September 4, 2026 • 5 mins
If you're a podcaster, you've had a spike. Wow! We've made it! The big time in podcasting. Then the bottom falls out. WTF? How to survive a podcast spike.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Think of it as your flat screen. You know how
you can go from Hulu to Netflix to Disney to
Paramount Plus? Okay, well, that's exactly what Arrow.net is. A-R-R-O-E.net.
It is the power of choice. In fact, one of
the best podcasts that we've got is That Voice. I've
spent the past 10 seasons with those on NBC's The Voice. Well,
(00:20):
now that it's back for its next season, let's talk
about that history as to how we got up to
where we are right now. That Voice, only on Arrow.net. A-R-R-O-E.net.
Enjoy your exploration. Hey, what's going on? My name is Arrow.
I'm the host of the weekly podcast, Podcrashing, as well
as Podcrashing One-on-One. These episodes connect listeners to podcast specialists
(00:43):
around the world. The goal has always been to inform
our podcast community with subjects that deal with everything and beyond.
Podcrashing One-on-One has been around since March of 2019. The
original goal... was to put focus on helping up-and-coming podcasters
to have the right information about hosting as well as
surviving inside the podcast world. The purpose of Podcrashing One-on-One
(01:08):
is to help you build your own platform, promote it,
and maybe even earn some money. This is Podcrashing One-on-One.
Episode 497, what is the best way to properly recover after...
A digital spike. God, I love them, but you can't
help but hate them. First, there is no greater rush
(01:31):
than that digital spike. But do all you can not
to invest your emotions into its sudden delivery. What feels
fantastic today has a way of generating extreme negative energy
on the days and months that follow. It can be
one of three things, a viral episode, a shout out,
or a sudden clear jump. But it's seen as a
(01:53):
good problem to have. Now, when it fades, though, the
creator faces a wall of burnout. It's your new audience wondering,
do I even like this person? Well, you got to
do whatever you can to keep them fed because your
content was the one thing that they jumped on board with.
Spikes in your podcast are borrowed attention. You need to
(02:15):
turn it into ownership. Push your listeners toward a newsletter.
Pin a Start Here episode and make your podcast description
ultra clear, which will give them a path to come
back to. Audit what gave you that spike, the topic,
your guest, the platform, and the physical format of your stage.
(02:35):
You aren't trying to copy it exactly. You're just trying
to understand the presented path. Oh, I love those spikes. Hey,
coming up next, how should a podcaster recover after one
of those unbelievable spikes? Hey, thanks for coming back to
(02:57):
Podcrashing One-on-One, the big subject today. How should podcasters recover
after that spike? We've all had it. We all enjoy it.
There's no greater high like it. But what's next? How
long is this thing going to last? First, we've got
to do one thing. We've got to make sure that
we don't chase the spike. This is where so many
(03:20):
podcasters lose their focus and identity. And If one show
lands a huge set of numbers for listeners, don't reset
your entire episodes. They're going to all start sounding the
same and your audience knows when something is in the
ground and it's spoiling. The goal is to extract from
that energy or that spike, not just the topic. stay
(03:42):
aligned with your core ambition let that spike do nothing
but inform you not control you i mean every day
you should go into your podcasting expecting a drop it
sounds like a negative right but you should expect that
drop if you panic it can change your entire foundation
(04:02):
of listeners Spiking in your numbers are mentally very loud.
Build a quick reset. Don't let it go to your
head and heart. Burnout after a spike is uncontrollable. The
warning is, is that your podcast is a funnel. The
goal is to create some sort of connection, like we
(04:22):
said before, emails, community. It is a true community-driven concept,
this thing called podcasting, because it shows how much you
are involved. A spike is not a chase. It is
a leverage, a rule that we always played by in radio.
When you've got up numbers, don't you dare get too excited,
(04:43):
because if you go by the numbers, you're going to
die by the numbers. Don't let that spike silence you
Or put you in a place of, oh my God,
look how incredible I am. I'll see you next month.
Then let me know how you feel. I'm Arrow, and
that's Podcrashing One-on-One.
Think of it as your flat screen. You know how
you can go from Hulu to Netflix to Disney to
Paramount Plus? Okay, well, that's exactly what Arrow.net is. A-R-R-O-E.net.
It is the power of choice. In fact, one of
the best podcasts that we've got is That Voice. I've
spent the past 10 seasons with those on NBC's The Voice. Well,
(00:20):
now that it's back for its next season, let's talk
about that history as to how we got up to
where we are right now. That Voice, only on Arrow.net. A-R-R-O-E.net.
Enjoy your exploration. Hey, what's going on? My name is Arrow.
I'm the host of the weekly podcast, Podcrashing, as well
as Podcrashing One-on-One. These episodes connect listeners to podcast specialists
(00:43):
around the world. The goal has always been to inform
our podcast community with subjects that deal with everything and beyond.
Podcrashing One-on-One has been around since March of 2019. The
original goal... was to put focus on helping up-and-coming podcasters
to have the right information about hosting as well as
surviving inside the podcast world. The purpose of Podcrashing One-on-One
(01:08):
is to help you build your own platform, promote it,
and maybe even earn some money. This is Podcrashing One-on-One.
Episode 497, what is the best way to properly recover after...
A digital spike. God, I love them, but you can't
help but hate them. First, there is no greater rush
(01:31):
than that digital spike. But do all you can not
to invest your emotions into its sudden delivery. What feels
fantastic today has a way of generating extreme negative energy
on the days and months that follow. It can be
one of three things, a viral episode, a shout out,
or a sudden clear jump. But it's seen as a
(01:53):
good problem to have. Now, when it fades, though, the
creator faces a wall of burnout. It's your new audience wondering,
do I even like this person? Well, you got to
do whatever you can to keep them fed because your
content was the one thing that they jumped on board with.
Spikes in your podcast are borrowed attention. You need to
(02:15):
turn it into ownership. Push your listeners toward a newsletter.
Pin a Start Here episode and make your podcast description
ultra clear, which will give them a path to come
back to. Audit what gave you that spike, the topic,
your guest, the platform, and the physical format of your stage.
(02:35):
You aren't trying to copy it exactly. You're just trying
to understand the presented path. Oh, I love those spikes. Hey,
coming up next, how should a podcaster recover after one
of those unbelievable spikes? Hey, thanks for coming back to
(02:57):
Podcrashing One-on-One, the big subject today. How should podcasters recover
after that spike? We've all had it. We all enjoy it.
There's no greater high like it. But what's next? How
long is this thing going to last? First, we've got
to do one thing. We've got to make sure that
we don't chase the spike. This is where so many
(03:20):
podcasters lose their focus and identity. And If one show
lands a huge set of numbers for listeners, don't reset
your entire episodes. They're going to all start sounding the
same and your audience knows when something is in the
ground and it's spoiling. The goal is to extract from
that energy or that spike, not just the topic. stay
(03:42):
aligned with your core ambition let that spike do nothing
but inform you not control you i mean every day
you should go into your podcasting expecting a drop it
sounds like a negative right but you should expect that
drop if you panic it can change your entire foundation
(04:02):
of listeners Spiking in your numbers are mentally very loud.
Build a quick reset. Don't let it go to your
head and heart. Burnout after a spike is uncontrollable. The
warning is, is that your podcast is a funnel. The
goal is to create some sort of connection, like we
(04:22):
said before, emails, community. It is a true community-driven concept,
this thing called podcasting, because it shows how much you
are involved. A spike is not a chase. It is
a leverage, a rule that we always played by in radio.
When you've got up numbers, don't you dare get too excited,
(04:43):
because if you go by the numbers, you're going to
die by the numbers. Don't let that spike silence you
Or put you in a place of, oh my God,
look how incredible I am. I'll see you next month.
Then let me know how you feel. I'm Arrow, and
that's Podcrashing One-on-One.
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