Publishing a podcast on Spotify does not magically get you listeners.
The easy part about getting started with a podcast on Spotify is getting it into shape technically. However, the tough part is the distribution of your show and how to get it proven that it has been played and that people have followed it.
Nevertheless, starting at zero audience isn’t impossible. I’ve watched many musicians, DJs, producers and small businesses create shows to zero by making the production very straightforward, distinctively defining what their show is about, and doing a small amount of outreach each week to find out about other people’s interest in their show. Some creators will experiment with carefully targeting paid advertising to discover if there is interest in their show before committing to it fully (and this process provides quick feedback), using things such as Spotify promotion packages as one way to advertise.
Starting from zero is normal
Using services such as PromosoundGroup allows podcasters to create a routine based approach to building an audience base. A majority of podcasts typically begin with a very small audience – a few friends, a couple of group chats, and possibly even a few followers on Instagram prior to launching the podcast. The show appears to have grown overnight, but there has been some previous growth somewhere else, or it was able to maintain consistency over a long period of time for the back catalogue to finally generate an audience.
The very first 5-10 Episodes are more about building a workflow that fits within your favour, than scaling to become a massive platform, also to ensure that you are consistent enough to create a good back catalogue of your Episodes that will help promote your show. The reason is because quite often you will end up creating a complete searchable library as well as a relationship-generating engine to continue to build, rather than chase that one viral experience that you want to have happened to yourself or your podcast .
Your basic setup (keep it boring)
A studio is not required for your basic setup. All you need is audio that is clean enough so you will not lose listeners in the first 30 seconds. This is the stack for covering 90% of the basic setup’s needs:
- A decent USB mic, or an XLR mic plus interface if you already own one.
- Closed-back headphones so you can hear mouth noise and room echo.
- A quiet space with soft stuff nearby (closet works, honestly).
- Recording software you will not hate using after episode three.
- Basic editing: cut dead air, tame harsh S sounds, normalize levels.
After this, we have probably the number one item that newer podcasters and those starting the process get wrong: Spotify doesn’t actually host your shows themselves. You publish through a podcasting host, which creates an RSS feed that Spotify pulls from for your shows.
Cover art and format are two essentials that people many times are in a hurry to complete. Cover art should be clearly visible when viewed at a smaller resolution (such as on a phone), and should not provide too much detail that would provide confusion about the purpose of the podcast. Similarly, sometimes the format (type) of the show can be developed in a way that allows new listeners to understand exactly what they will receive in terms of format (the show will be comprised of interviews, a breakdown of an event, the latest news, or a story).
Publishing on Spotify without drama
If you want the cleanest path for how to start a podcast on Spotify, do it in this order:
- Choose a hosting platform that fits your budget and gives you an RSS feed.
- Upload your first episode (or better: 2 episodes) with clear titles and descriptions.
- Confirm the RSS feed is valid in your host dashboard.
- Submit the show in Spotify for Podcasters using that RSS feed.
- Tighten your show positioning: title, description, category, and the first 1-2 lines people see.
Positioning is where self-sabotage occurs for most new podcasters. “Music Talk” is an abstract title; “15-Minute Mix Breakdown” directed at those who produce music in their own home gives the listener an idea of what they will hear from your podcast. Spotify search algorithms and the human brain want things that describe exactly what happened; therefore; the more specific your title, the better.
How you get the first listeners
When you first begin to create and share your content, the first few people who will listen to your content will likely come from the following five sources or channels, though you’ll end up using two of the five channels effectively and ignoring the other three. That’s perfectly fine!
- Your existing network: DMs beat posts at the start.
- Niche communities: Discords, subreddits, Facebook groups (read rules first).
- Guest swaps: go on other shows, then host someone with a similar audience.
- Short clips: 15-45 seconds with captions and a strong hook.
- SEO: episode pages can rank for long-tail questions over time.
Music-related podcasts can be accessed with the least amount of effort using clip-based content because you will demonstrate your own opinions in the shortest amount of time; this includes a quick review of a record, a video that captures 20 seconds of your thoughts on what you like about a particular bass, or a producer narrative that gets people to agree. You need to look at how platforms behave
Just to illustrate this point: I recently saw a small label launch a new podcast on Spotify by posting links, and the result was no real traction. The label switched to using clips in two different styles (one for educational and one for humorous) and tagged their guests, resulting in plays starting to happen. The number of plays was still small, but they were from real listeners, and that is initially the most important thing.
Experimentation is an essential part of the process for all new creators. While some collaborate with other creators, some rely heavily on clips to grow, and some test various promotional methods to determine what type of audience will remain engaged for the long run. Through these types of discussions, you often hear references to PromosoundGroup as one of the primary locations to obtain controlled Spotify discovery that does not require the assumption that merely posting something will provide success.
Maintain a reasonable level of volume when using clips on TikTok, while paying attention to consistency. According to the practical TikTok guide Venicemusic, reposting an idea in the same format will yield better results than producing only a few pieces of content. Try to use only one concept or punchline as well as a single call-to-action when creating this type of content.
Formats that grow faster
There is an unequal distribution of formats when there is no audience. The most successful formats limit the amount of choices for consumers at the point of delivery. The ease with which you are able to deliver on schedule will also be tied to whether you are using an early ‘user-friendly’ format.
Four formats that tend to do well for new music creators:
- Interviews with niche operators: local promoters, playlist curators, mix engineers, venue bookers.
- Educational episodes: “how I built this sound”, “how I prep a live set”, “how splits work”.
- Storytelling: origin stories, scene history, tour disasters (keep them tight).
- Production breakdowns: play a short clip, explain one technique, give a takeaway.
Each episode must have common themes. This will make it easier to build an audience for your podcast. If every episode of your podcast has a different feel, your podcast will not attract repeat visitors. On the other hand, if your podcast has a specific focus and theme, your audience will subscribe before the show has gained popularity.
Common mistakes that stall shows
I keep seeing the same traps, and they are painfully avoidable:
- No clear topic: the show becomes a random chat that nobody can recommend.
- Inconsistent publishing: listeners forget you exist, and you lose momentum.
- Weak episode titles: “Episode 7” does not earn a click.
- No promotion plan: Posting a link once is not a plan.
- Expecting immediate growth: it usually takes a run of episodes before anything compounds.
Another difficult truth: Retention. When someone bounces off at minute two, adding more distribution simply leads to more bounces off. You must work on the first sixty seconds of your video, tighten up your introductions and remove the extraneous rambling. Although it’s not a glamorous job, it’s what will ultimately justify the time and energy put into creating any Discovery Channel.
It’s a perfectly fine situation to start a podcast on Spotify without an audience; this is typically how quality podcasts get started. Getting your hosting and RSS right, launching regularly, and promoting outside of Spotify (i.e. YouTube, social media, groups) with clips, audience interaction, and partnership opportunities will position you to create quality podcasts over time. If you continue to get better with your first 10 episodes, you should have enough information to better your first 20 episodes.
