FOR PODCASTERS
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How to start a podcast newsletter in the UK: what to send, how often, getting listeners to sign up, consent rules and using it for launches and live shows.
A podcast newsletter is a short, regular email to listeners who have chosen to hear from you directly. Choose an email platform, put a sign-up form on your website and mention it in every episode, then send something worth opening each week or fortnight: the new episode, a behind-the-scenes note, links mentioned and what is coming next. Under UK rules you need clear consent and an easy way to unsubscribe in every email.
Imagine the morning your new season goes live. Instead of posting into the feeds and hoping, you press send on an email to thousands of people who asked to hear from you. Within the hour, replies start arriving: people saying they missed you, that they have already listened, that they are bringing a friend to the live show. You never release into silence again.
That is the comfort of a list you own. Podcast apps don’t tell you who your listeners are, and social platforms decide who sees your posts. A newsletter is the one channel where you choose when people hear from you. Here is how to start one that listeners actually look forward to.
Because the apps keep your listeners at arm’s length. You can see download numbers, but you can’t message the people behind them. If a platform changes how it recommends shows, or a social account loses reach, you have no direct way to tell your audience that a new season, live date or project has arrived.
A newsletter changes that. It is especially valuable at the moments that matter most: a launch, the return from a season break, a live show or a crowdfunding push. Our guide to planning a podcast launch or new season shows how email fits into that timing.
Keep it short and personal. A reliable format:
The extra is what earns the open. If the email only repeats what the app already told people, they will stop reading.
Match your release schedule if you can. A weekly show suits a weekly email sent on release day or the morning after. A fortnightly or seasonal show can send less often, but don’t go quiet for months between seasons: a short note every few weeks keeps the list warm, so the launch email isn’t arriving from a name people have forgotten.
Consistency matters more than length. A reliable short email beats an occasional long one.
A podcast website makes this much easier, because you control where the form appears and how it looks.
Email marketing to individuals in the UK is covered by PECR and UK GDPR. The ICO says you can send marketing emails to people who have specifically consented to electronic mail from you. There is a narrow “soft opt-in” for existing customers who have bought or negotiated to buy a similar product from you, but it does not cover prospective customers, so for most podcast listeners you need consent. You also must not hide your identity, and every message needs a simple way to opt out.
The ICO is clear that valid consent needs a clear affirmative action: silence, pre-ticked boxes or inactivity don’t count, and you must be able to show that someone consented. Use an unticked box or a clear sign-up button, explain what people will receive, and keep the records your email platform provides. The ICO notes its email guidance is under review following the Data (Use and Access) Act, so check it periodically.
Most mainstream email platforms will do the job. Rather than choosing by brand, look for:
Connecting the platform to your site properly from the start saves a lot of tidying later. Our website design for podcasters includes newsletter sign-up forms built into the home and episode pages.
Season breaks are where many shows lose momentum. A short email every few weeks during a break, with a favourite episode from the archive, a progress note on the next season or a question for listeners, keeps the connection alive. When the new season starts, the people on your list are the ones who listen first and share it.
For live shows, the list is your most reliable way to sell tickets. Giving subscribers first access rewards them for signing up and fills the room before you spend anything on ads. Our page on marketing for podcasters shows how email works alongside social media and advertising.
Usually not at first. Start free and build trust. Some listeners are willing to pay to support shows they love: Ofcom found that 35% of people say they would be happy to pay to subscribe to their favourite podcasts, rising to almost half (48%) of 16 to 34 year olds. If you later offer a paid tier with bonus episodes or extras, your free list is where those supporters will come from.
We want release day to feel like a conversation with people who were waiting for you. Our team started as the in-house crew behind co-founder Jack Cartwright, looking after the website, design and emails that kept his readers close between books. Now our website design for podcasters builds sign-up forms and episode pages that grow your list, so every launch, season and live show has an audience ready. A clear brief, scope and fee are agreed before any creative work begins.
There is no minimum. A list of a few hundred engaged listeners can sell out a small live show or give a new season a strong first week. What matters is that the people on it chose to be there and open your emails. Grow it steadily rather than chasing a number.
Not automatically. Someone writing in with a question has not consented to receive marketing emails. Reply to their message, and if you would like them on the list, invite them to sign up with a link. The ICO’s guidance is that marketing emails to individuals generally need specific consent.
For most shows, yes, or the morning after. Release day is when you have something new to share, and an email helps concentrate early listens. If you release very early in the morning, sending a few hours later, when people are commuting or having a break, can work better. Test both.
Keep it close to the show’s name so people recognise it in their inbox, such as the show name followed by a simple word like notes or dispatch. The sender name should be you or the show, never a generic address. Familiarity is what gets an email opened among dozens of others.
Yes, if they are clearly labelled. Make it obvious when something is paid for or earns you commission, and keep sponsor content short and relevant. A newsletter is a direct relationship with listeners, so being open about commercial content protects the trust that makes it valuable to sponsors in the first place.
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Four quick questions, and we’ll show you where we’d start. Your answers come straight to us with your message, so you won’t have to explain it twice.
A 30-minute introduction call on Microsoft Teams, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Your answers come with the booking, so we’ll be ready for you.
Prefer to talk it through? Make an appointment for a 30-minute call on Microsoft Teams, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
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