How I Got Over 1000 Five-Star Reviews on my Podcast

Hey Friend!

Getting quality five star reviews is not something that just happens on your podcast continuously without any effort. There is a strategy behind it. Building up a lengthy list of reviews for your podcast is crucial for ranking higher in the Apple Podcast algorithm, plus it’s the go-to place for podcast listeners to scope out your podcast before they decide to invest their time into listening to your show. These listeners are potential clients and potential sales, so you want to have a long list of reviews for them to read. Why not give them a great first impression by showing them quality five star reviews the moment they click onto your show? 

Today I am sharing three ways I was able to get over a thousand five star reviews on my podcast. And I’m excited to say, it’s easier than you may think! If you are new to podcasting, just launched a podcast, or are in the middle of a product launch on your show, these 3 tactical tips are going to help you grow and rank faster on Apple Podcast and more importantly, grow your reach.

Getting Quality Reviews for Your Podcast

Podcasters oftentimes don’t put a lot of time and effort into getting quality reviews for their show. It’s more like an afterthought. I’m here to tell you that you do need to put an emphasis on getting quality five star reviews for your podcast no matter what stage you are in. Remember, reviews don’t just come without a strategy in place, but I am here to help you with that and give you my 3 best tips for getting quality reviews. It’s important to understand that the more five star reviews you have, the more Apple Podcasts starts to refer your show in the recommended podcasts section of Apple Podcasts.

It’s also important to understand that your quality reviews are helping your new audience decide whether or not they really want to invest their time and energy in listening and subscribing to your show. Even more importantly, the reviews help when it comes to your audience needing to make a purchase decision from your show. They go down to the reviews first, read them, and build trust with you and your brand. Without reviews, it’s hard for your audience to build that know, like, and trust factor.

Review from The S.O.S. Mom

Thank you so much, Stef! After taking PPU to learn all the tech for podcasting, because I hadn’t used a computer in over 10 years, I joined P2P and my podcast has not stopped growing. I pray over each episode before recording, asking God to speak through me. The SOS Mom Podcast is ranking top 2.5% globally and is close to 100,000 downloads without using social media. I had less than 200 friends and family on Facebook, and most of them don’t listen. I rarely share my show there and I still don’t use Instagram or any other socials.

This is purely God-given growth and I couldn’t have done it without P2P and PPU. I can’t even believe how many countries it ranks in. It’s mind-blowing. Also, I haven’t had a kid-free day in over a year. My house is never quiet and 90% of my podcast is recorded on my iPhone in my car. So throughout those excuses mamas, throw them in the trash, and let’s get started on your podcast today.

–Jennifer McDaniel, The SOS Mom 

Getting 5 Star Reviews Is Easier Than You Think!

Podcast reviews not only grow the show as far as getting the show a higher boosting within the podcasting algorithms but secondly, help other people decide whether or not they want to listen or buy from you. Now that you understand the importance of getting good quality reviews, I want to help you get more of them for your show by following these 3 tactical tips. Getting quality reviews is actually a lot easier than you might think.

Tip #1 – Relaunch Your Podcast

The first thing that I didn’t do was I didn’t launch the right way. Back in October of 2018 I launched with no plan. I can’t recall how many episodes I launched with, but they were not strategically planned out. I wasn’t micro-niched in any way, which is what I recommend to anyone who starts a podcast. My channel art was not created professionally and it showed. I learned the hard way and I did not rank.

 About six months in, I treated my podcast as if I was relaunching it. I had new podcast art and I created a strategic launch plan.  Now I teach my students inside the Stefanie Gass School to follow my launch plan. Podcast Pro University has everything mapped out from start to finish, without social media. Launching involves leaning in on the people in your life you trust and asking them to help boost your rankings with reviews. And what’s most important is that the launch and the increase in reviews need to all take place in a short period of time. This is what gives you and your podcast a big boost in the rankings.

Already Launched Your Podcast? Then It’s Time To Relaunch!

If you already launched your podcast without a plan in place, without reviews, and without ranking, you still have the opportunity to relaunch like I did. You still have a great opportunity to rank higher in the algorithm by getting more five star reviews. I actually recommend to all podcasters to treat their podcast like a relaunch every couple of years and collect more reviews. This is how you grow! 

No matter what boat you are in, whether you haven’t launched your podcast yet or you already have an established podcast, you can still utilize these 3 tactical tips to get more five star reviews and boost your podcast in the rankings. Inside Podcast Pro University, you will get my plug-and-play launch plan that is extremely simple and easy to follow for launching a podcast and getting reviews. My students get 20-100 reviews within the first 48 hours. 

Tip #2 – Contests And Annual Giveaways

The second thing I did to get over 1000 five star reviews was annual giveaways and contests. This is by far the largest contributor to my reviews. Once or twice a year we will do a contest or a giveaway. This might be for a hundredth-episode giveaway and we choose something that my audience would really be excited to win. Some examples are coaching sessions or a podcasting microphone. They win something in exchange for podcast reviews. You would announce the giveaway in an email or post it in our Facebook groups and communities. It’s an underwhelming process that doesn’t take a lot of time or effort but yields a high return. The harder and more complicated you make the contest or giveaway, the fewer responses you’ll get. 

Giveaway Call To Action

When you come into Podcast to Profit I have all of the “Giveaways” how-to’s and tutorials available for you to follow along with so you can get more reviews. Here’s a sample guide for you to follow for your giveaway:

“In order to win ‘blank’ you have to do ‘blank’.“

For example, “In order to win a 30-minute coaching call with Stef, you must leave a written review on the podcast, take a screenshot, and come share it in our Facebook community.”

It’s just three steps and they are done. It’s simple and easy to do, which means you’re more likely to get more people entering the contest and writing reviews. If the giveaway has too many steps, is time-consuming and too hard, you won’t people won’t take the time to enter the contest. The easier you make the contest and the juicier you make the prize, the more success you’re going to have. We have received over 100 written reviews in a very short period of time with giveaways. The more reviews you can get in a short window of time, the more you get bumped up in the rankings. 

Reviews Got Me To Rank in The Top 20 for My Category

The last time we did a contest back in August, it bumped me up to the top 20 in my category, which is a huge win for marketing. These contests and giveaways are an awesome strategy for you to get more five star reviews. If you want the actual step-by-step, plug-and-play template on how to run contests and giveaways, it is inside my Podcast to Profit(P2P) program along with so much more. When you join Podcast to Profit, you get my live launch plan and learn how to build a course, including how to get featured on incredibly big podcasts. Follow in my footsteps and join P2P.

After Five and A Half Years Of Podcasting, I hit 1,000 Reviews

It has been 5 1/2 years since I started my podcast and I am now hitting the 1,000 review milestone. Some people get 5,000 reviews in six months but I don’t compare myself. You need to stay in your own lane. Just compare yourself to yourself. I constantly am looking at my next goal and not looking at what other people are achieving. Set goals for how many reviews you want to achieve in a certain period and once you achieve that, set the next goal.

Initially, I had a goal of getting 500 reviews, and then I worked it up to 800 reviews, which took some time but I kept pressing in. I don’t want you to compare yourself to me, but I want to encourage you to set goals for yourself. What are the 3 steps you are going to take to get to that goal?

Tip #3 – Ask For Reviews

The third thing I did to get over 1000 five star reviews on my podcast was ask for reviews. This has been a slow and steady strategy but it still works. I consistently ask for reviews in as many places as I can. I ask in podcast episodes, in emails, and in the Facebook communities. Simply ask for a quick review on Apple Podcast by asking your audience to click the button that says “write a review” under the five stars.

Mention that this helps you and your show and it blesses you. Most importantly it helps the show to be found. Apple Podcast and the algorithm will see an increase in reviews. This is a hint to Apple Podcasts that more people are liking the show, so it wants to share your show with more people. The more people like the show and leave reviews, the more they will promote the show in their algorithm. Apple podcasts start to show the podcast to other people who are searching for similar topics and phrases. The growth just snowballs from there.

All you need to do is ask your audience in an authentic way to leave a review. It’s quite simple and not salesy. It’s just a friend asking another friend for a favor. And if they genuinely appreciate you and your show’s content, they will gladly write you a review in return for your teachings. 

Contest and Giveaway Templates

If you haven’t started a show, come inside Podcast Pro University where I teach you and give you a template on how to craft the intro jingle and the exit jingle of your show. I teach you how to include a call to action (CTA) and give you some sample verbiage to make it very simple and very authentic. Some people leave reviews simply because the podcast host asks in the exit jingle at the end of the podcast. But on occasion, I also do a “direct-ask” every 10 episodes where I put out a CTA in the middle of an episode asking for a written five star review. Especially if your show is helping them in some way and giving them value, they are more than willing to write you a review.

3 Tactical Tips for Getting More Podcast Reviews

These are the three main strategies I use to get more reviews on my podcast:

1.) Relaunch your poodcast

2.) Annual contests and giveaways

3.) Ask for a reviews 

Remember, you can ask for review as your CTA in your exit jingle or you can ask organically in the middle of your episode on occasion. I hope that this helps you get the visibility and growth that you’ve been seeking in your online business. If you don’t have a show, come watch my workshop, Podcast For Growth. If you’re ready to join me, and get all the plug-and-play templates to get you growing your business and your podcast, head to stefaniegassschool.com. There is a program that is right for you in your podcasting journey.

I pray this blesses you!

Xo,

Stef

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