Ask the Podcast Coach: After Further Review | Experiments, Analytics and Playing to Your Strengths
Every Saturday morning, Dave Jackson and I spend an hour taking calls, answering questions and talking about what’s happening in podcasting on Ask the Podcast Coach. Live conversations move fast. You make the call, the conversation moves on, and sometimes you don’t get a chance to take another look.
That’s where After Further Review comes in.
Think of this as my trip to the replay monitor. I’m going back to a few things I said during the show. This isn’t about reviewing Dave or grading the episode. It’s about looking at my own calls with a little more time to think about them.
This week I’m looking at Episode 594, “Auphonic’s New Studio Voice Beta,” from September 26, 2026.
Three calls are headed to the review booth.
Let’s go to the monitor.
[44:24] | Don’t Call the Experiment Too Early
The Call on the Field
We were talking about YouTube when I brought up an experiment I’ve been running with Home Gadget Geeks.
I’ve been creating Shorts and Clips from our long-form content, and I was starting to see some movement. But I added an important qualifier:
“I’m just 2 weeks into it.”
I also talked about wanting to get enough Shorts published before making any bigger judgments. I was still early in the experiment.
Under Review
It’s really easy to see an encouraging number and turn it into a conclusion.
A Short gets 1,000 views? Shorts work.
The next one gets 50? Shorts are dead.
I’ve caught myself doing this.
Two weeks told me that changing what I was doing on YouTube was having an effect. It didn’t tell me if that effect was actually useful.
After Further Review
Here’s what I’d add now:
Define what winning means before you look at the scoreboard.
If I’m using Shorts for discovery, reach and new viewers matter.
If I’m trying to grow the HGG YouTube channel, I need to know if those viewers come back, subscribe or watch something else.
YouTube is noisy. One Short can take off and the next one can go nowhere. I need enough attempts to see a pattern.
Don’t change the whole offense after one good drive.
The Ruling
CALL STANDS. NOT ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO MAKE THE FINAL CALL.
I’m encouraged by what I’m seeing, but the experiment stays on the field.
[52:17] | Sometimes You Should Just Ask
The Call on the Field
We were talking about how people consume podcasts and YouTube videos.
We have watch time, retention, completion percentage and all kinds of other numbers. But those numbers don’t always tell us what someone was actually doing.
My point was pretty simple. If we really want to know how people are consuming the show, sometimes we need an audience survey. As I said during the conversation, “You can’t know. How can you know?”
Under Review
I spend a lot of time looking at analytics. Probably too much sometimes.
YouTube Studio can tell me what happened. I can see where people left, what they clicked and how long they stayed.
What it can’t always tell me is why.
I can stare at a retention graph and come up with all kinds of theories.
Or I could just ask.
After Further Review
I think this is more important than I made it sound during the show.
We have more analytics than we’ve ever had. Now AI can help us analyze all that data too. That’s great. I’m using a bunch of it myself.
But the dashboard doesn’t know the audience.
Sometimes five conversations with real listeners can tell me something another hour in YouTube Studio can’t.
So I’d sharpen my original point to this:
Use the numbers to find the question. Then ask a real person what the number means.
That’s something I want to do more often myself.
The Ruling
CALL CONFIRMED.
Keep looking at the analytics. Keep running experiments.
But when I find myself guessing about what the audience is thinking, it’s probably time to stop guessing and ask them.
[54:45] | Do What You’re Best At
The Call on the Field
We had a question from a podcaster who had seen downloads decline and was considering moving from mostly solo episodes to more interviews.
Dave brought up goals. Why are you podcasting, and what does success look like?
I came at it from another direction:
“I would say do what you’re best at.”
I know I’m better when I have someone to interact with. I’m not nearly as interested in standing on a stage by myself talking for 30 minutes.
But I also said something else that I think matters:
“The question isn’t what I’m good at. The question is, what are you good at?”
Under Review
Looking at this again, I think the idea is right, but my answer was too simple.
There’s a lot of podcast advice that starts with format.
Should I interview people? Go solo? Livestream? Be on YouTube?
Those are good questions.
But the person making the show is part of the equation.
After Further Review
I wouldn’t tell someone to stay comfortable and never try anything new.
But I do think you should know where you’re strongest.
I’ve been podcasting long enough to know I’m better when I have someone to interact with. That’s where I create energy.
That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t work on solo content.
It means I shouldn’t ignore what I know about myself just because somebody says another format is better.
So I’d change my original advice:
Know what you’re best at. Build around it. Then work on the rest.
The Ruling
CALL OVERTURNED.
“Do what you’re best at” is too easy. It sounds like I’m saying you should only do what’s comfortable.
That’s not what I mean.
Know where you’re strongest and use it on purpose. Then keep stretching yourself.
The original call was close, but I’m overturning it.
Final Whistle
That’s it from the review booth this week.
Three calls went to the monitor. One needs more evidence, one was confirmed and one got overturned. Not bad for an hour of live podcasting.
That’s really the point of After Further Review. Sometimes I’ll agree with exactly what I said. Sometimes there will be more to the story. And every once in a while, I may have to admit I got the call wrong.
I’m good with that.
The conversation doesn’t have to end when we turn off the microphones.
If you want to hear these conversations in context, listen to the full Ask the Podcast Coach Episode 594, “Auphonic’s New Studio Voice Beta.”
We’ll head back to the monitor after the next game.
