What I Learned from My First 1,000 Podcast Downloads
Updated: Apr 21, 2022
In Episode 40 of the Power Your Platform podcast, I'm taking a look back at the first 1,000 downloads.
We actually rolled our first 1,000 downloads a few weeks ago, so in this episode I wanted to take the time not only to thank you all for tuning in regularly – but I also wanted to take a deeper look at what those first 1,000 downloads have taught me about growing an audience and creating quality content.
And be sure to join me after the show in our free Power Your Platform Facebook group where I’ll be sharing my Top 5 Tips for Getting YOUR First 1,000 Podcast Downloads – a strategy you can apply to any content platform you may be using. So be sure to check it out!
No matter what kind of content you create for your audience, you want to spend at least a few minutes every month taking a good look at your analytics. And each of the platforms or visibility tools that you’re currently using have analytics built into them, particularly if you’ve signed up for the business version.
There are four important metrics I track through my analytics:
The first is the number of overall downloads for my podcast.
This metric is simple to track since it’s updated by the minute on Anchor, and I know other podcasting hosts do this as well. It’s basically an indicator of how many downloads we’ve had recently, as well as if the downloads are increasing or decreasing over time. So ideally, you want to see a line graph that’s moving upwards. So that’s the first metric I keep track of, which is the total number of downloads, as well as the total number of our core listenership. The reason this metric matters to me is that it shows how well we’re growing.
The second metric I pay attention to is the most downloaded episodes from my podcast.
When I take a look at my analytics, I find that the most downloaded episodes are the ones on brand building, what it takes to tell a good story as well as any interview feature. So I love this statistic because it tells me what my listeners are most interested in hearing about. Once you know what your audience is tuning in for – whether that’s on your podcast, or your blog or your YouTube Channel – then you want to make sure to rinse and repeat. Not the very same content, of course, but the same type of content. From time to time, you should definitely try new approaches – but keep coming back to what your analytics tell you your audience values the most about your content.
The third metric I pay attention on a regular basis is my listener profile.
For my podcast, my audience is 90% female and 87% are from Canada (at least at the time of my 1000th download). I also know that my podcast is listened to in 13 different countries around the world – so cool! The average age of my audience is 35-50 which tells me that my audience is Generation X (like me). This gives me clues as to the types of pop culture reference I should be making (or avoiding) to ensure I remain relevant to my audience. So the value then of understanding who’s paying attention to your content is that it allows you to include topics and references and examples that resonate with that population.
And finally, the fourth metric I follow for my podcast is which platforms people were using to access my podcast.
Currently, my listeners are tuning in on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, but I’m interested in tracking these metrics in the future since we’re now available on many more platforms than when we reached our 1000th download.
Important Tip:
While it’s important to track your metrics, don’t get obsessed with them. Because your real focus should be on creating quality content that keeps your audience coming back again and again.