PodMov Daily: Thursday, August 19

Episode 487: Your Thursday Podthoughts

Apple Podcasts’ Subscription Failure is Costing Creators

In-app subscriptions on Apple Podcasts had the potential to transform monetization options for across the industry. However, since its messy launch, the updated system has failed on a massive scale. Ashley Carman of The Verge has been tracking the extent of the damage from creators to executives.

“If Apple Podcasts doesn’t publish an episode for a day or two, a podcaster’s month could be ruined, both infuriating their paying subscribers and advertisers,” Carman says. Along with bugs and delays, a counterintuitive backend design comes with new labor costs that widen the accessibility gap for smaller publishers.

For example, creators have to download a spreadsheet to see subscriber data. “It’s frustrating because on Patreon, we can just go to a web browser interface and see our numbers,” says one indie manager. “It just seems overly complicated; why can’t you just put it on the internet?” So far, Apple has given zero answers.

Defined Design: Why Your Podcast’s Style Matters

Does your podcast have a style? “Not a genre or topic, like true crime, cryptocurrency, or politics,” writes Evo Terra in Podcast Pontifications. “I mean a style, design, artistic identity, or some other affectation you're striving for with each of your podcast’s episodes.” This is brand identity outside of content.

“Many podcast listeners have a preference for style, and we don’t talk about it much in podcasting,” Terra says. Like tone, style is hard to define. It should make a podcast stand out while recalling a particular spirit or mood. (Consider a true crime show in the style of 1940s film noir versus the style of “Dateline.”)

Though style is largely captured within the audio, it’s supported by a consistent brand identity. For The Podcast Host, Tae Haahr recently wrote a thorough guide to the connection between branding and target audience. Meanwhile, Terra suggests reaching out to creators with similar styles to share techniques.

Podcasts & Streaming Audio: 4 Tips for Campaign Measurement

With the number of connected devices and channels for consumers, the true impact of podcast and streaming advertising on engagement and conversions can be difficult to measure with accuracy. The solution is to leverage the “right” identity graph, defined by four powerful capabilities.

First, it uses the highest quality data with the most breadth across consumer demographics and behaviors. Second, rigorous control group development creates audiences that mirror exposed audiences in every measurable way. Third, it captures key online and offline channel data for an accurate, scalable view of cross-device and cross-environment behaviors. Finally, insights available in near-real time enable in-flight optimization.

To learn more about the Claritas Identity Graph or how the company helps marketers measure podcast and streaming audio advertising more effectively, visit the website or request to speak to an expert today.

Here's what else is going on:

• Mind magnet: This week’s episode of The Pod Lab is about hooking listeners right off the bat. Lore creator Aaron Mahnke stops by to answer an essential question: How can you improve the opening of a narrative episode? Plus, a quick dive into atmospheric sound effects. A PM original series.

• Let’s begin: A pre-interview is “an amazing resource” with an intentional process, writes journalist Aparita Bhandari for Pacific Content. “First of all, you very quickly understand whether the person is, in fact, a good guest, or — as they are often called in the industry parlance — a talker.”

• Get paid: AIR Media’s Day Rate Calculator is designed to help independent audio producers find a realistic number based on projected salary. It’s easy to leave out important factors, “particularly when estimating fair costs for feature stories and other work typically paid by the project.”

• Stream on: The podcast version of Podnews is now auto-published to YouTube. (Here’s why.) As for how, editor James Cridland breaks down his process. Even if coding’s not your thing, his approach to standardization may resonate: “Spend your time on creative stuff, not button pressing.”