Grow The Show Podcast – Episode 246

Title: 3 Reasons Your Podcast Is Doing Better Than You Think
Host: Kev Michael (Kevin Schmidlin)
Date: November 25, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Kevin Schmidlin addresses a common pain point for podcasters at all levels: feeling “stuck” or frustrated with their show’s growth. Drawing from conversations with everyone from podcasting newcomers to 15-year veterans, Kevin explains why most creators are doing better than they think. He unpacks three unique realities of podcast growth that often lead to discouragement, and reframes these so podcasters can better measure progress and maintain motivation.

Kevin’s tone is candid, relatable, and supportive, aiming to offer hard truths alongside reassurance: podcasting is different, growth is invisible, and comparisons are almost always misleading. This episode is less tactical and more about shifting mindset for long-term creators.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Private Metrics: Podcasting’s Hidden Numbers (02:32)

• Podcast download stats are private, unlike public-facing metrics on YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok.
  • YouTubers and Instagrammers benefit from visible subscriber/follower counts; podcasters only see their own download numbers.
• This leads to false comparisons—creators assume others are outperforming them based on perception, not data.
• Even big-name podcasters face similar frustrations and reach out to Kevin feeling “stuck.”
• Quote:

  “You think that other podcasts have way more downloads than they actually do, and you think that your show is the only one that only has 50 or 100 or sometimes even a thousand.” (09:32; Kevin)

Example:

• Podcaster feels bad with “only” 1,000 downloads/episode, not realizing that’s the “upper echelon” of podcasting (12:03).
• On podcast guesting:
  • Many end up on shows with tiny listenerships; one guesting “tour” of 30 shows reached just 2,000 total listeners.
  • “If you spent 30 hours, you could get on a show that has 200,000 listeners.” (14:23)

2. Growth Isn’t Cumulative (17:45)

• Podcast audience growth doesn’t display the way it does on other platforms.
  • YouTube, Instagram, or email show cumulative growth (subscriber/follower count) over time.
  • With podcasts, you only see the downloads for your most recent episode—not your total lifetime reach.
• Download numbers don’t reflect the accumulation of fans over months or years.
  • A show with 2,000 downloads/episode for a year may actually have reached 15,000 unique individuals.
• Quote:

  “Your total audience is hidden. The amount of people that you have cumulatively reached over the course of your podcast, you. You cannot see, but they are still there.” (24:20; Kevin)

Cumulative Reach vs. Point-in-Time Numbers

• Many long-running podcasters feel “stuck” at the same download count, not realizing these are different listeners over time, not the same fixed group (20:45).

3. Podcast Listening Behavior is Unique (28:21)

• Podcast listeners’ behavior differs sharply from that of audiences on social or video platforms.
  • Audio is a “companion medium”—consumed while doing other things, with set, limited hours per week.
  • Demand for podcasting time has not increased; in fact, it has likely dropped post-COVID as commutes have decreased.
  • Supply (and quality) of podcasts has grown, while competition is fiercer than ever.
• Listeners rotate through shows; rarely will all subscribers listen to every episode, every time.
  • “If you get 2,000 downloads per episode, your audience is probably something like around 20,000 people. But you can’t see that.” (40:12)
• Quote:

  “Podcast listenership is an extremely companion medium. It is weirdly specific when people listen. … There’s only so much shelf space that a listener has for what shows to listen to.” (30:17; Kevin)

Implications:

• Don’t measure your show’s value solely by the download count on the latest episode.
  • 10-20% of your broader audience may tune in to any given episode.
• “A podcast listener is the most valuable because your podcast listeners connect to you more so than any other platform. ... But it is the hardest fought one.” (47:01)

Actionable Takeaway: Track Total Audience (50:44)

• Adopt a “Total Audience Growth” approach: Track your combined audience across all platforms (downloads, YouTube, email, social).
  • This offers a more accurate picture of your progress and momentum.
  • Kevin’s “Total Audience Growth Tracker” (spreadsheet for Grow The Show Academy) tallies podcast downloads, social followers, YouTube subs, newsletter subs, etc. for a holistic view.
• Many creators’ downloads may plateau, but their net audience (across all channels) grows 10-20% monthly (53:12).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Comparisons:

  “If everybody knew that these people were struggling…they would feel way less bad about where they’re at.” (03:43)

• On Podcasting’s Tough Metrics:

  “When you measure your success by downloads…you are measuring success only by how many downloads your last episode got. …It does not take into account all of the work that you have done.” (22:19)

• On the Competition:

  “There are tons of podcasters who were really successful in 2018…those people are searching for the old days when…they didn’t have to put a lot of effort in and they got tons and tons of attention. The landscape has changed. That doesn’t work anymore.” (45:12)

• On Mindset:

  “It’s going to be a lot easier to change your mindset than it will be to change these realities. So just keep that in mind: you’re doing better than you think. I promise you.” (56:26)

Timestamps for Key Moments

• 02:32 — Reality #1: Metrics are Private; why comparisons are flawed
• 13:50 — Story: Guesting on 30 podcasts with no real impact
• 17:30 — Reality #2: Podcast audience growth isn’t cumulative
• 22:40 — YouTube vs Podcast metrics comparison
• 28:21 — Reality #3: Unique podcast listening behavior
• 36:35 — Why listener demand hasn’t grown, but competition has
• 40:12 — How to interpret 2,000 downloads/episode vs total audience
• 47:01 — The high value and difficulty of podcast audience building
• 50:44 — The Total Audience Growth Tracker: why and how to use it
• 56:26 — Final takeaways and encouragement

Summary

Kevin Schmidlin reveals the under-appreciated truth: your podcast may be a greater success than the numbers alone suggest. The private nature of metrics, the non-cumulative view of audience, and the unique, limited listening behavior in the podcast world all conspire to make podcasters doubt themselves—yet most are making significant unseen progress.

By reframing goals and tracking all-around growth, podcasters can see themselves more clearly and stay energized for the long haul. Kevin’s encouragement centers on both mindset and method—track your total impact, trust the process, and know that if you’re creating consistently, you’re already ahead of the curve.

Host Contact:
Kevin Schmidlin | Grow The Show
For more strategies, resources, or to join the Grow the Show Academy, visit growtheshow.com.