If listeners are quitting your podcast in the first five minutes, this episode is for you. In this annual ‘podcast pet peeves’ roundup, I asked my audience what makes them bail on a show— and they did not hold back.
Participants
You’ll hear from Kim Newlove (The Pharmacist’s Voice, Perrysburg Podcast), Steve Stewart (podcast editor extraordinaire), Todd ‘the Gator’ (Guardian Down Roundtable, Lessons in the Rear View), and York (Welcome to Earth Stories) as they unpack the habits that drive them nuts: from bad audio and buried leads to ad overload, lazy interview questions, sloppy terminology, and more.
You’ll walk away knowing exactly what turns listeners off - and how to fix it. I’ll also share my own take on ads, monetization, and why a little creativity can still set your show apart in 2026
The Most Popular Pet Peeves
- Too many/poorly placed ads (especially mid-roll and early heavy ad blocks)
- Not getting to the point / burying the lead / unclear episode direction
- Lack of preparation (hosts winging it, talking in circles, not prepping guests)
- Sloppy language and terminology (“podcast” vs “episode,” “podcasting” vs “podcasts,” RSS vs not)
- Wasting listener time with meta-chatter, overlong intros, and “Tell me about yourself” questions
I do this question every year, and as you might imagine, this list doesn't change much. This year seems like advertisements were the top peeve.
Is Everyone Going to use the "YouTube Annoying Your Audience to Death" strategy, and use tools like Supercast and Patreon, and offer an ad-free version?
Mentioned In This Episode
School of Podcasting
Podpage - Podcast Websites
The Pharmacist's Voice
The Perrysburg Podcast
Steve Stewart
Podcast Editors Academy
Welcome to Earth Stories
Guardian Down Roundtable
Lessons in the Rear View
Ask the Podcast Coach
Podcasting Observations (Dave's Newsletter)
School of Podcasting Follow Page
Patreon
Supercast
OP3 Open Source Stats
Truefans.FM
Mentioned in this episode:
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Where Will I Be?
I love meeting you when I'm out at events. Here are some of my next events:
Podcast Movement September 17-18
Podindy November 7th (use the coupon pacer at podindy.com)
Where Will I Be?
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
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