Chris Hutchins discusses the unit economics and effectiveness of running paid ad campaigns to grow podcast listenership.
Assertion Partly supported
Hutchins: Apple Podcast charts reflect new subscriber momentum, not total download volume
“The ranking charts are all driven by different variables than you would imagine. They're driven a lot by momentum of new subscribers, at least on the Apple charts, than actual downloads.”
Assertion Supported
Hutchins: Andy Rachleff coined the term 'product market fit'
“If anyone listening to this wants to learn about product market fit, Andy is your guy. I believe he coined the term. He teaches the class at Stanford.”
Disclosure
Hutchins: Wealthfront's Autopilot boosted savings but failed as a growth engine
“And so we, what we found was it was a win in terms of it moved a lot of metrics for saving more money, increasing, you know, contributions and that kind of stuff, but it didn't become this growth channel. Which Andy would say product market fit is exponential …”
Insight
Hutchins: Creators without audiences must podcast for free indefinitely
“But if you don't already have a massive platform, it is unlikely statistically that this thing is going to work. So absolutely do not start the podcast if you wouldn't do it for free, making no amount of money in perpetuity or as long as you want to experiment…”
Insight
Hutchins: Podcasting lacks algorithmic distribution, making growth inherently slow
“There's no built-in distribution engine in podcasting. TikTok, you make a TikTok video, TikTok sends it to, like, a hundred people, and if no one likes it does, but if, like, a few people like it, they send it to more people, and more people, and YouTube does …”
Insight
Hutchins: Guesting on other podcasts is the best audience acquisition channel
“Finding other podcasts that you can go on as an expert in some area... Take that thing and go present yourself to other podcasts. And they all have listeners that are listening to podcasts. So like it's the best medium because yes, someone who likes short form…”