We watched our friend Tim Cox from Tim Time break into the top 20 podcast rankings on the relatively new app called Anchor.fm a few months ago. More recently he set a goal to make it into the top ten the following weekend. Many of us in the Anchor community began to rally behind Tim to help him reach his goal. 
There is something very appealing about rooting for the underdog so to speak, that tends to bring people together in very inspiring ways.
We start off the episode by taking some Call-ins from our loyal listeners:
- Debbie & Self Inquiry from Debbie Bridge
- Rex from The Maven's Top Three
- Dr. Aikyna Finch
- Gary from Motorspit
Making it to the Top Ten Podcast Rankings
It was almost like hitting a grand slam or taking home the gold as we all cheered Tim across the finish line. It was an emotionally charged victory for Tim and his band of Anchor-mates (myself included) to say the least! So I thought I would dive into this topic of podcast rankings and how Tim was able to make the top 10. But I couldn't resist, well actually the discussion started in one of Tim's segments, talking about rankings in Apple podcasts charts and their possible impact on Anchor's standings.
It's our nature to be competitive and aspire for higher rankings but there's more to the story and I shed some light on Apple podcast rankings and how they are very different from Anchor. In this episode I cover the mysteries and mystique of podcast ranking and along the way I do a little myth busting about the importance of being at the top of the charts.
Apple Podcasts New and Noteworthy
I didn't need to reinvent the wheel on telling this story about New and Noteworthy. My friend Dave Jackson from the School of Podcasting put together a video called The Truth About New And Noteworthy earlier this year. In it he shares clips from a few veterans of podcasting and what they had to say about the impact of reaching top rankings on iTunes (aka Apple Podcasts) charts.
In the video, you'll hear quotes from:
- Cliff Ravenscraft – Podcast Answer Man
- Rob Walch – Today in iOS and Libsyn
- Paul Colligan – The Podcast Report
- Elsie Escobar – She Podcasts (ladies should request to join the Facebook Group) and The Feed
In the end, it turns out that having a loyal audience for your podcast is probably more important to you than podcast rankings. Basically there are two paths that lead to this result. When it comes to a podcast audience you can either bring it (which is what the celebrities do) or build it, which is what Tim did with his podcast on Anchor.
I've been building my audience over the last few years and it seems like Anchor is a great place for me to nurture that audience as well — not to mention Apple podcasts. But I want to hear from you. What do you think?
Be sure to listen to the conclusion of this episode!
If you have a question for me or want to be featured on the podcast, you have two options:
- Call-in to my station over on Anchor.fm or
- Use my handy SpeakPipe page to record your question in a voicemail.
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