47: Why I Don't Care That My Podcast Download Numbers Aren't Great
"Unless you are specifically starting a podcast to make money from advertising, those download numbers do not really indicate the success of your show."
Podcasting for Coaches: The Podcast officially turned 1 this week!!! (And still, no one's caught on to the Spaceballs reference.)
Here's the deal ... after a full year of podcasting, my download numbers kind of suck.
In fact, compared to my original podcast, they're awful!
But, this podcast is way more successful than that first one ever was even though it received 7x times the monthly downloads this one does.
So, to celebrate my podcast's birthday, I'm explaining exactly why it's still a success even though I have download numbers that would make a lot of podcasters want to cry.
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Podcasting for Coaches | Episode 34: Understanding Your Podcast's Stats
Podcasting for Coaches | Episode 36: Should You Take a Podcast Break During the Holidays?
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Podcasting for Coaches on Facebook
My Launch Consultation Packages
Online Course | How to Start a Podcast (For Your Coaching Business)
Transcript
welcome to podcasting for coaches i'm Britany Felix and i'm a podcast launch consultant who specializes in helping coaches and consultants utilize the power of podcasting as a way to build brand awareness and generate new leads for their business i realize not every new coach or consultant can afford to hire someone to help launch their show so i created this podcast as a way to guide you through the process of launching and utilizing your very own podcast to help you grow your business and reach a new audience of adoring followers and potential clients if you're ready to get your voice and podcast out into the world head over to podcasting for coaches.com to learn more welcome to episode 47 of podcasting for coaches as the title of this episode suggests i am going to be explaining why i literally do not give a crap about why my download numbers are not spectacularly high in episode 34 of this podcast i broke down understanding your podcast stats specifically in lipson i made it very very clear in that episode that you should not be focusing on specific numbers you should not get discouraged whenever you see people bragging about how they just launched a month ago and they already have 10,000 downloads that you should not feel discouraged when you're not seeing these ridiculously high download numbers a few months in even a year or two in an even though i don't necessarily do this with everything this is one area where i practice what i preach i very rarely even respond to comments on social media where people are celebrating their downloads now i might say congratulations if it's like a huge milestone like maybe they hit 100,000 downloads because that is quite an accomplishment and maybe it's they just released a few months ago and they have 30 downloads but they're excited because someone's listening those have a deeper meaning besides just bragging about a number so i respond to those but in general i do not like posts where people are asking how many downloads should i have in the first 30 days or what does everyone else's podcast download look like i want to compare mine and see if i'm doing okay or even hey look at how many downloads i have i'm so amazing those are all the wrong ways to handle this because unless you are specifically starting a podcast to make money from advertisers those download numbers do not really indicate the success of your show so as with this show my download numbers do not indicate the success of this podcast and i'm going to get very real with you and tell you my download numbers a lot of podcasters will keep these very close to the chest especially if they're not super high they don't want people to know they're ashamed or embarrassed by them i'm not like at all and the reason for this is because my podcast serves other purposes so let's just break this down really quickly i launched the show in march of 2018 which is why i am doing this episode right now a couple of days ago at the time this is being released my podcast turned one year old i have hit my first anniversary i have been doing this podcast for a year now and here is where my podcast stands after a full year on april 1 so about one month after launching i had 184 total downloads for the entire month on may 1 i had 264 on july 1 i had 423 on august i had 447 on september 1 i had 492 on october 1 i had 730 in november it went back down to 614 in december in which i only released one episode it had 419 so you can see that november december it started to go down which is indicative of the holiday season i have talked about that in episode 36 of the podcast where i broke down whether or not you should take a break during the holidays because generally people are busy and don't always consume content is different show by show but very clearly with my show that is the case and then in january and jump back up to 667 downloads and at the time that i'm recording this it is february 27 so i have about a day and a half left for the end of this month and i will most likely come in right around 700 downloads for february of 2019 so one year after my podcast is launched i'm at about 700 downloads a month i know certain podcasters where if they receive 700 downloads in a single day they would be freaking out because that would not be successful to them in terms of sponsorships and receiving money from having ads on their show so while i don't focus on my specific download numbers there are things here that i like seeing one i like seeing it increase every month since i launched in march until the holiday season my podcast downloads increased every single month That tells me my audience is growing. People are resonating with the show they're sharing it, I'm getting new people coming into it from other platforms where I'm promoting it. It is growing, it may not be growing at an exponential rate, but it's growing. And for a very niche podcast like this one, where I am speaking to pretty much millennial female coaches and consultants, that's totally fine with me, I'm okay with this slow and steady growth, because that means it is real, true organic growth. I'm not paying for a sudden influx of fake subscribers that are just going to inflate my numbers for a month or two. And then I'll disappear again, this is real true people who are listening to this podcast, because they like the content and because it's helping them. It also lets me know, yes, my downloads are going to take a dip during the holiday season. So maybe don't kill myself to get episodes out like crazy. I did only release one episode in December. And I still got 400 downloads for that entire month, which is kind of crazy. To me. That's way higher than I think that it should have been. But it does take a dip. So I'm going to continue with the trend that I have right now of giving myself a break during the holiday season. And then since I released it is climbing back up again. So that's great. That's the exact pattern that I want to see. So I don't care what those numbers are, I just care about the pattern of steady growth. Now why I still consider my podcast a success, even though I do not have these crazy, ridiculous download numbers, is because I am helping people. I'm helping my target audience. And I know this because they're leaving the reviews and comments on social media, which I'll go into in just a second. But it is also helping me get actual clients. So I will tell you, I think maybe once in the entire year that I've had this podcast now have I had a cold lead come to me and say, Hey, I love your podcast, let's work together. Maybe one time that's happened. However, it helps me actually land clients. Because when people refer other people to me, I direct them to schedule a call with me, and to check out my podcast and my website. When they do that. They listened to the podcast. And they immediately understand that I know exactly what I'm talking about. Because I use it to establish my expertise. And they start to form a bond with me. So the when we get on that discovery call, as some coaches or consultants like to call it, I call it a you know, just a general consultation call. They feel like they already know me, they have essentially already been sold on my personality and my services and my style from the podcast. So I don't have to waste my time doing that on the call. This isn't a person who doesn't know anything about me just that their friend said we should connect, which does stand for something absolutely. But it makes my job so much easier. When I hop on that call. And they already know that they like my style, they like my personality, and that they can trust my expertise. And I know that it does is because they have told me, I get on these calls with people. And they say, Oh, I checked out your podcast, I really like what you're doing. I already got so much helpful information from it. So thank you. And immediately I know that half of my job of selling myself has already done because I've done it in podcast form. So that is a huge, huge, huge way that my podcast helps my business even without crazy download numbers. Now going back to how I have been helping people, they're letting me know this. And they're doing it in a public way via reviews on iTunes slash Apple podcast, via comments on my Facebook page via comments in social media groups with other podcasters. They're sharing my show on their platforms and saying how great it is. They're doing a lot of these promotions for me. And a lot of these essentially kind of testimonials are vouching for me in my show. So just as an example of how this podcast is doing that for me and how it could potentially work for you as well. I'm going to read you a couple of these comments and a couple of these reviews. Again, keeping in mind that I do not have fantastic download numbers. This is still the feedback that I'm getting from Michelle Waldo on Apple podcasts review. I'm not a coach, she's not even a coach and she still values us. I'm not a coach. But I started podcasting about a month and a half ago and just recently stumbled upon Brittany show. I listened to a lot of marketing podcast and I absolutely love Brittany's direct and cheerful no BS style. She does a great job of intuiting exactly what her listeners need, and gives that to them plus so much more. Thanks so much for what you're doing. Brittany, you have a very appreciative listener here. Another review from Jonathan from the heart healthy hustle podcast. Britney does a wonderful job giving helpful content to coaches and frankly, anyone who is interested in podcasting, starting one or improving their existing show. I have a podcast and I find her show very engaging and helpful. It's showing the ins and outs I would have otherwise missed and it shows me I'm not alone in my questions about podcasting. Another one from Meiko Rico. 25 says This podcast is so useful for people who Want to start a podcast are already in the process. The show is full of interesting tips and insights that will guide you through the process and help you to put your best work out there. The episodes are short, so you can binge on a few a day if you choose. And Britney is a great host. I like her bubbly personality a lot, subscribe. So these here are selling other people on my content. Now, you may have heard me say don't really ask for ratings or reviews all that often. But they can be valuable, they just shouldn't be your main call to action. So this is why we want to work in inorganically occasionally, which means this is the perfect time for me to say if you enjoy the show as well, and you think other people will benefit from hearing it. I would love if you would leave me a rating or review. Also. That's one of the very few times you'll ever hear me actually ask. And one of these reviews actually says Britney doesn't ask for these but and then it goes into the review. And then I have this comment from Tammy Stackhouse on my Facebook page. loving your podcast, I signed up for a couple online podcast launch classes right before I found you gotta be honest, I'm getting way more out of your podcast than the classes largely because of how easy your content is to access. You teach me about podcasting when I'm getting ready in the morning when I'm getting ready for bed in my car. While I'm doing my PT exercises. I can't do that with their classes. It's been such an eye opener for me on how powerful podcasts can be for getting content out there and helping people. Thank you. So this comment right here from Tammy sopwell. House, you're amazing. Thank you for leaving that just goes to validate everything that I have been saying. And you have this public validation in a way that other potential clients and potential listeners can see. And in a way that lets you know that you were doing the right thing. You were on the right track, you're providing the right content, you're getting this amazing feedback from your ideal clients here. Then I also have another one Diane Foy commented in the podcast or support group on Facebook, which I will link to in the show notes for this episode, that she had officially launched her podcast. And so I just commented back with a GIF. Hard Gee, I will die on that hill, and said Congrats. And Diane actually responded and said, Thanks, Britany. Felix, I've definitely learned some tips from your podcast, I have not really connected with her before. I mean, we've probably commented back and forth in these various Facebook groups, but I comment with a lot of people. And so you just never know who is listening to your content and who is getting value from it, who's recommending it to others, even if it's not happening in a way that you are aware of it is still happening. So if you're only focusing on your specific number of downloads, you may feel like your show is a failure when really you have all of these other people who may or may not actually be making it known to you that are benefiting from it, that are recommending it to others that are forming a bond with you that are deciding that as soon as they get the money they are for sure gonna hire you. So please, as you were launching your podcast or as you are producing, and if you're already launched, do not focus on the specific numbers, do not get discouraged when other people are sharing numbers that are higher than yours, or their podcast seems to be growing faster than yours. as cliche as it sound, the riches are in the niches. And the niches won't always give you those ridiculously high downloads. So I'm gonna wrap all of that up by saying thank you for listening to the show. Thank you for being one of these 700 downloads that I get them on. And thank you for being here with me to celebrate the one year birthday slash anniversary of this podcast. You were the reason they do this. You are the people I want to help serve, and you are the people that I want to connect with. And speaking of connecting with, if you have yet to follow me on Instagram, that is where I am building my community, I have essentially retired the Facebook group. It was an uphill battle there just wasn't very many people in it. And I don't really enjoy it all that much. So I'm going to Instagram where I love hanging out. And I would love for you to follow me as well at podcasting for coaches super easy to remember. And by the way, if you go there after listening to this podcast, you might find that there might be a little bit of a discount code. For anybody who's wanting to enroll in my online course for how to start a podcast for your coaching business. I'm not super creative with the names here. Thank you again and I hope that you have a fantastic week. And that wraps up another episode of podcasting for coaches. If you'd like to connect with me further, you can do so on Instagram at podcasting for coaches. If you know it's time to finally get serious about starting your podcast, go to podcasting for coaches comm and click on the work with me tab in the main menu to learn more about my one on one launch consultation packages or my self paced online course. And I look forward to seeing the podcast that you create and put out into the world.