Do not cast your pods before swine

If you are reading this blog, there is a 99% chance that you have a smartphone. And, there is a 99% chance that you have AT LEAST ONE podcast loaded into your smartphone.

There is another amazing statistic: if you are an avid podcast listener, you have probably thought to yourself: I should make a podcast!

And maybe, just maybe, you have already made the leap to do so.

A common question is "how many podcasts are there?" Most of the data out there is outdated, but we have an accurate method of determining the number of shows, and it's currently over 660,000.

Let's say that again: there are over 660,000 podcasts - and growing rapidly each week. 

There are over 32 million episodes as of February 2019. Here are some cool statistics:

• 60% of all homes are podcast fans
• 70% of the US population is familiar with the term "podcasting" - up from 64% in 2018
• 51% (144 million) of the US population has listened to a podcast - up from 44% in 2018
• 45% of monthly podcast listeners have a household income of over $75K
• 27% of US podcast listeners have a 4-year college degree vs. 19% for US population
• 49% of podcast listening is done at home, 22% listen while driving
• 80% listen to all or most of each podcast episode
• 19% listeners increase the speed (listen faster)
• 65% of monthly podcast listeners have been listening for less than 3 years
• 69% agreed that podcast ads made them aware of new products or services
• Podcast listeners are more likely to subscribe to Netflix or Amazon Prime
• Podcast listeners listen to an average of 7 different shows per week, up from 5 in 2018
• Comedy is the most popular podcasting genre, followed by education and news

https://jamesaltucher.com/podcasts/

The term "podcast" is derived from the media player, "iPod" developed by Apple, and the term "broadcast" the traditional means of receiving information and leisure content on the radio or television. When the two words were merged, the terms podcast, or podcaster and the "art of podcasting" were born. 

A few years ago, I met Adam Carolla at an NYDLA event. I was fascinated by his story of how he got into podcasting - and how he became the most downloaded podcast in the world. We offered Adam's podcasting class for free to all NYDLA members. 

In today's business world, you would never consider NOT having a website. Well, very soon (today?) not having a podcast is going down the same path. Mark my words, it will soon become impossible to "not" have a podcast for your business, your brand or your body of work. 

As stated above, Comedy is the most popular podcasting genre, followed by education and news. 

I think that (over time) education shall take over the #1 spot.

I also think that the term "podcaster" shall become synonymous with teacher, trainer or coach. And that's no joke. 

Check out our latest NEIGH-DLAH cast 

with Peter Onorati here