Finding Podcasts Similar to Yours in Apple's Directory

A swap partner does not have to be found by guessing. Apple's directory is public, and every show in it shows the same few facts: what it is about, how many episodes it has, and when the last one came out. Those three are enough to build a decent shortlist.

What you are looking for

You want shows that a listener of yours would also enjoy, that are still publishing, and that are not wildly bigger or smaller than you. Much bigger shows get many requests and may not reply. Much smaller ones may have little audience to give you. A show at your own level is the likeliest to say yes.

Search by the listener's interests, not by your title

Start in the Apple Podcasts app or on the web and search for the subjects your episodes actually cover. Try the words a listener would type: the topic, the kind of guest, the problem you help with. Searching a few phrases gives you candidates quickly.

If you prefer a script, Apple documents a public Search API. Add media=podcast to a query on https://itunes.apple.com/search along with term= and country=. According to Apple's Search API documentation, limit defaults to 50 and goes up to 200, and the API is limited to approximately 20 calls per minute, subject to change. The documentation lists attributes for podcast searches such as genreIndex, languageTerm and keywordsTerm. Run one query and read the JSON that comes back; look for the name, the genre, the episode count and the latest release date.

Write down three fields

For each candidate, record only:

1. Genre, as the listing shows it
2. Number of episodes
3. Date of the latest episode

Put them in a plain sheet with the show name and the host's name. Add a column for what the show is actually about in your own words, because genre labels are broad.

Reading the three fields

Genre. Match on the subject, not the label. Two shows filed under the same genre can have almost nothing in common. Listen to a recent episode of each before putting a show on the list.

Episode count. A very low count means the show is new and may not last. A very high count means a long-running show with a settled audience, probably less open to a swap with a small show. Look for the middle, close to your own number. Do not read a count as a measure of audience: it tells you how much has been published and nothing about how many people listen. Our note on whether download numbers matter covers why reach is hard to see from outside.

Date of the latest episode. This is the quickest filter. If the last episode is old, assume the show is on a break or finished until shown otherwise.

Signs a show has gone quiet

• the latest episode is many months old, with no announcement of a break
• the last episode is a "season finale" or a goodbye
• the host's social profiles and website stopped updating at about the same time
• the episode feed has gaps that keep growing between releases

A quiet show is not always useless. A host who stopped may be happy to have a guest, or to let you drop a short episode into the feed. But that is a different request from a mention swap, and you should write it as such.

Narrow it to a handful

Cut the sheet down to the five or so shows where the subject fits, the show is active and the size feels right. Then do the part no directory can do for you: listen, note one specific detail you liked, and find the host's contact in the show notes or on the show's website.

A first email, in four lines

Hi [name], I host [your show], about [one plain sentence]. Your episode on [topic] made me think our listeners overlap, especially the point about [detail]. Would you swap one short mention each? I can write both scripts and send yours first for you to edit. If it's not the right time, no worries.

Did the swap work?

Open your hosting stats and compare listens and new followers in the days after the partner's mention with the days before. Give the swap its own short link if your host supports it. A rise is a hint, not proof, so try a second partner before you decide that swaps suit your show.

Where searches go wrong

• Searching only for your exact title words and missing neighbouring topics.
• Treating the top of a search result as the best partner. It is the best match for the query, which is not the same thing.
• Contacting shows you have not listened to.
• Trusting stale data. Directory pages change, so check the latest episode date again the day you write.
• Copying a long list of hosts into one spreadsheet and sending them all the same message.

Public data narrows the field. It cannot tell you whether the audiences overlap or whether the host will answer, so keep the list short enough to do the human part properly.