Hi, Reader.

A week or so ago, I posted on LinkedIn about a content framework that has been coming into focus: the podcast marketing funnel.

It sparked some thoughtful responses from marketers, podcast hosts, and firm leaders. Naturally, I wanted to take a moment to expand on the subject and some of the points people chimed in with.

Here’s the core insight:

Discovery happens on video. Engagement happens in audio.

Across several business podcasts my team and I produce, I noticed a consistent pattern in listener data:

• Video viewers tend to drop off after 25–30% of the episode
• Audio listeners stick around for 65–70% — nearly 3x more

The difference? Audio fits into routines. Commuting, walking the dog, folding laundry.

That routine builds trust. And in professional services, trust is everything.

This funnel started to emerge as a result:

🔍 Discovery – Short clips on LinkedIn, YouTube, and Meta
🎧 Nurture – Subscriptions on Apple or Spotify
✉️ Engagement – Direct replies, DMs, referrals, booked calls

A few smart follow-ups came through in the comments that are worth noting:

What role do podcast advertisements play?

Podcast advertising has been known to have positive return on ad spend (ROAS), but do video ads inflate performance metrics? Shoutout to Jordan for connecting these dots:

Where do you get consumption rate metrics?

Brad isn't the only person who has asked me this question. You won't find listen rate in Buzzsprout (I wish you could). Instead, you have to dig into the platform-specific analytics.

If you haven't claimed your show on these platforms, this is a great place to get started:

• ​https://creators.spotify.com/​
• ​https://podcasters.apple.com/​

How do business leaders find new shows to subscribe to?

David articulates behavior I've noticed from my own subscribers. There is a segment of podcast listeners that actively seek out new shows via search. Video isn't as important as content relevancy to this segment.

Hopefully you enjoyed this newsletter edition. If you know of a business podcaster who would find this valuable, please forward this email to them and they can subscribe here.

– John

P.S. What’s working to grow your podcast right now? Reply to this email and let me know!