“Don’t forget to leave a 5-star rating and review. It helps others find this show.” We’ve all heard that same line on all the big podcasts, but is it true? Do ratings and reviews raise your show in the charts and get shown to more people? Like with most things in podcasting the answer is quite ambiguous but I’m going to tackle this question and get to the truth behind how to get more podcast listeners with ratings and reviews.
Do ratings and reviews help get more listeners for my podcast?
The short answer is no. When it comes to Apple Podcasts the rankings are based on new subscribers within the past week with a weighted average for the last 24, 48, and 72 hours.(1) Ratings and reviews do not affect your ranking. Apple Podcasts ratings and reviews really only serve two purposes.
- Social proof for people that find you listing. Good ratings and reviews could convince a potential listener to give your show a chance and bad ratings and reviews could dissuade that potential listener.
- Listener feedback on your show. Keeping track of your reviews can let you know what people think of your show and alert you to potential issues you may need to address.
If your goal is simply to grow your listenership then asking for reviews might not be the most effective strategy.
Should I ask my listeners for ratings and reviews?
That depends on your goals. If your goal is simply to grow your listenership then asking for reviews might not be the most effective strategy.
Most podcast listeners find new shows by word-of-mouth. This could be as a recommendation from friends or hearing about it on another podcast.(2)(3)
Some strategies for capitalizing on that could be
- Encouraging your listeners to share your show with friends
- Promoting your show on other podcasts that are reaching your target audience
- Guesting on other podcasts
- Having other podcasters on your show
- Buying Google/Facebook ads
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Ready to give it a try?
My tip on how to get more podcast listeners with ratings and reviews
You can leverage podcast reviews for growth. How? By encouraging your audience to share their reviews on their social media. Now only do you get the podcast ratings and reviews, you also get your show promoted to your audience’s like-minded network.
Here’s how you do it
- Ask your audience to rate and review your show. Make sure it’s easy by making links readily available. Apple Podcasts is the obvious one but not everyone uses Apple. Other popular options are Stitcher, Castbox, and Podchaser.
- Tell your audience to take a screenshot of their review.
- Pro-tip: Podchaser has the ability to share directly from their website.
- The listener should then share the screenshot/review to their social media account and tag you in the post. This will notify you so you can engage with the listener and will also direct potential listeners to your account where they can find your show.
Bonus points: you can entice your listeners to do this by hosting some sort of raffle. Everyone who shares the review will be entered to win.
Just like that, you can make the ratings and reviews actually help you get more listeners to your podcast. If you want help implementing this strategy be sure to schedule a free consult call and I can help you get started!
Also, be sure to leave a comment! What strategies have you implemented that helped you get more listeners?