Under The Hood: Metrics From My First Year Hosting “21st Century HR” Podcast
Today is the first anniversary of the 21st Century HR Podcast. Here’s an inside look at the show, metrics, tools, and what I’ve learned.
On February 5th, 2019, I launched a podcast on a whim. I wanted to add another dimension to a series exploring modern HR I was writing in Fast Company. I saw podcasting as a way to add more depth to stories beyond what could be illuminated in 1,000 words (scroll down, for example, here). The 21st Century HR podcast was born. 🎉
The aim of the podcast is exploring how to build better businesses through modern people practices and approaches. Each episode spotlights progressive practices and leaders that are reshaping the field of HR.
I wanted to illuminate what it takes to build people-centric companies. Shine a light on great HR. Guests are typically Chief Human Resource Officers, Chief People Officers, CEOs, Heads of Talent, etc.
I originally intended to keep the episodes at 30 minutes. I failed. Badly. Most podcasts are bifurcated into two parts: career journey stories and deeper dives into specific people/talent initiatives. Covering that in even 40 minutes is more of an art than I expected.
The time and effort that goes into self-producing a weekly podcast should not be underestimated. It’s a lot. I tried a range of productivity hacks, including batch recording, batch editing, etc. They made a modest impact, but ultimately if you’re self-producing, there is only one resource you can allocate — time.
I started writing a book last month, so I knew my time would be even more finite. I shifted the podcast to a bi-monthly seasonal format for 2020, as I knew this would be a much more manageable (and realistic) cadence to maintain.
I’m a big proponent of open-source and shared learning, so I thought I’d celebrate the first anniversary with an inside look at the show — tools, stats, lessons learned, mistakes, and all. I hope you find it helpful.
Tools I Use
In 2019 I published podcasts weekly. I wanted to be self-reliant, so I would have full flexibility and autonomy. I taught myself how to use the following tools below to schedule, record, edit, publish, market, and promote the podcast.
Remote Recording: Zencastr — VOIP cloud-based recording tool designed for remote podcast recordings.
Studio (Home) Equipment: I use a Rode NT1 mic connected to a Rodecaster Pro production studio running into my Mac.
Remote Recording: Zoom H6 field recorder.
Production: I use GarageBand in Mac for editing. I occasionally use LANDR to polish the edited audio if necessary.
Hosting: I use Fireside.fm for hosting. It easily syndicates to iTunes, Spotify, etc. and creates a landing page for the podcast. I also have a dedicated podcast website hosted on Squarespace.
Marketing: I use Canva to design podcast collateral (see below) and Hootsuite to schedule social posts (mostly Twitter).
Stats & Metrics
In the beginning, I was borderline obsessed with metrics. How many downloads did I have? How many shares? How much engagement? How the hell do I know what these numbers mean?!
The truth is, I never really found reliable, standardized benchmarks. I (tried to) let go of that and focus more on becoming a better interviewer. I still monitor them, of course, but it’s more to compare episodes with each other to understand what stories and content resonate with listeners.
Here’s a look at the show’s metrics over the first year.
- 54 episodes published
- Avg duration: 30 minutes (I had a few short podcasts that brought down the avg)
- Cumulative downloads: 100,976
- Avg downloads per episode: 1,870
Lessons Learned
Content: Most of my podcasts have been with guests. Some have been solo. Guests (almost) always get more traction.
Guests: As you might expect, guests with well-known brands or companies tend to get more traction. My most downloaded podcasts featured interviews with executives from Basecamp, VaynerMedia, Spotify, Reddit, Asana, SurveyMonkey.
Sponsorship & Monetization: I don’t monetize the podcast and haven’t taken on any sponsors (outside of my own company, Amplify), so don’t have any wisdom to share here. I’ve had offers to sponsor. I wouldn’t necessarily rule it out, but I haven’t had any offers more compelling to me than keeping it independent.
Engage Your Audience: I use LinkedIn quite a bit to engage listeners around episodes and topics they want to hear about, trends, etc. It’s been hugely valuable to build this with them and have their direct feedback on the topics, guests, etc. they want me to explore.
Get Personal: While the general tone of the podcast is upbeat, some heavier episodes got into topics including coming out at work, burnout, mental health, depression, suicide, and addiction. My favorite episode, and by far the hardest to produce, was a tribute to my brother Kai who died four years ago from opioid addiction (below). Listeners want to connect with you as a human, not just a host. Don’t be afraid to let your guard down and be real.
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading and listening. If you’re interested in learning more about modern HR and people operations, you can check out the podcast and subscribe below. 🎧
About The Author
Lars is the Founder of Amplify and Co-Founder of HR Open Source. He’s spent 20 years in HR and recruiting building talent strategies for a broad range of companies and industries. He’s a writer with regular columns covering modern HR in Fast Company and Forbes, co-author of Employer Branding for Dummies (Wiley, 2017), global speaker, and host of the 21st Century HR podcast. You can find him on Twitter at @Lars.
