Here’s what we know: the way we measure podcasts is historically…pretty terrible. The metrics we’re primed to review — like downloads, subscribers, traffic, etc. — don’t measure what’s most important to showrunners: that is, whether your show will entice listeners to stay. Great projects get killed early because we’re not measuring them correctly. We look […]
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Several years ago, while considering a job offer, I received some of the best career advice I’ve ever gotten. An industry vet told me: “Before you take this job, make sure you know what success will look like.” Such a simple concept, but so important — and harder than you might think, particularly for people […]
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“Podcasting metrics are notoriously terrible.” – Jeff Ayers, Broadcasting, Death Wish Coffee Company “Sure, downloads are fun to see climb — and of course that’s a helpful barometer to see the general trend of the show’s popularity. But because we are such a niche audience, that metric doesn’t tell as much as it might for […]
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The following is a sample of my weekly newsletter, Playing Favorites. As my friend Ann Handley would say, it’s far more focused on the “letter” than the “news.” Every Friday, get one original idea, packaged as a question you can ask, focused on helping you make your audience’s favorite things. Plus, you’ll get a roundup […]
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For a recent episode of 3 Clips, listener Jim Samuel asked us a poignant question about preparing to launch your podcast: How can I evaluate whether there’s a sufficient audience for a podcast idea I have and would like to pursue? Here’s the quick answer. It deserves a longer explanation: You can’t know for sure, […]
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Showrunners have a unique and lofty role, because they kind of need to embody every type of marketer…all at once. They need to be big, strategic, and long-term thinkers, like the CMO. They need to have an innate appreciation for words and storytelling, like content marketers. They need to understand how to market their shows […]
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This article is part of a weekly exploration to answer one question: What would it take to make your audience’s favorite podcast? Each entry in this series builds on past ideas. It will culminate in the first session of our online, interactive, cohort-based workshop for marketers, where we do real work on our real podcasts, […]
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It’s true: If you want to download information straight to your brain, and you don’t live in The Matrix, then your quickest path between not knowing and knowing is to read something. Or, better yet, scan it. And that’s the issue we face as podcasters: We need to keep in mind that other mediums exist, […]
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There’s a new mandate in marketing: don’t just grab attention — hold it. If you’re new here (hi! Welcome!), I’ll catch you up. At MSR, we believe that the marketing of yesteryear — the type that relied on flashy gimmicks and splashy mass campaigns and pursued reach and brand awareness above all — should stay […]
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There’s a saying we use often at Marketing Showrunners: Great marketing isn’t about who arrives. It’s about who stays. That’s because if people actually stick around, the good stuff we seek actually happens: trust and love and a relationship form; we get valuable feedback and insights from the engagement and conversation; and of course, our […]
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