How to Rank Your Podcast in the Top 100
Episode 204 | Insider Secrets to a Top 100 Podcast | Courtney Elmer
Starting a Podcast that Turns Listeners into Leads
What does pretty much every business owner or expert starting a podcast really want? Spoiler alert: it’s not just a successful podcast — it’s a successful podcast that grows your business. We’re talking leads and sales here, people.
What a “Successful Podcast” Really Means
When starting a podcast, it’s important to understand that a “successful podcast” will mean different things to different people. Because having a platform that allows you to “create a greater impact” is great. But if you’re an expert, coach, course creator, or online business owner who wants to use your podcast as the primary lead-gen mechanism for your business, then your podcast needs to do more than just entertain, inform, or inspire. It also needs to drive business growth, generating leads and converting those leads into sales. Because sure, having a bunch of downloads is cool — but if that audience isn’t also engaging with your business and asking how to work with you, then your podcast is just a (very) expensive hobby.
The Power of Podcasting for Business Growth
Podcast listeners are among the most well-educated and affluent demographic of consumers online today. But the reason starting a podcast is one of the most effective ways to create an engaged audience full of raving fans and potential clients is because of the relationship your listeners naturally develop with you as they listen to your show.
Think about it: how many podcast hosts do you listen to and feel a genuine connection with? Hosts whose expertise you trust, whose recommendations you value, and whom you’d want to work with if the opportunity arose?
When listeners tune in to your podcast, they're choosing to spend their time with you. They trust your insights and are more likely to act on your recommendations.
Launching (or Relaunching) Your Podcast for Instant Discoverability
One of the most important steps in starting a podcast is a strategic plan for launching your podcast (here at PodLaunch we call it your Launch & Relaunch System). Podcasting grows more competitive by the year, but with a well-executed launch plan you can create immediate awareness and visibility for your show, get your show discovered by listeners globally, and set your podcast up for sustained success long-term.
The best part? This strategy works even if you have a small audience. Some of our clients have executed this strategy with fewer than 100 people on their email list and still landed in the Top 100 charts in their categories when launching their podcasts.
So it’s not about how big your audience is when you start — it’s about positioning your podcast to attract the right audience so you can grow.
Strategies for Standing Out when Starting a Podcast
By the end of this year, the global podcast audience is expected to exceed 500 million. That's more listeners than ever before and a number that's projected to grow rapidly as the podcast landscape continues to evolve. Yet despite this huge demand for high-quality podcasts, podcasts are actually in short supply with only around 3 million podcasts in existence today. That might still sound like a lot of podcasts, but fewer than 40,000 of these are what we call "actively established"— meaning they have at least 100 episodes, release weekly, and are independent of celebrity or major media backing.
But with so many listeners and so few active podcasts, this begs a bigger question: why do so many shows struggle to gain traction if the demand is clearly there? Because if there are only around 40k active podcasts out of 3 million, this means over 2.9 million people have quit podcasting.
To avoid becoming one of those failed shows, you need to focus on two main aspects: messaging and positioning. A strategic Launch & Relaunch plan will help you execute both.
Step 1: Bingeworthy Messaging
The first step to starting a podcast that stands out is having compelling messaging. This means your show must clearly convey its value and appeal to potential listeners before they even press play. It’s not enough to simply have great content; you need to communicate why your show is worth their time.
Step 2: Strategic Positioning
Positioning is crucial for gaining visibility and attracting listeners. This is why a strategic Launch & Relaunch System can significantly impact your ranking potential. An effective podcast launch plan can give your podcast an immediate boost, helping it rank higher on charts and be discovered by a broader audience from day one.
Understanding the Podcast Charts
Getting on the charts is not just about having some cool bragging rights — it's really about increasing your podcast’s discoverability since this is one of two top ways that podcast listeners search for podcasts to listen to worldwide.
The problem? Apple Podcasts only shows you the top 200 shows in any given category. Which means to get discovered more frequently, your podcast needs to consistently rank above this threshold.
There are four key factors that Apple and other platforms use to determine your podcast’s ranking potential:
- Follows: Hitting the “Follow” button on any podcast player indicates intent to listen. People won’t follow a podcast they don’t intend to listen to.
- Listens: Listens are a reliable indicator of content quality. The longer listeners stay tuned, the more podcast platforms view this as a sign of engaging content.
- Downloads: Downloads are the top metric that Apple considers when determining chart positions. The more downloads a podcast gets, the higher its ranking potential.
- Ratings and Reviews: Ratings and reviews on your podcast act as a form of social proof, guiding new listeners to decide if your show is worth their time. Just like the reviews you read before buying something on Amazon influences your decision to buy or not buy, podcast reviews influence your listener’s decision to listen or not listen.
By understanding these metrics when starting a podcast, you’ll be able to tailor your Launch & Relaunch System to boost engagement and visibility.
The Power of a Strategic Launch Plan
At the heart of starting a podcast lies a well-executed Launch & Relaunch System. This system comprises seven essential elements, each designed to maximize your podcast's discoverability and audience engagement. Your Launch & Relaunch System helps you make sure your podcast is correctly categorized and optimized for discovery. Just like a book needs effective marketing to become a bestseller, your podcast needs a solid positioning strategy to attract listeners.
And if you never launched your podcast? You can relaunch it. Maybe your initial episodes didn’t hit the mark, or your message has evolved. Relaunching gives you a second chance to make a killer first impression.
Kathryn Thompson: A Case Study
By focusing on crystal clear messaging and strategic positioning, one of our clients launched her podcast and ranked #1 in the Marketing category in Canada where she’s based, and among the Top #40 in the U.S.A.
But her podcast isn't just popular among her listeners — it's her top source for high-ticket leads to her $10k coaching program. By positioning her as the go-to expert and showing her listeners how she can solve the specific problems they’re experiencing in their business, her show keeps pulling in the right listeners and turning them into leads, despite hundreds of business and messaging podcasts out there. While others blend in, she stands out, with listeners choosing her show over the competition every time.
Why Podcasting Beats Other Mediums
Kathryn’s story is a perfect example of why starting a podcast is so effective as a core business strategy. Other mediums like YouTube, Instagram Reels, TikTok, and Facebook ads are great, but they don’t offer the same depth of connection that podcasting does. When people listen to your podcast, they’re giving you their undivided attention. This makes podcasting a unique and powerful tool for building credibility and authority in your niche, and when done right, it can drive significant growth for your business. It’s all about starting a podcast that not only attracts listeners but also converts them into loyal customers. And the best part? Podcasting allows you to do this in a way that feels authentic to you.
Starting a Podcast: The Path to Podcasting Success
A successful podcast isn’t just about having great content or a lot of downloads. It’s really about how you position and market your show so that listeners can find your great content, which will get reflected in your download totals. By focusing on strong messaging and strategic positioning, you can navigate the crowded podcasting landscape and achieve your podcast goals, whether that’s ranking on charts or driving leads — or both.
And if you’re an established coach or consultant who wants to reach more listeners and turn them into clients, book a free strategy call with our team to find out if you’re a fit for PodLaunch® — we’re here to help.
Or if you’re ready for more insider secrets on creating a bingeworthy top podcast listeners can’t ignore, hit follow on Insider Secrets to a Top 100 Podcast on your favorite app so you never miss a new episode.
Up Next:
In the next episode, I’ll teach you a mind-blowingly simple strategy that’ll help you leverage your podcast to grow your email list, so you can start seeing a tangible return on all that time and effort you’re investing into your show. So if you’re ready to have a podcast that grows week over week *and* converts listeners to clients on repeat, don’t miss it.
