How to Build a Podcast Media List

A podcast media list is more than a spreadsheet of show names. It's a document that lists all the information about multiple podcasts you'll consider making a pitch to now or in the future.

But here's the key distinction: it's NOT something you use to spam every possible podcast host with a generic pitch. That'll lead straight to outreach strategy disaster when it comes to getting featured on relevant podcasts.

Your media list is the foundation of every PR campaign. A thoughtfully built, well-maintained list of journalist contacts can mean the difference between consistent coverage and pitches that disappear into the void. Yet most PR professionals rely on outdated, overly broad lists that waste time and damage their reputation with irrelevant outreach.

This guide walks you through how to build a podcast media list that actually works: organized by purpose, grounded in research, and designed to evolve with your campaigns.

Start With Your Client, Not the Podcasts

The biggest mistake PR professionals make when building podcast media lists is starting with the podcasts. They search for "business podcasts" or "health podcasts," add 50 shows to a spreadsheet, and call it done.

This approach fails because it ignores the most important input: your client's expertise and positioning.

Before you search for a single podcast, answer these questions:

What topics can your client speak to with authority?Not just their job title or company, but the specific angles where they have genuine insight. A fintech founder might be an expert on AI in banking, but they might also have strong takes on remote team culture, founder mental health, or the future of regulation. Each topic opens different podcast opportunities.

What audience are you trying to reach?Your target audience's demographics matter: gender, location, ethnicity, and age. But psychographics are important too. Consider their attitudes, values, interests, and lifestyles.

What search terms would your ideal listener use?What search terms are subscribers using to find new podcasts? And who are your competitors targeting? Can you find a niche market they haven't noticed?

If you work with a client profile system, this information should already be documented. If not, create one before you start building lists. The client profile becomes the lens through which you evaluate every podcast.

The Two Types of Search: Categories vs. Keywords

When you start discovering podcasts, you have two main approaches: category browsing and keyword search. Each works differently, and the best lists use both.

Category-Based Discovery

Apple Podcasts allows you to select up to two categories per show, plus subcategories for each. If they're relevant to your show, you're encouraged to fill those slots, as it increases organic discoverability.

This matters for your outreach because podcasts self-categorize into topics like Business, Health & Fitness, Technology, or Society & Culture. Browsing categories helps you find shows that explicitly position themselves in a space.

When choosing categories, make sure to pick the niche inside the niche. Don't just choose "Arts," choose "Arts > Food." The same principle applies to your media list building. Drilling into subcategories often reveals more targeted shows than broad category searches.

The limitation: categories are coarse. A podcast about "startup culture" might categorize as Business, but so does a show about corporate accounting. Category browsing gives you volume, not precision.

Keyword-Based Discovery

Search for podcasts by keyword based on topics, titles, publishers, or episodes. Keyword search lets you find podcasts based on what they actually discuss, not just how they categorize themselves.

Search for terms your client's ideal audience would use:

• Industry-specific terminology ("B2B SaaS," "regenerative agriculture," "functional medicine")
• Problem-oriented language ("founder burnout," "sales hiring," "climate tech")
• Audience descriptors ("working moms," "solo founders," "Gen Z entrepreneurs")

Keyword searches often surface smaller, more niche shows that category browsing misses. They also help you find podcasts that cover your client's topics occasionally, even if it's not their main focus.

The best approach: start with categories to understand the landscape, then use keywords to find specific opportunities.

How to Organize Your Lists

Once you start finding relevant podcasts, you need a system to organize them. Building a quality media list requires research, organization, and ongoing maintenance. The best lists are living documents that evolve with your industry.

Option 1: Organize by Client

If you manage multiple clients, the simplest structure is one list per client. Each client's list contains only the shows relevant to their expertise and audience.

Pros: Clean separation. Easy to pitch from. No risk of sending the wrong client to the wrong show.

Cons: You might rediscover the same podcasts for multiple clients. Harder to spot patterns across your portfolio.

Option 2: Organize by Topic or Vertical

Create lists based on topics rather than clients: "Leadership podcasts," "Health & wellness podcasts," "Startup podcasts." Then match clients to relevant topic lists.

Pros: Reusable across clients. Helps you build expertise in verticals. Easier to maintain since one update benefits multiple campaigns.

Cons: Requires more work upfront. Not every client fits neatly into a topic category.

Option 3: Organize by Priority Tier

Start by categorizing media outlets based on type. Further segment by geographic reach, differentiating between national, regional, local, and trade publications. Outlet size often informs pitch prioritization and messaging nuances.

For podcasts, this might mean:

Tier 1: High-reach shows that are a strong fit. Worth investing significant research and personalization.

Tier 2: Good fit, moderate reach. Worth pitching with solid personalization.

Tier 3: Relevant but less certain fit. Worth testing with efficient outreach.

Pros: Helps you allocate time appropriately. Prevents spending too much effort on low-probability targets.

Cons: Reach estimates are imprecise. A smaller show with the perfect audience might deserve Tier 1 treatment.

Hybrid Approach

In practice, most PR professionals combine these:

• Separate lists per client (or client workspace)
• Within each client, organized by topic angles
• Tiers or tags to indicate priority

The key is consistency. Whatever structure you choose, apply it uniformly so you can find things later.

What to Track in Your Media List

A podcast media list needs more than show names. Here's what to include:

Essential Fields

• Podcast name
• Host name(s) — You'll need this for personalization
• Contact email — Verified if possible
• Show description — The show's positioning in their own words
• Episode count / publishing frequency — Active shows only
• Last episode date — Avoid pitching dormant shows
• Estimated audience size — Directionally correct is fine
• Categories/topics — Their self-described focus areas

Useful Context Fields

• Recent episode titles — Helps with pitch personalization
• Past guests (sample) — Gives you a sense of who they book
• Guest format — Interview show? Panel? Solo? Mix?
• Notes — Your observations from research

When it's on your laptop you can also add a "conversations and comments" column to a spreadsheet to plan podcast outreach for your client.

Relationship Fields

A separate podcast media contact list helps you begin some podcast outreach before pitching any shows. Competent PR agencies start building relationships with podcast hosts early so they can submit warm pitches later.

Consider tracking:

• Relationship status — Cold, engaged, pitched, booked, etc.
• Last contact date
• Notes from previous interactions

Building Your List: A Step-by-Step Process

Step 1: Define Your Search Criteria

Before searching, write down:

• 3-5 topics your client can speak to
• 2-3 audience descriptions (who listens to these shows?)
• Any constraints (geography, minimum audience size, format preferences)

Step 2: Cast a Wide Net

When you've found the perfect podcast, Rephonic shows you others that share the same audience. Build up as many media lists as you like.

Start broad:

• Search your primary keywords across podcast databases
• Browse relevant categories
• Look at "similar shows" recommendations from podcasts you know are good fits
• Check where competitors or similar guests have appeared

At this stage, err on the side of inclusion. You'll filter down later.

Step 3: Qualify Each Show

Not every podcast is worth pitching. Evaluate each show against:

Is it active?Check the last episode date. A show that hasn't published in 3+ months is probably not accepting guests.

Do they have guests?Some podcasts are solo shows or co-host only. Don't pitch shows that don't interview guests.

Is the audience relevant?A smaller show with a highly engaged, niche audience can often deliver more valuable results. The most important factor is audience alignment.

Does the format fit?Interview shows, panel discussions, and deep-dive conversations all have different requirements. Make sure your client's style fits.

Can you find contact info?You need accurate contact information to ensure your pitch even gets read. This means finding verified emails for hosts and producers.

Step 4: Prioritize

Once you've qualified your list, rank the remaining shows. Consider:

• Audience size and relevance
• How well your client's topics match recent episodes
• Any existing relationships or warm connections
• How competitive the show is (major shows get more pitches)

While a big-name podcast can offer incredible exposure, a smaller show with a highly engaged, niche audience can often deliver more valuable results.

Step 5: Document Your Research

For your top-tier targets, dig deeper:

• Listen to at least one episode
• Note the host's interview style
• Identify specific episodes or topics you could reference in your pitch
• Save any quotes or angles that inform your pitch

This research takes time, but it's what separates pitches that get read from pitches that get deleted.

For more on this step, see our guide on how to research a podcast before pitching.

Maintaining Your List Over Time

Unfortunately, you can't make a list once and be done with it. Instead, it's a continual process of finding, qualifying, adding, and subtracting podcasts. Your agency is constantly getting new clients, so you'll need to update your lists for them. Podcasts come and go, too. Subscriber numbers fluctuate, podcast emails change.

Schedule regular maintenance:

Weekly: Update status on active pitches. Add notes from any conversations.

Monthly: Remove inactive shows. Add new discoveries. Check that contact info is still valid.

Quarterly: Review your list structure. Are your categories still useful? Do you need new topic lists for new clients?

A static list becomes outdated and irrelevant. Consistent research, relationship-building, and updating ensure your media database remains a trusted asset. The media list is a living document that guides outreach today while anticipating tomorrow.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Building lists without a client in mindGeneric podcast lists sound efficient, but they create poor fit. Every list should be built with specific expertise and audience in mind.

Prioritizing reach over relevanceAn appearance on a show where every listener is your ideal client is far more powerful than being on a general-interest show with millions of listeners.

Treating the list as a one-time projectLists decay. Shows go dormant, hosts change, contact info breaks. Build maintenance into your workflow.

Skipping the research stepA list of podcast names isn't useful if you don't know enough about each show to pitch effectively. Research is part of list-building, not a separate step.

Ignoring warm connectionsBefore cold pitching, check if your client or colleagues have any relationships with hosts. A warm intro changes everything.

When to Build New Lists vs. Reuse Existing Ones

Build a new list when:

• You have a new client with unique expertise
• You're targeting a topic area you haven't covered before
• Your existing lists are stale (6+ months without updates)

Reuse and adapt when:

• A new client overlaps significantly with an existing client's space
• You're expanding into adjacent topics
• You're running a follow-up campaign for an existing client

The goal is efficiency without sacrificing fit. A well-maintained topic list can accelerate campaigns for multiple clients, but only if the underlying research is solid.

The Workflow Connection

Building a good media list is only the first step. The list needs to connect to your pitching workflow.

Systematize your outreach for long-term results. Track your key metrics, nurture your relationships with hosts, and use that data to scale your efforts and build a powerful professional network.

Your media list should make it easy to:

• See which shows you've pitched and when
• Track responses and follow-ups
• Move podcasts between stages (researched, pitched, booked, etc.)
• Avoid duplicate outreach within your team

If your list lives in a spreadsheet disconnected from your outreach, you'll lose track of status and send duplicate pitches. The best systems keep discovery, list management, and pitching in one workflow.

For guidance on the full process, see our articles on podcast outreach mistakes to avoid and what hosts actually want in pitches.