Lemonada Media, a podcast network known for its impactful and engaging shows, has perfected the art of connecting with listeners through tailored marketing strategies. By leveraging Linkfire's advanced analytics and customization, they’ve been able to optimize their efforts across email, social media, and other marketing channels, ensuring each show gets the visibility it deserves.
We recently caught up with Amber Gerardy Robinson, Lemonada’s Senior Director of Digital Strategy and Insights, to get an inside look at their marketing playbook. Amber shared insights into their journey, key learnings, and predictions for the future of podcasting in 2025, offering a fascinating glimpse into what makes Lemonada’s approach so successful.
About Lemonada Media
Founded in 2019, Lemonada is an award-winning, independent podcast network on a mission to make life suck less. Known for hit shows like Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Blind Plea, and Funny Cuz It’s True with Elyse Myers, Lemonada has taken the podcast world by storm, topping Apple Podcast charts and earning critical acclaim. Their award-winning lineup includes fan favorites like Last Day, Believe Her, In the Bubble with Andy Slavitt
In 2023, Lemonada took storytelling to the next level by partnering with Apple Books to launch The Lemonada Book Club, a free digital program connecting nonfiction fans with incredible stories. Their podcasts regularly feature big names from entertainment, politics, media, and science, making every episode a must-listen.
The challenge: Understanding what drives listener engagement
For Lemonada Media, promoting podcasts goes far beyond publishing new episodes. The team needed a solution to easily promote their new shows and episodes, analyze which marketing channels and content were most effective, and ultimately turn clicks into loyal listeners. Traditional tools only provided surface-level data and customization, leaving gaps in their understanding of audience behavior.
The solution: Advanced tracking and insights with Linkfire
With Linkfire, Lemonada Media gained access to a comprehensive set of tools that brought clarity to their marketing efforts. Every podcast link, whether shared via email or social media, is wrapped with Linkfire’s smart tracking, enabling detailed insights into performance.
“Using Linkfire, we can see exactly which channel and even specific asset drive the most traffic and engagement,” says Amber from Lemonada Media. “This level of granularity helps us refine our marketing and deliver the content that matters most to our listeners”.
Lemonada Media’s journey with Linkfire
Before discovering Linkfire, Lemonada Media struggled with multiple tools to market their growing podcast network. “We used one bio link tool for the network and a mix of other tools for individual shows,” says Amber. Each new show brought the challenge of finding the right set up, often requiring several platforms to meet different needs.
When Lemonada adopted Linkfire for Podcasts, things became much easier. The seamless migration process, guided by Linkfire’s Customer Success team, ensured no disruptions for listeners. “Launching new shows and sessions is now easier than ever,” Amber adds.
With Linkfire, creating podcast links became quick and simple, and the insights—especially data from Apple—were game-changing. “We now have reliable data to grow our subscriber base and make smarter decisions,” Amber notes. Previously, tracking traffic sources was a challenge, but Linkfire’s channel insights have helped Lemonada focus its efforts where they matter most.
Amber also praises the platform’s ease of use. “It’s so intuitive. It requires little training and fits perfectly into our workflows,” she says. Collaboration with external partners is now faster and more efficient. She highlights the Linkfire team’s customer support and the platform’s combination of simplicity and robust insights as key factors in streamlining their operations and growing their podcast network. “Working with new datasets can make evaluating the quality of your results difficult. However, the benchmarks and insights from the Linkfire team have been incredibly helpful in guiding this process.”
Key takeaways from Lemonada Media's multi-channel strategy
The team at Lemonada Media takes a strategic, multi-channel approach to podcast marketing, ensuring their content reaches listeners wherever they are—whether through email, social media, paid campaigns, or partner promotions. To measure and optimize their efforts, they rely on Linkfire’s advanced tracking capabilities, which provide valuable insights across paid, organic, and partner channels. By leveraging these data-driven insights, Lemonada continuously refines its marketing strategy to drive audience growth and engagement.
Email Marketing: A key driver of engagement
Email campaigns play a pivotal role for Lemonada in connecting with their audience, from announcing new episodes and sharing essential updates to spotlighting sponsors. By integrating Linkfire, Amber and her team can track performance down to the smallest detail.
“Smart tracking has been very useful for us. It shows exactly what’s working in our newsletters, helping us make data-driven decisions to drive better results.” Amber explains.
Access to Apple Podcast data: A new dimension of insights
One of the standout benefits of Linkfire is its integration with Apple Podcast data. Unlike traditional tools that only provide basic metrics like clicks or downloads, Linkfire unlocks deeper insights into episode performance—including actual plays, listener interaction, and follower growth with Apple Podcasts.
“Having access to this level of data is very powerful. We can now see how people engage with our content, not just how they click on it. It’s given us a much clearer picture of what works.” says Amber.
The Results: Deeper engagement and listener growth
For a data-driven team like Lemonada Media, tracking and measuring campaign performance has always been a priority. Before adopting Linkfire, their tracking capabilities were limited to click-through rates to digital service providers (DSPs). Now, Linkfire’s advanced analytics provide a holistic view of listener behavior, including Apple Podcast plays, follows, and engaged listeners across channels and regions. This richer data allows Lemonada Media to refine strategies, focus on high-performing channels, and drive meaningful results.
Key insights from top-performing shows:
- Play Conversion: Over 50% of clicks led to plays, closely aligning with the Linkfire benchmark of 52%.
- Engaged Listeners: More than 40% of unique listeners listen to at least 20 minutes or 40% of an episode , far exceeding the benchmark of 26.8%.
- Follower Growth:Nearly 70% of engaged listeners became followers of the show, outperforming the benchmark of 36%.
- Overall Follower Conversion: Total clicks to follower conversion stood at 7%, below the benchmark of 15.4%, highlighting an area for further optimization.
These metrics highlight successes and improvement opportunities, offering actionable insights to fine-tune promotional strategies. By leveraging this data, Lemonada Media has been able to foster deeper engagement and cultivate a growing, loyal listener base.
Predictions for 2025
As podcast marketers, it’s easy to get caught up in strategies and tactics to drive campaigns and results. But Amber believes authentic and creative content will always take center stage.
Focusing on creating meaningful, high-quality content that truly resonates with your audience is key. Once that’s in place, the next step is ensuring it reaches the right people.
Amber also highlights some key marketing trends shaping the future. Video content continues to grow rapidly, so podcasters should be ready to embrace it. AI is another game-changer, with countless niche tools available to streamline workflows and save time.
Finally, Amber emphasizes the importance of understanding your audience using tools like Linkfire. It’s not just about gathering data — it’s about diving into insights, working with customer success teams, and taking meaningful action based on what you learn. These strategies, Amber predicts, will be crucial for success in 2025.
In summary, by integrating Linkfire’s tools into its marketing strategy, Lemonada Media has gained a competitive edge in understanding its audience and optimizing its campaigns. From granular analytics to seamless workflows, Linkfire has empowered them to expand their reach, foster engagement, and build a loyal listener base.
As Lemonada looks to the future, they continue to set the bar for creative, data-driven podcast marketing, ensuring their mission to “make life suck less” resonates with audiences worldwide.
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