Buy Podcast Plays

The hardest part of podcasting

Making a podcast is hard work: planning, recording, editing, artwork and publishing every week. Getting the first listeners can be even harder. A new show has no reviews, no history and no word of mouth, and the podcast apps are full of established shows competing for the same ears. Many podcasts stop after a handful of episodes because the numbers never seem to move.

Podcast plays add listens to one episode. They give a new show or a new episode a start, so that you can see the episode moving while you build a real audience through promotion, guests and word of mouth.

Where podcast plays show up

Most podcast apps do not show a public play count. Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other apps show ratings, reviews and charts instead, and you see your plays in your podcast host's statistics and in tools such as Spotify for Creators and Apple Podcasts Connect. Plays are most useful for your own reporting and motivation, for showing your team or co-host that an episode is moving, and for giving the apps a sign that people are listening.

How podcast plays work

• Open the episode in the podcast app named on the order form, such as Spotify, and copy its link from the share menu.
• Paste the link on the order form, choose the amount and check out.
• Keep the episode published while the order runs.

A Spotify episode link looks like open.spotify.com/episode/…. A link to the show is not enough, because plays go on one episode. The options on the order form show which apps are supported.

Plays and advertisers

This matters: if you sell sponsorships or ads, advertisers are paying to reach real listeners. Never present bought plays as your audience to a sponsor, an ad network or a podcast directory that pays you. It misleads the people paying you and can break your agreements with them. Use plays to give a show a start, and quote only your real, organic listening figures to advertisers.

Who buys podcast plays

• New podcasters launching a show and wanting the first episodes to move.
• Businesses starting a branded podcast.
• Coaches and experts using a podcast to build authority.
• Indie creators testing a new format or season.
• Networks giving a new show on their roster a start.

Launch your show well

• Launch with three episodes, so new listeners can binge and decide.
• Write a clear show description that says who it is for and what they will get.
• Use strong cover art that is readable at a small size.
• Give each episode a specific title, not just a number.
• Publish on a schedule, so listeners know when to expect new episodes.
• Submit to every major app through your host.

Grow real listeners

Real growth comes from a few reliable habits. Invite guests who will share the episode with their own audience. Appear as a guest on other shows in your niche. Cut short video clips of the best moments for social media. Ask listeners to follow the show and leave a rating; ratings and reviews are what new listeners look at. Mention the show in your newsletter, on your website and at the end of every episode. Plays help the first episodes; these habits keep the show growing.

How many plays look natural

Keep plays in proportion to your show's other numbers. A brand-new show with no ratings and 50,000 plays on its first episode looks odd in your own stats and to anyone you share them with. A few hundred plays per episode for a new show looks like a healthy start. Spreading plays across your launch episodes looks more natural than a single spike.

A worked example

Two friends who run a small bakery start a podcast about running a food business. They launch with three episodes, each with a specific title, and good cover art. They order a modest number of plays on the first episode so their host statistics show it moving, which keeps them motivated through the first month. They invite a well-known local chef as their fourth guest, who shares the episode with followers. By episode ten, most of their plays come from real listeners, and they are confident enough to look for a sponsor using their organic figures.

Check your host's statistics

Your podcast host shows downloads and plays by episode, app and country. Watch which episodes real listeners finish and share, and plan more like them.

Before you order

• Use the link to one episode, in an app the order form supports.
• Make sure the episode is published and public.
• Never quote bought plays to advertisers.

What podcast plays do not do

Plays add listens to the episode. They do not add followers, ratings, reviews or chart positions, and they are not an audience you can sell to advertisers. Followers and reviews come from real listeners.

No password needed

We only need the public episode link. We never ask for your podcast host, Spotify or Apple login.