You need to publish 21 episodes to be in the top 1% of the world's podcasts

A few days ago the user CreativeHackers of the subreddit /Entrepeneur, posted a publication in which a series of tips (and very interesting figures) for those content creators who are thinking of launching a podcast, but think they are late to a market that is becoming increasingly saturated.

The response of this subreddit is summarized as "most people quit fast, and that's your competitive advantage".

How to reach the elite with 21 episodes

Citing a series of figures provided by Jack Butcher (head of the creative agency Visualising Value) on Chris Williamson's popular YouTube channel, CreativeHackers quantifies the real competition faced by an aspiring podcaster.

The first relevant fact is that there are around 2 million podcasts. The second interesting fact is that 90% of podcasts do not survive beyond their third episode. That means that there are 1.8 million that quit as soon as they start.

So, the top 10% of the world's most successful podcasts is made up of 200,000 of them... of which 90% of them will also be dead by the time they have reached episode 20.

And so, we come to the elite: that 1% made up of 20,000 podcasts that make it to episode 21. So Creative Hackers sends a message of encouragement to those podcasters who are trying to stand out in their industry:

"Your competition is not the 2 million podcasters. It's the 20,000 podcasters who didn't give up."

Not to mention that CreativeHackers says nothing about the fact that no one really competes against all other successful podcasters, only against those that address similar topics and niches, and using the same language. To give an example, a Spanish-language podcast about sports does not compete against another English-language, financial-themed podcast.

The same is true for other content channels.

In the same subreddit, other data of interest beyond the podcasting world is discussed, but reflecting exactly the same trend:

Of course, it's not enough just to make a resolution. The author of the subreddit reminds us that research indicates that 92% of people who set New Year's resolutions end up failing, and nothing guarantees you'll be in the remaining 8%. In addition, he makes it clear that even if you have willpower, you "need some" talent and to set long-term goals.

My conclusions

What we got from that subreddit (I recommend you read the original, and the comments as well) is that it seems very complex to get to the top 1%, but in truth most people quit much earlier and soon after starting. If you are consistent and you like what you do, at some point you will be closer to the top 1% than the rest of the people who have quit.

I would like to add that it is wise to know when to give up. If after you start recording you realize that you don't like the work, or you don't like the editing or you have other problems you didn't count on ... it's totally understandable that you are not a masochist and you were just testing, just like the other 99% of the people.

And as a final conclusion, I would like to remind you to do it for passion and not for money. Being a podcaster, youtuber, influencer, ... just because you think you are going to get money easily does not usually end well. Most people quit when they realize that.

SPAM of value to podcasters

One way to generate content with little effort is to make interviews, either with other podcasters or with people who are experts in a given topic. In WebiCaster you can get in touch for free with people interested in make interviews. All you have to do is register and create your profile.

And if you want to find a sponsor to monetize the work of your podcast, in WebiCaster you can also find sponsors who want to advertise on your podcast.