One clear sign a podcast has real market fit

Organic podcast growth depends on genuine audience reaction, not vanity metrics. Cody Gough, Podcast Growth Strategist at NerdWallet, explains how to identify real market fit through authentic engagement signals. He reveals why unsolicited listener feedback indicates true value delivery and discusses how to distinguish between genuine fans and transactional outreach when measuring podcast success. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  The Martech Podcast is a proud member of the I Hear Everything Podcast Network. Looking to launch or scale your podcast? I Hear Everything delivers podcast production, growth, and monetization solutions that transform your words into profit. Ready to give your brand a voice? Then visit iHereEverything.com.

• 0:25Speaker 01

  From advertising to software as a service to data, across all of our programs and clients, we've seen a 55% to 65% open rate.

• 0:36Speaker 02

  Getting brands authentically integrated into content performs better than TV advertising.

• 0:42Speaker 03

  Typical lifespan of an article is about 24 to 36 hours.

• 0:46Speaker 01

  If we're reaching out to the right person with the right message and a clear call to action, then it's just a matter of timing.

• 0:53Speaker 00

  Welcome to the Martech Podcast, a member of the I Hear Everything Podcast Network. In this podcast, you'll hear the stories of world-class marketers that use technology to drive business results and achieve career success. Here's the host of the Martech Podcast, Benjamin Shapiro.

• 1:16Speaker 04

  I'm Benjamin Shapiro, and joining me today is Cody Goff, a podcast growth strategist who also works at NerdWallet, and a longtime operator who's scaled award-winning shows for major brands. And today, Cody's going to break down what actually drives sustainable, organic growth in podcasting. What's the one sign a podcast has real market fit?

• 1:39Speaker 05

  Getting a reaction. People got to react to it.

• 1:44Speaker 04

  That was my answer.

• 1:45Speaker 05

  Really?

• 1:45Speaker 04

  Social engagement. Yeah, absolutely. You know how you know when your podcast is actually working? When people tell you, "I listen to your podcast." Not just for like the vanity sake, but and it shows up on, for me, LinkedIn. "Hey, I listened to your podcast. I like this episode." And not somebody that's pitching, "Hey, I want my somebody to be on your show." But every once in a while, you'll get, dare I say, a fan who's like, "I listen to your content because it is valuable and interesting to me, not because I want to get a speaker on your show, or because I want you to attend my conference or be our speaker or anything like that." But you actually get people that are like, "This had value and I listened to it because I get something from it." To me, that's the sign it's working.

• 2:28Speaker 05

  Yeah. Yeah.

• 2:30Speaker 04

  All right, we agree.

• 2:32Speaker 05

  Yeah, nothing to add there.

• 2:33Speaker 04

  All right. Well, hey, let's land at an agreement. Cody, you're the best. You've been nothing but generous with your time. I've learned a tremendous amount from you about organic growth, about the space. Thank you so much for coming on and being my guest and being really, to me, a pillar of the industry and somebody that understands what podcasting is about. It's not just getting audio files into people's ears. There is a community here and to me, you're part of my tribe in this community. So thanks for coming on and being my guest.

• 3:04Speaker 05

  Anytime, I'm going to throw away the other six pages of notes I had on things I could have talked about. But thank you for having me.

• 3:10Speaker 04

  All right. Well, that wraps up this episode of the Martech Podcast. Thanks for listening to my conversation with Cody Goff, a podcast growth strategist. He also works at NerdWallet. If you'd like to contact Cody, you can find a link to his LinkedIn profile in our show notes or on martechpod.com. You can always visit his personal website, which is podcastgrowthconsultant.com. And if you haven't subscribed yet and you want a daily stream of marketing and technology knowledge in your podcast feed, click the subscribe button in your podcast app or on YouTube and we'll be back in your feed next week. All right, that's it for today, but until next time, my advice is to just focus on keeping your customers happy.

• 4:13Speaker 00

  Thanks for listening to the Martech Podcast and I Hear Everything production. Looking to launch or scale a podcast like this one for your brand? Then visit ihereverything.com.