You’ve been the proud owner of your own podcast for a while now. You’ve got some episodes under your belt, have an audience you speak to, and have a clear vision to where you’re heading.
Whether you feel that your growth has plateaued or you’re simply interested in keeping up the momentum you’ve built, looking back at your analytics will aid you in your future content.
Different platforms will offer different forms of analytics, which are “used for the discovery, interpretation, and communication of meaningful patterns in data.”* In simple terms, the analytics break down the view count and tell you who is watching your content. Some even break down the demographics of your listeners; age, sex, race, etc.
When putting together the analytics from all your episodes, you start to get a picture of which episodes have been more successful in bringing in new views and new subscribers. Taking this a step further, you’ll start to get an idea of what sort of demographic your content is attracting.
This is useful because knowing your audience is key to engaging them in the most meaningful way possible.
When you compare the analytics of your previous episodes, does your graph show an upwards progression, downwards or horizontal? Where are the spikes/dips and which episode do those views correlate with?
By figuring out which videos have garnered the most listeners and most subscribers, you’ll get an idea of what sort of content has brought the most interest (and, in turn, what has brought the least amount of attention/interest.) This will aid you when planning future content because you know what interests your audience the most!
And as with any business, data-driven decision making is ideal when you consider the future of your podcast. So when making new episodes, check the analytics afterwards to gauge the interest in that particular topic and compare it with your other episodes.
Don’t be afraid if you perceive particular episodes as “flops” or shy away from asking yourself why. Being your own critic and understanding what went wrong and what went right will enable future content to be successful.
All that said, you’re not married to the analytics and there’s no reason to obsess over them. They’re not foolproof and, afterall, the whole point of your podcast is to voice that which you’re passionate about!
Think of them as a simple tool for you to utilize when making content-aware choices in future episodes.
So whatever platform you’re on, keep an eye on those analytics to be sure that you’re moving forward to your goals!