Today, Apple unveiled fresh enhancements to its podcast creator tools. Among the standout features is the introduction of Subscription Analytics within Apple Podcasts Connect, the hub through which podcasters monitor their audience’s interactions with their content. Furthermore, Apple is extending its Delegated Delivery service, enabling creators to release episodes exclusive to their subscribers from alternate hosting providers. Additionally, it will integrate podcast analytics into the Linkfire marketing platform.
Through the inclusion of Subscription Analytics, podcasters will have access to a new dashboard. Here, they can oversee essential metrics around subscriptions and analyze the growth of their business. This includes monitoring details such as the start of free trials by listeners and the conversion of those listeners into paying subscribers. It’s important to note that all the data is anonymized, and podcasters will only have access to numerical data without any personal information.
Creators will be able to monitor the progression of how many trials were initiated and subsequently transformed into paid subscriptions over specified timeframes. This will allow them to gauge the efficiency of their conversion rates. The breakdown of monthly and annual subscriptions, if both options are available, will be visible, along with the ability to evaluate the performance of trial offers. While navigating through this data, creators can use filters to display relevant real-time analytics for different time spans. For instance, they can opt to view data for the previous 30 days or the preceding month.
Additionally, there’s a heat map that will visually indicate the countries from which subscribers come from, and a trends view is available to delve into metrics related to active subscribers, conversion rates, the progression of subscription sales over time, as well as sales revenue and earnings.
Under the Trends section, podcasters can further refine their insights by selecting Active Subscriptions. This option provides a graphical breakdown of subscribers categorized by their Subscription Status, like between those within their first year and those who have maintained their subscription for over a year. Additionally, Subscription Events, including Activations, Cancellations, and Renewals, can be studied in depth. Furthermore, there is the option to filter Sales by Subscription Duration, revealing projected earnings from monthly vs yearly subscriptions.
The newly introduced service is now accessible to podcast creators at no charge, provided they possess a minimum of one active subscription and hold an Admin, Finance, or Legal role within Apple Podcasts Connect.
These tools and others will be made accessible via Linkfire, a marketing platform currently utilized by artists and labels, which has recently expanded its scope to include podcasts.
Creators will have the ability to quantify interactions with Linkfire’s smart links and landing pages. This includes tracking anonymized visits, click-throughs, and click-through rates. Creators can additionally personalize their Linkfire landing page to establish a connection between listeners and their Apple Podcasts shows. This customization also extends to the inclusion of links to various other platforms, such as apps, social media channels, newsletters, merchandise stores, live events, and a host of other options.
Linkfire for Podcasts is launching today, in a restricted beta phase, initially accessible to specific creators and shows. The global release is scheduled for this upcoming autumn. Additional functionalities, such as the option to personalize link branding and extend invitations to collaborators, can be accessed through a monthly subscription priced at $9.99.
