Marc takes some time to dissect the podcast audience survey, discuss podcast statistics provided by Libsyn, the podcast host server, and what this might mean for the future. This podcast was launched 14 months ago and targeted one of the smallest audiences who listen to podcasts, the over-55 crowd. According to Edison Research, which presented at Podcast Movement this last year, the over-55 crowd makes up about 15% of all podcast listeners, which, by the way, is about half of the demographic. They make up 38-40% of the population. Marc should be approaching 3,000 episode downloads in January, which pushed this podcast well into the top of all podcasts on Libsyn. For that, Marc wants to say, thank you! He is quite humbled by the response.
Listen in for survey results and future plans for the Repurpose Your Career podcast.
[:57] The audio version of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life is available now on iTunes, Audible, and Amazon. Listen to the end of this episode for how to win a free copy of the audiobook. Marc will give away one copy a week for one month.
[1:21] Marc announces that the Repurpose Your Career podcast is now available on Spotify, via the Spotify app. There have been a fair number of downloads, already.
[1:37] Marc lists the order of episodes. The first episode is an interview with an expert. Two weeks ago, Marc interviewed Nancy Collamer. Last week, Marc interviewed Christine Hopkins-Spidell, a late-in-life career pivoter. This week, Marc discusses the results of the audience survey. The last episode of the series is a listener Q&A.
[3:33] Marc launched the podcast to support the publishing of the book, Repurpose Your Career. He started with about 300 downloads in the first few months — that was November-December of 2016, and it has steadily climbed ever since.
[3:48] The podcast hit a plateau in the early Fall. Things have kind of exploded in December — a usually quiet month for podcasts. Episodes were up 50% in December and they continue to rise in January, at a rapid rate. Why? Marc has no idea.
[4:09] Charts for the survey will appear in the Show Notes on the CareerPivot.com website. Look for Episode 62. The current episodes are averaging about 300 downloads in the first 30 days. This is a standard measure of the popularity of a podcast. Most downloads will occur in the first 30 days after you publish a particular podcast.
[4:40] Marc received 33 survey responses, which he thought was pretty good. He guesses that one in ten listeners filled out a survey, which is not bad, considering most people listen on mobile devices, so they are not near a computer when they hear them.
[5:02] About 70% of survey respondents were male. In previous surveys of Marc’s readership, the gender results were about split. According to Edison Research, male podcast listeners outnumber female podcast listeners 56-44. There will be a link to the report in the show notes.
[5:27] 90% of the respondents were between 45-64; two-thirds of those were between 55-64. The survey shows Marc is hitting his intended audience.
[5:44] Approximately half of all the listeners are unemployed or retired. The other half are mostly looking for a change in career, job, or industry.
[5:58] 98% of the respondents are from North America. One is from South America, and one from Europe.
[6:09] 25% of the respondents have been listening less than one month but you were inspired to fill out a survey in the very first month of listening. Marc thanks you!
[6:23] 22% of the respondents have been listening for 10-12 months. Marc really thanks these folks!
[6:30] The rest of the audience was fairly evenly split up between 1-3, 4-6, and 7-9 months. There was a pretty wide range of response and how long they have listened.
[6:43] Over 40% of respondents listen to the podcast on their computer. That’s double the general population.
[7:01] The most common source of downloads was iTunes, followed by all the web browsers — Chrome, Firefox, Mozilla, or Safari. You may have noticed, the most current episode of the podcast is embedded in the blog post as an ad, embedded in a player in the blog post.
[7:41] Slightly less than 40% listen on an Android phone. iPhones came in last. Because of the fact that there is no common app player on Android, People on Android phones don’t listen to podcasts as much as people on iPhones. This was surprise to Marc..
[8:11] Half of respondents were selective in the episodes they listen to. ¼ of listeners listen every week. Many said they were too new to the podcast to say.
[8:27] Over 70% said their favorite episode was an interview with someone who made a late-in-life career pivot. The other three episodes split the rest, pretty much evenly.
[8:46] Marc shares things people liked about their favorite episode: seeing themselves doing the same in a few years, looking for practical experience-based examples of how to transition, relatability, engagement, learning about how they made the transition, enjoying “Marc’s pivots and lifestyle,” liking to hear how others did it.
[9:27] Others liked: hearing actual specific personal stories from people who figured out what to do and made it work, really enjoying Marc’s podcast about moving overseas and how to grow his career-pivot business, learning about retiring early, moving to a low-cost area for retirement, second-act careers and side hustles.
[9:55] Others said: applies to me at this stage in my career, am in the same situation of late-career move, liked the book and guest stories best, personal stories are relatable, knowing you are not alone in your journey. Marc says that is probably the most important piece he wants you to get from this survey. You listeners are not alone in this.
[10:32] Others answered: looking for ideas on how to get where I want to be, real-world experience, illustrates clearly that those of us who are older are still fully capable of working, changing jobs, starting a new career, building a business, etc., connecting with a person, enjoy the mailbag, it’s my story, it’s inspiration as I need to do a pivot.
[11:08] More comments: some of my questions have been answered in the mailbag, I just graduated from college and I’m over 50.
[11:21] Those are some sample answers why people chose their favorite episode. A lot of them want to hear stories that show them other people have accomplished this. They want to know they’re not alone.
[11:41] Marc’s last question was what topics listeners want to have addressed. They said: include more minorities, specific steps of going into management consulting, how to get gigs, resources for structuring consulting contracts, transferable skills, how to earn while traveling. Marc is looking for a travel blogger who started after 50.
[12:31] More answers were: the effect on work status of becoming a caregiver, funding a pivot, portfolio careers, running a retiree micro-business as part of a portfolio, pros and cons of downsizing or moving as a strategy late in life, retiring before 59-and-a-half, tapping retirement accounts early, how much you need to retire early, or abroad.
[13:08] Retiring to Mexico or Ecuador is a big topic. Other comments: living overseas very helpful since you need at least $1 million to retire in the U.S.A., other organizations that help you rank and decide what would be helpful, how to post-mortem an interview, or why you didn’t get a job. Marc may add this one into a mailbag session.
[13:43] More comments: transition from employment to self-employment, age discrimination, moving from a large-population area to a small-population area, rebuilding business network for an introvert in a new location, starting a business, ageism, how to avoid being screened out by people who know nothing about the job.
[14:16] Additional comments: the online black hole (Marc says, go back to the Gary O’Neal episode, #58), gig-economy mindset, landscape, and resources, finding part-time work as a software developer, age discrimination, dealing with the fear of the unknown, preparing for change later in life, dealing with careful plans being upset.
[15:17] Other suggestions: entrepreneurship, relocating, remote working, training and updating skills, research on career trends for people over 50, freelancing tips and examples, the possibility of multiple income streams, am I too old to start a business? Beating the doldrums of unemployment at 55, interviewing ‘don’ts.’
[15:46] Marc hopes you got something out of those comments. Marc plans on working with his producer, Podfly, to make changes based on your comments in the coming months. Marc will address a few of the issues in the next couple of Q&A episodes. Marc is looking for a travel blogger who has turned travel into an income stream after 50.
[16:16] Marc has someone in mind to talk about the gig economy and the possibilities. The comments make it obvious that Marc needs to interview more late-career pivoters. If you know someone who has made a late-career pivot, please send Marc a note to Podcast@careerpivot.com. In the last episode, Christine came to Marc to tell her story.
[16:55] Marc has one client lined up for an interview. She is a logical creative. She is a data analyst with a unique streak of creativity.
[17:08] Marc thanks everyone who participated in the survey. Your feedback is invaluable.
[17:36] Marc gives instructions on how you could get a free copy of the audio version of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd half of Life. Marc announces a previous recipient of a coupon for a free copy.
[18:12] Marc is working on the Career Pivot community website. The website is live, in the process of being put into production and ironing out a few glitches. Marc is contacting people on the waiting list. To learn more, please go to CareerPivot.com/Community and sign up for updates.
[18:42] Marc is currently working on LinkedIn and blogging training. He is planning on four to five beta groups with 10 or more people at a time. This paid membership community is a place where you can receive group coaching, special content, and most importantly, a community where you can seek help.
[19:13] Next episode, Marc and Elizabeth will share answers to questions from listeners.
Edison Research on Podcast Listeners 2017
Show Notes at Careerpivot.com/repurpose-career-podcast
Please pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey. The paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats are available now. When you have completed reading the book, Marc would very much appreciate your leaving an honest review on Amazon.com.
Marc has the paid membership community running on the CareerPivot.com website. Marc has an initial cohort of 10 members helping him. Marc has opened a waitlist. Sign up at CareerPivot.com/Community.
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CareerPivot.com/Episode-62 Show Notes for this episode.
CareerPivot.com/Episode-58 Show Notes for Episode 3 with HR expert, Gary O’Neal
You can find Show Notes at Careerpivot.com/repurpose-career-podcast.
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