A recent survey of podcasting done by Acast and Nielsen found the following:
45% of those surveyed started listening to podcasts during the past year.
52% of those who love podcasts are spending more time listening to their favorite podcasts.
41% of Americans plan to spend more time with podcasts in the coming six months, while they plan to increase music streaming by only 36% and listening to online radio by only 29%.
Podcast listening increased by 52% during the past six months, while radio listening only increased by 36% and audio books consumption by only 33%.
57% of those surveyed listen to podcast episodes multiple times.
62% of listeners listen to more than half of longer podcast episodes (hour long or more).
65% of listeners are attentive when listening to podcasts. They focus on the content.
57% of listeners will listen to any ads because they believe it’s important to support their favorite podcast hosts.
What all these numbers mean is that podcasts are becoming a more important part of the lives of American consumers.
Nick Southwell-Keely of Acast notes, “We think of our favorite podcasters like our friends, and trust them to entertain and inform us.”
Podcast Content
What kind of podcast content do people enjoy?
70% enjoy listening to guest interviews.
64% listen to news shows, including news in a specific field.
58% enjoy panel discussions.
55% enjoy the banter of their favorite hosts.
Other prime content favorites include music and comedy.
If you plan to host a longer podcast (half an hour or more), feature interviews, news, and banter. If you are hosting a shorter daily podcast (2 to 5 minutes), feature short excerpts from your book, blog posts, or seminars.
Key Tips on Hosting a Podcast
And here are a few tips from a podcast host with over a million daily listeners:
Be a first mover. Find a unique topic and/or format, and build excitement for it.
Syndicate your content everywhere you can.
Note: Some podcasts have a collective audience larger than many cable news or opinion shows.
Host a show every day (5 days a week) for the most impact.
Subscribe for one year to get the complete course on using Substack for your email newsletters, podcast syndication, content delivery system, and membership portal.
Podcasts Are Hot, Hot, Hot!