Podcast Marketing Trends Explained: Data-Driven Podcast Growth Strategies

Michael Jordan, Simone Biles, Wayne Gretzky. Every so often, someone comes along who is playing the game at a whole different level. And when it comes to podcasting, we've got two of them. Jay Clouse and Chris Hutchins each host hugely successful shows. And this special episode, we're getting inside the minds of these two creators to understand the thought process, experiments, and personalities behind the downloads (not to mention some serious revenue). 📊 What did you think of this episode? Click to cast your vote: 🤩 Nailed It! [http://podcastmarketingacademy.com/pmte-feedback-nailed-it/?utm_source=show_notes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=022_creator_science] 🙂 Solid [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/pmte-feedback-solid/?utm_source=show_notes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=022_creator_science] 🥱 Meh [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/pmte-feedback-meh/?utm_source=show_notes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=022_creator_science] 😒 Do better [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/pmte-feedback-do-better/?utm_source=show_notes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=022_creator_science] ⭐️ Get a free podcast marketing audit with personalized recommendations to help you grow: https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/audit [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/audit] ⭐️ Resource Listen & Subscribe to Sound Judgment [https://pod.link/1643414362] Creator Science Podcast [https://episodes.fm/1498801064?view=apps] Creator Science [https://creatorscience.com/?ref=jeremy38] All the Hacks Podcast [https://episodes.fm/1560751222] Tim Ferriss Episode w/ Chris Hutchins [https://episodes.fm/1560751222/episode/YjFmNzQzNzUtZTlhMS00NmU4LTkxNTctZTgxMjQ2ZDVhMWFi] Subscribe to Podcast Marketing Trends Explained [https://link.chtbl.com/JDjy0g_X] Check out the Podcast Marketing Trends 2023 Report [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/podcast-marketing-trends-2023/] Subscribe to the Scrappy Podcasting Newsletter [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/scrappy-podcasting-newsletter/] Try Transistor.fm for free for 14 days [https://transistor.fm/?via=jeremy-enns] ✍️ Leave your feedback for the show: http://podcastmarketingtrends.com/feedback [http://podcastmarketingtrends.com/feedback]

Plus, we need your help [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/new-show-vote] to decide what to make next. We spend the majority of our time thinking about podcast marketing & growth. But that doesn’t mean we have it all figured out. In this final episode of Season 1 of Podcast Marketing Trends Explained, we break down our stats from the season along with our mistakes and missed opportunities, lessons learned… and the surprising insights we’ve gained along the way. Plus, we brainstorm three new show concept ideas to keep us busy between seasons… and ask your feedback on which one we should pursue. Cast your vote for which show we should make next [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/new-show-vote] 📊 What did you think of this episode? Click to cast your vote: 🤩 Nailed It! [http://podcastmarketingacademy.com/pmte-feedback-nailed-it/?utm_source=show_notes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=021_season_wrap] 🙂 Solid [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/pmte-feedback-solid/?utm_source=show_notes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=021_season_wrap] 🥱 Meh [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/pmte-feedback-meh/?utm_source=show_notes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=021_season_wrap] 😒 Do better [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/pmte-feedback-do-better/?utm_source=show_notes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=021_season_wrap] Topics Covered 00:00 Intro 00:49 How many downloads we expected to get going into this season 02:35 Breaking down our Season 1 stats 03:22 Is YouTube worthwhile for the average podcaster? 08:34 Engagement time and consumption rates 12:44 The metric we care about more than analytics 20:26 Assessing Season 1: What we did well 23:02 How experimentation led us to find our structure 28:21 A big mistake we made with Season 1 32:05 Mistakes and missed opportunities in Season 1 36:18 Help us decide which show we should create next 40:57 Concept idea 1: “Make it Big” 45:03 Concept idea 2: “Why It Works” 49:48 Concept idea 3: “Podcast Riffs” 54:35 Listener feedback and what to expect from Season 2 ⭐️ Get a free podcast marketing audit with personalized recommendations to help you grow: https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/audit [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/audit] ⭐️ Resource Jay Clouse from Creator Science [https://www.youtube.com/@CreatorScienceYT] https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCUoSr3dQcE_MWlRY1WZmCZA Josh Spector [https://www.youtube.com/c/JoshSpectorVideos] https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCJZ-2S8RMWjgAlMs8oBX_bw Bumper articles on measuring listen time [https://wearebumper.com/] Growth In Reverse [https://growthinreverse.com/] Arvid Kahl [https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/]   [https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCB6s-V1Ls4vc_mXEF-4Lz_Q] LinkFire [https://www.linkfire.com/] Chartable [https://chartable.com/] The Futur [https://www.youtube.com/@thefutur] Unthinkable w/ Jay Acunzo [https://jayacunzo.com/unthinkable-podcast]  Subscribe to Podcast Marketing Trends Explained [https://link.chtbl.com/JDjy0g_X] Check out the Podcast Marketing Trends 2023 Report [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/podcast-marketing-trends-2023/] Subscribe to the Scrappy Podcasting Newsletter [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/scrappy-podcasting-newsletter/] Try Transistor.fm for free for 14 days [https://transistor.fm/?via=jeremy-enns] ✍️ Leave your feedback for the show: http://podcastmarketingtrends.com/feedback [http://podcastmarketingtrends.com/feedback]

Less than 5% of your potential audience is listening to your show. Here’s why, in their own words. Even small shows with just a few hundred (or few dozen) downloads an episode have usually been listened to—at one point or another—by thousands of people. A small number of those people are your regular listeners and superfans. A larger number are casual listeners and samplers, people who don’t listen to every episode, but rather based on their interest in a specific episode topic or guest. And then there are the people who listened to one episode or less… and never came back. While the data is hard to measure, chances are, less than 5% of the people who are both aware of your show and interested in your topic are regular listeners. Which begs two questions: 1. Why aren’t they listening? 2. Is there anything you can do to change that? To get to the bottom of this frustrating phenomenon, we ran a survey to our larger audience to find out—in their own words—what kept them listening more regularly… or at all. The good news? They didn’t hold back. And in this episode, we break down their feedback, which—while aimed at our show—likely applies to your show as well. 📊 What did you think of this episode? Click to cast your vote: 🤩 Nailed It! [http://podcastmarketingacademy.com/pmte-feedback-nailed-it/?utm_source=show_notes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=009_budgets] 🙂 Solid [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/pmte-feedback-solid/?utm_source=show_notes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=009_budgets] 🥱 Meh [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/pmte-feedback-meh/?utm_source=show_notes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=009_budgets] 😒 Do better [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/pmte-feedback-do-better/?utm_source=show_notes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=009_budgets] Topics Covered 00:00 Intro 00:49 9k email subscribers… 350 downloads 02:41 How listeners choose what content to engage 04:50 The role of 'Jobs to Be Done' in podcasting 11:32 Why our audiences are tuning us out experiment 15:30 Understanding your Total Addressable Market 18:32 Strategies for retaining podcast listeners 21:24 Earning the right to long term listeners 26:28 Breaking down our casual listeners repsonse data 29:01 The challenges of creating career-adjacent content 30:16 Creative ideas to engage more listeners 33:36 What listeners like about our titles and descriptions 37:13 Using feedback to guide your content strategy 41:50 Why non-listeners choose not to listen 44:06 How to break through to non-listeners 49:43 How we’re incorporating this feedback ⭐️ Get a free podcast marketing audit with personalized recommendations to help you grow: https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/audit [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/audit] ⭐️ Resources Check out our full audience survey data [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kgOQf5ueEBdcDxk1505IUkGIVy9ABUTkK1c45y5XRr4/edit?usp=sharing] Walkthrough: How to replicate this survey for your show [https://tella.video/how-to-set-up-a-podcast-audience-engagement-survey-1ftr] Subscribe to Podcast Marketing Trends Explained [https://link.chtbl.com/JDjy0g_X] Check out the Podcast Marketing Trends 2023 Report [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/podcast-marketing-trends-2023/] Subscribe to the Scrappy Podcasting Newsletter [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/scrappy-podcasting-newsletter/] Try Transistor.fm for free for 14 days [https://transistor.fm/?via=jeremy-enns] ✍️ Leave your feedback for the show: http://podcastmarketingtrends.com/feedback [http://podcastmarketingtrends.com/feedback]

They’re not always obvious, but the elements of storytelling are at the heart of every great episode. This is as true for interview and solo shows as it is for narrative. For comedy & fiction as it is for business. And in this episode, with the help of a special guest, we’re breaking down the core principles of storytelling and how to incorporate them into your show. 📊 What did you think of this episode? Click to cast your vote: 🤩 Nailed It! [http://podcastmarketingacademy.com/pmte-feedback-nailed-it/?utm_source=show_notes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=017_sound_judgment] 🙂 Solid [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/pmte-feedback-solid/?utm_source=show_notes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=017_sound_judgment] 🥱 Meh [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/pmte-feedback-meh/?utm_source=show_notes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=017_sound_judgment] 😒 Do better [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/pmte-feedback-do-better/?utm_source=show_notes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=017_sound_judgment] Topics Covered 0:00 A new podcast growth experiment 3:21 Introducing Sound Judgment 6:24 Crafting your show’s Sound Vision 16:06 Structuring your episodes for impact & retention 18:54 Thinking in scenes 23:20 Surprise: The unexpected emotion behind all great podcast episodes 35:42 Why specifics are the key to unlocking memorability and emotion 40:20 Our analysis of the Sound Judgment episode 42:17 Digging deeper into defining your sound vision 47:35 How we use scenes to structure this show 51:33 How to incorporate surprise & suspense into your episodes 58:47 How to be a more specific (and thus, better) interviewer 1:01:52 The elements of a fantastic cross-promotion pitch ⭐️ Get a free podcast marketing audit with personalized recommendations to help you grow: https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/audit [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/audit] ⭐️ Resource Listen & Subscribe to Sound Judgment [https://pod.link/1643414362] The Story Grid [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25455700-the-story-grid] YouTube: Brandon McNulty [https://www.youtube.com/@WriterBrandonMcNulty] On Being [https://onbeing.org/] Wild Boys [https://pod.link/1633676383] Famous & Gravy [https://www.famousandgravy.com/] Subscribe to Podcast Marketing Trends Explained [https://link.chtbl.com/JDjy0g_X] Check out the Podcast Marketing Trends 2023 Report [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/podcast-marketing-trends-2023/] Subscribe to the Scrappy Podcasting Newsletter [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/scrappy-podcasting-newsletter/] Try Transistor.fm for free for 14 days [https://transistor.fm/?via=jeremy-enns] ✍️ Leave your feedback for the show: http://podcastmarketingtrends.com/feedback [http://podcastmarketingtrends.com/feedback]

We all know success doesn’t happen overnight. But what does the data say about how long it takes to reach 1k… or 10k downloads per episode?  Podcasting is inherently a slow-growth medium.  Without a central discovery system offering the potential for virality, growing a podcast is a long game of slow, steady, incremental growth that compounds over time.  But while you might expect growth to be somewhat slow when you start out, how long should it take before it speeds up?  In this episode, we’re breaking down what the data says about how long it takes the typical show to reach the 1k and 10k milestones, the factors that influence those timelines, and what you can do to accelerate the process.  📊 What did you think of this episode? Click to cast your vote: 🤩 Nailed It! [http://podcastmarketingacademy.com/pmte-feedback-nailed-it/?utm_source=show_notes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=015_compounding] 🙂 Solid [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/pmte-feedback-solid/?utm_source=show_notes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=015_compounding] 🥱 Meh [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/pmte-feedback-meh/?utm_source=show_notes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=015_compounding] 😒 Do better [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/pmte-feedback-do-better/?utm_source=show_notes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=015_compounding] Topics Covered 00:00 Intro 00:59 Podcast growth lessons from Warren Buffett   05:00 When typical shows hit the 1k & 10k dl/ep milestones  10:36 How experience affects a show’s growth rate  15:21 What everyone gets wrong about consistency in podcasting  26:16 The powerful compounding of relationships  31:33 Stacking micro-improvements to your show with every episode  35:26 Strategies for navigating (and avoiding) creative burnout  38:28 Building your transferable skill set  44:22 Our personal stories of creative compounding that have got us here  56:12 The impact of mentorship and constructive critique ⭐️ Get a free podcast marketing audit with personalized recommendations to help you grow: https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/audit [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/audit] ⭐️ Resource Mike Birbiglia’s Podcast, *Working It Out* [https://birbigs.com/podcast] Build and Launch [https://www.buildandlaunch.net/], Past Project by Justin Jackson Mega Maker [https://megamaker.co/], Project by Justin Jackson  Subscribe to Podcast Marketing Trends Explained [https://link.chtbl.com/JDjy0g_X] Check out the Podcast Marketing Trends 2023 Report [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/podcast-marketing-trends-2023/] Subscribe to the Scrappy Podcasting Newsletter [https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/scrappy-podcasting-newsletter/] Try Transistor.fm for free for 14 days [https://transistor.fm/?via=jeremy-enns] ✍️ Leave your feedback for the show: http://podcastmarketingtrends.com/feedback [http://podcastmarketingtrends.com/feedback]