📊 Buzzsprout’s Alban Brooke on what data matters

It’s D...D...DATA month at PMM, folks!

Hello hello hello! Summer finally feels like it’s knocking on our doors, and it’s Pride Month. I hope you’re feeling as ✨ sparkly ✨ as we are.

Now, the theme of this month might not sound as FUN as our other themes, but it’s just as if not more important.

Welcome to 🥁🥁🥁… DATA MONTH!

Data gets a bad rep. We often consume it without taking a step back, and really thinking about it.

There’s a reason Wil wrote an entire issue on just this. Think of this month as a continuation of that. We’ll look at what data matters and what doesn’t, YouTube data, and more.

I thought it best to kick things off by hearing from one of the smartest people in the industry – Alban Brooke, Head of Marketing at Buzzsprout. Since 2014, Alban has helped over 500,000 people launch their podcasts through Buzzsprout. He co-hosts two podcasts, How to Start a Podcast and Buzzcast.

Alban works with and answers questions from independent and/or new podcasters all the time. Let’s hear from him on what data really matters.

If you only have time for one thing…

Let it be the dispelling of the notion that most podcasts get a lot of downloads. Alban says – The median podcast episode on Buzzsprout gets 28 plays in the first week after releasing an episode.

🎙️ Interview: Alban Brooke of Buzzsprout

The following has been edited for brevity and clarity. Any emphasis is mine.

When you work with independent and/or new podcasters – what’s one data and measurement-related piece of advice you give them?

Alban: New podcasters are often discouraged if they don't see a large amount of growth in the early stages. They're used to social media which will amplify content that catches the algorithm.

But, podcasting is completely different. If you create a great episode, it will be promoted by your listeners, and in the beginning that's only a few people. So, you should expect to see slow compounding growth, not virality. The benefit for podcasters is that while we don't have peaks of virality, we also don't have the valleys when the algorithm changes. Your audience is truly your audience and they'll stick with you even if your content changes.

People can get overwhelmed by the prospect of podcast analytics, especially if they’re new to it. Where should someone start?

Alban: I recommend podcasters wait at least three episodes before digging into their statistics. You're learning a ton of new things: podcast equipment, interview techniques, editing, promotion, etc. Give yourself a few episodes to see if you like podcasting before you judge it too harshly.

What’s a podcast data-related misconception that makes you want to shout your rebuttal from the rooftops?

Alban: That most podcasts are getting tons of downloads. The median podcast episode on Buzzsprout gets 28 plays in the first week after releasing an episode.

What’s something you thought was true about podcast data and measurement that just isn’t?

Alban: That plays are the same thing as downloads. A download is when a device requests an episode and downloads it so you can listen to it later. But some episodes might be downloaded, but not listened to. Other episodes might be downloaded, but listened to by a whole car of people.

When it comes to videos in podcasts, where are we as an industry in terms of analytics?

Alban: Podcast hosting companies that offer video over RSS still measure with downloads. YouTube and Spotify offer proprietary statistics that measure "views" but we don't have visibility into how those are calculated.

If you had a magic wand, what’s one thing you’d change about podcast analytics?

Alban: That the podcast player apps would share playthrough data so podcasters could see that data in one place. It would be great to see where listeners dropped off in each episode.

What should be the top KPIs of a podcast’s performance?

Alban: This depends completely on the reason you started podcasting.

If the purpose of the podcast is to sell your product, then the KPI is new sales. If the purpose is to become well known in your industry, it's whether you're being invited to speak at events. If the goal is to have fun, the KPI is whether you're having fun.

The raw number of downloads, at best, is a proxy for the real reason you're podcasting. So comparing my 300 downloads to Song Exploder's 300,000 isn't useful unless you understand the purpose behind the podcast.

Can you share with us an example of when utilising data and analytics influenced a podcast? For example – if they used it well in their marketing or monetization.

Alban: The best use of podcast analytics is with podcast marketing. You start posting on LinkedIn, you're seeing some traction, so you check to see if those efforts are impacting your podcast downloads. You decide to guest on other podcasts, then check to see if it impacts your downloads once those episodes are released. For us, we often look back at old episodes to judge which format or type of content best resonates with our listeners and try to focus on creating more content like that.

There you have it, folks! Thank you Alban for giving us a lot to think about.

What was your biggest takeaway from this? Let us know!

---

✨ More Magic

• Castbox and Tink’s Summer Listening Playlist is here! From movies to music to true crime, we’ve got it all.

• If you miss The Truth as much as I do, please consider pre-ordering merch to help fund bringing it back. My recommendation: these vinyls of their two most popular stories. They don’t make ‘em like this anymore so please please please help bring them back.

• The wonderful Christina M. Tapper is conducting a mini-workshop on how to pivot your career into and/or within podcasting. Aren’t you lucky? I wish someone had taught me this sooner!

🎧 From the Desk of Tink

Movement with Meklit Hadero is back with a new season! This is a podcast, radio series and live show that uses music to offer a nuanced perspective on migration. Hosted by Ethiopian-American singer Meklit, who is truly an icon, Movement is here to challenge some of our perspectives on immigration, with positivity and wholesomeness. Don’t we need a bit of that, especially right now.

---

Thanks for reading! I hope you find sunshine and sparkles everywhere you go.

Next week, Wil returns with some more podcast marketing magic. ✨

Until then, stay curious!

💜 Shreya [and Wil who helped edit this because I had a tattoo appointment!]