Perseverence and prep, key signals of podcast success (Improve Podcast survey)

In a just-released set of survey results from podcast consulting service Improve Podcast, longevity and detailed preparation lead to better podcast monetization. The survey queried over a thousand podcasters on basic show metrics and income.

One headline result is about persistence and longevity: 53% of successful podcasters have published more than 200 episodes. That’s an important insight, but not definitive — 48% of good earners have published fewer than 200, and 18% of podcasters making above $50,000 a year have published 50 or fewer episodes.

Audience size matters too, unsurprisingly: “Having more than 5,000 listeners per episode makes a podcast over 29 times more likely to be monetized successfully,” the survey notes declare. On the flip side, less that two percent of podcasts with more than 5,000 listeners “struggle” making money. (We observe that the survey illustration below refers to downloads, not listeners, and those two numbers shouldn’t be regarded as identical.)

Preparation matters, we learn. On this point, the difference in money-making correlates tightly with level of preparation:

See the full survey — there’s a lot to it — HERE.

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Brad Hill