We don’t need to keep shouting it from the rooftops, but okay, I’ll do it once more: Just creating a great podcast is not enough.
Yes, we know, how annoying for us to say that all of your hard work and hours going into your show isn’t enough, you have to do more. But unfortunately, it’s true. You need to create great content and position that content in front of the right audience.
Because let’s be real, unless you’re among the ranks of Emma Chamberlin, Dax Shepard, or Amy Poehler, you’re not immediately given an audience.
Thus, podcast marketing becomes a vital component of your podcasting strategy.
There are plenty of ways to approach podcast marketing and audience growth, but we’re going to break it down into two main categories: paid marketing and organic marketing. From here, we’ll explore which approach is best for you (hint: it might be a bit of both).
What is podcast marketing?
Let’s start with the big question: What is podcast marketing?
Well, it’s exactly like it sounds. It’s the collection of campaigns, channels, and tactics that all support the marketing of your podcast to a desired target audience. You may also hear it commonly referred to as audience growth, podcast growth, or podcast promotion.
If you’re a marketer yourself, you’re in luck. You already have the base knowledge and experience of a podcast marketer, but just need to adapt to new mediums–audio and video.
What is organic podcast marketing?
Organic podcast marketing involves the growth tactics that don’t directly require spend or budget in order to get a result. For example, blog posts.
What is paid podcast marketing?
On the flip side, paid podcast marketing involves the growth tactics that do directly require spend or budget to get a result. For example, Google Ads.
Now let’s dive in further:
Podcast marketing strengths
Let’s start with the good stuff—the reasons you’ll want to double down on either paid or organic marketing (or both).
Organic is the long game; it’s the slow burn that builds trust, visibility, and loyal listeners over time. Paid is the fast lane; it gets eyes and ears on your show now (for a price, of course).
Here’s a breakdown of what each brings to the table so you can play to their strengths.
Organic audience growth strengths
- Cost-effective: Like I just mentioned, organic marketing is cost-effective. If you’re working on a small budget or just starting your podcast and therefore don’t want to invest too much into its growth just yet, organic marketing is a great way to generate growth without spending money.
- Low-risk: Since it doesn’t directly require spend, it makes it a lower-risk avenue. You don’t need to worry as much about eating away at your budget to achieve your desired results.
- Low-barrier to entry: Similar to podcasting, there’s a low barrier to entry. That doesn’t mean that it’s simple to maintain; it just means that it’s accessible to start. So many free tools and resources support organic marketing, which means you don’t necessarily need to spend a dime. I will note that where it doesn’t require money, it does require time.
- Long-term growth & sustainability: Naturally, with the type of tactics that fall under organic marketing, you end up building a stronger brand for your podcast and therefore, maintain growth longer term and sustainability since your content lives on post-publication date.
Paid audience growth strengths
- Immediate results: With paid marketing, you’re looking for immediate results. You spend the money and you get the benefit, that’s how we want it to work. I’ll quickly preface that it’s not as easy as throwing money at an ad platform, but overall, you’ll likely see results much faster than you would with organic marketing.
- Scalable: Paid marketing tends to be more scalable. Once you build the engine, i.e., when you spend X amount, you, on average, get X return, you can begin investing in paid campaigns with more confident results.
- Lower time commitment: There’s definitely a time commitment; you still need to build the strategy, set up the ads, manage, measure, and optimize, etc. But compared to organic marketing, paid can take up less of your time.
Podcast marketing weaknesses
Now onto the weaknesses.
Every podcast marketing tactic will have its cons, and both paid and organic marketing, of course, come with their fair share.
Let’s dive into a few:
Organic audience growth weaknesses
- Slower to get results/less scalable: Like we mentioned, organic marketing sets you up for long-term success and can be a slow burn growth. Because of that, it may feel like it’s taking longer to get the podcast results you’re looking for. It’s also less scalable, you can’t build the same equation that you can with paid, spend X amount, you on average get X return.
- Hidden costs: We’ve continued to say that you don’t necessarily have to spend on organic marketing, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t costs associated with it. For example, maybe you hire a content writer to produce blogs, maybe you pay for an expensive newsletter software, etc.
- Larger time commitment: Writing a blog, drafting newsletters, and building social media calendars all eat up a lot of time. And for busy podcasters and marketers, time management is critical to avoiding burnout while maintaining quality.
Paid audience growth weaknesses
- Requires budget: For marketers on a tight budget or podcasters just getting started, you may not want to invest the money into paid advertising. Some podcast advertising platforms have minimum spends that might be higher than you’re comfortable with (we’ll get into that later), thus making paid audience growth a challenge for some.
- Less likely to experience long-term growth: Paid marketing is an immediate result; you spend the money and get the return. It doesn’t build the same long-lasting podcast awareness and growth that organic can give you because once you stop paying, you stop getting the benefits.
- Higher risk: Since financial investments are required, naturally, there’s going to be higher risk and a higher barrier to entry. You’re not guaranteed the results you want when you invest in paid marketing, so you have to be a bit more tolerant of risk.
Paid & organic podcast marketing tactics
Okay, so we’ve weighed the pros and cons—now let’s get into the “how.”
Whether you’re running on caffeine and Canva or have a full marketing team behind you, knowing which podcast promotion tactics to use (and how they actually work) can make or break your growth strategy.
Below, we’re breaking down the key organic and paid tactics podcasters and marketers are using in 2025, complete with a quick explanation so you know exactly where each one fits into your plan.
Spoiler: the best strategy probably involves more than one.
Organic audience growth channels/tactics
- Blog writing: Boost SEO and surface your podcast in search results by turning episodes into keyword-rich blog posts.
- Newsletters/email marketing: Keep listeners engaged and informed with regular episode drops, bonus content, or behind-the-scenes updates.
- Downloadables: Offer checklists, guides, or transcripts that align with episode content to build your email list and add extra value.
- Social media marketing: Leverage Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and X to share episode clips, quotes, and audience engagement prompts.
- In-kind partnerships/collaborations: Team up with like-minded creators or brands to cross-promote episodes and expand your reach.
- Guesting: Appear on other podcasts to tap into relevant audiences and introduce them to your show.
- Speaking opportunities/PR: Get featured in industry publications or at events to raise awareness and establish credibility.
Paid audience growth channels/tactics
- Paid search: Use platforms like Google Ads to target high-intent listeners searching for podcast-related content or your show’s topic.
- Social media advertising: Promote episode clips or lead magnets with paid campaigns on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn.
- Headliner: Use Headliner’s paid placements to surface your podcast on partner platforms or promote audiograms via display ads.
- Player FM: Run targeted audio or display ads to appear in podcast recommendations on this discovery-focused platform.
- Overcast: Bid for native placements within Overcast’s app to get in front of podcast-first audiences.
- Podcast Addict: Advertise your show within one of Android’s largest podcast apps to grow visibility and listeners.
- Listen Network: Use Listen’s audience targeting capabilities to promote your podcast to niche, high-intent listeners.
- Spotify Advertising: Tap into Spotify’s vast user base with audio ads placed between songs or podcasts using demographic targeting.
Podcast audience growth: The best of both worlds
If you’re still asking yourself “paid or organic?”—you’re asking the wrong question.
Because the truth is, the most effective podcast marketing strategies blend both. Think of it like this:
- Organic is the long game, building brand equity, community, and evergreen discoverability.
- Paid is the amplifier, accelerating reach, testing hooks, and filling the top of your listener funnel quickly.
Used together, they become a virtuous cycle: Paid efforts bring in new ears → Organic content keeps them engaged → Engagement boosts visibility → Visibility improves paid performance.
Rinse, repeat.
Here’s how to do it smartly:
- Use paid to test: Not sure which episode hooks best? Which clip drives the most curiosity? Run a small paid campaign to test creative variations and messaging.
- Retarget with purpose: Create retargeting campaigns for people who visited your podcast website or engaged with your Reels. Bring them back with a compelling CTA, like subscribing or listening to your newest episode.
- Invest in your best content: Take a top-performing episode or social post and give it a little budget boost. If it’s already working organically, paid just puts more gas in the tank.
- Let data lead: Pair CoHost’s analytics with your ad platform insights to understand what converts best, and double down.
And remember: You don’t need a massive ad budget or a 10-person marketing team. You just need clear goals, smart tools (hi 👋), and a willingness to experiment.
Paid vs organic podcast marketing: What’s best for your show
When it comes to growing your podcast, it’s not about choosing sides—it’s about building the right balance.
Organic marketing helps you create a sustainable foundation: the community, the trust, and the long-term SEO. Paid marketing gives you fast visibility, targeted reach, and the ability to scale when you're ready.
And together? They give you momentum.
So instead of asking “Should I go paid or organic?”, start asking “What does my podcast need right now—and what will it need next?” Because your growth strategy should evolve alongside your show.
Want more tips, tools, and takes on growing your show? Subscribe to Tuned In, our bi-weekly newsletter for marketers and podcasters who want better listeners, not just bigger numbers.
