ABSTRACT
Instant success in podcasting is a rare, maybe an impossible, thing without some help. Growing the audience goes back to the beginning steps of creating a podcast. Making friends, either online or in person, not only grows a podcaster's audience, it helps him/her identify potential guests and topics for upcoming episodes. If a podcaster is thinking about a podcast today, he/she should think about marketing yesterday, because it needs to happen. One of the most valuable tools podcast hosting companies provides for podcasters looking to grow their audience is reliable data analytics. These measurements not only tell the number of downloads, depending on the service, they can provide insights into who the audience is. In many ways, crowdfunding and donations seem like apt forms of financing for a podcast, which is a medium focused on niche content and giving a platform to voices that are not usually heard in mass media.
