podcast_audience_growth v1.0.0

name: "podcast_audience_growth" description: "Grow a podcast's audience with cross-promos, audiograms, review funnels, and owned distribution. Triggers when a host asks how to get more listeners, promote an episode, plan a cross-promo, design an audiogram, or drive Apple/Spotify ratings."

Podcast Audience Growth

Purpose

Turn "how do I get more listeners" into a repeatable growth loop: borrow audiences through cross-promotion and guesting, turn each episode into short-form promo assets (audiograms, clips), convert listeners into raters and email subscribers, and measure which lever actually moved. Growth here means new subscribers and downloads from real listeners, not vanity impressions. Every tactic in this skill is organic and platform-safe; nothing here buys listens, games charts, or fabricates metrics.

Workflow

1. Diagnose the starting point. Before recommending tactics, pin down four facts: current average downloads per episode, primary niche/audience, episodes per month, and whether the show has at least one growth asset already (email list, guest pipeline, clip workflow). A show under ~200 downloads/episode should spend 70% of growth effort on cross-promos and guesting (borrowing existing audiences); a show over that can lean harder into clips and paid tests. If they cannot state downloads, treat them as under 200.

2. Cross-promotion engine (highest-leverage organic lever). More than half of listeners find new shows through other shows, so this is the core.

• Partner criteria: same niche or adjacent interests, NOT a direct competitor, audience size within 2-3x of yours, similar values and production quality. "Bigger is not better, it's just bigger. Better is better." (Interview Valet's Tom Schwab)
• Swap formats, simplest first: (a) shoutout swap, 30+ seconds in each other's episodes; (b) ad swap, a 30-60s promo read; (c) feed drop, insert the partner's episode or teaser into your feed and vice versa (add context up front so your listeners know why they should listen); (d) guest swap or co-hosted episode/series; (e) full episode swap for the closest partners.
• Outreach: DM or email with the show name, one line on audience overlap, the exact episode to promote, a pre-written promo script, and a finished audio promo file. Make saying yes take five minutes. See references/growth-templates.md for the outreach template.
• Cadence: one new partner per month minimum; coordinate publish timing so both shows benefit at once; track new subscribers per swap, not impressions; repeat with new partners instead of one-offs.

3. Guesting loop. Be a guest on relevant shows AND make every guest you host share effortless.

• As a guest: pitch 1-2 well-fit shows per quarter; bring genuinely useful material; point listeners to ONE specific entry-point episode, never the whole catalog.
• Host-side guest kit: do not just ask "please share the episode." Send every guest a ready-to-post kit within 24 hours of release: the episode link, a two-line copy-paste summary, two suggested posts, a vertical video clip of their best moment, a square quote card, the best timestamp, and any tags. Give them assets that make THEM look good.

4. Audiograms and clips (turn one episode into a week of promos).

• Clip selection: pick moments with immediate curiosity, tension, surprise, emotion, or a quotable takeaway. If a clip needs 20 seconds of setup before the point lands, it is too slow for social. Mark 8 candidate moments during or right after recording; keep the best 3-5.
• Audiogram spec: 15-60 seconds, animated waveform, burned-in captions (most viewers watch muted), consistent brand elements (logo, colors, fonts), one clear CTA ("new episode out now" + where to listen), thumbnail that stops the scroll.
• Formats per platform: square 1:1 for Instagram/Facebook feeds, vertical 9:16 for Reels/Stories/Shorts/TikTok, landscape 16:9 for X and LinkedIn. Tools: Headliner, Wavve, or Descript.
• Publishing rhythm: 3 clips spread across 2 days beats dumping everything at once. Pin one clip to the episode show notes. Get clip rights from guests and networks IN WRITING before posting; never fabricate quotes, applause, or viral metrics; license any music bed.

5. Review and rating funnel. Ratings are social proof for undecided listeners (they do not directly move Apple/Spotify charts, which rank listenership and recent spikes), so chase them for conversion, not ranking.

• Ask at the right moment: after you delivered exceptional value in an episode, never randomly or mechanically. Swap generic "subscribe" CTAs for a specific share ask: "If today's episode helped, send it to one friend who needs to hear it."
• Make it frictionless: put direct links to your Apple Podcasts and Spotify rating pages in show notes, social bios, and email signatures. Listeners on Spotify can rate after 30 seconds of listening; the average appears after 10 ratings; Spotify ratings are stars only, no written reviews.
• Close the loop: read new positive reviews on-air. It thanks the reviewer, pulls in more reviews, and hands you free social proof. Respond to reviews where the platform allows, and mine them for content ideas.
• Never: buy listens or reviews. Spotify and Apple flag and remove bot-driven inflation.

6. Owned distribution (email list). Algorithms are rented reach; the list is yours. Mail it every time you publish: two lines on why this episode matters, the best quote or contrarian point, resource links, a behind-the-scenes note, a poll for future topics. Grow the list with one lead magnet tied to the show (curated tool list, template, or a "first 3 episodes to start with" guide) and mention it in every episode intro, mid-roll, and outro. Keep a newsletter-to-podcast loop: each promotes the other.

7. Measure and iterate. Track per episode: downloads at 7 and 30 days, retention drop-off points, ratings/reviews gained, email signups attributed. For each growth lever, track the source of new listeners with short listener surveys ("How did you find us?"), link tracking, or promo codes. Test in cycles: alternate episode titles for similar topics, try two show-note formats, A/B the in-episode CTA. Only consider paid promotion AFTER organic basics work and you can track which channel produced new listeners.

Output Contract

When asked to build a growth plan for a show, return:

1. The diagnosis (downloads tier, niche, cadence, existing assets).
2. A 90-day plan with one primary lever per month (e.g., Month 1: land 3 cross-promo partners; Month 2: launch clip workflow; Month 3: email lead magnet), each with the concrete next action and who does it.
3. Ready-to-use assets from references/growth-templates.md, filled in for their show: partner outreach email, guest share kit, review-ask script, episode CTA lines.
4. A measurement sheet: which metrics, where to read them, and the decision rule for what to do next (keep, fix, or drop each lever).

Operating Rules

1. Verify before claiming: never invent listener stats, chart rules, or platform features. If a platform changed its rating mechanics and you cannot verify the current state, say so and default to the conservative version.
2. Overlap check: this skill covers growth. It does not replace podcast_production (making the show), podcast_video_clips (editing clips), podcast_guest_outreach (booking guests), or audio_cleanup (repairing audio). When a request is really about one of those, say so and hand off the workflow, do not absorb it.
3. No growth hacking: no bought listens, no review rings, no bot farms, no fabricated quotes or metrics, no fake virality. Quality wins over cadence: a weak clip does not ship to hit a posting schedule.
4. Match the show's size: never recommend feed drops or paid ads to a 10-episode show with no audience base; the cross-promo ladder starts with shows near your own size.
5. Every recommendation names the measurable outcome (subscribers, downloads, signups) and how to track it. A tactic with no tracking is a guess, not a plan.