Brett Berish Of Sovereign Brands: Top 5 Strategies for Growing Your Podcast Audience

An Interview With Chad Silverstein

Collaborate with other podcasters and influencers in your industry to reach new audiences. Guest appearances, cross-promotion, and co-hosted episodes help expose you to new listeners and provide social proof.

In an era where the podcasting landscape is more crowded than ever, growing an audience requires not just consistency and quality content but also smart, strategic planning. Today, we’re diving deep into the growth strategies of a podcaster who has successfully expanded their reach in this competitive space. With a background that blends unique storytelling with savvy marketing techniques, our guest has mastered the art of audience growth. They’re here to share the top five strategies that podcasters can use in 2024 to increase their listener base, focusing on leveraging social media, optimizing for SEO, making the most of guest appearances, and more. I had the pleasure of interviewing Brett Berish.

Brett Berish is Founder & CEO of the international wine & spirits company, Sovereign Brands. Brett has developed some of the world’s top brands including Luc Belaire, Bumbu, McQueen and the Violet Fog, Villon, and The Deacon. His past brands include Ace of Spades & D’Ussé. In addition to overseeing Sovereign Brands wine & spirits portfolio, Brett hosts “Self Made”, a podcast series where he sits down with today’s top artists, athletes, influencers, and business leaders to discuss how they have created their path to success.

Thank you for joining us. To start, could you share your “origin story” with our readers? How did you begin your podcasting journey, and what challenges did you face in the early days regarding audience growth?

I started the series “Self Made” back in 2017 because I wanted to speak with successful people to find out what it takes to truly make it big without sacrificing who you are. I wanted to share stories of people who are doing just that — the self-made, those who dare to stand out, innovate, pushing boundaries and challenging the status quo. Like all things, finding your audience and image is the biggest challenge starting off, but being able to adapt and learn as you do things is the key to growing.

Social media is a powerful tool for podcast promotion. Can you share your most effective strategy for leveraging platforms like Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook to boost your podcast’s visibility?

Partner with people bigger than you! You’re never going to grow unless you surround yourself with bigger people who believe in you and your brand. You also need to be consistent, post relevant content people want to see and know what topics are trending.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) can be a game-changer for podcasts, especially when it comes to discoverability. What SEO tactics have you found most beneficial for attracting new listeners through search engines? *

For us, optimizing our subject and title has worked really well. These days, everyone is scrolling so quickly on social media you need to grasp the viewer as quick as possible — create compelling titles with buzzwords for each episode that are geared to your target. The key is to include relevant keywords strategically, avoid keyword stuffing, and stay authentic to your brand. Secondly, continuously monitor and analyze your performance. Regularly monitoring your podcast’s performance helps gauge your rankings, and see where you’re trending, this helps identify areas for improvement and refine your SEO strategy over time.

Guest appearances, both on your podcast and on others, can significantly expand your reach. Can you discuss how you’ve approached guest appearances to grow your audience? What’s your strategy for selecting guests or shows to collaborate with?

I want to speak with people that believe in our brands, and support what we do, but also have a story to tell. Anyone can talk about their successes, but I want to hear about the struggles it took to get there. You need a few good guests to attract others — my first interview was with Post Malone, he was just starting to get big in the industry, and then from there, artists like Rick Ross, DJ Khaled, Lil Wayne, and Wiz Khalifa joined the series following, people want to be associated with big names.

Networking within the podcasting community can open up opportunities for cross-promotion and shared growth. How have you engaged with other podcasters to support each other’s audience growth?

Connecting with similar like-minded podcasters opens up a new dialog and conversation, you grow from listening to people who you can relate to, and you allow each other to reach new audiences. This not only introduces listeners to new content but also fosters relationships between podcasters and their listeners.

Beyond these methods, is there one more strategy you’ve employed that’s been particularly effective in growing your podcast audience in 2024?

Collaborative posts on social media — as Instagram’s algorithm has shifted towards video and reels, posting 10–20 second clips to draw in the viewer performs really well, but engagement is even better when you do a collab post with a podcast/podcaster, as you double your viewership and are exposed to a bigger audience.

The middle of any growth journey is often where the most learning and adaptation occurs. Reflecting on your experience, what’s one major lesson you’ve learned about audience growth that you wish you knew when you started?

Nothing stays the same and you have to be ready to adapt to constant change. Don’t get too comfortable with one thing because if I’ve learned anything from social media it’s that it doesn’t stay the same for long. Algorithms are continuously changing, trends come and go, and new platforms are created, all affecting how we operate.

Looking forward, what emerging trends or platforms do you see as having the potential to impact podcast audience growth in the next year?

I’m seeing more interactivity gaining traction, live podcasts, letting the audience ask questions, and changing the narrative, I think this is an exciting direction, it allows the listeners and viewers to immerse themselves and feel more inclusive to the conversation.

For podcasters who are just starting out or struggling to grow their audience, what advice would you give to help them stay motivated and focused on their growth strategies?

Stay focused on your goals, be consistent with delivering value to your audience, and actively promote. Your audience will grow over time, not overnight — be patient, persistent, and passionate about what you do, people notice that, success will follow.

Could you list and briefly explain “5 Key Strategies for Growing Your Podcast Audience” based on your experiences and insights?

1. Consistently produce quality content that resonates with your audience. Make sure your episodes provide value to your listeners. Regularly post to keep your audience coming back for more. “Tune in next week, same time same place” “Comment who you want to see on the show next” “Give away to the best question” are all great ways to ensure engagement.
2. Optimize your podcast’s searchability to attract new listeners. Use keywords in your episode titles, descriptions, and tags to improve search engine visibility. Leverage social media and email marketing to promote new episodes.
3. Engage with your audience — building a connection with your audience is so important. Encourage listener feedback, questions, and comments through social media. Respond to listeners, and incorporate their suggestions into your content to create a sense of inclusiveness.
4. Collaborate with other podcasters and influencers in your industry to reach new audiences. Guest appearances, cross-promotion, and co-hosted episodes help expose you to new listeners and provide social proof.
5. Utilize data and analytics — It’s so important to leverage data and analytics to understand your audience and capitalize on growth strategies. Whichever podcast server you use — monitor your key metrics i.e. downloads, listener demographics, engagement rates to see where you are excelling and where you could use a boost. For example, after the first couple months when we first looked at our analytics, we figured the most popular episodes would be Rick Ross, DJ Khaled, or Lil Wayne, but in reality our most viewed episodes were our African artists, and a large portion of our listeners were based in Africa. We then pivoted to more outreach in that market, and it grew our following. So, experiment with different approaches, be aware of your results, and pivot based on what works best for your podcast and brand.

The journey of growing a podcast audience is filled with both challenges and milestones. Can you share a particularly rewarding moment or achievement in your audience growth journey that stands out to you?

Don’t assume everyone has seen all your interviews, re-post, re-share, re-circulate past episodes. I did an interview with rapper Fat Joe a while back, he happened to be trending in the news recently, so we reposted the episode, and it got over a million views in the first week. He saw it and reposted it which gave it even more exposure, it's now my most viewed reel on Instagram. The takeaway is, to monitor what’s trending and find new ways you can incorporate yourself into it, break out the archives, what’s old to you may be new to others!

As we wrap up, how can our readers follow your work and stay updated on your strategies and insights for podcast growth?

Follow my podcast “Self Made” Link Here

Check me out on Instagram: Link Here

This was great. Thanks for taking time for us to learn more about you and your business. We wish you continued success!

About the Interviewer: Chad Silverstein, a seasoned entrepreneur with over two decades of experience as the Founder and CEO of multiple companies. He launched Choice Recovery, Inc., a healthcare collection agency, while going to The Ohio State University, His team earned national recognition, twice being ranked as the #1 business to work for in Central Ohio. In 2018, Chad launched [re]start, a career development platform connecting thousands of individuals in collections with meaningful employment opportunities, He sold Choice Recovery on his 25th anniversary and in 2023, sold the majority interest in [re]start so he can focus his transition to Built to Lead as an Executive Leadership Coach. Learn more at www.chadsilverstein.com.