Making Sense of Podcasting's Fractured Data Points

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Jaayne: Ever get that feeling when you open up a spreadsheet and it's just rows and

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Jaayne: rows of numbers staring back at you?

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Jaayne: Yeah, podcast data can feel a bit like that sometimes.

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Jamie: It can be overwhelming.

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Jaayne: Totally. And with Chartable recently changing its Apple podcast integration,

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Jaayne: it feels like a good time for a deep dive.

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Jamie: Lots of podcasters are talking about what metrics really matter.

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Jaayne: It's like everyone's questioning their entire analytics dashboard.

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Jaayne: So that's what we're diving into today. We've got two articles that tackle this whole data dilemma.

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Jamie: Yeah, they come at it from totally different angles.

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Jaayne: The first one digs into how important it is to really understand your audience,

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Jaayne: like really, really understand them and all their little listening habits.

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Jamie: Yeah, and not just why they listen to your podcast, but like what else is in their podcast app.

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Jaayne: What makes them tick, right? And this article is saying that is the intel that's

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Jaayne: going to help your show grow.

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Jamie: And not just grow, potentially bring in some money too.

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Jaayne: Oh, interesting.

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Jamie: Because if you can prove to sponsors that you get your audience,

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Jaayne: You know what they want.

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Jamie: Exactly. Then you're not just selling downloads anymore. You're selling influence.

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Jaayne: OK, yeah, I see what you're saying. But then we've got the other side of the

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Jaayne: coin, which is basically saying, hold your horses. Let's not go building a data empire here.

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Jamie: Right. This article is giving us the case for why all those detailed analytics could be overkill.

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Jaayne: Especially if you're just starting out or if you're doing this whole podcasting

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Jaayne: thing for the love of it, not for the sponsorships.

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Jamie: They're saying that agonizing over all that data just sucks up all your time.

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Jamie: Time that could be better spent, you know, actually making good content.

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Jaayne: Yeah, and actually enjoying the process, right? Because nobody wants to need

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Jaayne: a degree in data science just to share their passion with the world.

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Jaayne: So where do we go from here?

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Jamie: Well, how do you figure out where you land in all of this? Let's unpack why

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Jamie: each of these approaches make sense.

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Jamie: Then we can give you the tools to decide what level of tracking makes sense

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Jamie: for your podcasting goals.

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Jaayne: That sounds good to me. Let's do this. Okay, so let's say you're on board with

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Jaayne: this whole data savvy podcaster thing.

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Jamie: Yeah, you're ready to get granular.

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Jaayne: Totally. Totally.

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Jaayne: What are the arguments for getting into all that data?

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Jamie: So this first article uses this phrase, listener consumption and drop off.

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Jamie: And it's interesting. Imagine like actually being able to see where people stop

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Jamie: listening to your episodes.

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Jaayne: Oh, that's super useful, though. Yeah.

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Jamie: Imagine seeing if there was a certain point where people consistently lose interest.

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Jaayne: That's actionable right there.

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Jamie: Right. And it's not just about seeing what's not working. You can see what is

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Jamie: working, too. Like maybe there's a spike in engagement every time you include

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Jamie: a certain segment. So good.

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Jamie: It's about understanding what your audience likes and giving them more of it.

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Jaayne: Like finding little hidden clues. This reminds me, the article also talked about

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Jaayne: attracting sponsors and how knowing all this granular data about your audience.

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Jamie: Yeah, how that plays into it. Totally. Because think about it.

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Jamie: The more data you have, the clearer the picture of your audience.

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Jamie: Yes. So you're basically handing

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Jamie: potential sponsors this detailed map of everything about your listeners.

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Jamie: Imagine being able to say, hey, 60% of my listeners listen to podcasts on their

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Jamie: commute and 75% of them have told us they're interested in sustainability.

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Jaayne: You're not just selling them an audience. You're selling them a market at that

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Jaayne: point. I can see why sponsors would be into that.

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Jaayne: But how do we even get our hands on all this data? We've got to bring it back

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Jaayne: down to earth for a second.

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Jamie: Yeah, for sure. Sure. So you have to familiarize yourself with a few different platforms.

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Jaayne: Like what?

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Jamie: Apple Podcasts Connect is a big one.

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Jaayne: Okay. And that tells you?

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Jamie: That gives you insights from people listening on Apple Podcasts.

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Jamie: Spotify for podcasters does the same thing, but for Spotify listeners.

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Jamie: And then there are other tools like PodTrack.

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Jaayne: Wait, rewind. What's PodTrack?

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Jamie: Good question. It's basically like billboard charts, but for podcasts.

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Jamie: So PodTrack looks at download numbers and ranks podcasts.

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Jaayne: So you can see if you're like top of the charts.

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Jamie: Exactly. Or maybe you just want to see how you rank against some of your competitors.

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Jamie: Yeah. So, yeah, different tools for different goals.

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Jaayne: This level of data is probably for people who are serious about growing their podcasts, right?

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Jamie: For sure. Or if you want to get into monetization.

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Jaayne: Makes sense. But what if someone's happy with their smaller, more niche audience?

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Jamie: Right. What about the people doing this just because they love it? Let's get into that.

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Jaayne: OK, so we've heard from the data will set you free camp. But what about the

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Jaayne: joys of keeping things simple?

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Jaayne: Is it really enough to just glance at your download numbers every so often?

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Jamie: You know, for some people, yeah. Not everyone's trying to be number one on the charts. Probably.

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Jamie: You might be making your podcast as a creative outlet or to connect with people.

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Jaayne: Yeah. Like it's more about the quality of your listeners than the quantity.

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Jamie: Exactly. And in that case, your hosting platform probably gives you all the

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Jamie: data you need. Just the basics exactly things like how many downloads you're

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Jamie: getting or how that changes over time and that can

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Jaayne: Feel like enough.

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Jamie: It can and this other article we have for you is

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Jamie: It really emphasizes how important it is to protect your time.

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Jaayne: Ooh, that's a good point. Especially if you're busy. Right.

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Jamie: They actually say you have very finite time on your hands. And they're right.

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Jamie: Because as fun as data can be, it does take time to make sense of it all.

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Jamie: And you could be using that time to make more episodes instead.

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Jaayne: Or just like live your life.

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Jamie: Exactly. So it's about finding that balance where data is working for you,

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Jamie: not the other way around. And honestly, even if you are keeping it simple.

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Jaayne: You can still learn a lot, right?

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Jamie: For sure. Sure. Like, are your download numbers going up over time?

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Jaayne: Or like, what types of episodes are people really vibing with?

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Jamie: Right, exactly. You can get a lot of clues just from looking at those basic trends.

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Jaayne: I love that. This has been such a helpful conversation. But I'm curious,

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Jaayne: how should our listener actually find that data balance for themselves? Where do we even start?

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Jamie: I always think it starts with your goals.

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Jaayne: Yeah.

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Jamie: What are you hoping to do with this podcast?

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Jaayne: Because if it's just a hobby.

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Jamie: Yeah. Or like a fun side project.

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Jaayne: You probably don't need a whole analytics team.

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Jamie: Exactly. So if you're just starting out, I'd say focus on the basics.

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Jamie: See what your hosting platform tells you about downloads and listeners.

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Jamie: And then if your goals change, you can get fancier later on,

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Jaayne: You know. But if you want the sponsorships and the big numbers.

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Jamie: You've got to go deep. You've got to understand your audience,

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Jamie: their demographics, all of it.

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Jaayne: It's all about having the data that's going to help you make decisions. Right.

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Jamie: You're using data to make your podcast the best it can be.

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Jamie: And remember, data can be really helpful. But at the end of the day,

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Jamie: the most important thing is your connection with your listeners.

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Jaayne: That's such a good point to end on. Don't get so lost in the numbers that you

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Jaayne: forget about the humans behind them.

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Jamie: Couldn't have said it better myself.

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Jaayne: Use those insights to make amazing content and connect with the people listening

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Jaayne: on the other side of the microphone.

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Jaayne: That's what it's all about. And on that note, my friends, we've reached the

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Jaayne: end of another deep dive.

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Jaayne: Until next time, happy podcasting.

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Music: Music