does not always mean that it’s easy to talk to a random stranger about your podcast. This is one that I am still working on, but almost every time that I talk about my podcast in real life, either with a friend or with a stranger, it ends up being a really good experience. So because this is something I’m still working on and it can be really hard for me, sometimes I need help figuring out what to say so that I don’t have to come up with it on the spot.

So in my planner. I love this planner so much, um, and the stickers, but in my planner I have a spot called Curiosity Statements, and I learned this from Nikki Roush who’s the sales maven, and I am forever grateful to her because this has really helped me. So on here it says, I write the question that they would ask.

So I wrote, how are you? And then I wrote what I would say if someone asked me how I’m doing

this week I wrote, I’m doing well this week’s episode, and last week’s episode are both from a conversation with one of my favorite podcast people. And it’s been so fun to finally share them.

It feels really basic and straightforward, but holy cow, having it written down helps me so much to actually say it when someone asks me how I’m doing. Another one that is even shorter, that I’ve used in the past is I’m doing well. I’m super proud of the title of my episode this week. I can’t stop thinking about it. The nice thing about that one is then people are like, oh, well what is the what? What’s the title? I wanna hear it. And then. That can lead to a whole conversation about your podcast. And honestly, not every time that I talk about my podcast do people ask me follow-up questions, but there’s been enough times when they do ask me follow-up questions and then it turns into a lovely conversation about my podcast.

Do I think that every single one of those people that I talk to about my podcast is gonna turn into a listener? No, but. I know that at least a couple of them have turned into listeners and it’s just given me practice talking about something that I’m passionate about, and it just, I leave every, okay. I’m not gonna say every, most conversations about my podcast feeling happier and lighter because it’s something that I’m passionate about.

So it’s really fun for me to talk about.

So I wanted to share an example, of when I did this so that you can kind of picture it and maybe think about situations when you can do this too. So, last time I was at the dentist, I made it a point to talk about my podcast. With the receptionist, who I’m assuming doesn’t wanna have a podcast, but maybe she does on the side, I don’t know.

And I ended up having a really fun conversation with her about my podcast and about podcasting in general. And she was like, I didn’t even know, I didn’t even know you had a podcast. And this is a lady that I see at least twice a year, and she’s been the receptionist at my dentist’s office Since I can remember, like I’ve been going to the same dentist for a very long time, so

it was fun to share this part of my life that I don’t usually share with her, and honestly, it felt really natural and I’m really glad that I pushed through my discomfort of sharing my podcast and what I do because honestly, it does still feel a little awkward sometimes, but it was totally, totally worth it.

so if you are listening to me and you’re like, Andy, telling someone about my podcast feels really cringey, and it feels like I’d be bragging or something like that, let me just tell you that you’re not, you’re sharing something that you’ve created with love and intention.

And that’s not a bad thing. That’s an awesome thing. And honestly, a service for yourself and for the person that you’re telling, even if they’re not your ideal listener. If you had a really cute craft shop or wrote a really good book, you’d tell people about it, right? This is no different.

Your podcast is a gift, and it’s okay to talk about it

even if it feels awkward in the moment, you should still talk about it.

As I’m wrapping up this episode, here’s the one thing you should implement in your podcast if you’re feeling overwhelmed and not sure where to start, and that is to write down something you can say about your podcast the next time someone asks you how you’re doing. So that instead of just.

Saying I’m good. The weather’s nice. Today, you can talk about your podcast, something that you’re really passionate about, and bonus tip, if you practice saying it out loud, I do, every time I write a new one for the week, I say it out loud at least once, and. If I am thinking about it every time I see it, I’ll just say it out loud again, just as practice.

📍 If this episode helped you, would you mind sharing it with another mom who wants to start a podcast without burning out? Your recommendation would mean the world to me. And thank you so much to everyone who has already recommended the Friendly Podcast Guide to their mom, friends. Really, truly, it makes my heart so happy, and I am so grateful for each of you.

In next week’s episode, I’ll be talking about the five biggest things I learned from creating season three of the friendly podcast guide, including using email as a marketing tool and trying out the narrative format. Thanks for being here, and I’ll see you next week.  So I just watched a video of Pope Francis, um, comforting a little boy, and I was sobbing real tears. But I also need to record this episode. So if I’m looking a little bit misty and my eyes are a little puffy, that’s why.