Podcast Reviews: How to Grow Your Show via Word-of-Mouth
When you google "how to grow my podcast", you'll find a plethora of advice on how to grow organically, i.e., by word of mouth rather than paid advertising.
Recommendations usually include tips like:
- Publish weekly
- Cross-promote your episodes
- Make sure you're in all the podcasting directories
- ... and so on
However, receiving lots of positive podcast reviews is one of the easiest ways to get your podcast noticed.
What are podcast reviews?
Reviews are written comments or messages from podcast listeners about your show. They may comment on particular episodes or about the show in general. Many also mention the podcast host and the host's influence on their lives.
Positive reviews are precious because they involve effort. It takes time to type out a heartfelt message.
Where can listeners review podcasts?
Surprisingly, although there are many different platforms where you can listen to podcasts, only a few of them allow listeners to give credit to their favorite shows.
Apple Podcast reviews are easily the most well-known, which is why you'll hear so many podcast hosts ask listeners to "leave a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you like to listen".
But it's not so easy to leave reviews on different platforms.
iHeart Radio, Google Podcasts, and Spotify (three of the biggest, after Apple) don't allow reviews (although Spotify recently added a ratings feature).
Castbox lets you leave a comment in their app, but only after you've listened to the podcast. That's their way of eliminating the "review bombing" that has sometimes plagued Apple Podcasts in the past.
Podchaser and Audible are currently the only other platforms where you can leave a podcast review.
What are podcast ratings?
Podcast ratings are much easier to share because you only have to tap one to five stars to show your opinion. That takes less than a second on Apple Podcasts, so podcasts typically have more ratings than reviews.
For example, Amy Porterfield's popular "Online Marketing" podcast has 3000 reviews but nearly double that in ratings. Similarly, Apple Podcast named Maya Shankar's "A Slight Change of Plans" the best show of the year in 2021. And at the time of writing, it has 1400 ratings but only 164 reviews.
How do podcast reviews help grow your audience?
Sometimes it can feel very lonely talking into the mic week after week, wondering if anyone hears your message. Reviews are great for you as a podcast host because they reassure you that people really do listen to your show.
Good reviews let you know that you're on the right track, and mediocre or negative ones can help you improve future episodes.
More importantly, reviews help other people decide whether your podcast is likely to appeal to them or not. Some potential listeners will have heard your show mentioned on other podcasts; some may have even heard you interviewed by other podcasters.
Still, podcast reviews are a significant influence in deciding whether to push play or not.
How to get podcast reviews
Podcast reviews are a great way to attract more listeners. However, people are often multitasking while they're listening. After all, the beauty of podcasts is that you can listen while you're working out at the gym, cooking the family meal or driving home from work.
But it does make finding the way to your podcast app's review section seem too big a deal to bother with, so most people forget to do it.
That's why Rate This Podcast is so helpful to podcasters and listeners alike. It makes it quick and easy for your superfans to write a review on their preferred app.Here's how it works:
1 - Get a unique, memorable link from ratethispodcast.com
2 - Read a podcast call-to-action at the end of every episode that mentions the link
3 - Include the link on your social media and in the episode show notes
4 - Embed the podcast review link on your website by copy-pasting our short snippet of code. It adds a rate button to your site, making it super simple for visitors to leave a new review
Rate This Podcast takes the hassle out of leaving a review. Your subscribers can get straight to the review place on their app, which leaves them free to write an excellent review on your channel in next to no time.
Try these podcast call-to-action examples
It's easy for a listener to tune out when they hear the same old call-to-action (known as CTAs) every week. So, podcast creators are beginning to explore more options. Pro tips and ideas include:
Offering incentives - "for every new review I'll donate to..."
Running competitions - "post a picture of your review on Instagram, and I'll choose two random reviews to receive..."
Read specific reviews on the show and mention the reviewer by name - acknowledging someone's heartfelt review each week can be a powerful incentive for others to write one too.
How do I keep track of all my podcast reviews?
It couldn't be easier to monitor all your podcast reviews using the Rate This Podcast dashboard.
We monitor your reviews in Apple Podcasts, Podchaser, Castbox and Audible across every country.
You'll get an email alert every time we find a new review for your podcast. That lets you see every comment and keep on top of your feedback instead of spending precious time trawling through the different players manually.
Conclusion
Reviews help potential new listeners figure out if your podcast is the show for them. The more positive reviews you get, the more social proof you have to attract new listeners and build your audience numbers and engagement.
But you do need to give people an easy, convenient way to rate and review your podcast. Otherwise, they simply won't bother.
So, make it easy for your podcast audience to help you grow your show. Get started with Rate This Podcast today.
