What do you do in a situation where you notice that your podcast downloads have dropped by 10%? (That's what decimated really means, by the way. 1 in 10.) If you notice that has happened to your show… what do you do? How do you deal with it? Is there an “other side” to the slump? 

On today’s episode, I have three more questions for you to ask yourself before you jump into “find a solution” mode. 

1. Does it really matter? 

If you’re not paid by the download, or you can’t tie the size of your audience directly back to income or opportunities, then your answer to that question should be “no”. 

If your answer to that question is a resounding “yes’, then keep going. Many podcasters are able to directly correlate downloads to dollars, and a negative trend in downloads probably means a negative financial impact. That’s not good. 

2. Was it because of something you did?

Sure, that sounds a little weird and a lot rude. But quite often the reason download numbers drop is because of something you did. Likely unintentionally, but still attributable to something you did. 

There are plenty of things to check here, so be methodical. If you find a problem, fix it. And then don’t do that again. But if not, then we move on to the really hard question.

3. Is there anything you can do about it?

Chances are, there isn’t an easy yes/no answer here. This requires an examination of the external and internal influences on your download numbers. 

Seeing a drop in downloads is scary to any podcaster. Before you go making drastic changes, try your best to understand why the downturn happened. If it's a temporary dip, then hopefully you can ride it out. Lots of podcasters are playing the “wait and see” game right now, so welcome to the club.

One way you can help: become one of the many canaries in this coal mine we call podcasting. No one but you knows that your podcast download numbers are being decimated. And you don’t know if something similar is happening to others. We each need to act as our own early-warning system. Form a close peer group of other podcasters you trust and make it habit to report to each other when any of you see a dip in downloads.

And once you've formed that group, please tell them about Podcast Pontifications. It'll give you at least four different things to talk about each week, right? 

I'll be back on Monday with yet another