What Actually Helped the Podcast “Produced By” Grow

People often ask me what actually helped my podcast grow. They’re usually expecting a new platform, a clever marketing trick or a shortcut they haven’t heard before.

The truth is much less exciting.

For a long time, I thought my job ended when I published an episode. I’d record it, edit it, share the Spotify link and move on to the next conversation.

Looking back, that was probably my biggest mistake. I was putting all my effort into creating the episode and not enough into helping people discover it. Once I changed that mindset, everything else started to change too.

Looking back, these are the changes that made the biggest difference ⬇️

Article written in partnership with Tomas Loucky, the host of the Podcast Produced By

I stopped treating an episode as the finished product

The biggest shift wasn’t buying new equipment or changing my interview style. It was changing how I thought about each episode. Instead of seeing publishing as the finish line, I started seeing it as the beginning.

A few days before an episode goes live, I introduce the guest on LinkedIn. I also mention them in my newsletter so readers know who’s joining me the following week, and I share a preview with my Patreon community.

Once the episode is live, the conversation doesn’t stop. I continue sharing ideas, clips and lessons from the episode over the following days instead of immediately moving on to the next guest.

That simple change gave every episode more than one opportunity to be discovered.

I focused on one social media platform

One of the best decisions I made was choosing one platform and committing to it. For me, that platform was LinkedIn. I wasn’t creating more content. I was giving the same conversation more opportunities to be discovered.

Rather than trying to grow everywhere at once, I focused on doing one platform well.

A typical episode becomes several LinkedIn posts.

• One introduces the guest.

• Another announces the episode.

• Another shares my biggest takeaway.

• Another is built around a clip or story from the conversation.

Each serves a different purpose, but together they give people multiple ways to discover the podcast.

I started thinking differently about repurposing

Repurposing isn’t about squeezing as many posts as possible out of one recording. It’s about recognising that different people prefer different formats.

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On LinkedIn, I create one post that pulls together the main lessons or takeaways from the conversation, so people can learn something useful even if they never listen to the full episode. I also create another post around one key idea, story or moment that I think will resonate with people or give them a reason to discover the full conversation.

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Someone else might prefer reading the newsletter. The message stays the same. The format changes.

Instead of creating more content, I started creating more opportunities for people to discover content that already existed.

Relationships became part of the growth strategy

Downloads matter. But some of the biggest opportunities my podcast has created never appeared in the analytics.

Over the years, some guests have become genuine friends. We’ve stayed in touch, supported each other’s work and collaborated long after the recording ended.

I’ve also had guests tell me they were contacted by people who discovered them through the podcast. Those conversations led to new relationships, collaborations and even clients.

That’s when I realised podcast growth isn’t only about growing an audience. It’s also about building a community and creating opportunities for other people.

The mistake that slowed my growth

If I could go back and change one thing, it wouldn’t be my microphone or my editing software. It would be my mindset.

For too long, I obsessed over the numbers. Every podcaster does it. You compare your downloads with someone else’s. You wonder why their audience is growing faster. You start questioning whether it’s worth continuing.

The problem is that constantly watching your analytics rarely helps you make a better podcast. It usually just makes the journey less enjoyable.

The biggest improvements came when I focused on what I could control.

• Creating better conversations.

• Improving how I promoted them.

• Repurposing them more thoughtfully.

• Showing up consistently.

Growth followed those habits. It didn’t happen because I refreshed my analytics every day.

Final thoughts

If there’s one lesson I’d leave you with, it’s this. Don’t spend all your energy creating an episode and hope people find it.

Think just as carefully about what happens before it goes live and after it’s published.

For me, that’s what changed everything. My podcast didn’t grow because I recorded more conversations. It grew because every conversation had more than one chance to be discovered.

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About the author

Tomas Loucky is the host of Produced By, a podcast featuring conversations with founders, creators and entrepreneurs building meaningful businesses, brands and careers. He also writes the Produced Newsletter, where he explores podcasting, personal branding and LinkedIn, drawing on lessons from more than 170 podcast conversations.

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