✊ Will discovery algorithms save (or destroy) podcasting?
Published 10 months ago • 6 min read
580 WORDS | READ TIME: 2.2 MIN
If there’s one complaint podcast creators have always had about the medium, it’s the lack of built-in discovery.
Sure, most listening apps have some sort of curated recommendation lists... but there's never been a centralized discovery algorithm like on YouTube, TikTok, or most social media platforms.
The result is that to this point in podcasting’s history, the onus has been on us as creators to go out and get exposure for our shows ourselves.
But over the past year or so, things have been changing.
For one, YouTube has quietly become the largest podcast platform people use to consume podcasts—with more and more creators following the attention and making YouTube a bigger part of their strategies.
For another, Spotify has been tuning their own recommendation algorithms and integrating them into various aspects of their platform.
Add in the countless other podcast-listening apps experimenting with their own discovery engines, and one thing becomes strikingly clear:
The age of algorithmically driven podcasting is here.
On the one hand, this might seem like fantastic news.
Discovery algorithms, after all, are purpose-built to match content with the people who will enjoy it.
Over the past year, for example, YouTube’s recommendations have led to 3,904 new viewers for my two shows, resulting in 6,795 total views.
Some of these folks who discovered me through YouTube have even turned into clients and customers.
Clearly, algorithms have an upside.
But algorithms also have a cost.
For one, algorithms have a way of widening the gap between the haves and the have-nots, leading to big shows getting bigger while the small shows get (comparatively) smaller.
What’s more, algorithms tend to reward certain types of content more than others, which often requires us as creators to play games we may not want to play.
You don’t have to look far to find YouTubers and influencers complaining that they can’t create the content they actually want to make because the algorithm won’t even show it to their subscribers—let alone new audiences.
Finally, there are the bigger questions, like:
What will the pressures and incentives of algorithms do to podcasting as a medium?
Is podcasting as a medium even conducive to algorithmic discovery in the same way video and short-form content is?
And how do algorithms change the way consumers engage with and connect with the creators they follow… and vice versa?
Make no mistake, the incentives and rewards of podcasting as a medium are shifting.
Which means as creators, perhaps the biggest question of all is:
What are we supposed to do?
What are the opportunities?
What are the risks?
And is there a way to take advantage of algorithmic discovery while avoiding the traps it presents?
In the first episode of Season 2 of Podcast Marketing Trends Explained, my co-host Justin Jackson and I are diving into the world of algorithmic discovery to debate how exactly podcasters should be approaching this new reality.
And while there's a lot we agree on when it comes to what algorithms mean for podcasting—and podcast creators—our perspectives also on differ on what the best approach to leveraging these discovery tools is.
Once you listen, hit reply and let me know how you’re thinking about the opportunities and risks presented by these discovery engines and how you’re changing your creative and marketing process in response.
Stay Scrappy,
On Monday, 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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