Using a Press Release to Promote a Show or Season
One of the many podcasts I listen to is called Podnews Daily. Each episode is under five minutes and usually contains brief news updates from the world of podcasting. These updates might include information on events, industry news, or podcast show announcements. The announcements are short and provide information about new podcasts being released or new seasons of existing ones.
After four years and nearly 200 episodes of The 80s and 90s Uncensored, I decided to write a press release about the upcoming Season 9 and send it to Podnews Daily, who besides doing the podcast, they publish a newsletter with over 32,000 active global subscribers.
As a result of the announcement, which included a shout-out at the end of an episode and a notice in the newsletter, we witnessed a significant increase in subscribers. On the day the episode aired, our download stats doubled compared to the previous week.
The show trailer went from 0 plays the previous two weeks to 678 plays after it was featured.
Beyond our hosting platforms statistics, it can be challenging to track changes in downloads. However, on the Podcast Addict app, we saw a 112% increase in subscribers. While that sounds impressive, the app didn’t have a large number of subscribers to begin with, so take that for what it’s worth. And we witnessed a small increase in Google Analytics.
Process
Start by doing a quick search specifically for press release templates as a starting point. Then, revise your draft multiple times using tools like Grammarly and ChatGPT to ensure proper grammar, spelling, and clarity.
I then contacted Podnews using the contact information on their website and emailed them an abbreviated version of the press release in the body of the email, along with a PDF attachment of the full press release.
Where Else?
After taking the time to create the press release and submit it to Podnews, I did a quick search for “Where can I submit my podcast press release to let people know about a new season?”
The results, unfortunately, were limited. For podcast-specific options, Podnews was pretty much the only choice. I also came across a few agencies that handle press releases, but they charge for their services.
Finally, I shared the announcement on social media platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook.
Overall
Overall, considering the time spent creating the press release, the benefits of sending it out proved to be a positive return on investment. The announcement and newsletter feature from Podnews Daily amplified our reach and provided a backlink to our website from Podnews.net. While the process required some effort, the results underscored the importance of well-crafted communication in promoting a podcast and boosting listenership.
