Jaayne: Ever get that feeling when you open up a spreadsheet and it's just rows and
Jaayne: rows of numbers staring back at you?
Jaayne: Yeah, podcast data can feel a bit like that sometimes.
Jamie: It can be overwhelming.
Jaayne: Totally. And with Chartable recently changing its Apple podcast integration,
Jaayne: it feels like a good time for a deep dive.
Jamie: Lots of podcasters are talking about what metrics really matter.
Jaayne: It's like everyone's questioning their entire analytics dashboard.
Jaayne: So that's what we're diving into today. We've got two articles that tackle this whole data dilemma.
Jamie: Yeah, they come at it from totally different angles.
Jaayne: The first one digs into how important it is to really understand your audience,
Jaayne: like really, really understand them and all their little listening habits.
Jamie: Yeah, and not just why they listen to your podcast, but like what else is in their podcast app.
Jaayne: What makes them tick, right? And this article is saying that is the intel that's
Jaayne: going to help your show grow.
Jamie: And not just grow, potentially bring in some money too.
Jaayne: Oh, interesting.
Jamie: Because if you can prove to sponsors that you get your audience,
Jaayne: You know what they want.
Jamie: Exactly. Then you're not just selling downloads anymore. You're selling influence.
Jaayne: OK, yeah, I see what you're saying. But then we've got the other side of the
Jaayne: coin, which is basically saying, hold your horses. Let's not go building a data empire here.
Jamie: Right. This article is giving us the case for why all those detailed analytics could be overkill.
Jaayne: Especially if you're just starting out or if you're doing this whole podcasting
Jaayne: thing for the love of it, not for the sponsorships.
Jamie: They're saying that agonizing over all that data just sucks up all your time.
Jamie: Time that could be better spent, you know, actually making good content.
Jaayne: Yeah, and actually enjoying the process, right? Because nobody wants to need
Jaayne: a degree in data science just to share their passion with the world.
Jaayne: So where do we go from here?
Jamie: Well, how do you figure out where you land in all of this? Let's unpack why
Jamie: each of these approaches make sense.
Jamie: Then we can give you the tools to decide what level of tracking makes sense
Jamie: for your podcasting goals.
Jaayne: That sounds good to me. Let's do this. Okay, so let's say you're on board with
Jaayne: this whole data savvy podcaster thing.
Jamie: Yeah, you're ready to get granular.
Jaayne: Totally. Totally.
Jaayne: What are the arguments for getting into all that data?
Jamie: So this first article uses this phrase, listener consumption and drop off.
Jamie: And it's interesting. Imagine like actually being able to see where people stop
Jamie: listening to your episodes.
Jaayne: Oh, that's super useful, though. Yeah.
Jamie: Imagine seeing if there was a certain point where people consistently lose interest.
Jaayne: That's actionable right there.
Jamie: Right. And it's not just about seeing what's not working. You can see what is
Jamie: working, too. Like maybe there's a spike in engagement every time you include
Jamie: a certain segment. So good.
Jamie: It's about understanding what your audience likes and giving them more of it.
Jaayne: Like finding little hidden clues. This reminds me, the article also talked about
Jaayne: attracting sponsors and how knowing all this granular data about your audience.
Jamie: Yeah, how that plays into it. Totally. Because think about it.
Jamie: The more data you have, the clearer the picture of your audience.
Jamie: Yes. So you're basically handing
Jamie: potential sponsors this detailed map of everything about your listeners.
Jamie: Imagine being able to say, hey, 60% of my listeners listen to podcasts on their
Jamie: commute and 75% of them have told us they're interested in sustainability.
Jaayne: You're not just selling them an audience. You're selling them a market at that
Jaayne: point. I can see why sponsors would be into that.
Jaayne: But how do we even get our hands on all this data? We've got to bring it back
Jaayne: down to earth for a second.
Jamie: Yeah, for sure. Sure. So you have to familiarize yourself with a few different platforms.
Jaayne: Like what?
Jamie: Apple Podcasts Connect is a big one.
Jaayne: Okay. And that tells you?
Jamie: That gives you insights from people listening on Apple Podcasts.
Jamie: Spotify for podcasters does the same thing, but for Spotify listeners.
Jamie: And then there are other tools like PodTrack.
Jaayne: Wait, rewind. What's PodTrack?
Jamie: Good question. It's basically like billboard charts, but for podcasts.
Jamie: So PodTrack looks at download numbers and ranks podcasts.
Jaayne: So you can see if you're like top of the charts.
Jamie: Exactly. Or maybe you just want to see how you rank against some of your competitors.
Jamie: Yeah. So, yeah, different tools for different goals.
Jaayne: This level of data is probably for people who are serious about growing their podcasts, right?
Jamie: For sure. Or if you want to get into monetization.
Jaayne: Makes sense. But what if someone's happy with their smaller, more niche audience?
Jamie: Right. What about the people doing this just because they love it? Let's get into that.
Jaayne: OK, so we've heard from the data will set you free camp. But what about the
Jaayne: joys of keeping things simple?
Jaayne: Is it really enough to just glance at your download numbers every so often?
Jamie: You know, for some people, yeah. Not everyone's trying to be number one on the charts. Probably.
Jamie: You might be making your podcast as a creative outlet or to connect with people.
Jaayne: Yeah. Like it's more about the quality of your listeners than the quantity.
Jamie: Exactly. And in that case, your hosting platform probably gives you all the
Jamie: data you need. Just the basics exactly things like how many downloads you're
Jamie: getting or how that changes over time and that can
Jaayne: Feel like enough.
Jamie: It can and this other article we have for you is
Jamie: It really emphasizes how important it is to protect your time.
Jaayne: Ooh, that's a good point. Especially if you're busy. Right.
Jamie: They actually say you have very finite time on your hands. And they're right.
Jamie: Because as fun as data can be, it does take time to make sense of it all.
Jamie: And you could be using that time to make more episodes instead.
Jaayne: Or just like live your life.
Jamie: Exactly. So it's about finding that balance where data is working for you,
Jamie: not the other way around. And honestly, even if you are keeping it simple.
Jaayne: You can still learn a lot, right?
Jamie: For sure. Sure. Like, are your download numbers going up over time?
Jaayne: Or like, what types of episodes are people really vibing with?
Jamie: Right, exactly. You can get a lot of clues just from looking at those basic trends.
Jaayne: I love that. This has been such a helpful conversation. But I'm curious,
Jaayne: how should our listener actually find that data balance for themselves? Where do we even start?
Jamie: I always think it starts with your goals.
Jaayne: Yeah.
Jamie: What are you hoping to do with this podcast?
Jaayne: Because if it's just a hobby.
Jamie: Yeah. Or like a fun side project.
Jaayne: You probably don't need a whole analytics team.
Jamie: Exactly. So if you're just starting out, I'd say focus on the basics.
Jamie: See what your hosting platform tells you about downloads and listeners.
Jamie: And then if your goals change, you can get fancier later on,
Jaayne: You know. But if you want the sponsorships and the big numbers.
Jamie: You've got to go deep. You've got to understand your audience,
Jamie: their demographics, all of it.
Jaayne: It's all about having the data that's going to help you make decisions. Right.
Jamie: You're using data to make your podcast the best it can be.
Jamie: And remember, data can be really helpful. But at the end of the day,
Jamie: the most important thing is your connection with your listeners.
Jaayne: That's such a good point to end on. Don't get so lost in the numbers that you
Jaayne: forget about the humans behind them.
Jamie: Couldn't have said it better myself.
Jaayne: Use those insights to make amazing content and connect with the people listening
Jaayne: on the other side of the microphone.
Jaayne: That's what it's all about. And on that note, my friends, we've reached the
Jaayne: end of another deep dive.
Jaayne: Until next time, happy podcasting.
Music: Music