How to Use Podcasts to Promote Your Ecommerce Products

If you’re not leveraging podcasting to promote your ecommerce products, you’re missing out on untapped revenue potential for your business. Research shows that 86.5% of participants listen to podcast ads & another 55.6% have made a purchase based on an ad. 

But did you know beyond spending ad dollars on podcasting, you can also appear as a guest–for free–to promote your products to an eager audience? Learn how to get started with podcasting, what to know, & how to position your ecommerce store for success.

Align with Like-Minded Podcasts

Tapping into other people’s audiences on a podcast is the fastest way to gain traction in your quest to promote your ecommerce products, but you need to find the right outlet. Not every podcast will be the right fit to discuss or advertise your products. 

Ask yourself:

Q: What types of products does this podcast usually promote?

Q: What kind of audience does this podcast speak to?

Q: Do I resonate with the podcast host & the content they share?

Doing your research takes time upfront, but pays off big in the long-run. You want to promote your products to a highly targeted audience that are the most likely to convert to sales or a lead.

Consider Your True Audience (& Sub-Audiences)

Before pitching yourself & your ecommerce business to podcasts, make sure you understand your true audience. Start by identifying your customer demographics, interests, & buying activity. How old are your customers? What kind of hobbies do they share? What are they looking for from your online store? Make sure your true customer aligns with the podcast audience.

Beyond who buys your products, you can also consider who would resonate with your story. For example, if you’re a single Mom running an ecommerce empire with the help of print-on-demand, a podcast that caters to women with similar ambitions could be a great fit. In an ideal world, you want the audience to actually buy your products, but getting on a podcast also helps you gain valuable exposure, earn backlinks, & help raise brand awareness for your ecommerce store.

Focus on Providing Value, Not Self-Promotion

Before appearing on a podcast, make sure you understand the value you’re offering the audience. Unless you’re paying to advertise your products, the goal is to provide an audience value & avoid self-promotion. If you sell print-on-demand hoodies & hiking gear, don’t focus on talking about your products. Instead, concentrate on how connecting with nature makes you healthier or tips for solo hiking. As you give tips & tell your story, you can weave in product mentions when it makes sense & brings value to the audience.

When you’re obsessed with providing value on a podcast, it’s all about telling a good story. Identify the more interesting parts of your business. The products you sell could support a unique lifestyle, fund your passion for travel, or desire to give back to charities. When you identify your story, you’ve captivated the audience & can pepper in your products or business as needed.

Write an Incredible Pitch Letter

Appearing on a podcast as a guest requires a dazzling pitch letter that grabs the host’s attention. Focus the core of your pitch letter on how you’ll contribute to the podcast’s value, why the audience will enjoy it, & reference previous episodes you resonate with. 

Remember, you’re not doing podcast hosts a favor by appearing on their show. Instead, they’re looking for ways to build their own business & keep their audience engaged. Make the focus of your pitch about their podcast & how you can help them.

Advertise Your Products on Podcasts

Although it’s worthwhile, you can also pay to advertise your products on podcasts. 

If you sell print-on-demand cups with fun graphics, consider advertising on podcasts geared toward business owners, graphic designers, or artists. Your best bet is to identify podcasts that already advertise similar products & services. Your competitors already did the work to get their products seen on those podcasts, so why not follow their lead?

Launch Your Own Podcast

No rule says you must appear on multiple podcasts to promote your ecommerce products. Instead, you can launch your own podcast & talk about your online store whenever you want. 

Podcasting takes some serious work to launch, grow, & maintain, so make sure your ambitions & long-term goals align. You’ll need to follow best practices, like offering incredible value to your audience. After all, no one wants to sit around & listen to a round-up of ecommerce products all day. Consider hiring freelancers from Fiverr or Upwork to help grow your podcast while you focus on running your ecommerce store.

Track Your Results

Like any other marketing strategy, make sure to track the results of your podcast promotion strategy. Offering each audience a unique coupon code is one way to track which podcast appearances were the most successful. You can also dig into your ecommerce store’s analytics to see where traffic is coming from.

Once you can see where your traffic is coming from & where it’s not, you can double down on your podcasting efforts—narrow your focus on which podcasts you choose to work with or pitch yourself as a repeat guest. You save time & resources while amplifying your conversions with the right audience.

Capture Leads from Podcast Appearances

Don’t miss out on marketing to interested podcast audiences again & again. Set up a landing page dedicated to your podcast efforts designed to capture leads. The idea is to offer a coupon, discount, or digital freebie in exchange for someone’s email address. They may not buy from your online store today, but you can now continuously market to them through your email list. 

Podcasts are a valuable opportunity to find & convert new audiences to your online store. Just make sure you’re offering value to the audience while ensuring the outlet is worth your time & attention.

What are your best tips for using podcasts to promote your ecommerce products? Let us know by leaving a comment below!