✊ Is it just harder to grow now?

Hi friends,

When I first got into podcasting in 2015, growth was easy.

Or at least it felt that way.

I know dozens of podcasters who launched shows in that era who quickly built up significant audiences around their shows that were—at least by today’s standards—wholly generic and uninteresting.

Of course, starting a podcast then was much more difficult than today, but if you could get one up and running, you were off to the races.

Around 2018, however, things started to shift.

New clients for my agency would launch shows—often after seeing the near-instant success of their friends’ similar shows—to crickets.

Instead of hundreds of listeners immediately flocking to their shows, they were having to work (hard) to get a few dozen.

Since 2018, things have only gotten harder.

More new shows, with more money and star power behind them have both pulled more listeners into podcasting as a medium and raised the bar on what listeners expect from the shows they follow.

On the other side of the quality spectrum, better podcast tools have made starting a new show easier than ever… resulting in more low-quality pod-faded shows that make it harder for listeners to find quality, active shows on a topic they’re searching for.

This shift in the quantity and quality has been a tough pill for many to swallow.

I know several long-time podcasters who got a hefty dose of humility after launching new shows only to find that the same strategies, formats, and tactics that helped them quickly pull in tens of thousands of downloads on shows they launched a decade ago now fall entirely flat.

Yes, podcasting has certainly changed.

But consider the following stat:

There are actually significantly fewer active podcasts today than there were in 2018.

At the same time, there are also significantly more regular podcast listeners.

Some basic supply and demand math, then would seem to suggest that more listeners / fewer shows = more growth opportunities.

So is growth actually harder?

Or are many creators simply operating on an outdated playbook?

And if so, what does the updated podcast growth playbook look like for 2025?

In this episode of Podcast Marketing Trends Explained, we dig into the conflicting data behind podcast growth rates and unpack why—for the right show, built on the right idea, produced in the right way—more, bigger, faster growth might be more accessible than ever before.

You can add the episode to your listening queue in your favourite podcast app or watch on YouTube.

📲 Add To Your Queue

Stay Scrappy,

If you're a founder that feels like you've got all the pieces in place (offer, podcast, email marketing)... but they aren't working together in a cohesive system, I've got 6 slots left for 2025 in my 1:1 Podcast Growth Engine Program.

In the program, we'll do a full assessment of your show, marketing, sales system, and offer, and then design a strategy and system to bring them into alignment, to help you sell more and grow faster with less effort.

It's not an overnight process, but if you've already got the pieces in place, it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect to add $100k in revenue over the next year.

Here's who nails the bull's eye:

You're a coach, consultant, service provider, or online educator with a high-ticket offer ($5k+) that already sells consistently.
You have a stable business that pays you a solid, predictable salary (ie. you're not in "need cash now mode") and are in mid-to-long-term planning mode, looking to build out the systems and strategy to take your business to the next level over the next 2-5 years.
You've got all of core business assets already established—offer, sales process, email marketing, podcast, operations—but while all of them are performing OK, none of them are really optimized... and you know you're leaving money on the table and working harder than you need to to generate revenue.
You can see all the pieces and know you've built something of real value... but don't know how to connect them all in a cohesive way.
You understand business and marketing, but could really use some outside perspective from someone who deeply understands their work (creatively, strategically, and tactically) and what they're trying to do to bounce ideas off of, challenge their assumptions, and guide them.

If that's you, reply with the words "Growth Engine" and I'll send over all the info on how the process works.

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