Happy #InternationalPodcastDay!

The brilliant @PodcastDay team have some great things happening today but I wanted to give some personal reflections on what #podcasting has done for me personally since I launched my personal podcast on this day eight years ago...

First... I found podcasting about a decade ago when I was looking for a passion project in the geek culture space; @GarryAylott suggested we do a podcast to run alongside our blog, "Two Shots to the Head" - I was hooked from the first episode but didn't know ANYTHING.

I became obsessed!

I truly believe that @CaptivateAudio is the #podcasting platform of choice for the serious independent podcaster looking to grow and monetise their audio influence.

There's clear space between what we do and what other hosts do and... ...rather than reskin old stuff & brand it as "innovation" or implement free podcasting tactics to pat ourselves on the back for investors, we actually choose to push the boundaries of what a podcast management system should be & do our best to lead from the front.

That's why...

To celebrate 2 years since Captivate launched in beta, we're live with our annual "Ready, Set, Grow!" podcast education summit on Weds!

3 hours of podcast education from 3 of the world's brightest experts, PLUS a huge new @CaptivateAudio feature reveal! Our first expert education session is from @JamesMarriott and he's educating on a KILLER podcast launch strategy and the mistakes to avoid.

Do not miss this if you're launching a new show this year!

Next...

How to grow your podcast by being a human - three big ideas you can use right now.

👇👇

#podcast #podcasting We can't ask listeners to make us their number one, must-listen-to podcast choice without giving them a reason to do so.

In fact, podcasters like you and I fall into a trap of expecting listeners to do too much for us as soon as they've begun to listen to our podcast.

1/ Produce fewer #podcast episodes but grow your audience faster (with a framework to copy).

Cumulative downloads = the total number of downloads that your entire show has had for the period across all episodes.

Aka "the biggest number". 2/ As a marketer and software company founder, the biggest number is the one you keep an eye on and tell your mates about, but it's not the one that you focus on.

🌱 Podcast growth mistakes & their fixes, a thread.

I'm very lucky to be able to work in podcasting every day with @CaptivateAudio, helping thousands of podcasters via our community.

These are the top 5 mistakes I see podcasters making when trying to grow a show.

#podcasting 1. Putting too much focus on producing more content.

So many "gurus" teach that cumulative monthly downloads is the number to worry about and so, they teach "publish more".

Fix: get better at producing *quality* content that stands out (thanks @amahnke for this inspiration).

Being an “entrepreneur”: a thread.

First up, that term has become so overused by internet “gurus” that it’s desensitising. In fact, in my experience 90% of people who call themselves entrepreneurs are more worried about the tag than doing the work. The remaining 10% just do it. They aren’t worried about the title, they’re worried about creating, talking to and learning from people and being curious enough, tenacious enough and gracious enough to keep growing.

Most are simply doing what they love but don’t mistake that for not working hard.