✊ Spotify just solved one of podcastings biggest growth challenges
Published about 1 year ago • 5 min read
440 WORDS | READ TIME: 1.7 MIN
Hi friends,
What's the most frustrating aspect of marketing your podcast?
Every year, I pose this question to the hundreds of podcasters who complete the annual Podcast Marketing Trends survey.
And while there are many frustrations respondents cite, there's one response that wins by a landslide:
"Knowing what to focus on that will actually move the needle."
With so many growth strategies, tactics, and hacks being hawked around the internet, it's no wonder.
The sheer volume of advice (some good, some bad, much of it somewhere in the middle) is enough to leave anyone feeling overwhelmed and paralyzed, unsure where to invest the limited amount of time they have for their show.
But here's where things get interesting.
Over the past few weeks, Spotify has rolled out a new analytics feature that solves the problem of podcast marketing overwhelm
Well almost.
Let me explain.
Spotify recently rolled out a new analytics dashboard breaking down how many people have:
Seen your show in Spotify
Shown interest in your show
Streamed your show for at least 60 seconds
They've also included the conversion rates from each stage of the listener acquisition funnel to the next.
I know, I know, I can hear you already...
"Ok, this is kinda interesting I guess... But what am I supposed to do with this data that will help me grow?"
Well here's where things get fun.
When you know how your show's conversion rates stack up to the industry average benchmarks, you can diagnose the issues that are suppressing your show's discoverability with pinpoint accuracy.
Said differently, you get a detailed map leading the way to growth.
No more guessing what the potential problems might be.
No more guessing where you should be focusing your limited time.
No more feeling paralyzed when it comes to marketing your show.
So how exactly do you interpret your data?
I just released a video walking you through the entire process, including breakdowns of the most common growth-suppressing scenarios, the reasons behind them, and how to fix them.
And if you're willing to help contribute to this project and help improve the accuracy of the Spotify benchmarks for everyone, here's how you can help in less than 2-min.
I'll be updating the page with new data, insights, and resources over the next few weeks.
Stay Scrappy,
Yesterday, I announced a handful of changes I'm making in my business, starting in 2026, as I work towards my goals of building a business with:
$500k in profit
Lean 1-2 person full-time team (including me)
Limit calls to 2 days a week
4-day workweek as the default
Not reliant on launches or sales calls
3 Months (12 weeks) off every year for surfing, cycling, snowboarding, climbing, and motorcycling adventures (split throughout the year)
You can find the full post updating my master plan and breaking down the thinking behind the strategy here.
But if you'd prefer the TL;DR version, here's what I'm working toward in 2026:
Narrow my positioning further to helping expertise-based business owners generate $30k/mo. Specifically by developing Infinity Loop podcast-centric ecosystems.
Become more prolific with a ruthlessly narrow focus. Increase my output of offers, workshops, and content, with a hyper-narrow focus on expertise-based business owners.
Rebrand the PMA Membership, double the price, and put a hard cap on member count. The current name doesn’t reflect either the value or experience of what is, in reality, a highly personalized mentorship space with a lot of individual attention from me. This will be remedied in 2026, and the goal is to turn this into a $250k revenue stream with a hard cap of 50 active members. In addition to the cap, members who are not active regularly over the duration of their membership will not have the option to renew, providing space for new, hungry members who will make the most of it.
Default to “No” to all external requests & obligations. Unless there is an ultra-compelling reason, say no to all partnerships, collaborations, and projects that follow other people’s timelines and deadlines. They’re a distraction from the work that matters, and my business doesn’t need them.
Reduce my podcast audit capacity and increase the price. In 2024 ,I burnt myself out doing 53 podcast audits, charging $3,000 each. In 2025, I did 26 audits at $4,500 each. In 2026, I’ll further reduce the number of audits to 15 at a price (for now) of $5,000. Ultimately, I want to reduce my audit capacity to 8/year at a price of $10k.
Double down on the Craft. Average work is a waste of my time, my clients' time, and the audience's time. Instead, we’ll double down on creating truly exceptional content that gets the attention and trust of the right people.
Publicly Launch Overdrive coaching program. In 2025, I introduced a new coaching tier where I work with my clients directly to elevate their podcasting Craft by working with them hands on to develop their best episodes ever. For one episode each month, we identify themes, design the episode structures, sequencing and arcs, and identify questions, stories, and metaphors to incorporate. Then, I’ll provide a monthly post-mortem with notes on their execution. This is the most fun work I've done in my career yet and I'm excited to build this offering out further.
Launch Logic-Based Offers. A new training based on my work with my clients around how to design offers that sell themselves based on their obvious “internal logic” rather than persuasion or pressure.
Launch The Mechanics of Thought Leadership. A new training breaking down the path and practice of becoming a thought leader that changes the course of your niche or industry over a 10+ year period. Ambitious, long-term, anti-hype, not for hacks or wannabes. I’ve got it all mapped out and planned for release mid-2026.
Pour fuel on the fire via paid advertising. With the business generating a significant amount of excess profit, I want to reinvest significantly in advertising this year, specifically by hiring an ad manager so I don’t have to manage the ad creative myself.
Write and release at least two books on podcasting. One, on how to engineer word-of-mouth growth via your show design is already in progress. Another, on the mechanics of podcasting, is more or less wireframed.
Develop a highly exclusive, premium pricing business. My plan is to work with ~500 clients over the next 30 years. This narrow focus will allow me to develop deeper expertise in my specific niche than anyone else, leading to predictable, almost guaranteed results and zero alternative, interchangeable competitors. The result: I can be highly selective about who I work with and demand significant prices while delivering exceptional results.
If this matches where you're looking to go and you'd like my help in getting there faster, hit reply with the words "Master plan" and I'll share some details about how I can help.
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