How long does it take for a podcast to take off?
I think you already know the answer to this question, and it’s not a super exciting one.
It depends (boooooo).
For some podcasts, it might take months for you to start seeing some momentum. For other shows, it might take a year or more before the downloads, and community start to feel like they’re going somewhere.
The annoying truth is that there is no magic timeline.
Podcasting is effort, which I’m sure you DEFINITELY already know, and yes, it can feel a whole lot like you’re just yelling into the void.
I’m here to tell you that it can, in fact, be strategic yelling into the void.
Time in the game does help you to grow your podcast but what’s even better is you structuring your show so that your dream audience can find it, and then care about it enough to come back the following week too.
I’ve edited and produced over 800 podcast episodes, from scripting up the episodes, editing them and creating social media content to build communities online. And while there is no overnight formula (despite what social media gurus try to tell you), there are absolutely things you can do to give your podcast a much better chance of growing.
Here are a few of them.
1. Do not be afraid to participate in communities online
I bet you think I’m talking about Instagram and TikTok - that’s for another post.
I’m actually talking about the platforms that have way more opportunities for finding the people who already care about your topic: Reddit, Substack and X/Twitter.
If you’ve made an entire podcast about a topic, I’m going to assume that you love talking about it (and if that’s not the case, then we might need to find you something else to talk about). Luckily for you, there are loads of people online who care about the same things you do. A lot of them are sitting in subreddits, threads, group chats, forums and niche little corners of the internet. And talking to people from the safety of your screen can feel a lot less stressful than trying to record viral videos (which is still important - we can talk about that another time).
But before I give you free rein - there is one very important rule: do not lead with self promotion.
The goal is to become genuinely useful, interesting, curious and recognisable in the communities your audience already spends time in. People can smell a rat from miles away, so focus on joining the conversation properly.
Here are a few subreddits you could look at (without knowing what your niche is, but hopefully it gives you inspiration):
Or any sport/tv show/movie/book/hobby/business you can imagine
The point is to find the places where your future listeners are already talking, asking questions, sharing opinions and obsessing over the same things your podcast is about.
So reply to other people’s posts with your own commentary, thoughts, opinions and advice. Pay attention to what people keep asking, notice the language they use and let people become familiar with the way.
Podcasting is ultimately about building relationships with your listeners, and the sooner you can do that - the sooner your downloads will start to increase.
2. Make sure your episodes titles make sense for someone who hasn’t heard of you before
This is something I see ALL the time in podcasting and thankfully, it is such an easy fix.
A lot of podcasts use episode titles that only make sense if you’ve already listened to the show. Like an inside joke, a niche reference, a mention of something you spoke about 20 minutes in… Which is completely fine if you already have a devoted audience who knows the context, the inside jokes and the ecosystem of your show.
The problem is that new listeners do not know what “it” is.
To put it another way: you know everything about the episode because you recorded it. You know the guest, the backstory, the joke, the drama, the point of it. The listener does not.
So when your episode title assumes anything, it does absolutely nothing for the discoverability of your podcast.
And before you say “but Shaleen, I see really successful podcasts do this!!”
To that I respond: Yes but they’ve already done the hard work and built a loyal audience. That audience already knows the context and the inside jokes, so they get to have the privilege of writing episode titles that make absolutely no sense.
However, if you’re still building your dream audience then you need to make sure your dream audience knows the podcast is for them. So you need to spell it out.
Try thinking about who your ideal listener is, what THEY might be interested in hearing about and add a little spice.
So instead of:
“Let’s talk about the finale”
→ The [insert show/movie] finale left fans FURIOUS, and I completely agree with them… Here’s why
“BookTok, dark romance and what’s trending right now”
→ “Why everyone on BookTok is suddenly obsessed with dark romantasy??
“Postpartum identity and becoming a mum”
→ “Why did no one tell me this? What happened 6 weeks after having my first baby”
“ADHD burnout and getting back on track”
→ I had ADHD burnout and it made doing small tasks feel IMPOSSIBLE
“Our campaign recap: the battle at Black Hollow”
→ The unexpected battle that changed our ENTIRE campaign…
“Dating apps, ghosting + romance in 2026”
→ Do dating apps feel so much more exhausting for anyone else?
“Top tips for pricing your freelancing services”
→ How to Price Your Services When You’re Worried People Will Think it’s Too Expensive
3. Don’t wing your episodes and call it “being consistent”
My sincerest apologies if you feel like I’m calling out but I am here to help you grow your show (with some tough love).
There is a very real difference between showing up consistently AND strategically, and publishing random episodes consistently.
You can post every single week, promote every episode on your stories and you will still feel still like nothing is happening if there isn’t a strategy behind what you’re making.
We can fix that and to do that you’re going to start asking yourself a few pointed questions before you record.
Disclaimer: this doesn’t mean that you need to script up each episode within an inch of it’s life. However, a little intention never killed nobody.
The questions:
Who this episode is for?
What do they personally care about/ what’s happening in their world?
Why does this episode topic matter? (Why should you talk about it)
Why someone should choose this episode over everything else they could listen to?
Even if your podcast is personal, your listener still needs a way in - they need to understand why the story, opinion, guest or conversation is relevant to them.
That, team, is the difference between an episode that feels like a diary entry, and an episode that makes someone else in the world think “Ooooh, I need to listen to this episode.”
Same goes if you’re a edutainment or a story telling podcast - have a think about what your audience is interested in and what will they engage with the most.
And if you are ready to lock in and start looking at your podcasts stats, I’ve written a post chatting about the most important metrics to follow here (because there are a bajillion options and that stuff gets confusing fast).
Okay…
This post is already too long and I’ve given you homework so I’m going to wrap it up here.
In sum: the key to getting more podcast listeners is to get more people caring about your show. And to do that you need to:
1) Start to become active in your niche (wherever that community might live)
2) Tell your ideal listener why the episode is for them in your title
3) Stop winging your content and start putting some intention behind each episode by answering a few questions before each recording.
If you want more podcasting advice then have a browse through my other Free Resources.
And if you don’t follow me already - I’m going to be doing deep dives and chatting about other podcasting strategies over on Instagram and TikTok. My inbox is always open so feel free to DM me if you have any questions :)
Do you want your podcast reviewed? ✨
I’m currently working on a Podcast Audits/Reviews so that I can help as many podcasters as I can get a strategy behind their shows. It’s in beta at the moment while I work to make sure it’s super helpful for you, but if you want to join the waitlist just click the button below. I’ll let you know as soon as spots are available 💖
