1. The first step in promoting your podcast actually comes down to the description of the podcast itself. Your podcast description should be clear and give an accurate representation of the contents of your podcast. Podcast episodes generally have a common theme, such as how to podcasts, podsafe music podcasts etc.

Your description should accurately describe this theme. Remember, not everybody is going to want to listen to your podcast. What you ultimately want is a core following from those that are particularly interested in your genre. This is known as a niche. An example of a niche is all people that want to train their cat to speak. Wacky I know, but my research indicates that this is indeed possible and I'm trying it on my cat.

Now this is a very specific podcast niche.

Another broader example would be unsigned heavy metal band music. This would attract listeners who are perhaps looking for the latest music that has not hit the mainstream and maybe even music agents looking to sign up the next big act. Another good idea is to have an attractive image included in your podcast. This can give a pictorial description of your theme and attract your niche podcast audience.

2. The next step in promoting your podcast is to get it in front of the podcast world. Now there are a plethora of sites that list podcasts. There are podcast directories, there are forums that discuss podcasts and then there is the search engines themselves.

Firstly I would recommend submitting your podcast to as many podcast directories as possible. What this does is get you some traffic, but more importantly it will get you links back to your site, in the the search engines. These are powerful one way links. There are 50 or more podcast directories around ranging from general ones, categorized into many genres, to niche directories, focusing on one topic, such as educational podcasts. Simply find the ones that are appropriate to your podcast and submit.

Forums are also a good place to find listeners and get links. Simply join the forum and participate. Do not spam. You can usually place a link to your podcast in your signature line. If your podcast is interesting to the forum members you will attract listeners. Use a feedburner link to monitor the number of listeners you have.

3. The final step is what I call managing the growth. If you get to this step. This is where you will have an ever increasing number of listeners and may even attain cult status for your podcast. At this point you will be looking for more macro promotion. You may be needing to look for joint venture partners and may receive offers. Consider these wisely.

Now clearly not all podcasts will reach this level, but if you do you should not diverge too widely from your listener base, since this is what has brought you to this level. At this point you can consider getting professional advice, provided your monetization model permits.

If you are a band you may have already have received offers of work by this stage and the podcast should be maintained, in a normal operation, since this is what got you to this level. These are the basic steps to promoting your podcast.

To promote your podcast please visit Graeme's Podcast Directory. This directory already contains a number of resources on podcasting itself. But it is by no means limited to that and lists podcasts in many genres. Any one is welcome to submit their podcast for consideration to www.Podcastdir.net and listing is free.

1. The first step in promoting your podcast actually comes down to the description of the podcast itself. Your podcast description should be clear and give an accurate representation of the contents of your podcast. Podcast episodes generally have a common theme, such as how to podcasts, podsafe music podcasts etc.

Your description should accurately describe this theme. Remember, not everybody is going to want to listen to your podcast. What you ultimately want is a core following from those that are particularly interested in your genre. This is known as a niche. An example of a niche is all people that want to train their cat to speak. Wacky I know, but my research indicates that this is indeed possible and I'm trying it on my cat.

Now this is a very specific podcast niche.

Another broader example would be unsigned heavy metal band music. This would attract listeners who are perhaps looking for the latest music that has not hit the mainstream and maybe even music agents looking to sign up the next big act. Another good idea is to have an attractive image included in your podcast. This can give a pictorial description of your theme and attract your niche podcast audience.

2. The next step in promoting your podcast is to get it in front of the podcast world. Now there are a plethora of sites that list podcasts. There are podcast directories, there are forums that discuss podcasts and then there is the search engines themselves.

Firstly I would recommend submitting your podcast to as many podcast directories as possible. What this does is get you some traffic, but more importantly it will get you links back to your site, in the the search engines. These are powerful one way links. There are 50 or more podcast directories around ranging from general ones, categorized into many genres, to niche directories, focusing on one topic, such as educational podcasts. Simply find the ones that are appropriate to your podcast and submit.

Forums are also a good place to find listeners and get links. Simply join the forum and participate. Do not spam. You can usually place a link to your podcast in your signature line. If your podcast is interesting to the forum members you will attract listeners. Use a feedburner link to monitor the number of listeners you have.

3. The final step is what I call managing the growth. If you get to this step. This is where you will have an ever increasing number of listeners and may even attain cult status for your podcast. At this point you will be looking for more macro promotion. You may be needing to look for joint venture partners and may receive offers. Consider these wisely.

Now clearly not all podcasts will reach this level, but if you do you should not diverge too widely from your listener base, since this is what has brought you to this level. At this point you can consider getting professional advice, provided your monetization model permits.

If you are a band you may have already have received offers of work by this stage and the podcast should be maintained, in a normal operation, since this is what got you to this level. These are the basic steps to promoting your podcast.

To promote your podcast please visit Graeme's Podcast Directory. This directory already contains a number of resources on podcasting itself. But it is by no means limited to that and lists podcasts in many genres. Any one is welcome to submit their podcast for consideration to www.Podcastdir.net and listing is free.

The importance of promoting your podcast should never be underestimated. The creation of your podcast is only part of the work involved in being a podcaster. Promoting your podcast is just as important as creating it, and without proper promotion your podcast may just fizzle and die. Many of the tried and true techniques to promoting websites can be converted to promoting your podcast.

I. Podcasts should be submitted to several podcast directories. Podcast directories offer Internet users a wide selection of podcasts all in one place, and will allow more exposure for all podcasts submitted for inclusion. Most directories are separated into several categories, some more detailed than others, and will allow potential listeners to more easily find what they are looking for.

II. Think of the RSS feed as an advertisement. Many people fail to realize the full value of their RSS feeds; so many podcasters make the mistake of not using the full potential of the feed. It's sad to think about how often a podcaster has failed to include a full and detailed summary of the podcast, or how often a podcaster fails to provide even a simple image (some people commonly refer to this as "Album Art"). The item description fields for podcasts are many times lacking relevant information about the podcast. Take the time to properly utilize a podcast's RSS feed. Podcasters should consider writing a 100-150 word podcast summary, and spend equal effort on each and every item description.

III. Never underestimate the value of having graphics for a podcast, and podcast website. As stated earlier, many podcasters forget to include an image (Album Art) in their RSS feeds. Images and logos are very important to "brand" recognition and are extremely important for promotional purposes. Some of the best album arts are those, which are bold, yet simple; some of the best album art may only take less than an hours worth of time. Images should be consistent, the same image which is used on a podcast's website should be used for the feed; this can be easily achieved by some simple resizing and cropping.

IV. Create a community forum, or message board for your podcast. Not only will this help people come back repeatedly to your website for discussion, but it will become an important tool for discovering what your listeners want. There are several free message boards / forum scripts available on the Internet that can be easily and freely installed to any website.

Keeping the preceding thoughts in mind, in combination with traditional Internet promotion techniques and any podcaster should be able to achieve a significantly successful podcast promotion. The success of which could be very important to the podcast's survival.

David is a freelance writer and chief editor for PodcastFerret.com podcast directory, where you can find feeds, download, rate, and comment on podcasts. Add your podcast to PodcastFerret.com today.