Why 20 Downloads Isn’t a Total Fail (Seriously!)

Someone just made a post on Reddit that says, my podcast stinks.

Let's talk about it.

Welcome to youo Podcast Consultant.

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With more than a decade of experience and millions of downloads, this hall of fame podcaster is a featured speaker, author, and mentor to thousands.

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He's your podcast consultant, Dave Jackson.

So I see a post on Reddit and it says, I've been podcasting for four years now and I'm averaging about 20 downloads a show.

I've had a few spikes here and there, but nothing to write home about.

I've tried tweaking my format to, you know, for a bit and to see if that would work, but still no success.

I thought about giving up on podcasting a more.

That's what he says a more than a few times, but always find myself back making an episode.

Today I admitted to myself that my show is just not that good.

And there's more to this, but I'm going to stop there.

The first thing I would ask is take podcasting out of the mix.

If this was a restaurant, if this was a guitar player, you know, a musician, and you're singing in a club and everybody that's in the room gets up and leaves, wouldn't the first thing you do go, wait, maybe I need to change the music.

Maybe I'm off key.

You would need somebody to go, can you listen to me sing and give me honest feedback?

If it was a restaurant and everybody that came in and ate your food left, wouldn't you go, hey, can you taste this for me and tell me if it's good?

So that would be the first thing I would do because it comes down to this.

Your episodes really have two main ingredients, and that is the content and the delivery.

And you can have the best content, but if it sounds like it was recorded in a fishbowl, that's not going to work.

And you could have the best equipment.

But if you're using the same as everyone else generated AI script, that's not going to stand out.

And so some things you might want to focus on is how will this benefit the audience.

So this episode is hopefully going to get you to think about doing an audience survey and to also contemplate what makes a good episode.

So then whatever it is, whatever that benefit is, get to the topic as quickly as possible.

I hear so many people just ramble at the beginning of the show.

That's your first impression.

And then something else you can do is practice.

What do you mean, Dave?

Like Record something and don't release it.

Just practice talking into a microphone.

Practice getting words to come out of your mouth.

Practice being entertaining while being educational or just being entertaining or whatever it is.

Practice.

I play the guitar and I'm.

I'm no slouch.

Why?

Because when I was, I don't know, 11 years old, I would play about four hours a day, and I did that for about seven years.

I can hold my own.

Why?

Because I practiced.

I would go downstairs, I would put on whatever album my brothers and sisters had, and I learned to play along.

So also, now I realize he said he's been doing this for four years.

It does take years to build an audience.

And those who have the passion, and we'll talk about that subject for free because they love it.

They want to serve their audience.

They push through, but those that don't, don't.

But he had one more line here.

He says, I'm okay with it because I'm doing something I like to do.

I was thinking about bringing on a co host or collaborating with fellow podcasters.

Do you have any advice?

Well, here's the thing.

Why are you doing your podcast?

That is the first question you have to answer.

You have to answer that, because if you don't get what you want, you burn out.

And so if his goal is to have fun, I would say, well, congratulations, your show is a massive success.

I'll give you an example again.

Take podcasting out of is spring here in Ohio.

As I record this, and as soon as it starts getting into the 70s, I'm going to be riding my bike.

Why?

Because I love to ride my bike.

I strap it on the back of my car, I drive out to parks where they have lanes made for bikes, and you ride them out in the trees, and it's pretty and it's nature and it's good exercise.

So why do I do that?

Because I like to ride my bike in the trees, in the forest and get some exercise.

Consequently, that's a huge success.

Now, I've never had a single person as I'm putting my bike on my car, go, hey, bike rider, huh?

Yep.

You making any money at that?

No, it's a hobby, yet I have fun doing it.

And I think I'm going to do an episode about this in the future.

So many people think that the only way that a podcast is recognized or legit is if they have a sponsor.

And I couldn't disagree more.

And I get it.

When a boxer wins a gold medal, that is recognition.

However, if they were doing it to get on the Wheaties box and they're not on the Wheaties box, they feel rejected.

So you have to know your why and then focus on that.

How are you going to do that?

So many people say, oh, I want to start a podcast and make money.

Great.

Are you going to sell your own product and services?

No, don't have one.

Okay.

Are you gonna sell like affiliate stuff?

Well, it's kind of hard because I'm all over the place.

Okay.

Are you gonna do donations or crowdfunding knowing that only 3% of your audience is gonna donate?

Yeah, I might try that.

Put a PayPal button on my website, but never talk about it.

Well, that's not gonna work, you know.

And then I go, well, if you're, you know, what are your strategies to make money up?

You don't really have any.

And so consequently you're not going to make any money.

What do you want the podcast to do?

And make sure you're doing steps that lead the podcast to do that.

And in this case, it looks like this guy's doing it for fun.

Now he's judging it by looking at other shows.

40 downloads is two full classrooms that could be watching Netflix or any other streaming service, listening to the radio, listen to satellite, playing video games, walking in a park, bike riding, whatever, but they're listening to your show.

There is no spam in podcasting.

And if you were in a room with 40 people listening to you, 40 people is a full medium sized room.

A lot of people forget that there's no spam in podcasting.

If I don't want to listen to your show, I just swipe left and delete.

So maybe your show isn't bad, but it never hurts to get some feedback and always determine why are you doing this.

If you need help with this, I would love to help.

That's what I do.

I've been doing this for 20 years.

Come over and visit me at the school of podcasting.

Just go to schoolofpodcasting.com you can use the coupon code listener when you sign up and that will save on either a monthly or yearly subscription.

That comes with a 30 day money back guarantee, unlimited coaching, amazing courses, and a super amazing community.

Check it out.

SchoolOfPodcasting.com use the coupon code listnr.

I'm Dave Jackson.

I help podcasters.

It's what I do.

And I can't wait to see what we're gonna do together because I want to be your podcast consultant.