Podcast reviews are a great thing to have. The more reviews you have for your show, the more people poking around on iTunes or Stitcher will trust that listening to your podcast is worth their time.
This is something I’ve worked on quite a bit for my podcast, and I’m glad to say the show has gotten 196 reviews in less than 6 months:
I cover this in full detail in PodcastProdigy. But for now, here are 25 ways you can get more reviews:
Bonus: Click here to get the PDF + infographic version of 25 Ways To Get More Podcast Reviews.
1. Ask friends and family.
This is a simple one, but it works.
Ask your friends, family, and co-workers to listen to your podcast and then leave a review.
This alone helped me get about 10 podcast reviews on the day my podcast launched.
2. Ask at the end of each of your posts.
At the end of each of your blog posts or EasyAudello pages, ask people to go through and leave you a review.
Here’s what I say on my pages:
Did you like this?
Thank you for listening to this episode! If you enjoyed it, please feel free to share it using the social media buttons on this page.
I’d also be VERY grateful if you could rate, review, and subscribe to A Better Life on iTunes. Or, if you use Stitcher, you can leave a review right here.
Post links to your podcast on all of your social media accounts: Facebook, Twiter, Reddit, Digg, etc, and encourage your followers to download and review your podcast.
4. Run a contest.
Give away a prize for the first 5 people who leave a review on your podcast.
Having a contest for a small amount of people will incentivize people to move quickly.
5. Ask loyal listeners directly.
People are going to tell you that they love your podcast. When they do, say “Thanks! I would really appreciate if you left a review.”
I have gotten many reviews this way.
John Lee Dumas is pretty extraordinary at this. Check out his Twitter feed for an example of how to do this well.
6. Include it in your autoresponder series.
When people sign up for your list, have a series of follow up messages.
In those follow up messages, mention specific podcast episodes that would benefit them, especially given what they signed up for.
In those emails, ask for a podcast review for when they’re done listening.
Bonus: Click here to get the PDF + infographic version of 25 Ways To Get More Podcast Reviews.
7. Look for people who are already leaving reviews on similar podcasts and write to them.
There are all kinds of people who post about their favorite podcasts.
As an example, I just did a search on “knitting podcast review” and found this post about someone’s top 5 knitting podcasts, this one about knitting podcasts someone listens to most often, and this one about some popular knitting podcasts.
You can reach out to the people who write these posts and ask for their feedback.
8. Create a vanity URL.
Buy an easy-to-remember domain and redirect it to your iTunes review page so people can remember to click through and leave a review.
For example, I own the domain MyFancyHands.com. It’s a redirect link to my affiliate link of an excellent personal assistant service. People remember that name and sign up under my link.
You can buy something like LeaveJaneAReview.com, BeerBrewingReview.com, etc, so people can easily remember.
9. Give away a bonus when people leave a review.
At the time of this writing, this is permissible within iTunes, but I always recommend double checking.
If you can include an incentive for people to leave you an honest review, it makes them much more likely to actually do it.
Create a Facebook group, Twitter hashtag, or some kind of forum where people can get together to talk about your podcast.
In that group, where you have raving fans, ask people to leave you a review.
11. Leave reviews for other podcasters.
I often get emails from people saying that they have left me a rating and review and would appreciate reciprocation if I like their podcast.
If I have the time to check out the podcast and actually do like their show, I will review them back.
12. Tell people you have a goal.
Let your audience know that you have a goal to get ‘x’ reviews by ‘x’ time. Make people a part of the journey to hit a target by a specific time. (Disclosure: I got this idea from Jason Van Orden on this post.)
Bonus: Click here to get the PDF + infographic version of 25 Ways To Get More Podcast Reviews.
13. Ask guests who have been on your show.
Asking guests who have already been on your show to leave a review is an easy way to get reviews.
After all, it’s better for THEM if your show gets more reviews.
More reviews = more potential listeners = more exposure for them.
14. Ask for a review on your show.
Inside your show, mention how reviews help you out a lot and you’d really appreciate if people could leave one.
15. Go on the podcasting subreddit.
There’s an entire section for podcasting on Reddit and it mentions specifically that you can ask for reviews there.
You can find the subreddit here.
16. Read your favorite podcast reviews of the week.
At the beginning of each of your episodes, read your favorite reviews that were left in the last week. People love to hear their names called.
You can even give some kind of a prize for the review of the week (or month) to give it an extra push.
17. Set up a Google alert.
Set up a Google alert to see if people are reviewing podcasts in your niche. If they are, you can reach out to them and see if they’d be interested in reviewing yours, too.
To set this up, just go to http://www.google.com/alerts and type in whichever keywords you would like to receive notifications about, for example, “podcast review + your podcast niche.”
18. Make asking for reviews a social media routine.
Make sure to consistently ask for podcast reviews. Don’t ask once and then assume you shouldn’t do it again. By asking multiple times, you keep it at top of mind for people and keep reaching people who may not have seen you ask before.
You don’t want to be obnoxious about this, obviously, but why not ask once a week or so?
Bonus: Click here to get the PDF + infographic version of 25 Ways To Get More Podcast Reviews.
19. Do a search on Amazon.
Go onto the Top Reviewers section on Amazon (link here) and see if there are people who have reviewed books in your niche. Reach out and see if they’d be interested in also reviewing your podcast, potentially for some kind of incentive.
20. Put a link in your email signature.
In your email signature, let people know that one way to make you extremely happy is to leave you a podcast review.
21. Have a banner on your blog.
On your blog, have a box that says, “Click here to leave a review for “x” podcast!” so people can click right through.
22. Ask for reviews as a birthday present.
When it’s your birthday (or anniversary, or some other event), announce on social media (where people probably wouldn’t get you “real” presents anyway) that the present that you would appreciate the most would be a review.
23. Shout out to people on your podcast.
In your podcast, mention specific people – it could be action takers of your content, people you respect, or industry leaders.
When the podcast airs, let them know you’ve given them a shout out. If they like it, ask for a review. Just like with asking guests for reviews, more reviews = more potential listeners = more exposure for them.
24. Message people on LinkedIn.
In Podcast Prodigy, I interviewed Michelle Evans. She told me that the way she got into New & Noteworthy was by asking people on LinkedIn to rate and review her podcast. It worked for her.
25. Go on forums in your niche and ask people there.
If there are already people passionate enough about your niche to sign up for forums about it, they’d likely love to be given the chance to give an honest review on something they enjoy talking about.
I hope this helps give you some ideas!
And if you’d like to learn more about podcasting, check out PodcastProdigy.com. :)
Bonus: Click here to get the PDF + infographic version of 25 Ways To Get More Podcast Reviews.
4 thoughts on “25 ways to get more podcast reviews”
Great ideas! I suggest a tool to help you keep track of your reviews (and make it easier to thank your reviewers): My Podcast Reviews. It also checks all the international iTunes and Stitcher listings and sends you the reviews automatically.
I’ve heard about this, Daniel, and forgot where it was. Thank you for sharing!
In my point of view, number two is a powerful idea. “Ask at the end of each of your posts.” this will encourage your listeners to give their opinion about your podcast topic. Always respond on valuable comments, make them feel they are important and welcome in your pillar.
All in all, the roundup of ideas here are all effective if done correctly. If you’re passionate in your work, you will receive a great reward at the end of the day.
Thank you! I concur. :)