This post is part of a series of guest posts sharing reflections on the 2024 Podcast Marketing Trends Report. This post is from Alison Osborne, VP of Marketing at CoHost, a podcast analytics and audience insights platform built for brands and podcast...
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What if Declining Downloads Are Actually Masking Other Types of Podcast Growth?
This post is part of a series of guest posts sharing reflections on the 2024 Podcast Marketing Trends Report. This post is from Elissa Craig, Head of Marketing at Headliner, a tool to help you turn your podcast into stunning short and long-form video content, whether...
The Biggest Misconception In Podcast Marketing
It’s hot. You’re lying on the beach trying to enjoy your well-deserved (and long-overdue) vacation… But you’re distracted by the never-ending beads of sweat running down your arms, your back, your face. One drips off your nose onto the open book you’re trying to...
Category Inversion: A Simple Exercose to Identify New Podcast Growth Opportunities
When you’re struggling to stand out against other shows in a crowded podcast category, this exercise can help you become the one and only.
The Hidden Side of Growth: 14 Things Top Creators Do Behind Closed Doors to Grow Their Podcasts
The difference between successful and struggling podcast creators isn’t marketing tactics. It’s practices like these.
Start With Surprise: The Simple Strategy For Structuring Satisfying Podcast Episodes
A straightforward approach to consistently creating episodes that deliver satisfying payoffs that keep listeners coming back.
Take It To The Limit: The Soul-Eating Curse of an Underdeveloped Show Premise
Eternal damnation awaits all who fall prey…
The B-Plot: The Hidden Emotional Hook Running Through All Great Podcasts
Peel back the surface layer to understand what makes shareable shows connect with listeners and inspire long-lasting connection.
Innovate or Die: Why What Worked for Other Podcasts Won’t Grow Your Show
You can ignore this reality, but you can’t escape it: The bar to grow a podcast is getting higher every day. Here’s what to do.
Write Better Podcast Episode Titles Using the SHARP Framework
Improving your episode titles is perhaps the single highest leverage task for winning over more new listeners. Here’s how to do it.
4 Podcast Growth Challenges (& How to Design Your Show to Solve Them)
Until you design your show to solve these four specific podcast marketing problems, growing your podcast will be all but impossible.
5 Podcast Cover Art Design Decisions That Will Accelerate Your Growth
Most would-be podcast listeners never make it past your cover art. Here’s how to change that through strategic design.
Stop Educating, Start Arguing: The Mindset Shift Behind Content Marketing That Converts
Why everything you were taught about content marketing is wrong… and what to do instead.
4 Specific Design Problems Every Show Must Solve
Increase discoverability, drive word of mouth growth, & get listeners hooked on your show by designing your podcast around these four problems.
8 Podcasting Red Flags That Suggest Your Show Is Doomed (And How to Fix Each of Them)
When you know what to look for, podcast problems are easy to spot. And once you see them, they’re a whole lot easier to fix.
The Podcast Recommendation Loop: How To Design A Show That Generates Viral Word-of-Mouth Growth
Word of mouth is the #1 way podcasts grow. And it doesn’t happen by accident. Here’s how to engineer a show that gets people talking.
Anatomy Of A Big Idea: The Hidden Levers Behind A Podcast Listeners Can’t Stop Listening to, Thinking, and Talking About
The bigger the idea behind your show, the more growth potential it has… But finding & refining big ideas is easier said than done.
Everything Podcast Listeners Love, Hate, and Wish More Hosts Understood About Interviewing
If you want to make better interviews, here’s what to avoid, embrace, and seek out in your episodes.
How to Become A Better Podcast Interviewer: The Hidden Skills, Traits & Practices Behind Truly Great Guest Interviews
A practical guide to improving your interviews, episodes, and guest relationships… and growing your show along the way.
The Peak-End Rule: The Surprising Power Of Ending Your Episodes With Intention
How one small tweak will transform your listener retention both within episodes and between them.
Hook Stacking: The Dark Art & Curious Science of Crafting Podcasts That Stick… & Grow
Lessons from the greatest song-writer of our time on creating a podcast that worms its way into your audience’s mind and refuses to leave.
Content Fractals: How to Make Your Podcast Stand Out By Zooming In
The secret to going big with your podcast often starts by aiming smaller and looking closer than anyone else is willing to.
What If We’ve Got Podcast Analytics All Wrong?
Downloads are the universal metric for tracking podcast success. But are they the best one? And what are we even trying to measure in the first place?
Breaking Down the Data From the Podcast Marketing Trends Explained Launch
A behind the scenes look at the early data from the Podcast Marketing Trends Explained launch, along with some key insights & observations.
Podcast Listener Churn: The Quiet Killer Undermining Your Podcast Marketing
The hidden side of podcast marketing that know one talks about but is essential to growing your show effectively.
The Subtle Message Every Great Show Communicates to It’s Listeners
The internal question that will drive away your listeners… unless you can definitively answer it for them.
The 80/20 of Every Early-Stage Podcast Marketing Strategy
When it comes to marketing your podcast, nothing else matters if you don’t get this right.
Smash or Pass: A Simple Tactic to Assess Your Podcast’s Growth Potential
This 30-second test will tell you everything you need to know about whether your show has a viable shot at success.
The Gaping Hole at the Center of Every Failing Podcast Marketing Strategy
Almost no one pays any attention to this aspect of podcast marketing. And yet, it will make or break your ability to grow.
Avoid This Podcast Listener Feedback At All Cost
Four short words that are the death knell for any podcast’s marketing and growth potential… and how to avoid them.
The Four Phases of Podcast Growth: How to Use the Right Podcast Marketing Strategy at the Right Time
If your marketing isn’t working, there’s a good chance it’s because you’re using the wrong tactics for the phase of growth you’re in.
This is How Good Your Podcast Needs to Be to Have a Shot at Success
You don’t need incredible production or world-changing content to create a successful podcast. But you do need to be better than average.
How Much Untapped Revenue Is Locked Up In Your Podcast?
There’s a good chance you’ve got (possibly tens of) thousands of dollars locked up in your podcast. Here’s how to get it out.
Big League Podcasting: How to Compete (& Win) Against the Biggest Shows, Networks & Companies In the World
You can’t compete on budget, time, or quality. But that doesn’t mean your small, scrappy podcast can’t win.
The 3 Levers of Mastering Podcast Marketing
Video game designers have known about this concept for years. It applies equally to creating and growing your podcast.
First Meaningful Engagement: A Simple Strategy to Create Podcast Listeners, Advocates & Customers In 5 Minutes or Less
When it comes to podcast marketing, most creators are taking the slowest, longest approach to their destination. Here’s a shortcut.
8 Specific Elements Found In Every Great Podcast Episode
Check these boxes in every podcast episode you produce to instantly improve your listener retention & growth.
Value Density: How to Objectively Measure (& Improve) the Quality of Your Podcast
A simple (but non-obvious) metric that might just change the way you plan, edit, and produce your podcast episodes forever.
Frontloaded Episodes: How to Structure Your Episodes to Improve Listener Retention & Increase Growth
A simple episode sequencing hack to grab your podcast listeners’ attention and keep them engaged throughout the episode.
54 Predictors of Podcast Marketing Success
When you look close at successful podcast creators, the same traits, mindsets, and strategies show up again and again.
Are Your Episode Titles Accidentally Killing Your Growth?
Podcasting has a clickbait problem. And it’s possible you’re a part of it (though you probably don’t realize it).
Listener-Oriented Episodes: The Key to Improving Podcast Listener Retention & Engagement
One of the most common (and avoidable) mistakes keeping podcasters from more retention, engagement, and growth.
Why Memorability Is One of the Most Important Levers for Podcast Growth (& How to Achieve It)
You’ll never create a podcast that every new listener loves. But you can certainly create one they all remember. In fact, you have to.
Winning the First Click: How A Few Small Changes to Your Podcast Packaging Can Lead to Massive Growth
They might not seem like much. But a few targeted adjustments to your outward facing listener touch points have a way of compounding.
How Would Tesla Create & Market A Podcast?
A poignant lesson on advertising, marketing, and winning through your creative bravery rather than your budget.
A Simple Test to Predict Your Podcast Growth
The clues about your podcast’s future growth are hidden in plain sight. You just need to know where to look.
Attack & Defend: The Tactic Behind All Captivating Podcast Interviews
What great screenwriters & novelists know about creating engaging dialogue that you can apply to your podcast interviews.
6 Reasons Your Podcast Listeners Aren’t Buying (& The Solution to Each of Them)
If you’ve built up your podcast audience but your listeners aren’t buying your product or service, one (or more) of these is the culprit.
Differentiation: The Secret Behind Creating A Magnetic Podcast that Captivates Your Audience & Amplifies Your Marketing
How to design a show that stands out as the obvious choice for your ideal listeners… and simplifies every aspect of your marketing.
The Reason Your Podcast Guests Aren’t Sharing Their Episodes (and What You Can do to Fix it)
Over the past few years, I've probably guested on around 50 podcasts. As someone who has both hosted four shows myself and spends every day working with other hosts, I’m keenly aware of the frustration of guests not sharing their episodes once they’re published....
The Biggest Obstacle to Podcast Growth (& How to Design Your Marketing Strategy to Solve It)
It’s baked into the fabric of the universe, and is the primary force you need to overcome to get better results from your podcast marketing.
The North Star of Every Effective Podcast Marketing Strategy
It’s the hardest part of podcast marketing. But if you can solve it, the rest of your marketing will be a lot easier.
A Clear Red Flag That Your Podcast Is Doomed to Fail
If you’ve ever had this thought run through your mind about your podcast, it’s a clear sign that you’re veering off course.
Rubber Ducky Debugging: A Step-By-Step Exercise to Fix Your Podcast Marketing Strategy
When you’re not sure why your strategy isn’t working to grow your podcast, use this exercise to quickly identify the gaps and problems.
To Retain More Podcast Listeners, Get Clear on Why They Choose You
You don’t get to pick your listeners. But if you play your cards right, they’ll pick you.
The 3 Types of Consistency that Are Essential for Podcast Growth
Everyone knows consistency matters when it comes to growing your podcast. But they misunderstand what consistency means.
Podcast Collaborations & Cross Promotions: Grow Your Show by Partnering with Other Creators
I've got a bit of a sweet tooth. And of aaaaall the sweet treats available, ice cream is by far my biggest weakness. In fact, the first podcast I ever hosted was called Rain City Scoop, a show I created with two friends where we explored Vancouver's craft ice cream...
The 4 Hooks Framework: The Key to Winning Over New Podcast Listeners
The success or failure of your podcast ultimately boils down to your ability to get people to click "play" on your episodes. And while there’s a lot that goes into getting (and keeping) people listening, the majority of the battle is won or lost within the first few...
The Content-Art Spectrum: How to Identify & Research Your Ideal Podcast Listeners
If you’ve ever struggled to identify who you should be marketing to, this framework can help.
Average Time to Value: The Most Important Metric For Hooking & Retaining More Podcast Subscribers
The first three minutes are more important than any others in your episode. Here’s how to know if you’re making the best use of them.
It’s Not Your Guests’ Job to Grow Your Podcast
If you’ve ever been frustrated that your guests don’t share your podcast, it might be time to consider a reframe.
The 3 Universal Building Blocks of Podcast Growth
When it comes to marketing your podcast, we all have the same 3 ingredients at our disposal. Here’s how to use them.
The Simple Psychological Reason Marketing & Growing Your Podcast Is So Hard
Until you fix this, marketing your podcast will always be hard, even when you have a solid strategy in place.
What’s Your Podcast’s Hook?
Whether it’s filling movie theater seats or building a podcast audience, a great hook is essential for getting people through the door.
Niche Your Podcast’s Marketing, Not Your Content
The all-important nuance everyone forgets to mention when they tell you to niche down your podcast in order to grow.
Content Repurposing is Not Podcast Marketing (& It’s Probably Killing Your Growth)
Many podcasters treat content repurposing as the bedrock of their podcast marketing strategy. But does it actually work?
The Recommendation Squeeze: 4 Prerequisites for Word of Mouth Podcast Growth
Word of mouth is one of the biggest drivers of podcast growth. But it won’t happen until you check four specific boxes.
Better Podcast Discovery Won’t Save Your Show
If you’ve ever been frustrated by the lack of podcast discovery, it’s worth looking to YouTube to see the sobering results of better discovery.
The Subtle (But Destructive) Dangers of Over-Optimizing Your Podcast Marketing
Podcast marketing hacks & tactics have a time and a place. But if you’re not careful, they can do much more harm than good.
The Most Reliable Blueprint for Podcast Marketing Success
There are infinite ways to create and market your show. But out of all the options, this is the most likely way to achieve podcasting success.
How Long Should You Wait Before Quitting a Podcast?
As far as creators go, it’s hard to argue that Matt D’Avella is pretty successful. On YouTube, he has more than 3.5 million subscribers. His podcast, which he produced from 2017-2019, has more than two million downloads. His newsletter is read weekly by more than...
The Counterintuitive Math Behind Podcast Growth
What you can learn from NASA about launching a podcast and reaching your destination in one piece.
7 Hurdles to Acquiring Every New Podcast Listener
The little-known micro funnel within your larger marketing funnel that might be holding you back from more listeners.
Every Podcast Starts From Zero
Zero listeners, zero fans, zero reputation. Every podcast creator starts in the same place. It’s easy to begrudge the big brands and media empires for instantly racking up millions of downloads without having to pay their dues. But they did. They started from zero...
The Only Type of Podcast You’ll Ever Be Able to Grow
Chances are, you'd like your podcast to reach more people. Not just reach people, however, but connect with them, move them, change them. The way to achieve that, as you might have already guessed, is through marketing. But there's a catch. There's a secret that...
Don’t Steal This Podcast Marketing Strategy
There’s a good reason why copying the marketing and growth strategies of successful shows doesn’t usually work.
Why Specificity Is the Hidden Driver of Podcast Growth & Monetization
Whether its a heart surgeon, auto mechanic, or podcast host, when it comes to solving problems, we all want to work with a specialist.
The Cliché Career Advice That Will Grow Your Podcast
Sure, this advice might no longer be applicable in the corporate world. But it’s more applicable than ever in podcasting.
One of The Biggest Illusions In Podcast Marketing
From the outside, marketing a podcast appears to be an incredibly complex, technical process. In reality, the complexity is a lie.
To Keep Podcast Listeners Coming Back, Nail Your Episode Endings
The last few minutes of an episode play a massive role in keeping your listeners coming back. Here’s how to think about constructing them.
Is Your Podcast Setting You Up For Creative Burnout?
You can only stave off burnout for so long. Here’s how to tell if your current show process is walking you into a trap.
The 10 People You Need to Grow Your Podcast
As podcast creators, our shows often based around a big goal or grand vision for how to make life better for a specific group of people. That vision might be a refinement or improvement on the way things are currently done or a complete uprooting of the existing...
Want Your Podcast Listeners to Buy From You? Here’s What You Need to Do Every Episode
If you feel under-compensated for all the work you put into your show, you might be missing one crucial piece of your podcast strategy.
Defining Your Villain: The Secret to Uniting & Energizing Your Podcast Audience
A shared enemy is a powerful tool for building loyalty, engagement, and a movement. Here’s how to pick the right one.
The Two Tried & True Strategies to Make Your Podcast Un-Ignorable
If you want to grow your podcast, your show needs to stand out. And standing out boils down to two primary options.
Podcast Marketing Insanity (and Why It’s Keeping You Stuck)
If your current marketing strategy isn’t leading to podcast growth, this might be the reason why.
Great Podcasts Have A Distinctive Fingerprint. Does Yours?
If you want your show to both stand out and retain listeners, it helps to make use of all the tools at your disposal. Here are a few of them.
The Idea Faucet: A Simple Exercise to Generate Ideas & Get Unstuck
A while back, I came across Julian Shapiro’s idea of the Creativity Faucet. Here’s how he describes it: Visualize your creativity as a backed-up pipe of water. The first mile of piping is packed with wastewater. This wastewater must be emptied before the clear water...
Your Podcast Probably Isn’t That Good (But Should You Expect It To Be?)
You can’t master Mongolian, golf, or the piano in just a year or two. Why should podcasting be any different?
Idea Generation: The Crucial Skill Your Entire Podcast Hinges On
When it comes to the success of your show, it’s your ability to generate high quality ideas—not your technical skills—that matters most.
The Art of Finishing: The One Habit that Will Make or Break Your Podcast Marketing Strategy
If you want to grow your podcast, there’s one habit that has an outsized effect on your marketing results.
The Overjustification Effect: The Silent Killer of Podcast Dreams
If your podcast has lost its spark, there’s a good chance this is the reason why. You’ve got a couple of options for what to do about it.
The Kobe Bryant Approach to Podcasting
How the process that made Kobe Bryant was one of the most successful basketball players of all time applies to podcasting.
Are You Measuring the Wrong Podcast Metrics? (Here’s What to Measure Instead)
When it comes to growing your podcast, the most-obvious metrics are rarely the ones that matter most. Here’s what to focus on instead.
One Sneaky Psychological Bias Keeping Potential Listeners From Choosing Your Podcast (& How to Get Around It)
To see it in action, all you have to do is start scrolling through Netflix… and then wait for the overwhelm to kick in.
The Best Podcast In The World (and How It’s Easier to Create Than You Think)
You don’t have to compete with the NPRs and Spotify’s of the world to create the best podcast in the world. Instead, think smaller.
A Clever Hack to Stay Motivated When Podcast Growth Is Slow
Podcasting is a notoriously slow-growth medium. That doesn’t mean you need to wait to see real, tangible results.
Lessons From The Stock Market On Growing A Podcast
The non-obvious, hard-to-grasp math behind how small, regular investments in your show add up to big results.
This One Podcast Audience Member Dictates Your Entire Strategy (Don’t Ignore Them)
If you can’t create a podcast that works for this one member of your audience, it’s almost impossible to sustain & grow your show.
The 3 (Deceptively Difficult) Questions That Make or Break Your Podcast Marketing Strategy
They’re deceptively tricky. Incredibly hard to get right. And they’ll dictate the success or failure of your show.
If Your Podcast Isn’t Your Audience’s Favorite, It’s Nothing
At the end of 2020, I discovered the software tool, Notion. If you’re not familiar with it, Notion is an ultra-flexible, all-in-one workspace, allowing you to wrap all your favorite productivity tools into one neat & tidy package. Now, I’m a systems nerd, and I...
The Hidden Marketing Magic Behind the Most Successful, Audience-Loved Podcasts
A lesson from the world of magic, illusions, and showmanship on what makes for a truly special podcast your audience can’t get enough of.
The Slow, Unsexy, Utterly Effective Way to Improve & Grow Your Podcast
While everyone else is busy chasing the next, over-hyped marketing fad, do this to quietly and effectively grow your podcast.
Achors & Associations: A Simple Messaging Tactic to Convert More Listeners
How to use existing well-known content to help potential podcast listeners understand the value of your show before they ever click play.
The Real Work of Podcasting
Creating a great show takes a ton of time. But the most important work happens far away from the mic and computer.
The Hidden Benefits of Approaching Your Podcast as a Body of Work
Individual episodes matter. But not as much as the larger body of work your podcast represents.
Great Podcasts Do “Work” for Their Listeners. Does Yours?
I came across this tweet from Sam Parr, host of the massively successful My First Million podcast a while back. The show's concept is that in every episode, Sam and his co-host Shaan brainstorm potential million-dollar business ideas for their listeners to take and...
Two Ways to Improve Your Podcast (& Why Most People Choose Wrong)
There are two ways to make anything better, including a podcast. The first, and more obvious, is to add something new. More features. More benefits. More bonuses. We often look at the work of others we perceive as more successful and think the difference in results is...
Two Ways to Improve Your Podcast (& Why Most People Choose Wrong)
When what you’re doing isn’t working is it better to add or subtract from your existing foundation?
Distribution Isn’t Enough to Grow Your Podcast
There's a classic scene in Season 4 of Seinfeld that relates perfectly to how many podcast creators approach their shows. Jerry and George are in a meeting with Russell Dalrymple, President of NBC pitching him a pilot for a TV show Jerry and George are writing. When...
The Onlyness Statement: A Simple Sentence That Will Unlock Your Podcast’s Growth
This simple exercise is harder than it looks. But getting it right is the difference between growth and stagnation.
Is Your Podcast Packaging Confusing Potential Listeners?
One of the best pieces of marketing advice I ever received was this: "A confused mind always says 'no'." When it comes to podcasting, this advice applies most specifically to your podcast's messaging. Here's how it works: Clear messaging has the effect of both...
Great Shows Are Built Around The Host’s Superpowers. Is Yours?
Every host has their own unique skills, personality, and perspectives. Your goal is to identify yours and build your show around them.
The One Way to Escape the Podcast Production Hamster Wheel
At one point or another, we've all experienced the podcast production hamster wheel. We run faster, produce more content, and yet never seem to get anywhere. The hamster wheel is exhausting, discouraging, and leads, in one way or another to the death of many a...
What’s the Rare Thing Your Podcast Provides?
Hi friends, I'm a bit of an ice cream fiend. I've sampled ice cream at dozens if not hundreds of ice cream shops around the world and my very first podcast was actually a show about local ice cream in Vancouver. Since I know you're curious, my favourite shop is Salt...
Podcast Growth Flywheels: How to Grow Faster with Less Effort
How to get the maximum return on your effort and make growth faster and easier the longer you produce your show.
The Truth About How Podcasts Really Grow
A few months ago, I decided to go through the list of podcasts I subscribed to and determine exactly how I had discovered them in the first place. There were 18 podcasts in my feed from Seth Godin's, Akimbo to Krista Tippett's, On Being, 99 Percent Invisible to LeVar...
Before You Can Achieve Podcasting Success, You Need to Define It
Asking what podcasting success looks like might seem like a silly question to ask. "Millions of downloads, of course! Oh, and a line up of sponsors out the door... And a book deal... and I want to interview Barrack Obama... And maybe a spin-off Netflix series? Once my...
Podcasting Won’t Grow Your Audience (But It Will Do Something Better)
Think for a minute about your absolute favourite podcast. How many hours would you guess you've spent with the host plugged directly into your ears? 20? 50? 100? Personally, I'd estimate that there are multiple podcasts that I've spent well over 200 hours listening...
The Square Peg, Round Hole Podcast Problem
When I started producing podcasts in 2016, podcasting was a completely different world. At only 60k active podcasts (compared to more than a million today), the medium was a lot less crowded for creators like us. With little competition, podcast hosts didn't need to...
How Emulating Successful Podcasts Kills Your Potential for Growth
With several million podcasts in existence, there's a lot of noise in the world of podcasting. It's not as much as Youtube (31 million channels) or blogging (600 million), but it's certainly not nothing. Many of those podcasts feature solid content and tight...
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