1、A STUDY BYHow podcasters spend their time,develop content and work with PRThe State of Podcasting20211In this report,we seek to answer:Where do podcasters focus their time and efforts?1How do podcasters develop content and book guests?2How do podcasters measure success?3What are their platforms and

2、social channels of choice?4How do podcasters prefer to be pitched?52About this surveyLocation:70%US 12%UK 5%Australia 4%Canada 9%OtherOrganization type:Independent:62%Backed by a media company:26%Backed by an organization that isnt a media company:17%Other:3%We surveyed 594 professional podcasters f

3、rom August 30th to October 4th,2021 Experience:3-5 years:36%6-10 years:22%1-2 years:19%10-20 years 15%Under 1 year:6%3Industries covered:On average,each respondent selected 3 industries that they cover in their podcast.These include:13%TV and film13%energy and environment13%sports11%kids and family1

4、0%comedy10%religion and spirituality8%fiction/drama8%food and dining7%true crime7%leisure(games/hobbies/home and garden)3%travel31%society and culture30%business/finance22%education22%arts19%health,wellness and fitness 19%technology 19%government/politics17%history17%science17%news commentary15%musi

5、c/entertainment15%otherProfile of a podcaster:where they focus their time and effort41On average,respondents cover 5 different roles at once.These include hosting(76%),writing/editing(63%),producing(62%),promotions/marketing(60%)and booking guests(58%).Podcasters wear multiple hatsShowhost0%20%40%60

6、%80%Writer/editorExec.producerPromos/market.BookingguestsAudio engineer/editingMisc.admin.VoiceoversGraphicdesignReport onsuccess76%63%62%60%58%52%46%39%27%27%What are your responsibilities for the podcast(s)you work on?(Select all that apply)5Just over half of respondents are working on multiple po

7、dcasts at the time of this survey,with 30%working on three or more podcasts at once.52%work on two or more podcastsOne0%15%30%45%60%48%How many podcasts do you work on currently?22%30%TwoThree or more637%of respondents are working full-time on podcasts.Of the remaining 64%that are part-time podcast

8、workers,18%are full-time journalists.64%are part-time podcastersFull time on podcasts0%15%30%45%60%37%Which of the following best describes you?18%46%Full time as a journalistNot a journalist7How did you get into podcasting?(Select all that apply)Started your own0%15%30%45%60%Offshoot of a previous

9、podcastHired by a media company to start a podcastJoined an existing podcast teamOther(please specify)5%12%20%12%75%68%started their own podcast8Over half of respondents have less than 10,000 listeners.Just 8%of respondents have 1 million or more listeners.Most respondents have less than 10K listene

10、rs10K or fewer0%15%30%45%10K-50K50K-100K100K-300K300K-1M21%9%6%4%60%1M+8%51%Approximately how many listeners do you have?9Creating content and booking guests102Over 80%of respondents are responsible for sourcing their own ideas for new episodes.Current events in news,media and culture(61%)are the le

11、ading source of inspiration,followed by ongoing areas of research/study(41%).About 28%rely on the topics introduced to them through pitches.Over 80%are responsible for sourcing original contentCurrent events,news,media or culture0%20%40%60%Part of ongoing areasof research/studyAudience requestsVia p

12、ersonalnetwork/friendliesRandom fascinationsPast events in news,media or cultureTopics introducedvia pitchesSomeone else on myteam identifies topicsAssigned by editor/publication/companyOther(please specify)61%41%41%37%32%32%28%19%13%11%Where do you look for your next episode ideas?(Select all that

13、apply)11How often does your podcast feature guests?Often0%15%30%45%60%75%Sometimes16%Rarely8%Never7%69%The majority of podcasts feature guests often1280%of respondents are responsible for booking their own guestsHow do you book guests?(Select all that apply)I book guests0%15%30%45%60%75%Someone on m

14、y team books guests39%An external agency books guests2%80%80%of respondents are responsible for booking their own guests90%13In addition to podcasting,the most popular channels where respondents create content are social media(73%)and websites(60%).Many respondents are using multiple channels to acc

15、ompany their podcast.YouTube was a popular channel in the Other category.Most create social media content to accompany their podcastSocial media0%20%40%60%80%WebsiteBlogNewsletterRadioOnline newsPrintOther(pleasespecify)TVForums73%60%40%37%21%16%14%14%9%6%Other than podcasting,on what other channels

16、 do you produce content?1466%of respondents are not offering paid content.Of the 34%that are,exclusive or bonus episodes are the most popular.In the Other category,a few said they offer product discounts,listener shoutouts,exclusive merchandise and/or ad-free content to paid subscribers.66%do not cu

17、rrently offer paid contentN/A(we dontoffer premiumcontent)0%20%40%60%Exclusive/bonus episodesBehind thescenes contentQ&As,AMAs orprivate eventsEarly release ofnew episodes22%14%13%10%80%Other(specify)8%66%What types of premium content do you provide paid subscribers?15Most podcasters are posting new

18、 episodes once a week(48%).Of the remaining respondents,24%are posting more than once a week,and 25%are publishing less.48%publish new episodes weeklyOnce a week0%10%20%30%40%48%Every other weekEvery dayTwice a weekMonthly16%13%11%6%50%How often do you publish new episodes?16Measurement and monetiza

19、tion173Creating revenue is a lower priority in terms of goals for survey respondents,with most podcasters focusing on awareness and education(42%),or enjoyment and passion(28%).Driving awareness and pursuing a passion are top reasons for podcastingAwareness/education0%10%20%30%40%42%Enjoyment./passi

20、onRevenueOther(please specify)28%22%7%50%What is your top goal for podcasting?18Downloads are the leading metric among podcasters(78%),following by listeners,streams,or starts(46%).While revenue was previously stated as low priority in terms of goals(22%),it is commonly used as a benchmark for succe

21、ss by respondents(37%).Paid subscribers,podcast mailing list subscriptions and favorites were the least cited measurements of podcast success.78%use downloads to measure successDownloads0%20%40%60%80%Listeners,streams,or startsSocial media shares/engagementTotal timespent listeningTotal subscribersR

22、evenuePodcast rankings,ratings or reviewsWebsite trafficPaid subscribersPodcast mailinglist subscriptionOther(please specify)78%46%42%42%37%37%36%28%14%11%11%How do you measure success when it comes to podcasting?(Select all that apply)Favorites7%19Apple is the clear leader for audience streams(75%)

23、,with Spotify as the next popular platform(10%).Interestingly,a number of respondents who selected Other(10%)said they did not know which platform accounted for most of their streams.75%say Apple accounts for most of their streamsApple0%20%40%60%Other(please specify)SpotifyPodbeanGooglePodcasts10%10

24、%1%1%80%iHeart Radio1%75%Which of the following platformsaccounts for most of your streams?2073%of respondents are monetizing their podcasts.Ads are the most popular method to do this,with 52%using ads.Paid subscriptions(e.g.Patreon)was the next most popular method.Sponsorships,donations and merchan

25、dise were popular under Other.Ads are the most popular method of monetizationWe dontmonetize our podcast0%15%30%45%AdsPaidSubscriptions(e.g.Patreon)Other(please specify)Premiumcontent52%26%21%12%60%Paid guests4%27%In what other ways do you monetize your podcast?(select all that apply)21Publishing pl

26、atforms and social channels224While Libsyn leads for most popular publishing platform(26%)in our survey,results were widely distributed among platforms.Among the 34%who selected Other,Acast,Omny and Blubrry were popular choices.There is a lot of variation between preferred publishing platformsLibsyn

27、0%10%20%30%40%MegaphonePodBeanAnchorSoundCloudBuzzsproutSimpleCastSpreakerCaptivateTransistorOther(please specify)26%12%11%11%9%8%8%6%3%3%34%Which podcast publishing platform(s)do you use?(Select all that apply)23Respondents use a variety of channels to promote their podcasts to their audiences.Blog

28、s or websites remain the most popular option(76%),with over three quarters choosing this option.Social media channels such as Twitter(68%),Facebook(63%)and Instagram(57%)are the next most popular channels.Blog/website,followed by social are the most common channels for cross-promotionWhere do you cr

29、oss-post your podcast episodes or clips?0%20%40%60%80%Blog orwebsite76%Twitter68%Facebook63%Instagram57%Emailnewsletter46%YouTube44%LinkedIn38%Other21%24Twitter is the leading channel where podcast hosts reach their followers(41%).Facebook(19%),Instagram(18%)and LinkedIn(12%)were the next most popul

30、ar.Podcast hosts reach the most followers on TwitterTwitter0%10%20%30%40%41%FacebookInstagramLinkedIn19%18%12%50%Which platform(if any)does your host or hosts have the biggest following?25Pitching preferences52683%receive pitches for people to be on their showNo17%Yes83%Do you receive pitches for pe

31、ople to be on your show(s)?27The most common reasons why podcasters reject pitches are a lack of personalization(47%)or bad timing(42%).In the Other category(40%),a number of respondents said lack of relevant pitches is indeed an issue.Others listed repetitive content,lack of value to the listener a

32、nd inauthenticity as additional reasons why they would reject a pitch.Personalization,timing and relevance mattera lotWhy do you immediately reject otherwise relevant pitches?50%Lack ofpersonalization0%10%20%30%Bad timingOther(please specify)Too lengthyConfusing subject line42%40%14%14%40%Largeattac

33、hments3%47%28Most podcasters prefer not to be pitched via phone(65%)or mass email(58%).Twitter or other social networks were also channels respondents preferred not to be pitched on,with around 1/3 selecting these options.For most podcasters,steer clear of phone and mass email pitchesOn which channe

34、ls do you not like to be pitched?(Select all that apply)75%1:1 email0%15%30%45%Mass email/newswirePhoneTwitterOther social networks(e.g.Facebook,LinkedIn)58%65%34%34%60%Other(please specify)6%15%29The majority of podcasters prefer to be pitched in a direct,personal email(91%).Some indicated that soc

35、ial media channels were also acceptable for pitching.1:1 email is preferred for pitching1:1 email0%25%50%75%91%TwitterLinkedInOther social media networks(e.g.Facebook,Instagram)22%19%18%100%How do you prefer to be pitched?30Around 100-200 words is the most popular email length when receiving a pitch

36、,with over 50%of podcasters preferring this length.About 20%prefer their pitches even shorter at less than 100 words,and another 20%prefer the length of 201-300 words.Longer emails over 300 words were unpopular.Short and sweet is the preferred email pitch length100 words0%10%20%30%40%20%100-200 word

37、s201-300 words301-1000 words1000+words53%20%7%1%50%What email length do you prefer when receiving a pitch?60%3173%had no preference on the best day of the week to be pitchedbut out of those who did,early in the week was betterOn what day of the week do you prefer to receive pitches?0%20%40%60%80%SUN

38、2%MON11%TUES8%WED4%THU2%FRI1%SAT1%No preference73%On what day of the week do you prefer to receive pitches?0%5%10%15%20%SUN2%MON11%TUES8%WED4%THU2%FRI1%SAT1%32Podcasters strongly prefer that PR pros research their brand and content before getting in touch with themover 90%of respondents indicated th

39、is.Listening to multiple episodes of the podcast was the most common advice(46%suggested this).More than 90%want PR pros to be familiar with their show before pitchingWhat research should someone do before pitching you?50%Listen toone episode0%10%20%30%Listen to multipleepisodesReview social mediapr

40、esenceReview yourwebsite/content from your other channelsI dont expect people to research me46%3%15%2%40%Other(please specify)7%26%331.Reach them with 1:1 email.Be direct,succinct and personalized in your outreachpodcasters are busy!2.Get familiar with the podcast before you pitch.Podcasters are pas

41、sionate about their content,and they expect PR pros to do their homework.3.Timing is everything.In addition to relevant pitches,podcasters look for timeliness as many source content from current events.4.Show your value.Why should a podcaster consider your pitch?Make your value clear to stand out from the rest.4 tips to build strong relationships with podcasters34