Can you trick an algorithm to get into New & Noteworthy?
Getting featured in Apple’s New & Noteworthy section has become something of an obsession for new podcasters.
There’s a lot of information floating around the internet suggesting you should be releasing multiple episodes when you launch to trick the algorithm into bumping you into the section. But unfortunately, that’s not entirely accurate.
So how do you get your show featured in New & Noteworthy and is it all it’s cracked up to be?
Some myths about New & Noteworthy
Before we get started I wanted to debunk a few common myths about Apple’s coveted New & Noteworthy section…
You can trick the algorithm by launching your show with multiple episodes
The New & Noteworthy section on the front page of Apple Podcasts is curated so you can’t trick your way into being featured by dropping multiple episodes when you launch your show.
This tip has been floating around the internet for years and honestly, it might have worked back when there were way fewer podcasters and Apple wasn’t thinking so seriously about their podcast shopfront.
But these days Apple’s features sections are curated by humans (if you can believe that’s even a thing anymore).
The thinking behind the multiple-episode drop was that if you released three times the content you could get three times the downloads and that would make your show seem bigger than it was in the early days.
But that assumes people are a) subscribed to your show or are going to listen to all three episodes which isn’t always true and b) those subscribers have ‘auto-download new episodes’ selected on their podcast app which not everyone does.
Of course, if your podcast is getting a lot of new subscribers, reviews and ratings that’s only going to make it more appealing to Apple when they’re looking for shows to feature.
And if you can achieve that by dropping multiple episodes and that makes sense for your content then great.
But if you’re only doing it because you think it’s a way to get noticed, you’re much better off focusing on your content and releasing your episodes in a rhythm that works for your show.
You can only be featured for the first eight weeks of your podcast
New & Noteworthy is a mix of podcasts that are new and podcasts that have been around for a while but that Apple think are worth featuring.
This means if you don’t get your show featured in the first eight weeks it’s not the end of the world.
In fact, if you’re brand new to podcasting it’s often better to let your show grow and develop before trying to get it featured because your show will have improved massively from those first few weeks.
Does getting featured have a huge impact on listeners?
In my experience getting featured in the Apple Podcasts charts or the features carousel usually has a bigger impact on numbers than New & Noteworthy but even in those sections, we’re not talking about an extra 50,000 listeners.
Where I think featuring in New & Noteworthy is most useful is in the messaging around your show.
For example, if you’re encouraging new advertisers to jump on board or trying to tell potential listeners why they should check you out, mentioning you were handpicked by Apple for their New & Noteworthy section is a great endorsement.
Even if it doesn’t bring in a huge amount of new listeners there are a lot of benefits to having your podcast featured in any of Apple’s feature sections because of what it says about the quality of your show.
It’s just unfortunately not a silver bullet (sorry).
How do you get featured?
Make a great show
Apple’s features section is their cyber shopfront so they want to feature podcasts they think are worth checking out.
If your show isn’t high-quality both in terms of its content and audio Apple aren’t going to showcase it.
So if you want to be featured you need to make sure you’ve thought about your ideal listener, developed a show idea that will serve your audience, put time and attention into things like your show logo, titles and descriptions and spent time getting your audio quality on point.
Adhere to Apple’s content guidelines
Apple has a number of best practices for your podcast content including removing words like ‘bonus’ and ‘episode’ from your titles and not keyword stuffing.
In fact, they started kicking shows off their app for trying to shove keywords into their titles so you want to keep your titles simple.
For example, for my podcast, calling it PodSchool adheres to Apple’s guidelines.
But if I’d called it PodSchool | Podcasting tips to ensure your podcast is a success, that’s a no-no.
It makes sense that if Apple have detailed their best practice guidelines they’re less likely to feature podcasts that don’t adhere to those guidelines.
Submit your show
Apple will accept podcast feature requests but naturally, they’ve got no shortage of people knocking on their door so just because you submit your show doesn’t mean it’ll get featured.
But it also doesn’t mean you can’t try again later!
And since you’ve got much longer than the initial eight weeks it’s best to ensure your show is really hitting its stride before you look to shine a light on it because that’s when a feature in the Apple storefront is likely to have a bigger impact.
Good luck!
Got a burning podcasting question you’d like answered? Send me an email.
Want to start your own podcast but need a little help? Download my “How To Start A Podcast” guide or sign up for my online podcasting course, PodSchool.
