Apple Podcasts is the "grand-daddy" of all podcast distribution outlets. 80%+ of podcasts are discovered in Apple Podcasts. Almost every "podchaser" platform in existence somehow links to Apple Podcasts as well as individual RSS feeds.

If you are not listed on Apple Podcasts (formerly iTunes), you are missing out on a HUGE market of possible listeners!

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We have been talking about some of the ways podcasters used to use to increase their download numbers. Unethical ways. Methods that have mostly been done away with in actual numbers counting.

But you still may hear of these methods by some unscrupulous people that will try to manipulate and beat the system.

The IAB has implemented a series of changes that have become the industry standard in counting downloads. This is to bring almost every podcast hosting platform into compliance with industry accepted standards. This was to level the playing (and reporting) field to advertisers across the industry.

In our last episode, I covered the first two unethical ways that some podcasters have tried to beat the system. Stay away from those methods.

Trying to change your URL feed and trying to spam your social media accounts may give you a few more downloads, but the loss of reputation will far exceed the few additional downloads you will receive.

In addition, every download now indicates 60 seconds or more of listening time. So just because someone has received your file into their iTunes (or Apple Podcasts) account does not mean they listened to the file – and will not be counted as a download.

Today, I will give you two more methods to stay away from:

3. DO NOT set your online player to "auto-play!"

Youtube is an example of what I mean by auto-play.

Many people who see something "automatically" begin to download will stop it. Some will click off of the page altogether (and may not ever come back). I've seen some podcasters load a player to every page of their website (and set them all to "auto-play)!

Why do they do this?

All in an effort to get "one more download." 

The new IAB rules will not count any of these efforts unless the visitor to your website listens for at least 60 seconds. So all you are really doing is “spamming” a visitor who is trying to find out some additional information on you, your podcast or your website and services.

DO NOT USE THIS METHOD!

4. Trying to increase download numbers by increasing the publication frequency!

Every episode published could increase your downloads exponentially (according to the number of subscribers you have).

For example, if you have 100 subscribers and publish 4 episodes per month, that is 400 downloads (assuming they all listen to every episodes for at least 60 seconds).

Now, if your increase your publication schedule to 5 days per week, that would mean 2000 downloads per month! WOW! That is awesome, right?

WRONG!

Statistics prove the shorter your podcast, the more listeners you will have.

If you increase the number of published episodes each week, your potential listeners have to dedicate more of their time to try and listen. You may end up losing listeners in the process! All why increasing your workload!

Instead, nurture your existing subscribers to share the episode link with THEIR followers. Let others do the work and you can see small, but steady increase in downloads!

Join me next time as we go over a few ways (ethically) you can use to see an increase in your download statistics.

Be sure to subscribe to this series so you will be notified when a new question is answered. If you have any questions about podcasting, visit my website at www.podcast-training.com and use the contact form to "Ask Bob!"

If you would like to watch the video I made for this episode, you can view it on YouTube at this link: https://youtu.be/aPxO6Hgt9LU

In the last episode, I covered some of the information on the Interactive Advertising Bureau and how the IAB has instituted guidelines for podcasters in relation to their download reporting.

These methods have been widely accepted by many podcast hosting platforms and incorporated, basically industry wide. You would heed well to adhere with the standards if you want to be a podcaster of excellence.

In order to accomplish that, here are some unscrupulous methods that some podcasters used to find popular in an attempt to increase their downloads.

Here is my list of ways you should not use to increase your podcast downloads

1. DO NOT try to update your podcast feed from http to https all at once.

Yes, this is a nice thing to do to update your security protocol. But if you do so for all of your episodes, you will "spam" load every single episode into your subscribers feeds as a new download! The RSS Feed recognizes the URL as "new" (because of that added "s") and will send it out to every single one of your subscribers!

This could cause many of them to cancel their subscription to your show!

2. DO NOT spam your social media platforms many, many times per day in an effort to promote your podcast or your episodes!

Although social media is a great way to promote your podcast, only a few times per day on each of your platforms should be used.

If you are posting 10-15 or 20 times (or more) per day on each platform, you will be considered a "spammer" and may lose followers / subscribers in the process. You may get banned from the platform! DO NOT USE THOSE METHODS!

DO NOT USE THOSE METHODS!

In the next episode, I will cover a few more methods you SHOULD NOT USE before I get into some tried and proven methods you can use!

Please subscribe to this series so you will be notified when a new question has been answered. If you have a question about podcasting, be sure to "Ask Bob" by going to my website at www.podcast-training.com and use the contact form!

If you would like to watch the video I created for this episode, it is available on YouTube at this link: https://youtu.be/Rp8uTR9C9Jo