Make Changes To Your Podcast - It's Not Too Late!

Welcome in, I'm Jon Gay.  There are typically two types of people that start a podcast  Some throw caution to the wind and just go for it.  Others meticulously plan every detail before they start.  Now, there's probably a happy medium between those two extremes.  But too often, folks think once they start the show, it has to stay the same format.  So my advice to you this week is that it's ok to make changes to your podcast.  For example, take the two biggest podcasts I listen to.  The Daily from the New York Times used to run a 2 minute list of credits at the end of every Friday show.  I doubt a ton of people stuck around for that.  Now, they do 30 seconds at the end of each episode thanking the behind the scenes staff.   And Pod Save America used to be 2 segments with the hosts, followed by a guest. Over the last few weeks, they've played with having the guest as the middle segment and moving them around, probably because they are looking at their listening stats and what causes tune out (which you can usually get on premium plans from podcast hosts).  And even me, I've been trying different things with the video version of my podcast, as well as playing with the compression settings on my audio.   Here's the point.  Whether you have 5 million downloads or 5 downloads, you can always make changes if you think it will improve the show.  Unless it REALLY degrades the quality of your audio or your content, it's not going cost you audience.

Speaking of audience, podcast Facebook groups are always littered with the question "How do I grow my audience?"  Some are looking for hacks or cheap tricks.  Others are willing to invest time and effort into tried and true strategies.  But this week's newsletter from Vancouver podcast company JAR audio breaks it down so beautifully simply: 

• The One Question to Answer to Grow Your Brand Podcast Audience. Why should someone listen to my brand's podcast?

There are a million ways to try to game the charts, artificially increase your downloads, and otherwise stroke your own ego with numbers.  But if you want true, honest growth on your podcast, start with the content.  Why would someone else want to  listen?

The IAB, or Interactive Advertising Bureau, projects that not only will podcasting revenue hit ONE billion dollars this year, but it will hit TWO billion dollars by 2023.  https://podcastbusinessjournal.com/iab-projects-2-billion-in-ad-revenue-by-2023

For example, The New York Times has announced their Q1/21 results. Revenues overall are up 6.6%; digital advertising revenue, which includes podcasts, grew from 48.2% of the company’s revenue a year ago to 61.3%.

Also, iHeartMedia reported their first quarter earnings, with Year over Year numbers doubling, from nearly $16 million to over $38 million.  Worth noting their total revenue is DOWN 10% year over year.    But hey, they have launched a self service ad platform where you can create an ad to run on your favorite podcast or radio station.   Looks like they're automating away sales people the way they did on-air DJ's.   I feel like I say this every week, but it's worth repeating.  iHeartMedia, Audacy, and many other companies are focused on podcasting and digital audio.  These are huge companies that have to answer to stockholders.  The only way that radio will survive is if it's owned by smaller companies that can afford to invest in local markets and local talent that can connect with their audiences.   For iHeart, it's hard to care about  Cheyenne when you're worrying about New York.

Let's do a quick check-in on Apple Podcasts - James Cridland at PodNews says they are