How Many Podcast Downloads Do You Actually Need to Keep Going?

What is Your Rock Bottom Podcast Downloads Number?

Everybody talks about growing their audience. Nobody talks about the number where they'd quietly give up.

This month's Question of the Month flips the growth conversation on its head: what's the smallest number of downloads that would keep you making your show — and if you dropped below it, would you quit, or try to fix it? The answers from School of Podcasting listeners are surprisingly close... and my answer might not be a number at all.

Also in this episode: a guest-pitch so bad it somehow involves a U-Haul dealership, and a heads-up on a booking-platform trick you'll want to know before you pitch yourself as a guest anywhere.

In this episode

This month's Question of the Month: what's your download floor?Steve Stewart says he'd think about quitting under 25 downloads an episode — but here's why he probably wouldn'tFrank Bravo is already running on "10s" of downloads, and explains why that number doesn't bother himRalph Estep Jr. went from 20 downloads to over 1,000 — but what actually keeps him going isn't the numberDave's answer: which of his 30+ podcasts he let die, which ones he kept, and why it's rarely about the download countThe 6-episode survey test — how to know if it's time to change your show or just accept where it's atScott Johnson (What Was That Like) shares the worst guest pitch he's ever receivedA warning about how some guests are gaming booking platforms like PodMatch — and how to vet who you let on your show

Links mentioned

School of Podcasting — use code LISTENER for a discount on monthly, quarterly, or yearly plansPodPage — this episode's sponsorSteve Stewart — Podcast Editor Academy / Podcast Editors MastermindFrank Bravo — Your Tech MakeoverRalph Estep Jr. — ralphestepjr.com / new show: Becoming Financially Confident (launching Aug 31)Scott Johnson — What Was That LikeYork - Welcome to Earth StoriesPodMatchPodcastGuest.comPitch a PodcastBuilding a Better DaveMarketing MusicianWeekly Web ToolsNew To Cooking

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Mentioned in this episode:

Live Appearances

I loved connecting with my audience. Here are the next events I will be at: November 11: Podindy.com (use the coupon code SOP) February 23-26, 2027: National Religious Broadcasters nrb.org I'd love to speak at your event. Go to schoolofpodcasting.com/contact

Where Will I Be?

Question of the Month: Constructive and Deconstructive Feedback

This month we are talking feefdback. What is the most constructive or deconstructive (or both) piece of feedback you've received. If you haven't asked for feedback, why not? I need your answer by September 25th (late entries won't be accepted) go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/question and be sure to mention your show and your website address so I can link to it in the show notes.

Question of the Month

Podpage Email Alerts

Podpage just launched a feature called Episode Alerts. It automatically emails your subscribers the moment a new episode goes live — no third-party email tool needed. When you publish, Podpage sends the email, links listeners straight to the episode, routes replies to your own inbox, and handles unsubscribes automatically. They also run every email address through validation and monitor bounces/spam complaints to protect your sender reputation. It's not meant to replace a full newsletter platform — no drip campaigns or segmentation — just a simple "hey, new episode's up" notification. It's available for Pro and Elite users, with monthly sending caps of 500 emails on Pro and 5,000 on Elite. For more information see https://www.podpage.com/updates/introducing-episode-alerts/

Podpage

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