- Podfest Messenger
- Posts
- The Top 5 Things Podcasters Should Be Doing Right Now
The Top 5 Things Podcasters Should Be Doing Right Now
The podcasting landscape continues to shift and evolve. Here are five opportunities creators should be paying attention to right now.
Podcasting continues to evolve, and recent industry research points to several clear trends that creators should be paying attention to. From discoverability and audience growth to monetization and content strategy, the most successful podcasters are focusing on a few key areas that can help them build more sustainable shows.
Here are five things podcasters should be prioritizing right now:
1. Build Direct Relationships With Your Audience
More creators are focusing on email lists, websites, and communities they own rather than relying solely on social media and platform algorithms. Direct audience relationships provide stability and make it easier to stay connected regardless of changes on any one platform.
2. Make Your Content More Discoverable
With podcast transcripts becoming more searchable and platforms investing in better content discovery, episode titles, descriptions, show notes, and website SEO are becoming increasingly important. Great content only helps if people can find it.
3. Lead With Authenticity
Recent listener research found that audiences consistently prefer podcast trailers and promotional content that feel natural, relatable, and authentic over highly polished or overly promotional messaging.
4. Diversify Your Monetization Strategy
Many creators are expanding beyond traditional sponsorships by exploring memberships, affiliate partnerships, consulting, courses, live events, and other revenue streams. For independent podcasters, the show itself is increasingly becoming a gateway to broader opportunities.
5. Experiment With Video and Multi-Platform Content
As platforms like YouTube continue investing in podcast-specific features, creators are finding new ways to repurpose content through video clips, shorts, and visual storytelling. While audio remains the foundation for many shows, discoverability is becoming increasingly multi-platform.
Why This Matters for Our Podcasting Community
The podcasting industry is maturing. Success is no longer determined solely by download numbers or chart rankings. Instead, creators are building sustainable businesses and communities by focusing on audience relationships, discoverability, authenticity, diversified revenue, and strategic content distribution.
The good news? Most of these opportunities don't require a larger budget, they require intentionality.
Learn More
Many of these trends are supported by recent industry studies and platform updates, including research on podcast discoverability, audience behavior, podcast websites, creator monetization, and listener preferences. Staying informed about these shifts can help you make smarter decisions about where to invest your time and energy as your show grows.
Because in today's podcasting landscape, it's not always the biggest shows that win—it's often the creators who adapt the fastest.
Podfest Masterclass and A.I. & Growth Summit
Date: June 9-11, 2026 from 11:30am-3:30pm EDT
Join us for this interactive virtual summit designed to help you grow your audience, strengthen your revenue streams, and make smarter use of AI in your workflow.
Podtours: Philadelphia Stop
Date: June 15, 2026 from 5:30pm-7:30pm EST
Connect with other local podcasters and creators to help grow and monetize your show as part of the Podfest Tour! Presented by Podmatch and Morgan James Publishing and brought to you in partnership with Podfest and Audacy.
Podtours: Pittsburgh Stop
Date: June 16, 2026 from 5:00pm-7:00pm EST
Join us for a fun time of networking, learning, and sharing podcasting tips. Presented by Podmatch and Morgan James Publishing and brought to you in partnership with Podfest and Audacy.
Podtours: Detroit Stop
Date: June 17, 2026 from 5:30pm-7:30pm EST
Join fellow podcasters, creators, and audio storytellers in your area for an evening of connection, conversation, and community. Presented by PodMatch and Morgan James Publishing, and brought to you in partnership with Podfest and Audacy, this gathering is designed to bring local creators together to share ideas, build relationships, and support one another's growth.
Podtours: Miami Stop
Date: June 25, 2026 from 5:30pm-7:30pm EST
Come hang out with fellow members of the Podfam and connect with creators from your local community. Presented by PodMatch and Morgan James Publishing and brought to you in partnership with Podfest and Audacy. You'll leave with new friends, fresh ideas, and a renewed excitement for your podcasting journey
BookThinkers Live
Date: July 11-12, 2026 Boston, MA
A two-day event focused on book marketing, personal branding, and growth for authors, podcasters, and creators. Expect strategy, networking, and conversations designed to help you amplify your message and expand your reach. Complementary tickets are available for our Podfam.
Authenticity Beats Polish…At Least in Podcast Trailers: New Study Reveals What Makes Podcast Trailers Actually Work
A new study from Coleman Insights, Nova Podcasts, and Pantheon Media tested multiple podcast trailer styles with 500 podcast listeners and uncovered a surprisingly consistent trend:
The trailers listeners preferred most weren't necessarily the most polished, energetic, or highly produced. They were the ones that felt the most authentic.
Across multiple test scenarios, listeners gravitated toward trailers that were easier to understand, sounded more natural, and felt less like advertisements. In many cases, those authentic trailers also generated stronger intent to listen to the show.
The reality? The podcast industry spends a lot of time talking about production quality, but listeners may be paying closer attention to something else entirely: trust.
What's Behind It?
Authentic trailers won on both listener preference and listening intent in 3 of the 4 podcast tests.
Explainer-style trailers often outperformed hype-driven "sizzle reels" because listeners found them more sincere and easier to understand.
Natural delivery improved recall of the podcast's name, helping listeners remember the show afterward.
Younger listeners, women, and daily podcast consumers consistently showed stronger preference for authentic approaches.
Listeners quickly recognized when a trailer sounded overly promotional—and those versions often underperformed.
Underlying Questions
For years, many podcasters have assumed that bigger budgets, more production, and slicker marketing would naturally create better first impressions.
But what if listeners are actually looking for the opposite?
What if the most effective trailer isn't the one that sounds like a commercial—but the one that sounds like a real person inviting you into a conversation?
As podcasting becomes increasingly professionalized, there may be a growing tension between:
sounding polished
and sounding human
What are your thoughts?
Is this...
A reassuring reminder that authenticity remains podcasting's greatest strength?
ORA sign that creators may be overthinking production when they should be focusing on connection?
We would love to hear your thoughts. Reply to this email and let us know. We would love to feature your responses in our weekly Messenger!
Take a deep dive into pop nostalgia with us! Pop culture influencers, TV stars, film actors, comedians, and musicians share inspirational stories about the road to success. Insightful conversations that are part comedy/part drama and are always entertaining! If you love classic TV, if you love the movies, if you love film and TV interviews (see where I'm going with this), you'll love Classic Conversations with your host, comedian, Jeff Dwoskin.
The Author’s Edge is the go-to podcast for accomplished experts ready to grow your impact, expand your reach, and attract bigger opportunities through smart book marketing, visibility, and publishing strategies. Hosted by nonfiction book coach and marketing strategist Allison Lane, this show gives you clear, honest insight into what actually works when you want to be known for what you know, without wasting time on noisy tactics that don't fit your goals. Each week, you’ll get practical guidance and straight talk from people who move the needle.
It's hard to find balance in a high-stress career while managing everything else in life. That's where Tactical Living Podcast comes in. Hosted by Ashlie Walton, a trauma recovery coach and tactical living expert, and Sergeant Clint Walton, this show offers practical advice for creating a well-balanced lifestyle, even amidst the demands of a first responder career.
A podcast series dedicated to bringing focused discussions on the unique challenges, lived experiences, opportunities, and innovations within rural healthcare—both locally and globally. Our mission is to bring rural health to the forefront of the global health conversation, ensuring these stories are not just heard, but impossible to ignore.
Podmatch: Automatically Matching Ideal Podcast Hosts & Guests For Interviews While Streamlining the Process
PodMatch believes that podcasting is the most powerful content medium for informing, inspiring, and motivating people to take action toward a more positive future. PodMatch’s purpose is to elevate independent voices on both sides of the microphone, empowering them to impact listeners in their own positive way, ultimately, making the world a better place.
Most podcast hosts and guests spend hours researching connections, coordinating interviews, and working on administrative tasks while only spending 10% of their time on what matters, recording impactful podcast episodes! PodMatch enables podcast guests and hosts to reclaim their time through automations and streamlined processes, so they can focus on creating content that serves listeners!