Spotify recently surpassed Apple Podcasts to take over as the number one podcast platform for listeners everywhere. About a quarter of all podcast listeners (24%) use Spotify as their listening platform of choice, compared to 21% of listeners who opt for Apple Podcasts.
Plus, the platform boasts over 300 million listeners worldwide. With these stats in mind, any podcaster would be missing a massive opportunity to increase their listenership if they didn’t make their podcast available on Spotify.
So, how can you ensure your podcast is showing up on the world’s most popular listening platform?
First, check out Spotify’s resources for podcasters at podcasters.spotify.com. Here, you’ll find tips for starting, editing and distributing a podcast.
You can also get to know your audience through this resource, claim your podcast if it’s already on Spotify, and gain an understanding of Spotify’s requirements for submitting a podcast.
According to this resource, here are the steps you need to follow to add or claim a podcast on Spotify to ensure you’re maximizing your listening base:
Submitting your podcast to Spotify is easy as 1, 2, 3. Now, it’s time to increase your visibility to get more eyes (or, ears?) on your podcast through Spotify.
The guidelines for creating exceptional content on Spotify are essentially the same as the podcasting tips you might follow for other platforms. Of course, there’s a fine art and science to podcasting, and you’ll get better with practice. But in general, here are a few tips that will help you optimize your content and gain listeners:
Be sure to promote your podcast on social media and through your website to gain listeners. If you have the budget, you may also want to check out advertising options for your podcast to grow your audience.
Here are a few tips for promoting your podcast once it’s available on Spotify:
Last but certainly not least, selecting the right hosting platform for your podcast is an essential piece of the podcasting puzzle. A good hosting platform will make it easy to publish new episodes in the future and distribute them to all the best directories in the game so you can grow your audience and find podcast success.
Once you sign up for a hosting platform and set up your spotify account, it's simply one-click publishing for all future episodes.
So, what are some tips for setting yourself up for success from the get go in terms of using the right hosting platform? Below are a few simple tips to keep in mind during this part of the process.
Think about your budget. Of course, budget is always an important consideration during every step of the podcasting process. Unless you have unlimited funds for your project, then it will be important to consider whether the price point of a hosting platform will fit your budget. However, while keeping price in mind will keep you from going overboard, you also wouldn’t necessarily want to skimp on something as important as a hosting site. Consider spending a little extra upfront to be an investment that will be well worth it in the end.
Mackenzie Patterson is the Senior Producer & Content Strategist at Quill Inc, and a Toronto-based writer, and journalist. She's always exploring the latest movies, TV shows and wellness trends.