Everyone wants the 10,000-download podcast, but almost nobody wants to talk about how you actually get there. In this episode of Ask the Podcast Coach, Dave Jackson and Jim Collison dig into a listener's question that stops most podcasters cold: can you really study a podcast's rise from zero to sixty the way a business school studies a company? The answer gets messy fast. Copying what worked for someone else, chasing burger-chain nostalgia, and mistaking a microphone for a financial plan all come up before Dave and Jim land on what actually separates the podcasts that make it from the ones that quietly disappear around episode eight. If you've ever wondered whether there's a real playbook for podcast growth, or just a lot of hustle dressed up as one, this conversation is the honest version nobody's selling you.
Sponsors:
PodcastBranding.co - They see you before they hear you
Basedonastruestorypodcast.com - Comparing Hollywood with History
Video Version (unedited)
Mentioned In This Episode
School of Podcasting
https://www.schoolofpodcasting.com/join
Podpage
http://www.trypodpage.com
Home Gadget Geeks
https://www.theaverageguy.tv
Fix My Podcast
https://www.fixmypodcast.com
Features Supporter: Horse Radio Network
The Voice of The Horse World
https://www.horseradionetwork.com
Grow Your Podcast
Available to members of the School of Podcasting. Weekly meetings to grow your downloads, reach, and influence. Join today.
00:00 Welcome to the Show!
01:14 Ad: PodcastBranding.co https://podcastbranding.co
03:13 Ad: Based on a True Story Podcast https://truestorypodcast.com
06:08 Can a podcast success story become a case study?
08:15 Stop copying strategies that work for someone else
08:56 Why the free School of Podcasting version is closing
12:54 Build the financial runway for full-time podcasting
15:26 Do the work before chasing overnight success
17:24 Stop stalling and start creating
19:00 Use social media consistently to rebuild engagement
19:51 Use podcasting to find your voice, not quick money
20:33 Create content your audience actually wants
22:32 Ugh reacting to reaction videos
23:37 Success means different things to different people
25:30 Outlast the dopamine drop in podcasting
27:29 Avoid comparison and find your own formula
28:22 Thanks For Your Support https://www.askthepodcastcoach.com/awesome
28:57 Join the School of Podcasting https://community.schoolofpodcasting.com
29:08 Try Podpage http://www.trypodpage.com
29:24 Home Gadget Geeks https://www.homegadgetgeeks.com
29:32 Podindy.com November 7th https://www.podindy.com
29:55 Featured Supporter: Glen from Horse Radio Network https://www.horseradionetwork.com
30:52 Give Some Value Back https://podcastcoach.supercast.com
31:45 Build financial stability before investing in your podcast
34:31 Find value in podcasting beyond monetization
35:30 Step away when nothing is working
38:54 Use AI to triage podcast pitches https://aigoestocollege.com
42:10 When growth strategies fail, examine the content
44:00 Use audience signals to guide your next episode
51:59 Balance original content with AI-assisted creation
54:59 Use clips, audio, video, social, and newsletters together https://soundsprofitable.com
57:10 Address AI's content ownership problem
58:26 Follow the School of Podcasting https://www.schoolofpodcasting.com/follow
58:29 Why YouTube is for discovery, not dependable revenue
59:30 Attend Empowered Podcasting https://empoweredpodcasting.com
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