Nobody shares a video they didn't watch. Nobody shares a podcast they didn't listen to, so how do we get people to listen? This week we follow up form last week's episode about measuring success without downloads and today I talk about completion percentage in Apple, Spotify, as well as Google Analytics. Josh Liston explains how he and his co-host from the SAKÉ THIS show.
How Long Should My Podcast Be?
The stand ard answer is "as long as it needs to be an not a minute longer." However, another way of looking at this is to ask, "How long can you hold someone's attention?"
You Can See How Far People Listen to Your Show
The Apple Dashboard: https://podcastsconnect.apple.com
The Spotify Dashboard: https://creators.spotify.com
Question of the Month Audio Tools
Last week I had a ton of replies to the Question of the Month. The issue is some of you have a ton of bass. Some of you are so clear it's almost shrill. Other have lots of background noise. This use to take me FOREVER to deal with until I started using tools from Accentize. I use a tool called DXRevive Pro cleans up the audio. Their Dialogue Enhance helps adjust the tone and remove noise. Then they have a free plugin called DXLevel that adjusts the volume levels (and it's free).
Takeaways:
- How Dave thinks about episode length (and why “as long as it needs to be” actually works in practice)
- How to use Apple Podcasts Connect and Spotify for Podcasters to measure completion percentage and attention, not just downloads
- Why video and YouTube completion rates look so much worse than audio—and how not to let that crush your ego
- How to use Google Analytics or Fathom to see which episodes and pages really resonate
- A behind-the-scenes look at the audio tools Dave uses (Accentize DX Revive, Dialog Enhance, and the free DX Level plugin) to make listener submissions sound more consistent
- An update on the “free version” experiment of the School of Podcasting and why future focus is shifting to live cohort-style classes
Dave also shares a listener contribution from Josh Liston of the SAKÉ THIS podcast, with two non-download ways he measures success for his Japan-focused comedy show.
Mentioned in this episode:
Podpage is Now Included with Blubrry Hosting
Blubrry Podcasting — one of the longest-running podcast hosting platforms in the industry — has chosen Podpage to replace their built-in website tool entirely. That means every Blubrry hosting customer gets a professional, automatically updated podcast website powered by Podpage, included with their hosting plan.
For Podpage, this is more than a partnership announcement. It’s validation that podcast websites deserve dedicated website tools built specifically for podcasters.
Podpage
Take Live Classes at the School of Podcasting
Podcasting in Six Weeks is BACK! (and this time it's free!)
We are continuing to experiment with marketing, and we had so much fun helping people launch their show that we are going it again (and dropped the fee). If you don't have a show but want to start one this is THE place to get going in the right direction.
Go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/sixweeks
Growing Your Podcast Live Course
For members of the School of Podcasting we are all banding together to go through the steps of growing your show (so sign up now!). This will including feedback and strategies to get your show growing faster. You will write down your typical downloads before you start, and compare it to the final numbers. Use the coupon code listener when singing up to become a member and receive a discount.
These live classes start August 19th. Please let me know if you have any questions at schoolofpodcasting.com/contact
School of Podcasting
Check Out Dave's Newsletter With Behind the Scenes Content
In each issue of Podcasting Observations, I share my thoughts on what is happening in the podcasting space, my latest content, and things that have caught my eye. I also may ask for your opinion. Join the free community
Podcasting Observations
Question of the Month: The Smallest Amount of Downloads
We all want a bigger audience. We all put a lot of work into our shows. With this in mind, what is the smallest amount of downloads you would do the show for? If it drops below a number would you stop, or put effort into finding out why?
Does the size of your audience matter?
Go to schoolofpodcasting.com/question by August 28th (and don't forget to say a little bit about your show and your website address so I can link to it in the notes)
School of Podcasting
