When it comes to growing a podcast, tracking the right metrics is crucial.
By understanding which numbers are most important and how they change over time, you can make informed decisions about how to improve your podcast and reach a larger audience.
While the specific metrics you track should be informed by the OKRs and KPIs you’ve set for your show, here are some suggested metrics that will help inform your larger marketing strategy.
Overall Download Numbers
One of the most basic metrics to track is your overall download numbers.
This includes both the total number of downloads your podcast has received and the average number of downloads per episode. This can give you an idea of how popular your podcast is and how it is trending over time.
Audience Demographics
Another important metric to track is your audience demographics. This includes information about your listeners’ age, gender, location, and other characteristics.
Understanding your audience can help you tailor your content to better meet their needs and interests, as well as identify any potential areas for growth.
In-App Visibility
It’s also a good idea to track your podcast’s discoverability and visibility. This includes things like your rankings Apple Podcasts, Spotify, as well as your presence on social media.
By monitoring these metrics, (check out tools like Chartable and Voxalyze) you can identify any areas where you might be able to improve your reach and visibility.
Episode Engagement & Retention
The engagement rate of your individual episodes is one of the most important metrics to track regardless of your show type or your goals around it.
This can help you understand which episodes are resonating the most with your audience and identify patterns in terms of what topics or formats are most popular.
There are a few different ways you can track episode engagement, including:
- Number of downloads: As mentioned above, tracking the total number of downloads an episode receives can give you an idea of how popular it is. If the number of downloads begins to dip, that’s a sign of listener churn, which you’ll want to reverse.
- Episode Completion Percentage: By tracking how far listeners get through each episode, you can get a sense of which episodes are holding their attention and which might be losing them. You can find this information in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts back-end dashboards.
- Ratings and reviews: Many podcast platforms allow listeners to rate and review episodes, so be sure to keep an eye on these metrics. Positive ratings and reviews can be a good indication that an episode was well received, while negative ratings and reviews can help you identify areas for improvement.
- Social media engagement: If you promote your episodes on social media, be sure to track the number of likes, comments, and shares they receive. This can give you an idea of which episodes are resonating the most with your audience.
Tracking episode engagement can be particularly useful if you are trying to monetize your podcast through sponsorships or advertising.
By understanding which episode topics are most popular, you can potentially command higher rates for sponsorships or advertising placements.
Podcast Monetization Metrics
In addition to metrics related to growth and engagement, there are also a number of revenue-based metrics that can be useful to track depending on your goals and the type of podcast you are running.
Some examples of revenue-based metrics include:
- Number of sponsorships you have secured
- Amount of ad revenue you are generating
- Revenue per sponsor
- Number of clients or customers the podcast has generated
- Revenue generated from new podcast-driven clients or customers
- Number of paid subscribers or patrons
Regardless of your specific goals, it’s important to remember that tracking metrics is only useful if you use the data to make informed decisions. Make sure to regularly review your metrics, identify areas for improvement, and take action based on what you learn.
For example, if you notice that your podcast’s download numbers are plateauing, you might consider doing a promotional push to try to attract new listeners. Alternatively, if you see that a particular episode received a lot of engagement, you might try to replicate that success by doing more episodes on similar topics.
In summary, tracking the right metrics can be a powerful tool for growing your podcast. Whether you are focused on revenue, community building, or something else entirely, there are a variety of metrics you can track to help you understand your audience, improve your content, and reach your goals.