Behind the Scenes #15: NEW & NOTEWORTHY!!!!!
Behind the Scenes #15: NEW & NOTEWORTHY!!!!!
Welcome back to the Statement Mondays biweekly behind the scenes update! This is a VERY special week because Statement Mondays was given one of the premier promotions for a fledgling podcast...
š What is Statement Mondays? Itās a podcast for college and early-career women about being bold and authentic in the workplace. I interview career-minded women with strong identities who give examples, advice, and tools that inspire listeners to bring more of who they are into what they do.
Ā
š©š¼āšØ Since last time:
Statement Mondays is now ranked on Apple Podcastās New & Noteworthy category -- this means itās one of the first suggested podcasts to pop up when anybody goes to the browse tab to look for something new. It also means my listen numbers have skyrocketed!! I had over 1000 listens just yesterday!
I was planning to end season 1 after episode 10 (this weekās) but Iām totally scrapping that plan with these new N&N developmentsā¦ I have to capitalize on this huge listenership while I can!
I launched two new episodes:
Check it out for yourself! Open the Apple Podcasts app (only on iPhone) and hit ābrowseā :)
š§ #1 thing on my mind: Totally scrapping my season plan because of N&N
Let me paint you a picture:
After seeing Statement Mondays on N&N I couldnāt function. I was shaking with adrenaline, I zigzagged across the house and jumped on the couch, I couldnāt work, I couldnāt breath, I could barely comprehend what was happening as I watched the listener numbers go up!
Getting on the New & Noteworthy list was a pie-in-the-sky goal I had for Statement Mondays from the start, but I truly didnāt expect to actually get it! I was looking forward to a few weeks of break from publishing (Iāve been working week-of deadlines to get each episode out on time and need to replenish my interview stash) but now I need a new game plan. With hundreds to THOUSANDS of new listeners coming to Statement Mondays this week, I need to capitalize on this momentum and continue to publish content to make sure I turn those listeners into subscribers. If I break now, Iāll likely lose most of the listeners I gained this week because theyāll forget about āthat one-off podcast I listened to once.ā
I have a handful of interviews done but not turned into episodes (as I said before it takes ~10 hrs for this) -- so do I do whatever it takes (days off work?) to get a few more of my regular interview episodes out? Or do I get creative and do more of my āStatement Extraā style shows which take less time but arenāt as value-add? Or something else? At least this N&N explosion has given me fresh energy so Iām less concerned about the path to burnout I was heading down. Feel free to respond with your thoughts on what I should do! But first, please enjoy this bonafide hockey-stick chart:
Statement Mondays listen numbers as of yesterday afternoonā¦ and they continued to go up!
š¤ Learnings:
Itās not over ātill itās over. Because I wasnāt fixated on getting on N&N, I had stopped even considering it as a possibility which meant in episode 10 I said in the beginning and end that this would be the last episode of season 1, Iām taking a break. Yesterday I quickly changed episode 10ās description at least to basically say āJUST KIDDING!ā I canāt change the episode audio at this point but I donāt think listeners will mind if a few surprise episodes come out!
Focus on producing the best content possible, and people will notice. I poured so much heart into this podcast and frontloaded so much work to ensure each episode meets my high bar, and itās really paid off -- many people have told me itās one of the best produced podcasts theyāve heard, which to me is a major compliment! Had my primary goal been to get on N&N, I would have lost momentum already and wouldnāt have pushed myself to quite this quality.
Itās never too soon to make your product better. I could have waited for season 2 to ārevamp the brandā with a new logo, but I instead decided to update the logo right away to the photo with me sitting in front of red doors. This was critical to getting on N&N -- theyāre more inclined to promote podcasts with catchy artwork. Iām so glad I didnāt wait!
New logo! Recent feedback I've gotten is "you should put your name on it!" Agreed, if I have time I'll add!
New & Noteworthy mentions in previous Statement Mondays updates:
From update # 8:
āI want to reach as many people in this demographic as possible in the first four-ish weeks. Four is arbitrary, I just want to build momentum right away (and the first 8 or so weeks are important in Apple Podcasts and Spotify land because thatās when podcasts have the chance to make it into the New & Noteworthy category!).ā
From Update # 13:
āfretting about whether I should or shouldnāt be trying to make the New & Noteworthy category which is only possible in the first 8 weeks after launch. This last part is especially stressful because I told myself that just launching was my goal, but Iām not used to settling for anything but the best and the highest achievements. I donāt have time to pitch episodes to Apple or whatever else Iād have to do to make it on those charts, but I keep leaving emotional space for it. I think I have to do a little more research before deciding whether I should optimize for getting on that list (which would mean lots more exposure and more listeners!). Gaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!ā
š Shoutouts:
Mallory, thank you for supporting my decision to end season 1and take a break, and then after finding out about N&N freaking out and celebrating with me and being ready to push onward!
Shoutouts to everyone who hugged me, called me, messaged me to congratulate us on this HUGE achievement. Some of you even posted on social media about it too: Mark, Max, Annie, Millie, Emma
šŖ Asks:
How do you think I should proceed with new content after this reverted āseason endā?
Thanks for reading! And if you need a reason to be bold today, here it is -- today is Statement Monday.
Natalie Muenster
Founder | Statement Mondays