When starting a podcast, it’s normal to overlook your show metrics in the early stages. But podcast analytics, regardless of how long you have been producing episodes, are vital feedback for your show’s success. Your data, including audience demographics, listener habits, and growth tracking, will help you figure out what’s working — and what needs to change.
In this article, we’ll cover three key areas in which podcast analytics are a vital component: creating better content, podcast marketing, and selling ads. These areas are not exhaustive, but they are important steps in your journey to utilizing podcast analytics in your workflow.
We will also help you identify the right metrics platform to use. There are plenty out there, but you may need more than one to see the full picture. Finally, we will give you clear examples for each of the three key areas, including steps to obtain and use the analytics data you gather.
If you’d like help with tried-and-tested podcast growth or understanding your show’s analytics insights, speak to our team today. You may even qualify for a free consultation!
Podcast Analytics Platforms
A podcast analytics platform is software or a tool that allows you to track your podcast’s performance and report data related to audience demographics and listener behavior. Some popular podcast analytics platforms include:
Many podcast hosting platforms have built-in podcast analytics, including Megaphone, Simplecast, Transistor.fm, Buzzsprout, and Anchor. When choosing a platform, keep an eye out for the most important metrics, including episode download numbers, listener retention (how long people listen), audience location and demographics (age, sex, etc.), and device usage.
In the past, many turned to Chartable for podcast insights, such as tracking downloads and cross-platform analytics. Since it closed in 2024, we compiled a list of Chartable alternatives to help creators make an informed choice for their next platform.Â
You may want a separate platform to track your podcast monetization efforts. That’s where tools like Magellan AI can make your life a lot easier with ad attribution. Check your current hosting platform for tracking capabilities, and consider a more tailored tracking platform for your particular monetization needs.
Why Are Podcast Analytics Important?
Why even bother with podcast analytics? Here’s our best pitch for spending time gathering your show data: analytics help podcasters understand what is working for their show, and what’s not. Rather than working in the dark, analytics can help you make smart, data-informed decisions for your content and marketing strategy.
Beyond audience insights, analytics provide a clear way of monitoring your podcast’s growth. Growth is important for all podcasts, but it is especially vital for B2B or branded podcasts who use podcasting as a marketing tool. Analytics also provide a way of measuring the ROI of your podcast, giving organizations insights into whether their efforts are paying off compared to their earnings or lead generation.
Finally, podcast analytics help creators establish performance benchmarks. Without targets and standards, it is nearly impossible to plan a comprehensive roadmap for your show. But with analytics, you can compare past episodes against your new content, or even against industry standards. Pretty useful, right?
In the next section, we’ll explore how to optimize your content strategy by utilizing audience demographics and listener habits.
Analytics Help You Shape Better Content
So, how do podcast analytics help you create better episodes? The most obvious way is being able to see which episodes resonated with your current audience, and which ones brought in new listeners. You can break this data down even further by isolating the episode formats, topics, and even podcast guests. Figuring out what your audience enjoys will help you attract repeat listeners and build a loyal following — just make sure to stay true to your original creative vision as much as possible.
You can go one step further by A/B testing different episode titles, durations, or release times to help you hone in on the optimal conditions for your show. But remember: test, test, and test again. You need a lot of iterations to have any meaningful data, especially when it comes to your podcast’s performance on social media.
How do you use podcast analytics in a content plan?
- Historical data helps you choose themes and formats that work
- Listener habits inform your episode pacing and structure
- A/B testing gives you optimal release times and cadences.
- Top-performing episodes help you book and rebook guests.
Concerned you don’t have enough episodes to make the most of analytics? Don’t worry, you can still use podcast data to inform your content strategy. Make a list of ten to twenty podcasts that inspire you, or are doing well in the same category, and analyze their episodes’ structures, titles, and podcast guests.
Once you have a full report, use these notes to help you structure your own content schedule. But here’s a word of warning: don’t be derivative! Most listeners are interested in original ideas and authenticity. It will be obvious if you’re copying a popular show to grow faster.
Audience Demographics Provide Marketing Insights
If you have a consistent content plan, but are looking for growth tactics, audience demographics can give you valuable insights into your optimal marketing strategy. Start with age, sex, and interests. These basic data points can help you direct your marketing efforts to the right social media platform or cross-promotional partner.
You may also want to look at behavioral patterns like when and how people listen. Are they commuting? Running? Cooking dinner? Do they listen every day or once in a blue moon? Once you have a picture of your average listener’s habits, you can target future listeners with ads or promos on content that reaches them during these key moments.
Some demographics are easier to reach than others; while some can be targeted through organic marketing, others may require paid advertising. You should also consider localized content or advertising if your audience is geographically concentrated, such as a podcast about New York City culture or the history of a small town in Alaska.
How do you use podcast analytics in a marketing strategy?
- Break down your audience by age, sex, and interests.
- Note down behavioral patterns and listening habits.
- Match your podcast’s tone with your broader brand strategy.
- Define your niche and find opportunities that align.
- Use ads or cross-promos on content consumed by your demographic.
We go into even greater depth in our Ultimate Podcast Marketing Guide, a free downloadable resource that will help you plan a full marketing strategy for both paid and organic growth. Keep reading, as we’re about to dive into ways analytics can help with your podcast monetization.
Podcast Metrics Help You Sell Ads
Why do podcast metrics matter when monetizing your podcast? Put simply, advertisers want proof of their investment, and metrics provide transparency and reliability. Advertisers will rarely tell you how their investment in your podcast converted into clicks or customers — but you will be able to tell if it was successful if they become a repeat sponsor.
Key podcast metrics to show advertisers:
- Downloads per episode (30 days after publishing).
- Listener retention rate.
- Episode impressions.
- Listener geography and demographics (sex and age).
Audience demographic data is not just important for content and marketing. Creating a series of “audience profiles,” much like an ideal customer profile (ICP), will help you match brands with your listeners. Not only will the conversion rate be higher, your audience will find the ads more interesting — and be less likely to turn off. Some platforms can also help you deduce average household income and build a profile using surveys.
Why do you need to give potential advertisers your download stats thirty days after publishing? If a buyer wants to purchase “episodic” ads, they will want to know what the exposure for their ad will be for one month if they buy on a particular episode. Similarly, you should share “Downloads per month, whole catalogue,” as advertisers may want to see how your show performs as a whole.
If you are a small show, demonstrating a high engagement rate will help you attract sponsors. You may have heard stories that it’s impossible to monetize a show with less than 10,000 downloads per episode. This isn’t always the case. Engagement, whether on a podcast or social profile, will often trump numbers.
How do you use podcast analytics for monetization?
- Show potential advertisers your key metrics
- Create audience profiles to match brands with your listeners
- Demonstrate your influence, no matter your listener numbers
- Figure out your CPM for pricing ads more accurately
As we mentioned earlier, you can also use podcast analytics to track your show’s ad attributions. We have several articles on this topic, as well as an episode of our award-winning show Podcast Perspectives. Click play on the episode below for all the details.
Have questions? Interested in having The Podglomerate help grow your show with the power of podcast analytics? Connect with us to hear more about our podcast services.
