Tips & Tricks

Overview

Podcasting is one of the most effective mediums for creators - but it’s also one of the most challenging places to get started and grow an audience.

This is why it’s so important to turn new listeners into loyal fans.

For all its challenges, finding success as a Podcaster means that you get to create content about things you love for an intensely loyal and highly motivated audience. Your listeners spend hours and hours with you, and they really get to know you—they’re not just passively swiping through your posts in a feed.

This guide will help you build a foundation to start taking social media seriously as a strategy for growing your audience. We’ll talk about some of the basics that you should have in place before you even get started, how to siphon traffic from TikTok and Instagram to grow an audience on Twitch, as well as how to monetize your audience in new ways by going direct to your biggest fans.

Whether you’re just getting started or you’re already hosting full time, you need a way to collect fan contact info and create a direct connection to your listeners.



Why First Party Data? 

First party data means that you are in direct control of your fanbase and your data. It means fans have opted in to receiving messages from YOU, and you maintain ownership of that information.

Laylo was built as the platform where you’re able to connect directly with and manage your audience. While Laylo is hosting and analyzing the data, you’re able to cancel your account, download, and keep your audience any time.

Why Laylo?

Laylo is the world’s most powerful and customizable creator messaging platform — and takes seconds to set up. 

Creating your Laylo is easy—it’s completely free and only takes a few minutes. Check out Make a Creator Account to get started, and once you’re signed up, you can create your first Drop. This is the link that fans can sign up on to get notified about anything you’re releasing - content, merch, events, NFTs and more.

But the best part about Laylo is that they don’t require your followers to download or install anything. All your followers need to do is tap your link and choose how they want to join your list and hear from you - via SMS, Instagram DM, Facebook Messenger, Email or Discord.

Once you’ve made your Laylo and Drop link, you have a place to start experimenting with new ways for people to connect with you. You can message fans anytime and even segment those messages based on fan location, interests and more. Everything from sharing new episodes to announcing live events can be done from your dashboard.

How To Start Collecting Fan Contacts

Now that you’ve made your Laylo link, the next step is to actually launch it. It’s time to start getting your fans on your list!

This is easy on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and more. Simply add your Laylo Profile link to your social bios, or if you already have a Drop link ready, you can post that on your story or social bios.

On Instagram, we also recommend switching your podcast account to a Business Account in your settings if you haven’t already. This will enable you to integrate your Laylo account, use theInstagram DM tool, and get more insights and analytics about your posts.

Similarly, TikTok requires that you switch your account to a business account before you can put any link in your bio. The process is similar to Instagram, and TikTok has an official guide.

The “Trojan Horse” Approach To Growing An Engaged Audience 

In addition to your socials, you can add your Laylo profile link to your podcast page and YouTube page and tell fans to join to get exclusive updates on content, merch, events and any additional exciting news you have to share. We’ve seen creators get a ton of fans signed up by simply shouting out the link on their podcast and telling fans to join from the episode description.

Final Thoughts

Creating meaningful, direct relationships with your listeners is one of the most rewarding aspects of podcasting. Laylo is the perfect companion to your podcast and community; it’s a way to keep in touch with your fans while enabling them to connect with you and discover your other content. When paired with strategies that leverage other social networks and streams of monetization, your growth strategy will be unstoppable.

To see how others have used Laylo for their success stories, check out how The Sweetest Little Life is using Laylo to capture audiences and fans in an always-on capacity for future messaging; how Our Sleeved Podcast is using Laylo to drive audiences and fans to a live show in April; and how Buzzin With Marlowe is driving audience and fans to a coinciding merch drop.