The Four Phases of Podcast Growth
Whether you’re a seasoned creator, entrepreneur, or marketer looking to learn the specifics of podcast marketing, or are terrified.
The Right Strategy At The Wrong Time Won’t Grow Your Show
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.
One of the hardest things about marketing is this:
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach.
Cut and paste the tactics that are wildly effective for someone else onto your show, product, or business and they rarely get anywhere close to the same results.
If you’ve ever bought a set of sales email or social media post templates, you’re well aware of this reality already.
The problem isn’t the tactics themselves.
In most cases, the tactics you’re either considering or actively using are sound in theory.
But for them to work in practice, they must first be heavily customized and molded to your work, audience, brand, and—perhaps most importantly—yourself.
Beyond the granular molding of individual tactics, however, there’s a bigger macro problem that prevents tactics and strategies from growing your show, even if you’ve heavily molded them to your work.
The problem?
Applying the right tactic at the wrong time.
Chances are, you’re already aware of all the major tactics and strategies you could use to grow your show.
In fact, you might have even implemented some or all of the following:
- Podcast guesting
- Collaborations (including promo swaps, feed drops, newsletter swaps, cross-promos, etc)
- Social media
- Paid advertising (podcast apps, other podcasts, newsletters, Meta, Google, etc)
- Traditional SEO
- Speaking Engagements
- Etc
All of these tactics and many more have been proven time and again to work when it comes to growing podcasts.
But there’s a catch.
The results of each tactic are highly dependent on the size of your show and the growth milestone you’re currently aiming for.
Together, I think of these milestones and the route of progression through them as the Phases of Podcast Growth.
Overview of The Four Phases of Podcast Growth
There are four distinct Phases of Podcast Growth, as follows:
- 0–100 dl/ep: Validation
- 100–1k dl/ep: Traction
- 1k–10k dl/ep: Scaling
- 10k+ dl/ep: Diversification
Each phase presents a specific set of challenges that must be overcome for you to advance to the next phase.
Which means for your marketing to work (and your show to grow) your strategy needs to be aligned with the challenges and requirements of the phase you’re in.
Unfortunately, most podcasters aren’t aware of the Phases of Podcast Growth.
As a result, they spend a ton of time and energy doing all the right things—the things everyone says you’re “supposed” to do to grow a podcast—but at the wrong time.
And no matter how much time they spend on marketing their shows struggle to grow.
The good news is that the phases are incredibly clear.
Which means you already know exactly which phase you’re in.
And when you know exactly which tactics and strategies are most effective in that stage, you can align your marketing with the phase-specific challenges.
And you can start growing.
Get Your Growth Plan
Select your current growth phase for a detailed breakdown of the problems you need to solve (and exactly how to solve them) to increase your downloads and move up the ladder.
I: Validation
0–100
Plays/Episode
II: Traction
100–1k
Plays/Episode
III: Scaling
1k–10k
Plays/Episode
IV: Diversification
10k+
Plays/Episode
Or, if you’re feeling exceptionally nerdy, you can read from the top.
— The Four Phases of Podcast Growth —
Phase I: Validation
0–100 Plays/Episode
Whether you’re a seasoned creator, entrepreneur, or marketer looking to learn the specifics of podcast marketing, or are terrified and overwhelmed by the thought of marketing… but know you need to learn it, our collection of courses and workshops have got you covered.
The Situation
Need to rewrite something really clever here.
Prior to launch every show is developed based on a series of assumptions.
As a creator, these assumptions cover everything from your:
- Market: Is there existing interest in the topic you can tap into? Is it enough to sustain your show and/or business? How can you stand out from the competition?
- Idea: Is it as compelling to others as it is to you? Does it have legs? Are you communicating it effectively?
- Concept & Format: Is there a clear hook that draws people in? Does your concept explore the topic in a unique and compelling way? Is it fun to both create and listen to?
- Potential Audience: Who are they? Where/how can you find and reach them? Does what they want align with what you can provide? Can you build your business around them?
- Strategy: Is this show the one that will most effectively nurture customers/clients or achieve whatever other goal(s) you intend it to do for your business?
- Self: Do you have the bandwidth to produce this show consistently? Can you sustain long-term interest in the topic? Does this show make the best use of your finite creative energy? What about you and your story, quirks, and curiosities makes you a uniquely compelling host for this show?
Depending on your level of prior experience in business, marketing, content, and podcasting the accuracy of each of these assumptions will vary.
Regardless of experience, however, you should fully expect that some of your assumptions will be correct and some—perhaps most—will be somewhere between a little bit off… and flat-out wrong.
And it’s these misguided assumptions that will keep your show stuck in place, no matter how exhaustively you market it.
As such, your goal during this early phase of your show’s existence is not in fact to grow or market it.
Instead, it’s to do the necessary research that will enable your future promotion and marketing to be effective.
So how do you do it?
Free Marketing Assessment
Take our 2-minute podcast marketing assessment to identify the bottlenecks that are keeping your show from more growth & conversions and how to fix them.
— Phase 1 —
Challenges Your Podcast Marketing Strategy Must Address
Whether you’re a seasoned creator, entrepreneur, or marketer looking to learn the specifics of podcast marketing, or are terrified and overwhelmed by the thought of marketing… but know you need to learn it, our collection of courses and workshops have got you covered.
Challenge 1
Demand Validation
For shows stuck in Phase I, there are several potential problems with the show keeping it from growth.
But before getting into the weeds to fiddle with the show concept, format, and content strategy, we want to validate the resonance of the core idea behind the show.
There are infinite ways to create a show around a given idea, but if the idea itself doesn’t resonate with people, there’s no point wasting our time trying to grow a show around it.
More than anything, a great show concept enhances an interesting idea.
Challenge 2
Audience Access
For shows stuck in Phase I, there are several potential problems with the show keeping it from growth.
But before getting into the weeds to fiddle with the show concept, format, and content strategy, we want to validate the resonance of the core idea behind the show.
There are infinite ways to create a show around a given idea, but if the idea itself doesn’t resonate with people, there’s no point wasting our time trying to grow a show around it.
More than anything, a great show concept enhances an interesting idea.
Challenge 3
Idea Resonance
For shows stuck in Phase I, there are several potential problems with the show keeping it from growth.
But before getting into the weeds to fiddle with the show concept, format, and content strategy, we want to validate the resonance of the core idea behind the show.
There are infinite ways to create a show around a given idea, but if the idea itself doesn’t resonate with people, there’s no point wasting our time trying to grow a show around it.
More than anything, a great show concept enhances an interesting idea.
At this point, it’s also worth having a quick check in with yourself to understand if your current show concept is one you’re excited to invest in for several years while building it up. There are few shortcuts in podcasting and if you’re not sold on your show at this stage, it’s best to address the issue now.
Phase I Marketing Strategy
Whether you’re a seasoned creator, entrepreneur, or marketer looking to learn the specifics of podcast marketing, or are terrified and overwhelmed by the thought of marketing… but know you need to learn it, our collection of courses and workshops have got you covered.
Validate 3 Core Assumptions
It’s tempting to use analytics as the primary gauge of your show and marketing’s effectiveness.
And at some point, data and analytics will be wonderfully useful tools in your marketing toolbelt.
But during the Validation Phase, they’re pretty much useless.
What’s much more valuable is 1:1 interactions with existing and potential listeners.
In fact, these types of conversations—whether virtual or in person—are the only way to truly validate your assumptions about your show, especially when you don’t have a large audience.
The good news is they’re not hard to initiate (though the first couple do take some courage).
The easiest way to get started is by integrating yourself into an existing community.
Find Your Seed Community
It’s tempting to use analytics as the primary gauge of your show and marketing’s effectiveness.
And at some point, data and analytics will be wonderfully useful tools in your marketing toolbelt.
But during the Validation Phase, they’re pretty much useless.
What’s much more valuable is 1:1 interactions with existing and potential listeners.
In fact, these types of conversations—whether virtual or in person—are the only way to truly validate your assumptions about your show, especially when you don’t have a large audience.
The good news is they’re not hard to initiate (though the first couple do take some courage).
The easiest way to get started is by integrating yourself into an existing community.
Legwork Marketing
It’s tempting to use analytics as the primary gauge of your show and marketing’s effectiveness.
And at some point, data and analytics will be wonderfully useful tools in your marketing toolbelt.
But during the Validation Phase, they’re pretty much useless.
What’s much more valuable is 1:1 interactions with existing and potential listeners.
In fact, these types of conversations—whether virtual or in person—are the only way to truly validate your assumptions about your show, especially when you don’t have a large audience.
The good news is they’re not hard to initiate (though the first couple do take some courage).
The easiest way to get started is by integrating yourself into an existing community.
Free Marketing Assessment
Take our 2-minute podcast marketing assessment to identify the bottlenecks that are keeping your show from more growth & conversions and how to fix them.
Phase I Signals of Progress
As you move through the steps above, you’ll see your download numbers increase. But before they do, you should recognize the following leading indicators:
Positive Signal 1
Demand Validation
For shows stuck in Phase I, there are several potential problems with the show keeping it from growth.
But before getting into the weeds to fiddle with the show concept, format, and content strategy, we want to validate the resonance of the core idea behind the show.
There are infinite ways to create a show around a given idea, but if the idea itself doesn’t resonate with people, there’s no point wasting our time trying to grow a show around it.
More than anything, a great show concept enhances an interesting idea.
Positive Signal 2
Audience Access
For shows stuck in Phase I, there are several potential problems with the show keeping it from growth.
But before getting into the weeds to fiddle with the show concept, format, and content strategy, we want to validate the resonance of the core idea behind the show.
There are infinite ways to create a show around a given idea, but if the idea itself doesn’t resonate with people, there’s no point wasting our time trying to grow a show around it.
More than anything, a great show concept enhances an interesting idea.
Positive Signal 3
Idea Resonance
For shows stuck in Phase I, there are several potential problems with the show keeping it from growth.
But before getting into the weeds to fiddle with the show concept, format, and content strategy, we want to validate the resonance of the core idea behind the show.
There are infinite ways to create a show around a given idea, but if the idea itself doesn’t resonate with people, there’s no point wasting our time trying to grow a show around it.
More than anything, a great show concept enhances an interesting idea.
Pinpoint Why Your Show Isn’t Growing & Converting
Take our free two-minute assessment to identify the specific gaps in your marketing that are keeping you from growth & sales.
Plus receive a personalized roadmap of what to do to fix them.
Next Step: Gear Up For Phase II
Whether you’re a seasoned creator, entrepreneur, or marketer looking to learn the specifics of podcast marketing, or are terrified and overwhelmed by the thought of marketing… but know you need to learn it, our collection of courses and workshops have got you covered.