Podcast growth is the process of increasing your audience and engagement over time, and it’s a metric that correlates to genuine engagement.
“I think podcasting, at its heart, is very organic,” says Shuang Esther Shan, senior content marketing manager at Shopify and producer of the Shopify Masters podcast. “You can try to throw dollars toward boosting a show, but if it’s not interesting, people aren’t going to come back week after week. So, how do you make sure you bring great stuff every single week?”
In this guide, you’ll learn strategies for your own podcast growth. From expanding into video podcasts to developing a focus and cadence that resonates with your target audience, get advice on the podcast space from Shuang Esther Shan.
8 podcast growth strategies for small businesses
- Keep your podcast focused
- Optimize for search before you publish
- Promote your podcast to your existing customers
- Be a guest podcast host and cross-promote
- Release consistently and match your audience’s time
- Encourage listener reviews and shares
- Embrace the video podcast format
- Repurpose podcast content
Here are ways to increase your podcast listening audience and reach:
1. Keep your podcast focused
Whatever your topic or focus, stick to a consistent format (e.g., interviews, reactions to the news, responding to listener mail) and a clear point of view. Examples of POV include an outdoors enthusiast who podcasts about excursions or a fashionista who podcasts about new trends in apparel.
Shuang Esther Shan, senior content marketing manager at Shopify and producer of the Shopify Masters podcast, describes an uptick in entrepreneurs leveraging content marketing with a strong POV.
“If a founder really cares about mental health, they might have a show that talks about mental health,” she says.
For example, Sean Frank, whose wallet brand, Ridge, is an industry leader, has a podcast called Operators, which focuses on entrepreneurship. Shuang recommends picking a topic that can be serialized and you don’t mind talking about week after week. “And if you use an interview format, ask yourself: ‘What topic can I source people to talk about that topic with me week after week?’” says Shuang.
Establishing a clear identity will make it easier for your podcast listeners to recommend your show to friends. They can offer specific descriptions like: It’s a show where every week the podcast host interviews experts about nutrition, and then the experts quiz the podcast host in a really funny way.
Organic recommendations from friends are crucial in the audio format.
“You only listen to a podcast if your family or your friends have suggested it to you,” Shuang says. Video, however, is completely different. YouTube helps with discoverability of video podcasts, which can be amplified by posting clips there, and on social media.
2. Optimize for search before you publish
Podcast directories like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music have their own search algorithms that use keywords to link user searches to specific shows. Your podcast name, episode titles, and show description should all reflect how your target audience searches. If you sell skin care and your audience searches for clean beauty ingredients, those phrases belong in your podcast metadata. You can learn what your audience is searching for with tools like the Google Search Console.
Beyond podcast directories, your podcast’s web presence matters for Google Search results. Publish show notes with full summaries, key takeaways, and relevant keywords on your website to help Google find and surface your podcast.
Shuang also recommends optimizing your episodes for YouTube.
“You can now test thumbnail images along with titles—with three options,” she says. “And of course, the description and the time codes are really important, so people can jump around. The topics within the time codes can hopefully signal to the YouTube algorithm exactly what that section is about.”
Metrics to track: Organic search impressions, clicks to episode pages via Google Search Console, and search ranking for target keywords in Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
3. Promote your podcast to your existing customers
Your existing customers, email marketing list, and social following already represent an audience of potential new listeners that trusts your brand. Make sure the people who already know your brand also know the podcast exists.
Here are a few places to share your show:
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Email. Mention new episodes alongside the other content in your newsletter. For your most valuable episodes, send a dedicated email.
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Your online storefront. Add a podcast section or banner to your homepage. If an episode covers behind-the-scenes on a particular product, link to it from that product page.
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Packaging and post-purchase. Include a card with your podcast QR code in outgoing orders.
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Social media. Use short audio clips, quote graphics pulled from transcripts, and behind-the-scenes content to drive followers to full episodes.
Metrics to track: Email click-through rate on podcast links and referral traffic to episode pages from your store and social channels.
4. Be a guest podcast host and cross-promote
The 2025 Cumulus Media study found that 75% of weekly podcast listeners report going back to listen to episodes they’d missed in a feed. Given this loyalty, getting in front of another podcast host’s established audience through a guest spot, cohosting, or cross-promotion can expose your show to new listeners.
Look for shows that serve overlapping audiences without directly competing with your content. If you make outdoor gear, a wilderness photography podcast shares your audience but isn’t talking about the same products. Propose a guest swap: You appear on their show, and they appear on yours, so both shows promote the episode to their respective audiences.
This can be particularly effective on YouTube, where there’s a collaboration feature.
“If you talk to another YouTuber who has a channel, having the collaboration on and having them accept it is really important,” Shuang says. “YouTube serves it to the audience that likes that YouTuber. It’s also good for the guests because whoever is listening can click directly into their channel and check them out as well.”
Guesting on other shows also builds your authority when you appear in their show notes as a subject matter expert. It also generates backlinks when other podcast hosts link to your brand in those show notes, strengthening your broader SEO footprint. Keep a running list of shows you’d like to appear on, listen to a few episodes before reaching out, and pitch a specific topic rather than a generic “I’d love to be a guest” message.
Metrics to track: New subscribers per episode; referral traffic from partner show mentions; and podcast listener source data in your hosting platform.
5. Release consistently and match your audience’s time
Some active podcasters drop new episodes on a monthly basis; others drop new episodes weekly. Pick a cadence you can sustain with your current team and resources. Some podcasters publish their first episodes in a block to give new audiences a back catalog to explore.
Match your episode length to your audience preferences. Review your listener drop-off data (most podcast hosting platforms provide this) to see where people stop listening, and consider trimming accordingly.
Metrics to track: Average consumption rate (what percentage of each episode listeners complete); episode drop-off points; and subscriber growth rate week over week.
6. Encourage listener reviews and shares
Reviews on Apple Podcasts and ratings on Spotify serve as social proof for anyone who finds your show and is deciding whether to subscribe. Ask your podcast listeners for reviews in your show audio, using language like: “If this episode helped you, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts takes two minutes and helps others find the show.” Then tell them exactly how to do it.
Beyond reviews, create shareable moments that can act as a podcast ad on other marketing channels. Share a striking data point, a counterintuitive take, or a line that crystallizes something your podcast audience can screenshot and share on social media.
Metrics to track: Total reviews and ratings over time; social media shares and mentions.
7. Embrace the video podcast format
Video podcast consumption has surged in recent years. Triton Digital’s 2025 US Podcast Report shows that people consume podcasts on YouTube more than any other platform. It is now the most popular platform in the podcast industry, with more than 37% of users choosing it for their podcast consumption. You can test your video podcast idea by recording an episode with your phone or your webcam to get a sense of the format. Starting small can help you validate the concept before investing in a more involved production setup.
Shuang says video podcasts require a more extensive team than audio podcasts. “You need a studio,” says Shuang. “Obviously, that sounds very intimidating. But for scrappy founders trying to get into video podcasts, you can pilot and start really small with almost zero dollars and see if there’s appetite. Then you can slowly scale up your production and buy better gear.”
She urges creators not to let perfectionism upend their creative process.
Video podcast discovery algorithms can also be more fruitful than audio alone, says Shuang.
“On YouTube, there is more discoverability, and there is a real chance to get your show in front of more audiences.”
Data confirms this; a 2025 Cumulus report found that 44% of new podcast listeners first engaged with a show via YouTube.
Metrics to track: Your podcast’s monthly listeners on video versus audio formats, plus YouTube watch time, subscriber gain and comments.
8. Repurpose podcast content
Video podcast episodes lend themselves to breakout content. A single long-form episode can be repurposed to create short-form content for social platforms like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels. Audio content can be repurposed into soundbites with text captions for video clips. Include referral links that take followers from your social media platforms to your podcast episodes.
Metrics to track: Total social media video views; how many listeners are arriving from podcast-related video content.
Podcast growth FAQ
Is podcasting still growing?
Yes, podcasting is still growing rapidly. According to the 2025 Podcast Consumer report from Edison Research, 55% of Americans aged 12 and older listened to a podcast in the past month. This marks an all-time high for the medium. The Edison report also finds that in the decade from 2015 to 2025, people aged 13 and up spent 355% more time on podcast listening.
What is the failure rate of podcasts?
The podcast industry has a notoriously high abandonment rate, with numerous sources reporting that roughly 90% of all new podcasts fail within their first year. Avoid joining these ranks by maintaining a regular release cadence, staying topically focused, optimizing your metadata for search, and embracing video podcasts.
What is the best way to grow a podcast?
One of the best ways to achieve podcast growth is to record video podcasts to publish to YouTube, where the discovery algorithm produces more new monthly podcast listeners than other platforms. Publishing metadata also helps search algorithms find your show. This includes publishing show notes with full summaries, key takeaways, and relevant keywords on your website.
