Metrics That Matter

There's more to podcast metrics than tracking downloads. In fact, downloads are a crappy way to analyze the performance of a podcast. That doesn't mean you should give up on analyzing your podcast's success. You just need to dig a little deeper. Oh, and have a plan for what you want to better understand.

October 6, 2020

Milking Your Podcast's Popularity For All It’s Worth

Podcasters have a myopic view of metrics, often putting the greatest import on statistics that matter the least to the people who matter the most - our listeners. Here’s how to do better for your show.

September 30, 2020

Tracking Podcast Downloads Is Worthless To Everyone

16 years in and podcasting still relies on an obfuscated and disconnected-from-reality metric to track all aspects of success: file downloads. There’s a better way. Several, in fact.

August 13, 2020

A Little Thinking On Big Podcast Stats

As a general rule; don’t stress out over your podcast’s stats. Your podcast will probably get the audience it deserves. And when you start looking closely, your numbers start making a lot less sense.

July 29, 2020

How Do Podcasters Recapture The Ones That Got Away?

Not everyone who listens to your podcast is going to like your podcast. In fact, most people who listen won't like your podcast. At least not enough to ever download another episode. How can we use that reality to our advantage?

April 27, 2020

Podcast Success Metrics For Tomorrow

Right up there with the meaning of life or the sound of one hand clapping is this: What podcast success metrics are important to track? The answer may be a lot more simple than you think.

March 19, 2020

Dealing With Decimated Downloads

Have you taken a look at your podcasts’ download stats lately? Are they trending in the wrong direction? And is there anything you can do about it? You’ve got questions, I’ve got… well, more questions for you to ask of yourself.

March 2, 2020

Podcasting's Hollowed-Out Middle Class

For as democratic as the medium is, podcasting isn’t immune to a widening gap between the have and the have-nots. But is the hollowing-out a natural or unnatural phenomenon? And what are podcasters to do about it?

July 17, 2019

Spying On Your Listeners Can Improve Your Podcast

How much would it help you understand your listeners’ behavior if you could actually watch them as they listened to an episode of your podcast? A lot, right? I’ve good news for you: you absolutely can, and it’s not even a little creepy.

July 16, 2019

Can Social Stats Track Your Podcast’s Growth?

Social media isn't going away anytime soon. Even podcasters have to deal with social media. But are we tracking the right social media metrics, and do those metrics indicate podcast growth? The answer may surprise you.

July 15, 2019

Overcoming Download Depression Syndrome

Tracking downloads of your podcast can be really enlightening. It can also be really depressing. So let's put this particular metric in a box start deal with “downloads” for what they really are.

May 14, 2019

Going Business-First With Your Podcast Is A Smart Business Move

What's in your podcast says a whole lot about your brand. So why not go business-first to set your show apart from the rest? (Hint: your potential customers will love it!)

May 8, 2019

The Business Case For Ignoring Podcast Statistics

How much time are you wasting looking at your business-focused podcast’s stats?

March 14, 2019

Focus On Business Goals With Your Podcast

Sure, you have goals for your podcast. But how do those track back to measurable business goals?

March 4, 2019

Open Rate: Podcasting's Forgotten Metric

It's easy to tell what percentage of your audience actually listens to your show. But are you ready for that harsh reality?

January 23, 2019

Unmeasurable Metrics: Seeking Serendipity

How not to be so rigid with your show that you miss out on opportunities.

December 13, 2018

2 Reasons Podcasters Should Love The Idea of RAD

One more step closer to having podcasting seen as a digital, not broadcast or OOH format. That's a good thing!

October 10, 2018

My Podcast Can Beat Up Your Facebook Live

Most video views are only for a few seconds. Podcasting? Almost all. We win.

August 20, 2018

The Bad News About Social Media Marketing & Podcasting

Social media is great. But it's not the answer to your podcast's problems.

February 11, 2020

Podcast Subscriber Tracking Is Pointless

Most podcasters want one thing: for people to listen to their content. So it makes sense that understanding a podcast’s total subscriber count would be a good thing. Only… it isn’t.

July 11, 2018

Metrics-Based Subscriber Growth

How to get strategic insights with free tools.

October 22, 2019

The Future of Podcasting Will Be Driven By Data

When you run a small, passion-driven podcast, it's hard to collect enough data to know exactly what your audience wants. But podcast apps and directories are different. They've a lot of data, and you can bet they’re using it.

January 16, 2020

Unmeasurable Metrics: Tracking Intangibles

With a few notable exceptions that get all the money, most podcasters aren’t paid by the download. For us (probably you), the intangible benefits of podcasting are the most important thing. How do you track those?