Podcast Summary

Grow The Show
Host: Kev Michael
Episode 245 | Interviews Don’t Grow Your Podcast… Unless You Do This
Release Date: November 18, 2025

Episode Overview

Kev Michael tackles a long-held belief in the podcasting world: that guest interviews will automatically grow your show. Drawing from years of analytics and his experience coaching over 500 creators, Kev offers data-backed insights on why the “interviews equal growth” theory often fails—especially on audio platforms—and what you must change to make interviews actually boost your reach, particularly on YouTube. This episode revises Kev’s earlier advice, ultimately showing how to balance interviews and solo episodes for maximum growth.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Challenging the Interview-Driven Growth Myth

• Kev describes a common frustration: “Why is it then that when you've featured guests on your podcast, it hasn’t really grown your show?” (02:12)
• Highlights a familiar show format: lengthy interviews that retread guests’ backgrounds, yielding little listener engagement or growth.

2. Comparing Solo Episodes vs. Interviews on Audio Platforms

• Findings from 2021–2024:
  • Solo episodes consistently outperformed guest interviews on audio platforms (Spotify, Apple) in terms of listener retention (completion rate), show sharing, download numbers, and revenue from sales.
  • Example: “If you published solo podcast episodes, your show did better, people listened to your episodes longer, your show got shared more…and overall, you got more downloads.” (03:36)
• Kev's coaching historically emphasized: shift focus away from interviews and toward value-driven solo content.

3. A Surprising Contrast: The Power of Interviews on YouTube

• Upon reviewing YouTube analytics for his clients, Kev found the opposite: interview episodes often achieve higher view counts and substantially longer average view durations and total watch time.
• Key YouTube growth metrics discussed (05:13):
  • Click-through rate
  • Average view duration
  • Watch time
  • 30-second retention rate
• Insight: “Guest episodes got much higher average view durations and way higher watch times. And that is the ticket.” (06:13)

4. The Mechanics Behind Interview Success on YouTube

• Many viewers treat long-form interviews like background content, allowing videos to run for extended periods—dramatically increasing watch time.
• “When people consume long form interviews, a lot of people will put the video on and then go do something else while the video’s on in the background…YouTube counts all of that time.” (07:19)
• Example: Kev’s recent YouTube guest interview saw a 14-minute average view duration (vs. his channel’s usual 5 minutes) and close to 300 hours of watch time within 24 hours—substantially outperforming solo episodes.

5. Where Most Podcasters Go Wrong: Packaging & Presentation

• High view durations only matter if people click on your videos in the first place.
• If your click-through rate (CTR) is below 3%, YouTube won’t show your videos—regardless of content quality.
  • “If your numbers are below 3%, YouTube is not going to show your videos to people. It means that people are not clicking on your videos.” (08:46)
• Cause: Uninspired titles, dull thumbnails, or interviews packaged around too broad a topic.

Actionable Strategies for Growing with Interviews (Especially on YouTube)

1. Package Interviews for Clickability

• Invest time in crafting compelling thumbnails and titles.
  • “Learn how to package those interviews in a way that gets people to click.” (10:40)
• Frame each interview around one specific topic rather than a guest’s generic background.

2. Optimize for YouTube’s Core Metrics

• Focus efforts on:
  • Improving click-through rate (above 3%)
  • Maximizing watch time and average view duration by encouraging longer viewing (especially for interviews)

3. Find the Right Balance

• Kev’s new stance: The best-performing podcasts blend both formats.
  • “The best shows have a little bit of both. They've got guest episodes that are well packaged so people actually click on the episodes. And they also have solo episodes as well because those generate more sales.” (11:20)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the podcasting misconception:
  • “I speak with podcasters who are perplexed as to why their show isn’t growing despite the fact that they have had amazing guests on their show... what gives?” (02:14)
• On YouTube’s priorities:
  • “YouTube’s sole goal is to keep people on YouTube. They want to keep people watching YouTube.” (09:48)
• On packaging importance:
  • “You know how good that interview was, but you did not successfully get strangers to want to listen to it.” (09:14)
• Kev’s actionable summary:
  • “I am revising what I’ve been saying for years. I used to say that if you want your podcast to grow, you should focus on solo episodes. Now I am discovering that really the best shows have a little bit of both.” (11:16)

Important Timestamps

• 02:03 – Introduction: The “do interviews grow your podcast?” question
• 03:36 – Data: Solo episodes vs. interviews on audio
• 05:13 – YouTube analytics: Metrics to focus on
• 07:19 – Why interviews perform well on YouTube (background viewing)
• 08:46 – The fatal flaw: poor click-through rates
• 09:48 – How YouTube decides which videos to show
• 10:40 – How to package interviews for success
• 11:16 – Kev’s revised advice: balance solo and guest episodes

Takeaways

• Interviews alone don’t guarantee growth—especially on audio platforms.
• On YouTube, interviews can drive growth—if you optimize for packaging and core metrics (CTR and watch time).
• Best practice: Balance well-packaged guest interviews (for reach) with solo episodes (for sales).
• Always analyze your data and iterate your approach.

For more, follow Kev Michael and Grow The Show wherever you get your podcasts.