There are many ways to manually build a podcast media list for your company or client's PR outreach. You might try:
- Google searches
- Spotify
- Listen Notes
- Spreadsheets
- Apple podcasts
- Podcast networks
- YouTube channels
Or even mix all the above.
Sounds like a hassle? You don’t need a stack of apps. At Rephonic, you get everything you need to build a podcast media list in one place.
Five steps to build a podcast media list
Step 1: Define your target audience
Your target audience is the group of people you particularly want to reach. They'll share some characteristics, which could include:
- Problems and needs (you have the solutions)
- Demographics (where they live, how old they are, etc.)
- Psychographics (their interests, beliefs, lifestyle etc.)
- Professional traits (their industry roles, levels of expertise, etc.)
You've probably already identified your client or company's target audience. However, if you're seeking more info, HubSpot has this excellent article on target audiences and how to find them.
Step 2: Find relevant podcasts
Search the podcast database using topic keywords
Open Rephonic and type the topic or keywords that most align with your client's target audience. Then, apply some filters to zero in on the best options.
For example, you're searching for current podcasts that accept guests, so using the Active and Guests filters will remove podcasts that haven't published episodes in the past 45 days, and those that don't do guest interviews.
Many of Rephonic's filters let you narrow down to specific demographics, psychographics (e.g., interests) or professional info, too, so you can really home in on your client or company's ideal podcast listeners.
For example:
Let's imagine my client is a nutritionist about to launch a budget-friendly vegetarian cookbook aimed at young families with fussy eaters. I could simply search for "nutrition" or I could get more specific and enter "vegetarian cooking" or "vegetarian nutrition" into the search bar.
I'll get many podcast titles through each of those searches. However, many won't fit my client's target audience. So, I'll filter my search to zoom in on shows with young, nutrition-conscious parents with a limited budget.
Alternatively, you, or your client, may want to dive into the podcast numbers and use filters to specify established shows (say, over 2 years old, with at least 50 episodes) or podcasts with highly engaged listeners, or those with very active social media accounts.
Learn more about Rephonic's 25 search filters.
Discover where your client's competitors appear
Use the Episodes search feature to "spy" on relevant competitors to see which podcasts they've been interviewed or mentioned on. This video shows how to check for competitors' names.
Knowing which podcasts competitors have guested on gives you a strategic advantage. You can reverse-engineer their successful outreach efforts and use that info in your pitching strategy.
Check the graph tool to find related podcasts
Podcast listeners often subscribe to several podcasts that share the same topic but don’t fall within their specific search parameters.
Use Rephonic's 3D Graph tool to quickly find podcasts related to shows on your list.
You can:
- Type the podcast title directly into the graph tool
- Open a podcast page and scroll down to the Related section. Here, you'll see a list of related podcasts, or click on the 3-dot menu to go directly to the 3D graph for that podcast.
Use Rephonic's list feature to keep track of every new podcast you notice during your searches.
Start by tapping the Lists button in the top right corner of your first search. Then, tap the Add button next to any relevant podcast during your search.
At this point, you could have a long list of potential podcasts, but not all of them will be as relevant as they first appear. Podcasts have data scattered all over the internet, but Rephonic consolidates it onto one podcast page, making it very easy to research.
So, the next step involves assessing the shows on your list.
Step 3: Qualify shows using data
Rephonic groups each podcast's information into five tabs labeled Overview, Audience, People, Sponsors and Feedback.
Let's use the information Rephonic has amassed on The Nourished Child podcast to check it's a good fit for my nutritionist and her audience of budget-conscious parents.
Overview
The overview tab includes key facts like how many episodes there are, listener numbers, Spotify followers, Social media numbers and links, etc. Those are relevant if I were looking for podcasts of a specific age, size or engagement level.
But I'll also quickly check Recent Topics to see if they fit my nutritionist client, and use the Latest Episodes button to open links to past episodes. Listening to podcast content across a few episodes gives me an idea of the host's tone and style. You might also check the episode transcripts to see what particular guests have discussed, check other topics and more.
Audience
This is the go-to tab to assess the audience fit. Here, you'll find info on audience demographics and psychographics.
These include an overall Listener Profile and data on their likely age range, location, interests, professions, household income, relationship status and education levels, giving you a good basis for comparison with your client’s target audience.
People
Here, I get a quick overview of The Nourished Child's typical guest, then a list of people who've recently appeared on the podcast, together with details of their episode.
Feedback
Here, I get an idea of listeners' views on the podcast and its content. I can check the key themes and click the link to read the actual comments on Apple Podcasts. I'm particularly interested in the most recent ones.
It's taken me around 5 minutes to assess The Nourished Child as a good fit for my client. Time to add it to the list, gather contact details and consider the best angles for a guest pitch.
Step 4: Gather podcast contact info
I don't have to go far to find this podcast's email addresses and social links. They're listed under Contacts (blue button, top right corner of every tab.)
In this case, there were several emails, plus socials. Sometimes, hosts have contact preferences on their site, so I opened the contact page address (it was top of the list) to check.
Step 5: Organize and manage your list
At this point, you might make a spreadsheet to hold the names and data of all the podcasts you’ve identified as being a good fit. That involves a lot of copy/pasting, though. And you have to keep remembering to update it, but a separate spreadsheet might suit your system best.
Alternatively, as I mentioned in Step 1, build the list on Rephonic as you go.
Now you can easily
- Add podcast titles as you spot them
- Assess each show straight from the list and delete those that aren't a good fit for your client (tap the 'trash' icon)
- Keep track of each podcast as it moves through the pipeline (Prospect, Pitched, Followed up, Lost, Warm & Booked) by changing its status in the dropdown in the Status column:
- Share the list with your team or client (use the Share button, top right). Team members can rename it and add/remove podcasts, but non-team members have read-only access.
Why podcasts are the most exciting media for PR professionals
🎙️Worldwide in 2025, around 584.1 million people listen to podcasts—projected to skyrocket to 651.7 million by 2027. (Backlinko Podcast Stats). There's a lot of podcasts for them to listen to as well. 4.5 million-and-counting. (Podcast Index.) Those shows cover almost every topic you could possibly think of, which means there's a podcast to suit anyone who wants to listen, and plenty of places to spread your message.
🎙️Podcast listeners are a diverse bunch—and so are the podcasts they listen to. People are spending more time listening to podcasts than ever before, too, according to the Edison Research 2025 podcast consumer report. That suggests a deeper engagement than just a quick read and means guests get a real chance to make an impression, tell stories, and build trust.
Surely, that's a PR dream.
Final thoughts
So many podcasts, so many listeners!
Searching for the right shows for each client's podcast media list could turn into a time-consuming tangle of apps and websites.
Or, you could enlist Rephonic's help, and quickly choose podcasts with audiences ready to hear and appreciate your client's message.
Ready to start a podcast media list on Rephonic? Sign up for a free trial.
Article credits
Written by Lyn McNamee, podcast-PR writer with four years of experience transforming podcast insights into practical, results-focused playbooks.
Edited by Becca Butcher, marketing specialist who frequently analyzes Rephonic’s data across 3 million podcasts.
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