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How do you increase your podcast downloads? That is the magic question. It seems everyone is asking. It also seems everyone has the magic answer. Unfortunately, many podcasts are trying to increase downloads with a flawed plan.

Today, I want to help you adjust your strategy in a way that will help you amplify your download growth in a big way.

LET ME INTERVIEW YOU

First, I’d like to interview you. Would you be interested in having me introduce you to the audience of this show?

I’m looking to interview you if you have used your podcast to attract your ideal clients and grow your business. I want to help you learn by bringing you real life examples of using your podcast as part of your business plan.

If you are interested, send me an e-mail at Coach@PodcastTalentCoach.com. I cannot interview everyone. So, tell me what would make you a great interview and we can talk about it to see if it makes sense.

Let’s talk about the growth of your podcast downloads.

BE REALISTIC

First, be realistic. The number of podcast downloads isn’t huge for many podcasts.

Let’s go back to math class. Do you remember the difference between median and mean?

Mean is the average. Add up all points and divide the total number of points.

Median is the middle. Stack them up smallest to largest. The median is the one right in the middle. There are 50% higher than the median and 50% lower.

I like median much better. The number isn’t as easily skewed by outliers. If you have 5 shows that have downloads of 50, 100, 250, 400 and 2,000, your mean or average would be 560. Add them up and get 2,800. Divide by 5 and get 560.

Now, 560 isn’t quite representative of those podcast downloads of 50, 100, 250, 400 and 2,000. 4 of those 5 podcasters would feel like they aren’t as good as everyone else.

The median is the middle number. When you put them in order of 50, 100, 250, 400 and 2,000, your median or middle number is 250. That is a more realistic representation of those downloads. 4 of those podcasts are much closer to 250 than 560.

Bunch of numbers, but let’s compare apples to apples. Don’t let a few big podcasts make you feel inferior.

THE REAL DATA

Rob Walch at Libsyn releases real download data from all podcasts hosted by Libsyn. This data will give you a realistic view of how your podcast compares to all other podcasts on Libsyn.

On Episode 172 of Libsyn’s The Feed podcast, Rob presented his monthly report for May 2020.

This data is based on episodes on Libsyn released in the month of May 2020. Podcast downloads are measured from the time of release in May to the end of June 2020. The average time each episode had been available was 45 days.

The median podcast downloads for each episode in this sample is 120. That was down from April 2020 mark of 123 downloads per episode.

This means if at the end of June your May episode had 120 downloads, you were better than half of the pool. Half of the podcasts also had more downloads than your show.

120 is the number. Not 7,000. Not 4,500. In fact, if you had 1,000 downloads per episode, you were better than 80% of the podcasts available on Libsyn.

This number has been declining over the years. There are a lot of new podcasts. Therefore, the median continues to decline as the new shows try to find an audience.

PATIENCE

The second thing I want you to do is be patient. Your downloads will not grow overnight. This takes time.

I know we live in an instant gratification society. We want to microwave everything and have it now.

Weight loss doesn’t work this way. Podcast download growth doesn’t work this way either. It takes time.

You should keep your head down and work for about a year on growing your podcast downloads before you start checking the stats.

I was talking with a client this week and he was getting frustrated with his slow growth. His numbers weren’t growing.

He has been doing the show less than 6 months. He has just over 20 episodes. And, he checks his download every day or two.

This is like stepping on the scale to check your weight everyday. The scale isn’t moving. You won’t see big jumps.

This is like watching your tomato plants grow. If you check on them every hour, nothing happens. If you check on them once a week, you see some change.

Give you podcast downloads time to grow before you start checking the stats. Just keep your head down and do the work. Trust that it is working.

If you can’t wait a year, make it 6 months. Just don’t check it all the time expecting the needle to show big growth. Grow slowly and be comfortable with that.

FIND YOUR PODCAST DOWNLOADS

So, how do you find those downloads?

I was on a podcast strategy call with a podcaster the other day. These strategy calls are free for you. I help you design a podcast strategy for the next year. If you would like to sign up, go to PodcastTalentCoach.com/coaching.

So, I was on a call with this guy and we were talking about his goals. My first questions is always, “Where do you want to be a year from now?”

His goal was to grow his downloads. We determined where he is now and where he wants to be in 12 months.

Then, we talked about the activities he is trying right now. He told me he was posting it on his social media and sending out an e-mail to his list every time he published an episode.

And there lies the problem. Those people already know about him and his podcast. He is preaching to the choir. Those 2 activities are not going to attract new listeners to his show.

Here is the strategy for you. If you want to grow your downloads, get in front of people who are not aware of you or your show, yet want what you have to offer.

THE FORMULA

The Podcast Talent Coach Formula for building a successful podcast consists of 3 stages: Promotion, Programming and Personality.

There are three legs to the stool for your audience growth plan. Those three legs are personality, programming and promotion. Without one of the legs, your stool won’t stand up.

The promotion of your show creates the awareness.

Your programming creates great content that attracts people to the show.

When you add your personality to the information, the content becomes unique and keeps people coming back. It is not enough to simply bring people to the show. You need to keep them listening. In Episode 286, we discussed Personality.

Let’s talk about promotion. How can you get in front of people who love what you love, but are not aware of you or your show?

Get on “stages” to get in front of new audiences. This is how you get exposure.

Don’t get scared of “stages”. I don’t mean only actual live stages giving speeches in front of a live audience. That is only one piece of it.

By “stages”, I mean any time you can speak to an audience.

STAGES

Here are five different types of stages that can help you get in front of a new crowd and increase your downloads.

The first makes most sense for you. That is podcasts. Find ways you can get on other podcasts in your niche.

Look for podcasts in the niche that do something complimentary to you. If you have a weight loss podcast and focus on healthy eating, find a podcast on exercises. If you have a business podcast that focuses on courses, find a podcast that is centered around product launches.

The next is newsletters. If you are sending out a newsletter, highlight someone in your niche in exchange for them highlighting you in their newsletter. Help each other grow.

EVENTS

Summits are a great way to demonstrate your authority in front of a new audience. Summits are like online conferences. There are usually a group of speakers that present over a number of days.

When you present on a summit, you can teach and help people grow. You can often tell them how to find you and your show. Replays are also often available for those who sign up for the summit.

The fourth ways is a to crowdsource an episode. Get a few experts to share ideas on your episode. Then, get those experts to share the episode. Rather than an interview, all experts answer the same questions or teach a solution to the same problem.

The final way to get in front of new listeners is virtual events. These could be networking events, conferences, presentations and other events like these.

Look for many of these online. Just do a search with your niche. For example, I would search for podcast summit, coaching conference and online business networking. There are many ways to find these.

For the podcasts, newsletters and crowdsourcing, you simply need to connect with podcasters in your niche. Reach out and ask, “Can we have a chat to see how we might help each other?”

CONNECT FOR PODCAST DOWNLOADS

Remember to connect when you get in front of this new audience. You want them to come back to your material.

If your goal is to grow your downloads, get them to listen to your show. Ideally, you would capture their e-mail address. Then ask them to listen with a nurture sequence where they get to know you.

Offer something for free with an opt-in. Use that opportunity to grow the relationship.

Remember to also show them your personality. This is what makes you unique.

This promotion will make them aware of you. Your programming makes them say, “That sounds like something that would benefit me – I’ll check it out.”

Your personality grows your relationship and keeps them coming back.

Let’s get on a call and work out your strategy to grow your downloads. Apply at PodcastTalentCoach.com/coaching. No charge. We’ll just see what we can develop for you and your show.

Do you need help with your podcast? E-mail me any time at Coach@PodcastTalentCoach.com. Let’s see what we can do.

Let’s turn your information into engaging entertainment.