Avoid These 5 Overhyped Marketing Strategies That Are Killing Your Podcast Growth

Let’s get real. If you’re a podcaster trying to grow your audience, you’ve probably heard the same recycled advice: post daily, boost your content, keyword-stuff your blog, spam your email list, rinse, repeat. Sounds exhausting and ineffective.

At Rebel Marketing, we’ve worked with countless founders, service providers, and content creators who came to us frustrated by wasted time, wasted money, and zero traction. So, in a recent Circle Sessions episode with Brett Johnson of Circle270Media, we (Yasmine and Izzy) broke down the biggest overhyped marketing strategies, and what to do instead.

Here are the top five marketing traps to avoid if you want your podcast (and business) to actually grow.

1. Boosting Social Posts Instead of Running Real Ad Campaigns

We’ll say it louder for the people in the back: Boosting a post is not a strategy. It’s just throwing your money into the digital void for a few likes and maybe a heart emoji.

Boosting lacks targeting, testing, or intent. It doesn’t drive people to your offer, store, event, or membership, it just gives you vanity metrics. Likes are not leads.

Instead, if you're going to invest in ads:

• Develop a clear strategy with goals

• Target the right audience with segmented campaigns

• Send people to a landing page with a clear CTA

• Track the results so you know what’s working (or not)

• Retarget based on behavior, don’t start from zero every time

This kind of approach may cost more upfront, but the ROI blows “boosted posts” out of the water. More eyeballs aren’t the goal. The right eyeballs are.

2. Posting Every Day Without a Plan

Posting daily might sound like a hustle badge, but here’s the truth: more posts don’t equal more results.

Posting every single day without strategy usually leads to burnout and boring content. It doesn’t fit every brand or audience, and most of the time, it tanks engagement because people get fatigued seeing the same stuff over and over.

If you're a podcaster or service provider, your time is limited. Instead:

• Post 2–3 high-quality, varied pieces a week

• Focus on value: educate, entertain, or inspire

• Rotate your formats: video, carousel, behind-the-scenes, testimonials

• Engage with your followers, don't just drop content and bounce

Remember, quality beats quantity. Plus, if your posts are actually good, your audience won’t scroll past, they’ll stop, engage, and maybe even share.

3. Spray-and-Pray Email Marketing

If your email subject line makes people sigh or smash the unsubscribe button, you’re doing it wrong.

Email marketing isn’t dead, it’s just misused. A generic newsletter blast without a clear goal or audience segmentation is just more inbox noise.

Here’s what works instead:

• Segment your list: new subscribers, active clients, podcast listeners, etc.

• Use your personality: yes, even if you're a B2B firm

• Get creative with subject lines (“Wanted: Leprechaun with a Podcast Mic” > “March Newsletter”)

• Offer value beyond “here’s our new episode” (think behind-the-scenes, bonus resources, or themed tips)

Email should feel like a backstage pass, not a boring sales pitch. Respect your reader’s time, and they’ll keep opening.

4. Keyword Stuffing for SEO

Yes, SEO matters. No, cramming “Columbus podcast growth marketing” 47 times into a paragraph is not the move.

Google’s smarter than that, and your readers are too. Keyword stuffing is outdated, awkward, and bad for user experience.

Instead, be strategic:

• Focus each page or blog post on a specific long-tail keyword (think: “how to grow your podcast without paid ads”)

• Write like a human, not a robot

• Provide real value with helpful, scannable content

• Use synonyms and related terms naturally

• Optimize for speed and mobile, because no one sticks around on a glitchy site

Want to rank? Then be useful. Google’s goal is to serve content people actually want to read—and your content should reflect that.

5. Copying What Works for Other Brands

Just because it works for Duolingo doesn’t mean it’ll work for you.

Trends are tempting, but copying without context is a fast way to waste energy and confuse your audience. Your brand voice, your goals, your audience—they’re unique. That means your strategy should be too.

Ask yourself:

• Does this align with our brand tone?

• Will this resonate with our audience?

• Can we sustain this approach long-term?

Be intentional. Be consistent. Be... you.

So, What Should You Be Doing Instead?

It all comes down to strategy and fit. Here’s where to focus:

1. Understand your audience: where they are, what they care about, how they buy.

2. Build with longevity in mind: no more chasing shiny hacks.

3. Track your results: use analytics to tweak and improve.

4. Show up consistently: but that doesn’t mean daily.

5. Make your content helpful, human, and a little weird: if that’s your vibe.

Rebel against cookie-cutter marketing. Stand out by being intentional and honest—and having a damn good time doing it.

TL;DR (Too Long, Did Read Anyway)

If you’re tired of tactics that suck up your time and budget with zero results, you're not alone. Stop boosting. Stop posting just to post. Start crafting marketing that actually works, for your podcast, your business, and your life.

Need help figuring it all out? We’re just a message (or a carrier pigeon) away.

👉 Download our free marketing checklist

👉 Book a call with us

👉 Follow Izzy on LinkedIn

👉 Connect with Yasmine via pigeon… or LinkedIn