Is It Just Harder to Grow a Podcast Now (& If Not, Where Are the Hidden Opportunities)? | Podcast Strategy
04/23/25 • 48 min
Over the past year, median podcast growth rates were nearly flat. In other words, the typical show experienced almost zero growth over the previous 12 months.
If you’ve been in podcasting for a while, this might correspond with your feeling that it is harder to grow today than it once was. And yet... while growth may have slowed for the typical show, there are others that are unlocking more and faster growth than ever before.
So what’s going on here? And what do we as creators need to do to tap into the potential for growth that exists?
📊 What did you think of this episode? Click to cast your vote:
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Topics Covered
00:00 Is It Harder To Grow Now?
01:56 Growing in 2008 vs 2025
03:49 What the data says about growth rates
08:33 Two reasons it might be harder to grow now
13:14 The two types of competition today
15:56 Keeping up with changing tastes and expectations
21:38 Diagnosing your growth problem
24:55 A tried and true way to differentiate
28:35 Opportunities to grow a podcast today
33:49 A sneaky approach to testing big changes
35:16 The worst thing that can happen to your show
38:43 The opportunities of podcasting for your business
⭐️ Get a free podcast marketing audit with personalized recommendations to help you grow: https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/audit ⭐️
Resources
- The Tim Ferriss Show
- This American Life
- Mel Robbins’ podcast
- Headliner
- Descript
- The Law of Shitty Click Throughs by Andrew Chen
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
Subscribe to Podcast Marketing Trends Explained
Check out the Podcast Marketing Trends 2024 Report
Subscribe to the Scrappy Podcasting Newsletter
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✍️ Leave your feedback for the show: **http://podcastmarketingtrends.com/feedback**
Over the past year, median podcast growth rates were nearly flat. In other words, the typical show experienced almost zero growth over the previous 12 months.
If you’ve been in podcasting for a while, this might correspond with your feeling that it is harder to grow today than it once was. And yet... while growth may have slowed for the typical show, there are others that are unlocking more and faster growth than ever before.
So what’s going on here? And what do we as creators need to do to tap into the potential for growth that exists?
📊 What did you think of this episode? Click to cast your vote:
🤩 Nailed It!
🙂 Solid
🥱 Meh
😒 Do better
Topics Covered
00:00 Is It Harder To Grow Now?
01:56 Growing in 2008 vs 2025
03:49 What the data says about growth rates
08:33 Two reasons it might be harder to grow now
13:14 The two types of competition today
15:56 Keeping up with changing tastes and expectations
21:38 Diagnosing your growth problem
24:55 A tried and true way to differentiate
28:35 Opportunities to grow a podcast today
33:49 A sneaky approach to testing big changes
35:16 The worst thing that can happen to your show
38:43 The opportunities of podcasting for your business
⭐️ Get a free podcast marketing audit with personalized recommendations to help you grow: https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/audit ⭐️
Resources
- The Tim Ferriss Show
- This American Life
- Mel Robbins’ podcast
- Headliner
- Descript
- The Law of Shitty Click Throughs by Andrew Chen
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
Subscribe to Podcast Marketing Trends Explained
Check out the Podcast Marketing Trends 2024 Report
Subscribe to the Scrappy Podcasting Newsletter
Try Transistor.fm for free for 14 days
✍️ Leave your feedback for the show: **http://podcastmarketingtrends.com/feedback**
Previous Episode
What Everyone’s Getting Wrong About Video Podcasting & YouTube | Podcast Strategy
Video is changing podcasting, probably forever and probably in ways we can’t predict.
But while conversations and debates about the risks and upsides to creators as well as the industry as a whole are inescapable right now, they all seem to be missing the key point: That this isn’t a conversation about different consumption mediums and file delivery formats.
It’s a conversation about YouTube as a platform, and the power, influence, and magnetism it exerts on every person on the internet.
📊 What did you think of this episode? Click to cast your vote:
🤩 Nailed It!
🙂 Solid
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Topics Covered
00:00 Is video podcasting a threat or opportunity?
04:21 Video’s impact on podcast discovery
07:49 YouTube's dominance over content consumption
10:26 Leveraging YouTube for podcast growth
18:03 The future of podcasting on YouTube
34:16 The opportunities pitfalls of short-form content
37:28 YouTube vs. podcast content
42:41 The long-term value of “slow content”
45:06 Case study: Jay Clouse’s YouTube strategy
51:45 Case study: Chris Stone's YouTube strategy
56:08 What is a podcast anymore, anyways?
⭐️ Get a free podcast marketing audit with personalized recommendations to help you grow: https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/audit ⭐️
Resource
Tom Webster
Philip Pape of Wits and Weights
April Dunford's book, "Obviously Awesome"
Additional Resources
Subscribe to Podcast Marketing Trends Explained
Check out the Podcast Marketing Trends 2024 Report
Subscribe to the Scrappy Podcasting Newsletter
Try Transistor.fm for free for 14 days
✍️ Leave your feedback for the show: http://podcastmarketingtrends.com/feedback
Podcast Strategy
The difference between an effective show—one that does the job you created it to do—and one that is an endless drain on your time, energy and bank account comes down to your strategy... or lack thereof.
Strategy is an oft-misunderstood term that encompasses, guides, and grounds the intentional decisions around every aspect of your show and marketing, including your show concept, positioning, format, content strategy, packaging, monetization strategy, promotion, and more.
In short, the answers to any marketing question are based in your strategy. Which means without a clearly defined strategy, you’re shooting in the dark, and unlikely to ever get the results you’re looking for from your podcast, whether that’s audience growth, customer acquisition, or both.
About Podcast Marketing Trends Explained
Podcast Marketing Trends Explained is a podcast about data-driven podcast marketing, growth, and monetization. In every episode, we take a peek under the hood of one data point from the Podcast Marketing Trends Report and dig into what it can tell us about how to market our shows better, and grow them faster.
On the show, we'll explore podcast marketing strategies, growth tactics, podcast listener psychology, how to create a better podcast, how to use a podcast to market your products and services and grow your business, and broader marketing trends to help you grow your audience and stay ahead of the competition.
The show is hosted by Jeremy Enns from Podcast Marketing Academy and the Scra...
Next Episode
The Real Odds of Succeeding as a Podcaster (& How to Beat Them) | Podcast Strategy
One in ten music albums makes its money back. The same is true for startups and movies. But what about podcasts?
Is it possible for any of us to create a successful show? Or are the odds always going to be stacked against us, with only a tiny fraction of shows breaking through to the mainstream?
In this episode, we break down the odds behind creating both a successful show and a successful career as a creator, and explore exactly what you can do to stack the deck in your favour.
📊 What did you think of this episode? Click to cast your vote:
🤩 Nailed It!
🙂 Solid
🥱 Meh
😒 Do better
Topics Covered
00:00 The odds of success as a creator
04:59 The data behind exceptionally successful podcasts
13:21 Why you should quit more projects (and podcasts)
21:19 The traits of exceptional podcasts
31:56 Increasing your luck surface area
37:42 The traits of exceptional creators
47:47 Tapping into your unique personal genius
⭐️ Get a free podcast marketing audit with personalized recommendations to help you grow: https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/audit ⭐️
Resources
Brandon Sanderson Lecture SeriesNathan BarrySeth GodinShaan PuriJason RobertsOzan VarolAwaken Your GeniusThe Tim Ferriss Show Acquired My First MillionPodcast Movement Conference
Subscribe to Podcast Marketing Trends Explained
Check out the Podcast Marketing Trends 2024 Report
Subscribe to the Scrappy Podcasting Newsletter
Try Transistor.fm for free for 14 days
✍️ Leave your feedback for the show: **http://podcastmarketingtrends.com/feedback**
Podcast Marketing Trends Explained: Data-Driven Podcast Growth Strategies - Is It Just Harder to Grow a Podcast Now (& If Not, Where Are the Hidden Opportunities)? | Podcast Strategy
Transcript
There are actually fewer active shows today than there were in 2018. So you could make the case that there are more shows available for a listener to find in a podcast app, but it's actually less crowded than it was five years ago.
JustinThere is limited real estate for a person's time, but your category might have five competitors or three competitors or no good competitors. Podcasting is still easier in
If you like this episode you’ll love
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