Measuring Success: How to Track Your Podcast Downloads and Listenership

So you’ve launched your podcast and you’re ready to take the world by storm – but how do you know how well you’re doing? How do you measure success when it comes to podcasting? Fear not, my fellow podcasters. I’m here to guide you through the wonderful world of tracking your podcast downloads and listenership.

The Basics

First things first – let’s talk about the basics. You can’t track what you don’t measure. And in order to measure your podcast’s success, you need to know how many people are listening to it. There are a few key metrics you should be keeping an eye on:

Downloads: This is the number of times your podcast has been downloaded.

Listens: This is the number of people who have actually listened to your podcast.

Subscribers: This is the number of people who are regularly tuning in to your podcast.

Tools for Tracking

Now that we know what we’re tracking, let’s talk about how we’re going to do it. Luckily, there are a few great tools out there that can help you keep tabs on your podcast’s performance. Here are a few of my favorites:

Libsyn: One of the most popular podcast hosting platforms, Libsyn also has robust analytics features that allow you to track downloads, listens, and subscribers.

Podtrac: Podtrac offers a free service that allows you to track your podcast stats across multiple platforms.

Chartable: Chartable provides analytics and attribution for podcasters, so you can track not just downloads and listens, but also where your listeners are coming from.

What to Do with the Data

Ok, so now you’re tracking your podcast’s downloads and listens – but what do you do with all that data? Well, first of all, you should be using it to make informed decisions about your podcast. For example:

If you notice your downloads are going down, it might be time to change up your content or marketing strategy.

If you see a spike in subscribers, take note of what you did that week and try to replicate it.

If you notice that most of your listeners are coming from a certain platform, consider doubling down on that platform to reach even more people.

Final Thoughts

Measuring your podcast’s success can feel overwhelming, but with the right tools and mindset, it’s totally doable. Remember to focus on the key metrics, use analytics tools to track your progress, and use the data to make informed decisions about the future of your podcast. With a little bit of effort, you’ll be well on your way to podcasting superstardom.