Podcasting Metrics Series Pt 8 | The Ups and Downs of Subscriber Stats
In the last post on podcast metrics, I talked about measuring the number of listeners who are subscribed to your feed. In this installment of the Podcasting Metrics Series, I’d like to address an issue that you might have wondered about when looking at your subscriber stats.
If you look at a graph of feed subscribers mapped out by each day, you’ll notice that it usually resembles a rollercoaster–dipping lowest over the weekend. Don’t worry. This doesn’t mean that your joke at the end of your last episode bombed and listeners promptly unsubscribed. This up and down movement is a natural phenomenon. Why is this?
Let’s think it through. Daily subscriber stats are based on how many people access your feed on a given day. A lot of subscribers are using podcatching software such as iTunes. If a subscriber doesn’t open iTunes on a given day, your feed won’t be checked by him. This means he won’t show up in your stats for that day.
When do most people leave their computers off? Usually it’s on the weekend when they’re not on their computer at work or more likely out doing something else (I should take a lesson from them and step away from my computer now and again). This is why you’ll see your subscriber stats dip on the weekend. Less people are on their computer meaning less people open their podcatchers leading to a lower stat count.
When examining your subscriber stats, it’s more important to watch the general trend of the peaks and troughs of your graph. So now you can start sweating about your comedic delivery and recognize that the rollercoaster effect is to be expected.
Also keep in mind, if you’re using FeedBurner the stats are delayed by a day. The numbers for Sunday show up on Monday.
January 17th, 2007 09:15
[...] I like Part 8 where he explains a curious phenomenon that people always ask me about - why is it that my subscribers drop off towards the weekend and then jump back up on Monday or Tuesday? Read Jason’s explanation and it makes a whole lot of sense. [...]