Podcasting in 2026 is not the same game it was even two years ago. The industry has evolved, with new expectations from listeners and tools and strategies available to podcasters.
And if you’re still podcasting like it’s 2019, you could be falling behind.
But there’s also a lot of noise out there. Distractions from what’s really important.
So, in this episode, I’m breaking down the 2026 Podcasting Playbook – the five strategies that will matter in 2026 if you want to grow your podcast and reach your goals.
WHERE PODCASTING IS NOW & WHY 2026 IS PIVOTAL
So, let’s first take a look at where podcasting stands now and why 2026 is pivotal, to help give some context to these strategies. And then I’ll share how you can take action in 2026 to stay ahead of the competition.
1. The Industry Is Still Growing
Firstly, as of 2025, there are estimated to be around 4.5 million published podcasts.
At the same time, the number of podcast listeners globally has climbed to a huge listener base of over half a billion, which is up by nearly 7% from 2024.
What that tells us is that there are still more listeners than ever, and there are more shows than ever. That might sound like competition, but it also means demand remains strong, and new listeners are discovering podcasts weekly.
And the market for podcasting (ads, sponsorships, monetisation, services around podcasts) has matured. It’s no longer side-hustle territory only; it’s big business, with the industry valuation up from $40 billion of 2024 to $50 billion dollars today.
2. Video & Hybrid Formats Are Exploding
The next important area to consider is that video-podcast production has surged.
Recent data shows that in 2025, about 36% of all podcasts now include a video component, with the fast majority of viewing happening on YouTube.
Big platforms are also doubling down on video, including a recent partnership between Spotify and Netflix to bring top video podcasts into Netflix’s catalogue from early 2026.
And the quality of video podcasts put out by some of the big studios, like FlightStory’s Diary Of A CEO, is almost cinema-worthy. You’ve probably seen those movie-style trailers they make for each episode, and if you haven’t, I highly recommend taking a look to see where we’re at with video podcasting.
Does it also mean you have to include video in your podcasting strategy? Not necessarily, and we’ll go deeper into that shortly.
3. AI, Tools & Tech
And we couldn’t possibly talk about 2025/2026 without mentioning AI’s impact on podcasting. Because although AI isn’t replacing podcasters, we should still pay attention to it.
There’s a wave of “AI-only podcasts” that are flooding the podcast platforms as we speak. Shows where scripts, editing, show notes, titles, thumbnails and even voice are generated by AI.
But early experiments show limitations to the value that these tools bring to podcasting. And we’re going to go over shortly how you can use AI to support your podcast, and where AI should be avoided.
4. Monetisation & Leverage
And one final point before we dive into the five strategies, with the way podcasting is maturing, more profit-generating opportunities present themselves than ever. And I’m not talking about just the obvious ones like sponsorships.
For creators using podcasts strategically (not just for entertainment), a show can become a lead generator, a relationship builder, and a conversion tool.
THE 2026 PODCASTING PLAYBOOK
So now you know why 2026 is a pivotal year for podcasting: massive global growth, exploding video demand and powerful AI tech, but also more competition and higher expectations.
That means if you want to stand out and see results, you need more than passion. You need to do more than just show up and expect listeners to find you. You need a plan.
So let’s dive into the five strategies.
Strategy 1: Keeping AI Usage Human
Let’s start with AI.
AI tools are everywhere now: automated editing tools, transcriptions, show notes, short-form video creation, and even voice generation.
And when we talk about AI here, we’re specifically talking about generative AI, like ChatGPT, Gemini and Veo3.
It’s an important distinction to make, because AI as a whole has been around for decades. I’ve been using AI tools like iZotope RX Noise Reduction for years, but that’s not the kind of AI that’s causing this huge industry shift.
We’re talking about generative AI which is transforming the way that content is being created.
And because of the power of these tools, there’s growing pressure (and temptation) among podcasters to automate and replace everything, including hosting, scripting and even the voice itself. In an attempt to outsource effort and fast-track straight to profit.
But it’s a fine balance to be made, because when the human element is removed from your podcast, you lose your ability to connect with people.
Let’s take a look at a real example.
Case Study: 100 CEOs – An AI-Generated Podcast by FlightStory
100 CEOs is a new podcast produced by FlightStory, the company behind Diary Of A CEO. The podcast is written and voiced entirely by AI.
The show openly presents itself as an AI experiment. The plan was to publish weekly episodes, telling the stories of influential CEOs.
But if you look at the feed for this podcast, it seems like they’ve canned the project after just four episodes.
Despite the huge production power behind it, listener response has been generally poor, with listeners citing it has “zero soul”. The DOAC YouTube channel currently has nearly 14 million subscribers, the 100 CEOs channel has just 1.6 thousand at the time of writing.
And just from an anecdotal viewpoint, I enjoy DOAC, and I couldn’t listen to more than five minutes of 100 CEOs.
And there are other organisations attempting to churn out thousands of episodes in an attempt to win through quantity over quality, but it’s just not really working.
The best podcasts are the ones that have their own personality and build human-to-human connection with a specific audience of ideal listeners.
How to use AI as a podcast
But this doesn’t mean you should ignore AI. AI tools are here to stay and can make the production process easier without damaging your podcast – if done right. And what that looks like is:
- Speeding up writing – LLMs like ChatGPT are great for drafting show notes and transcriptions. Just be sure to go over any writing yourself and ensure that it’s in your tone of voice, it attracts your ideal listener and makes it clear what value they’ll get from the episode, without giving it away.
- Editing – Tools like AutoPod can help make rapid, draft multicam edits. Descript can quickly remove dead air and filler words. But again, a full, human edit is still essential. AI editing is not only not that accurate from an audio perspective, but it also doesn’t understand value. You need to decide what is valuable for your ideal listener.
- Planning & scheduling – And clerical tasks like finding and booking guests, and brainstorming episode ideas can be made easier using AI. But treat it like an intern – not your boss. Let it handle grunt work while you handle final ideas and personality.
So while more creators jump on the gen-AI bandwagon and chase volume and output, the real edge will be in how well you connect with your ideal listener.
Strategy 2: Making Video Work
If you’re going to produce video episodes in 2026, treat it with the respect that your podcast, your brand and your listeners (or viewers) deserve. Because right now, video is a huge opportunity for getting more people to find your podcast, but you have to do it right.
YouTube is a different beast compared with your audio feed. And it is YouTube that we’re talking about here, because over 80% of podcast video consumption is happening on YouTube.
It also happens to be the second biggest search engine behind Google and the same cannot be said for Spotify or Apple podcasts. But if you want your podcast episodes to stand out and for people to choose to click on them over the billions of videos produced with YouTube first in mind, you have to play the YouTube game.
The YouTube Game
So what is the YouTube game? It utilising the strategies that YouTubers use to get their videos showing up in search and clicked. And so many podcasters are still not using these strategies.
So what are they?
- Start with a hook or trailer: YouTube viewers bounce from videos more quickly than listeners do on audio platforms. if you are opening your video episode with a generic branded podcast wide intro that you add to every episode you’re going to lose most of your viewers before they even had a chance to experience any of your content.
Because of this, your video episodes need to start with either a hook or a trailer. A hook is an attention grabbing opening first couple of sentences to make it very clear from the start of the video what your viewers are going to get out of watching.
Or if you have the expertise or the budget and attention grabbing trailer edited together can do wonders to your retention rates again take a look at Diary Of A CEO for inspiration. - Film & edit with intention: Even if you have a budget set up or you’re recording your episodes with guests who don’t have a great setup, you can still keep framing and lighting in mind during recording.
And don’t just throw up an unedited zoom recording. Use a platform that allows you to get separate HD recordings of each speaker and do a proper multi-cam edit. This will help keep viewers engaged and make the video something worth watching. - Design strong thumbnails & titles: YouTube is a discovery engine, not a podcast feed. Titles and thumbnails are often what makes someone click. So make it very clear what value the viewer is going to get from the episode.
I see so many video podcasts on YouTube still that are using these over designed branded thumbnails with their logo, with the name of the podcast, the episode number, the full title in small text – and it’s just not attention grabbing. It’s not giving the potential viewer a reason to click.
Take a look at what some of the big podcasts out there are doing. They just have the faces of the speakers and maximum three to six words of text that supports the title and drives emotion and drives clicks.
And with your titles, think about what people are actually searching for on YouTube and you can always include these search terms in your titles to give you a higher chance of showing up in search results.
This is how we do video for all of our clients. Just throwing up a Zoom recording isn’t worth it anymore.
Having said that, video isn’t mandatory. Yes, video podcasting is growing, but there is still massive demand for audio podcasts out there and most consumption is still being done through listening, rather than watching.
So if you have the time and budget to do video properly it’s absolutely worth it. However, if you don’t or it’s going to hold you back from ever getting started to begin with, there’s nothing wrong with sticking to the basics of a great audio podcast.
And if you are going audio only you can still add your RSS feed now to YouTube so that it pulls your audio episodes through and they show up on YouTube music. These are unlikely to get anywhere near the same attention that it would if you had all in on video but as this takes next to no effort at all to set up it’s worth it just for platform coverage.
Strategy 3: The Fundamentals
Next, let’s refresh on the fundamentals of what makes a podcast stay the course and offer value. Because, as we’ve talked about, this is going to be more important than ever in 2026. So, what are the fundamentals?
- Define your ideal listener. Ask yourself: What problem am I solving? Who exactly benefits? What kind of life/challenges does that person have? How am I best positioned to help that person solve those problems? What are their attitudes towards my niche, and why would they listen to me over someone else?
The more focused you can get, the easier it’ll be to attract listeners and provide value. And the podcasts that I see do well are the ones with a personality, even if that personality isn’t for everyone.
A podcast for “everyone” is a podcast for no one. - What do you want? What is it you want to get out of podcasting? If you’re not sure, or it’s a vague mix of, “Well, I want to make an impact. Getting some leads through the podcast would be nice. I want to have some interesting conversations.”
The more focused the outcome you’re after, the easier it’ll be to get it. So, what is the impact you want to make? Why do you want to make that impact? How many leads do you want and how much is that worth to you? Why do you want to have interesting conversations, and why do they need to be on a podcast, rather than just a chat over a coffee? - Be consistent. Consistency + value = an audience who knows, likes and trusts you. So pick a publishing schedule that you can commit to and stick to it. And keep a long-term outlook in mind. Podcasting doesn’t bring overnight success, despite what these AI podcasts are attempting to achieve.
Strategy 4: What Discovery Looks Like In 2026
Getting your podcast discovered in 2026 is going to involve even more conscious effort and strategy.
With so many shows in almost every imaginable niche, the supply usually outweighs the demand.
And when supply outweighs demand, you have to stand out in other ways. A lot of this is around the fundamentals we’ve been talking about – getting super specific on your ideal listener and how you solve their problems, and bringing your own unique personality to the table.
But even then, it can be a challenge to get found by your ideal listeners.
So in 2026, these are the three main areas to focus on when marketing your podcast:
- Audience borrowing – Don’t just rely on platforms to recommend your podcast, nor on your social media following (unless it’s already huge). Get your podcast in front of people who already listen to podcasts.
That means episode and guest swaps with other podcasters who share your audience; getting your podcast listed on “top podcasts in x niche” blog articles; paying to feature your podcast trailer on other podcasts that share an audience, and so on. - YouTube – As we’ve already discussed, YouTube presents a powerful opportunity to get your podcasts found. It’s much more developed as a search engine than platforms like Spotify. It also provides far more detailed analytics to help you understand what content is working and why.
- SEO and GEO – SEO (search engine optimisation) is already part of many podcaster’s marketing strategies. That means including common search terms in your titles and show notes, as well as repurposing them as blog content to attract listeners via search.
But in 2026, it’s worth thinking about GEO, too. That’s generative engine optimisation. Which means tailoring content for LLMs like ChatGPT by providing clear answers to commonly asked questions in a way that makes it easy for AI to read.
I’m not super clued up on this yet, but people have found us through ChatGPT searches, so it’s something I’ll be looking into more throughout 2026.
On top of all this, as always, it’s keeping the quality consistent and ensuring your giving listeners who do find you, a reason to stay subscribed.
Strategy 5: Monetise Smartly
The final strategy is for if you want to monetise your podcast in 2026. Whether that’s generating revenue from the podcast directly, or if you’re using the podcast to grow your business.
As we touched on at the start, monetising a podcast has moved far beyond simply finding a sponsor.
If you do want to pursue sponsors, it’s still a viable strategy. And if you’re still waiting to reach certain download numbers before making an ask, I would just start reaching out to sponsors now.
Even if you think your show is too small, you’ll be surprised by how many brands are willing to take a chance on a niche, engaged audience. A lot of our guests have been able to get sponsors on board after only a few dozen episodes.
Other tried and tested monetisation options are also still available to podcasters, such as:
- Ad revenue from YouTube once you hit their threshold
- Listener support through premium content and subscriptions.
- And selling products and services to listeners, once they’ve become loyal fans.
But the biggest missed opportunity that we’re implementing with our clients is guest prospecting.
Guest Prospecting
Guest prospecting is where your podcast becomes a relationship builder for businesses.
How it works is you bring on guests who could be potential clients or referral partners. A podcast gives you an hour with someone who might never give you the time of day otherwise. And in that hour, you build rapport and create a genuine connection.
We’ve had clients land £30k deals before their podcast even launched, simply because their guest outreach put them in front of exactly the right person. And we’ve done this ourselves with our own podcast.
And here’s why this is such a powerful strategy, specifically in 2026:
It bypasses the challenge of competing for downloads in a crowded landscape. You don’t need big numbers to get value from your podcast – you just need the right people in front of you.
Even if you’re using the guest prospecting strategy, though, you still need the fundamentals to attract the right guests:
- Make the podcast look and sound as good as possible.
- Have a clear audience and value proposition.
- Position your show so that potential guests immediately understand why they should come on.
And it means your podcast will still grow in the background. Over time, you build up listeners who get value from you week after week, and those listeners become warm leads.
YOUR GOALS, YOUR STRATEGY
So that’s our playbook for podcasting in 2026:
- Using AI without losing the human connection and personality.
- If you’re going to do video, do it the right way.
- Stick to the fundamentals.
- Audience borrowing, YouTube and GEO for discovery.
- Rethink monetisation beyond sponsors and downloads.
If you’re serious about building a podcast that lasts and actually helps you achieve your goals in 2026, have a think about how you can implement these strategies into your podcast.
