Podcasting 101: Why Podcasts Fail and How to Avoid it | Disctopia (2024)

FAQs

Why do podcasts fail? ›

The problem might be with the topic of your podcast, your reaction to your current audience, or you do not know who your target listeners are. Lack of feedback to the audience is how podcasts fail.

Getting Started. One of the most difficult common challenges podcasters face is getting started. The distance between your initial inspired idea and recording your first episode seems too far and too long to travel. You may be overwhelmed by the many steps involved in making your podcast a success.

One of the biggest reasons why people quit their podcasts is because they don't see results immediately. It takes time to build an audience for your podcast. If you're just starting out, it's important to be patient and keep at it.

Tracking the duration of a listen is the most accurate way to find out how many people finish an episode. The average completion rate is 60%. It means that if you have 100 listeners, only 60 of them will finish the episode. The number can be lower for some shows and higher for others.

Higher-income podcasters are 8.1 times more likely to have more than 1,000 listeners per episode. But if you have a smaller show, under 1,000 listeners, you also have a chance of making a good income from it. You just need to adjust your expectations and your revenue model each step of the way.

The length of your podcast also depends on your subject, industry or genre. It could be that around 15-20 minutes perfect for your listeners. But maybe your specific audience wants more in-depth, exploratory information; in which case, 45-90 minutes would provide more value.

Can a nobody start a podcast? ›

You can start a podcast with no pre-existing audience, but you need to formulate a marketing plan on how to build that audience. Proven ways include SEO optimization, podcasting website, transcripts, and presence into multiple directories. Consider also appearing as a guest on shows in your niche.

The reason why people aren't listening to your podcast or spacing out during episodes is usually dependent on your listeners and content frequency. If you've got lots of shows lined up then it makes sense to publish regularly. Take The Daily, they release episodes EVERY... SINGLE... DAY!

An easy way to wrap up your podcast is by giving your listeners a quick recap of the episode. Use this time to talk about the main points you made throughout the episode, what you want your listeners to take away from the episode, and what made that episode so special.

Well-Structured and Planned Out Episodes

You know what they say about failing to prepare. Putting a rough episode plan together can make all the difference between a good podcast, and one full of awkward blunders. Maintaining a solid, consistent structure throughout your episodes is key to keeping audiences engaged.

A podcast content strategy is a comprehensive framework that guides your business or brand in effectively engaging your target audience through your podcast. It encompasses a set of rules, recommendations, and communication channels that determine the most impactful ways to connect with your listeners.

Ideally, you'd want listeners to be able to finish your podcast during their commute, so aim for under 50 minutes.

Podcasting is on the rise and evolving faster than ever. You might be thinking that you've missed your window of opportunity to jump on the trend, however, it's never too late to start.

What is the most popular type of podcast? ›

Comedy continues to be the podcast genre listened to by the most people in the U.S. We just released the Edison Research Top Podcast Genres for Q3 2022 ranker based on audience size among those age 18 and older from Edison Podcast Metrics, and Comedy maintains its reign as #1.

41% of them listen to the majority of shows on average, 5% of them say that they often listen to less than half of an episode, and 2% of people quit podcasts at the start.

Your podcast can make money between six to 12 months with the right strategy. What is this? Yes! But while businesses have only just added podcasting to their marketing channels, you're going to organize some targeted marketing to shorten the time to monetizing your podcast.

Live podcasts are a big podcast trend for 2023 because people have started to appreciate natural, real-time and spontaneous content over the edited, filtered, and scripted version.

Typically, a podcaster with around 10,000 downloads per episode can expect to earn somewhere between $500 to $900. Very successful podcasts can earn much more, reaching up to $30 million in annual income.

Host(s) names: Introduce yourself and any co-hosts in a few sentences. Episode title: Some podcasts like to mention the episode title to help listeners orientate themselves. Episode number: Chronology allows listeners to get an idea of where they are within a podcast series. Music: Use intro music to set the tone.

Radio hosts, podcasters, as well as audiobooks use between 150 to 160 wpm. It is the upper range that people comfortably hear & vocalize words. In fact, ebook publishers officially recommend 150-160 words per minute, which is close to the maximum speaking rate that also ensures full comprehension.

Publish 3 to 5 episodes when you first launch.

From our research, the very minimum number of episodes to have at launch is three. In general, the more the merrier. We had seven interviews complete before we launched our podcast, with three episodes planned for launch day and two apiece for the following two weeks.

What is the average life of a podcast? ›

The average podcast lifespan of 174 days is based on shows that were indexable in November 2018.

Depending on your state, you may need a general business license to operate your LLC in compliance with state requirements. There are no industry-specific licenses for podcasters, but this doesn't mean you won't need any licenses or permits at all.

The answer is YES. Solo podcasts are wildly successful and you can totally do it! Okay guys, let's get right down to it: if you've been dreaming of starting a solo podcast, your dream might be closer to reality than you think!

Headphones give podcasters control over their sound quality and can allow them to adjust during a special, one-shot interview in real time. They want to ensure that the sound quality is good while it's happening. Without headphones, it is much harder to know that. In fact, it's almost impossible.

According to many in the business, most podcasts that fade die out as early as their 7th episode. In fact, research indicates that the podfading rate is as high as 50% among new podcasts.

Now, ideally, for a very generalized audience speaking in very broad general terms here, once a week is a good release schedule. just about anybody can find time to listen to one podcast episode per week. And it keeps you in their mind fresh every week.

Research suggests that Wednesday, Tuesdays, and Thursdays (in that specific order) are the best days for podcast episodes to be released. However, it all depends on your personal schedule and that of your target audience's.

Monthly. If you're considering releasing a podcast with episodes averaging 60-90 minutes in length, then you should consider releasing podcast episodes on a monthly basis. Monthly episodes often have several hosts, featured guests, and dive deep into hot topics and deeply reported stories.

What can you not say on a podcast? ›

DON'T: Tell Insider Jokes

Your podcast isn't the place for insider jokes. Listeners won't have a clue what you're talking about. And even if they did, they probably wouldn't be that interested. Keep in mind new listeners know very little about you or your show.

According to many in the business, most podcasts that fade die out as early as their 7th episode. In fact, research indicates that the podfading rate is as high as 50% among new podcasts.

One podcast tip that many aspiring podcasters don't like to hear is that it can take years to build an audience. And in order to make a successful podcast, you need to be prepared to turn up consistently and regularly over the next few years. That doesn't mean that you can't have short-term goals, though.

Only less than 2% of all podcasters, who have more than 5,000 listeners per episode, struggle with their shows' monetization.

The length of your podcast also depends on your subject, industry or genre. It could be that around 15-20 minutes perfect for your listeners. But maybe your specific audience wants more in-depth, exploratory information; in which case, 45-90 minutes would provide more value.

You could start making money in six to 12 months. But you'll need to dig in and work hard. Here's how: Deliver consistent, quality content (to become the go-to authority)

Typically, a podcaster with around 10,000 downloads per episode can expect to earn somewhere between $500 to $900. Very successful podcasts can earn much more, reaching up to $30 million in annual income. How much money you can make podcasting depends on a few factors.

As a general rule, after personally overseeing the production of over 50 podcasts, I'd say a good average edit time for a 30-40 minute podcast is about 4-5 hours. That's a number that surprises most people so it's a good idea to practice before you get started so you know how much time it's going to take you.

To put harder numbers on it, many sponsorship agencies look for 3000 to 5000 listeners, per episode, before they'll take you on. But, if you're doing it yourself, it's perfectly possible to earn a decent sponsorship income once you pass the 200 to 300 mark, especially if you have a particularly niche audience.

Are podcasts declining in popularity? ›

Monthly listenership to podcasts seems to be declining among the younger generations. Statista data shows that 50% of those ages 12 to 34 listened to podcasts monthly in 2022, which is a decline from 56% in 2021.

Checking a podcast's social media accounts can tell you something about their listenership figures and how engaged their listeners are. Usually you can go to the podcast's official website (listed in most podcast listening apps) to find links to their social accounts. Check out their Instagram feed or TikTok account.

5, 2022. The average podcaster surveyed covers 3 industries. Interestingly, 55 percent of podcasters believe the space is oversaturated with too many podcast options.