<h2>When Did It Feel Like You Had "Real" Listeners?</h2>A grocery store clerk recognized one of my listeners' co-hosts. A pharmacist gets stopped at conferences for selfies. And one podcaster got an email that ended with, "Yesterday, you and Krista saved lives." This month's Question of the Month asked how long it took before you felt like you had real listeners, and what made you realize it. Seven podcasters answered, and here's what surprised me: not one of them said "when I hit a million downloads." If you're staring at your stats wondering whether anyone is out there, press play. I'll also show you the real median download number on Buzzsprout (it's probably a lot lower than you think) and the 30-second test you should run on your website right now.(Links to everyone's show is at the bottom of this post)<h2>Why I Asked This Question</h2>I'm trying to help new podcasters set realistic expectations. This month's question and next month's are both about that. So: how long did it take before it felt real, and if it doesn't feel real yet, what would make it feel that way?<h2>Neal Veglio: Feedback, 100%</h2>I recorded Neal's answer live on Ask the Podcast Coach when he sat in my co-host's chair. For Neal, it's feedback. Our mutual friend Rob Walsh is right that you shouldn't crap on the download, because it's the only measurement we've got. But a download is a number. An email, a text, any outreach from your community, is what tells you it's actually landing with people. When Neal gets an email, he celebrates.<h2>Josh Liston: "We Listened to Know If We Wanted to Move Here"</h2>Josh hosts Sake This, a short-form sketch show about news, trivia, and travel stories from Japan. But his "real audience" moment came from a hyper-local show he co-hosts with Mel called Punching Sideways. Multiple people told them they listened before moving to town (for work, the military, whatever) to learn about the local music scene, the sports stars, the art scene, the comedians. All from a podcast they started just to make each other laugh. His advice: it took a while, so stick with it.<h2>Mark Lawley: "Yesterday, You and Krista Saved Lives"</h2>Mark from Practical Prepping watched the download numbers like everyone else at first. The real moment came around the one-year mark, when listener emails started showing up: thank-yous, topic suggestions, and then the ones where people had followed their advice during a severe weather event or personal crisis. He shared one at Empowered Podcasting about a young mom of two who bought a NOAA weather radio and packed a go bag after listening. When a tornado warning hit her area, the radio alerted her, and she grabbed her kids and the bag and went to the shelter. Her email ended with the line above.I have a <a href="https://link.amazon/B0ja05jCR" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NOAA weather radio</a> (affiliate link) because of Mark. Here in Ohio we get tornado warnings on a fairly regular basis. If you don't have one, get one.<h2>Rob Dalrymple: Real Listeners Before Episode One</h2>Rob hosts the Softball Central Podcast, helping players, parents, coaches, and fans navigate the fastpitch softball world. He jokes that he had real listeners before he even started (or that's optimism and caffeine talking). His coming-soon promo got over 2,000 views, and his three launch episodes racked up over 400 listens and views in the first week.Not Joe Rogan numbers? I used to teach, and 20 people was a full class. 400 is twenty classrooms. That's a very long hallway of people.What Rob really wants is community. If you want to test that idea cheaply, <a href="https://supportthisshow.com/skool" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Skool</a> runs about nine bucks a month. And to get the rest of the softball world listening: business cards are cheap. Put a QR code on them and hand them out at games. (Rob, I hope to see you inside the <a href="https://www.schoolofpodcasting.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">School of Podcasting</a> soon.)<h2>Chris Smith: Recognized at Harbor Freight</h2>Chris and his co-host run Cool Cars with Chris, hitting cars-and-coffee events around Southern California and showcasing other people's rides. The show just turned one. The moment it felt real: his co-host was shopping at Harbor Freight and the clerk recognized him from the podcast. A total stranger who found the show in his feed.<h2>Kim Newlove: Six Months, a Florida Student, and a Troll</h2>Kim hosts two shows, The Pharmacist's Voice and The Perrysburg Podcast, and both took about six months to feel real.<ul><li>The Pharmacist's Voice: after episode 22, a pharmacy student in Miami messaged her on LinkedIn about her poison-prevention volunteer work. She's in Ohio, he's in Florida. That's when she knew she was reaching beyond people who already knew her. Now people ask for pictures with her at pharmacist conferences and tag her on social media. Her guests promoting their episodes tells her they're listening too.</li><li>The Perrysburg Podcast: episode 20 featured the city's crime prevention specialist and public information officer talking about porch pirates around Christmas. Both offered to share it on the city and police social channels. For the first time she had help promoting, the comments rolled in ("I didn't know Perrysburg had a podcast!"), and the downloads took off.</li><li>The troll: she interviewed someone a listener didn't like, and he let her have it. Annoying, but proof people are listening.</li></ul> Two things I'd do differently: Kim was told to launch with 20 episodes and waited until then to promote. That recommendation was not from me. Record test episodes if you want (even 20 versions of episode one), but promote the minute your show is live. Getting no downloads while nobody knows you exist can be soul-crushing.And a tip on pictures: if someone says "I listen to your show," they may want a photo but feel awkward asking. Beat them to it: "It's so great meeting you. Can I get a picture with you?"<h2>My Answer: A Voicemail From Germany</h2>I was bankrupt, divorced, and living in my brother's basement when I started podcasting. Less than six weeks in, I got a voicemail from Michael Van Laar in Nuremberg, Germany, and about fell out of my chair. I was in nowhere, Ohio. Another time I announced a speaking gig and Kale Nelson reached out because it was near him and offered to take me to dinner. Same lesson: somebody's out there.And I still say you're not a real podcaster until you get a one-star review. You moved somebody. Just not the way you wanted.<h2>Make It Easy for People to Reach You</h2>The theme here is people reaching out. So:<ol><li>Have a clear "Contact" button on your website.</li><li>Test it right now. Send yourself a message and make sure it arrives.</li></ol> Every year when I do my favorite-episodes round-up, I find shows where the only way to reach the host is an Instagram DM. Everybody understands email. Use whatever you like, but make it easy.<h2>An Apology to Chris and Albert</h2><a href="https://www.fanlist.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Fan List</a> (I love Pat over there) had a bad day and truncated messages to five seconds. So I got exactly "Hey, Dave Jackson" from Chris Nesi, the king of ed tech, and "Hello, Dave, this is Albert Bermanti from Mental Rehearsal Podcast" from Albert. Chris even re-recorded after I asked on Saturday's live show. Since I use Captivate, I can drop their full answers into this episode dynamically later, so if you hear them, that's why.For now, <a href="https://www.schoolofpodcasting.com/question" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">schoolofpodcasting.com/question</a> lets you upload a file or leave a voicemail, and the new "Leave Voicemail" button goes to <a href="https://www.schoolofpodcasting.com/voicemail" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">schoolofpodcasting.com/voicemail</a>, the voicemail system built into PodPage (two-minute limit).Speaking of Albert: Mental Rehearsal is the show where, at our School of Podcasting listener party, we all asked "when is this going live?" If you're a perfectionist, check out his August 16 episode on dealing with perfectionism.<h2>Nobody Mentioned a Big Number</h2>Not one person said "when I passed a million downloads." It was always that somebody was listening. If you're "only" getting 60 downloads an episode, that's three classrooms.Go to <a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">buzzsprout.com/stats</a>. As I record this in October 2026, the median is 27 downloads per episode after seven days. Half of shows get more, half get less. The top 1% are close to 5,000.But as Ray from Around the Layout says, it's not how many, it's who many. 2,000 people who love knitting but never want to start a podcast aren't my audience. Podcasting is like golf or bowling: you're only as good as your last game, and comparing yourself to someone who's played longer (or had John Lee Dumas's savings runway) doesn't help.<h2>Be Careful: People Might Actually Do What You Say</h2>New podcasters freak out because nobody's listening, then freak out because people are. I once consulted with a guy who owned both a Zoom PodTrak P4 and a RØDECaster. Why both? "You said it was cool." That's $600 he didn't need to spend. People listen, and they might act on what you say.<h2>Please Don't Email Me Your Answer</h2>I say this with love: use schoolofpodcasting.com/question. Everything lands in MediaFire (which notifies me) or Fan List. Email is a third place, and I get roughly 80 emails a day, 79 of them junk. Your answer will get lost. And if you emailed me and I never answered, reach out again. While we're at it: that "I'd love to be a guest on your show" email is probably a bot. Want to learn how to pitch yourself the right way? Visit pitchapodcast.com, and share any good (or bad) pitches you've received.If you want your podcast ready by January, now's the time to start planning. It's not about starting quickly, it's about starting correctly. My free course is at podcastinginsixweeks.com, and if you want hands-on help, head to schoolofpodcasting.com and use the coupon code LISTENER for a monthly, quarterly, or yearly subscription, backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee. Show notes are at schoolofpodcasting.com/1059, courtesy of PodPage.<h2>Shows & Websites Mentioned</h2>This month's contributors<ul><li>Neal Veglio, Podcasting Insights / Pod Mastery: <a href="https://podmastery.co" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://podmastery.co</a></li><li>Josh Liston, Sake This: <a href="https://sakethis.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://sakethis.com</a> (also co-hosts Punching Sideways with Mel)</li><li>Mark Lawley, Practical Prepping: <a href="https://practicalprepping.info" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://practicalprepping.info</a></li><li>Rob Dalrymple, Softball Central Podcast: <a href="https://softballcentralpodcast.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://softballcentralpodcast.com</a></li><li>Chris Smith, Cool Cars with Chris: https://coolcarswithchris.com</li><li>Kim Newlove, The Pharmacist's Voice: <a href="https://thepharmacistsvoice.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://thepharmacistsvoice.com</a></li><li>Kim Newlove, The Perrysburg Podcast: <a href="https://perrysburgpodcast.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://perrysburgpodcast.com</a></li><li>Albert Bermanti, Mental Rehearsal: https://mentalrehearsal.show</li><li>Chris Nesi: <a href="https://chrisnesi.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://chrisnesi.com</a></li></ul> Also mentioned<ul><li>School of Podcasting (coupon code LISTENER): https://schoolofpodcasting.com</li><li>Episode show notes: <a href="https://schoolofpodcasting.com/1059" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://schoolofpodcasting.com/1059</a></li><li>Send in your answer: <a href="https://schoolofpodcasting.com/question" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://schoolofpodcasting.com/question</a></li><li>Leave me a voicemail: <a href="https://schoolofpodcasting.com/voicemail" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://schoolofpodcasting.com/voicemail</a></li><li>Buzzsprout podcast stats: <a href="https://buzzsprout.com/stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://buzzsprout.com/stats</a></li><li>Around the Layout (Ray): <a href="https://aroundthelayout.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://aroundthelayout.com</a></li><li>Pitch a Podcast: https://pitchapodcast.com</li><li>Podcasting in Six Weeks (free course): <a href="https://podcastinginsixweeks.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://podcastinginsixweeks.com</a></li><li>Skool: <a href="https://supportthisshow.com/skool" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://skool.com</a></li><li>PodPage: https://podpage.com</li></ul> Mentioned in this episode:School of Podcasting: Coached PlanYou don’t need another list of things you could do with your podcast. You need help figuring out what to do next—and someone in your corner to help you follow through.

With School of Podcasting: Coached, you get everything in the School of Podcasting, plus a weekly meeting with me, Dave Jackson, text access between meetings, and clear next steps after every session.

Less second-guessing. More moving forward.

Join School of Podcasting: Coached today—and let’s get your podcast where you want it to go.<a href="https://school-of-podcasting.captivate.fm/coached">School of Podcasting: Coached</a>Podpage Stopped her From Quitting Her Podcast!Kelly Palace does the Outswim Podcast (outswimpodcast.com) and has been doing it for years. She was ready to unplug the show when she discovered Podpage. It took many workflow items off her plate and kept her podcasting. Start your free 14-day Trial at podpage.com/preview<a href="https://school-of-podcasting.captivate.fm/podpage">Podpage</a>Question of the Month: What is a "Newbie Podcaster"Poll Question: What makes someone a “newbie podcaster”?
Is it how long they’ve been podcasting or how many episodes they’ve published? Is it something else? How would you define a newbie podcaster? 
Leave your answer at schoolofpodcasting.com/question by November 27th and don't forget to mention your show and your website address so I can link to it in the show notes.
(Please try to keep them under 5 minutes if you can).<a href="https://school-of-podcasting.captivate.fm/qotm">Question of the Month</a>Unlock Exclusive Insights: Subscribe to 'Podcasting Observations' Newsletter!Get a look into the world of podcasting like never before with "Podcasting Observations," your go-to source for trends, tips, and transformative insights tailored just for podcasters. You also get "behind the scenes" info from the School of Podcasting

Don't miss out on staying ahead of the game—join the 1700+ people who are already reading Podcasting Observations today!<a href="https://school-of-podcasting.captivate.fm/podcasting-observations">Podcasting Observations</a>Live AppearacvesNovember 7th Podindy.com use the coupon code sop - Whiteland Indiana
November 12th at 3PM Daniel J. Lewis will be doing a Demo of Podgagement. Brought to you by Podpage.com Register at schoolofpodcasting.com/where

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