Turns out podcasts are great at driving subscriptions

We publish Vocal Fridays every week, straight to your inbox.

Subscribe below to get it straight outta the frying pan!

Have you heard? There’s a great new-ish podcast on the block — Normal Gossip, which is now well into its second season. You may recall I recommended this show about six weeks ago.

Not only is Normal Gossip deliciously juicy — a perfect mood-booster — but it also appears to be driving subscriptions.

Normal Gossip is a part of Defector, a worker-owned site started by former Deadspin staffers who had quit in protest. According to Nieman Lab, after launching paid Normal Gossip subscriptions last month, the company had its biggest one-week increase in subscriptions in more than a year. 

If you’ve been reading this newsletter for a while, you might remember that we’ve talked about how the podcast industry has entered its teen years. It’s still shiny and new, but also temperamental and hormonal. Everyone wants a podcast, but the podcast boom means that most podcasts won’t get the kind of listenership that attracts big ad spending.

That said, what we can learn from Normal Gossip driving subscriptions for Defector is that the kind of relationship that listeners develop with a great show can translate into membership dollars. There are lots of podcasts that use this model — the Maintenance Phase Patreon drives six figures of revenue monthly. With Normal Gossip, we’re seeing what kind of impact that podcast can have on its parent company.
The Nieman Lab article is really worth a read, especially because of what host Kelsey McKinney and producer Alex Sujong Laughlin have to say about why they’re producing their show in seasons, as opposed to continuous weekly releases. Spoiler alert: producing a podcast with a tiny team is a recipe for burnout, and taking breaks can help protect against that. We love a podcast that prioritizes the physical and mental health of its team.

And because everyone is getting on the Normal Gossip obsession train, you can hear Laughlin interviewed on Slate’s Working podcast, where she talks about the big mysterious question: what does a producer actually do?

Here’s what else we’re reading this week: 

  • Bell Media is hiring a producer for The Social. Apply by June 15.

  • Pacific Content is hiring a senior director. 

  • Yahoo Finance Canada is hiring a senior writer. Read managing editor Kirsty March’s tweet about the position for more info. I used to sit right behind the Finance desk when I worked at Yahoo/HuffPost Canada and can confirm they are “not your grampa’s grumpy newsroom!” They’re a fun team and I learned a lot just by sitting nearby. 

  • CBC is hiring a temporary, full-time news producer for The National. Apply by June 15.

  • CBC Saskatoon is hiring a full-time, permanent reporter/editor assigned to CBC Indigenous. Apply by June 28. 

  • CBC Ottawa is also hiring a full-time, permanent reporter/editor assigned to CBC Indigenous. Apply by June 28.

  • CBC Radio is hiring a full-time, permanent senior producer for As It Happens. Apply by June 14. 

Another opportunity I’m hesitant to post because I want it for myself. But here at Vocal Fridays, we believe sharing is caring, and this one in particular looks very tempting. The Vancouver-based magazine Geist has put out a call for their writer-in-residence program, open to folks who identify as trans, non-binary, or women. They’re running two sessions: one from July to October, and another from November to February. Read more about their call for submissions, and then get those applications in before June 15.

Have you ever stopped to look around and wonder — what am I doing with my life? Me neither. That’s never happened to me. I’ve never had a crisis bubble up out of nowhere about things that are mostly out of my control and cause me to rethink every element of my life. But I’m sure someone out there has. And maybe, that person was lucky enough to have a kind, understanding, wise friend in London that helped them find some perspective and then gently suggested: have they heard of the podcast, The Panic Years?

For no reason in particular, I started listening to The Panic Years, hosted by Nell Frizzell, journalist and author of a book also called The Panic Years. Nell begins every episode at her swimming spot, and you can usually hear a bit of her surroundings — a brook, babbling, birds, chirping. Honestly, a really good way to start a podcast about being in your panic years. 

Your panic years, says Nell, is that precious time when all of a sudden, the people around you are starting to settle down in a way that might feel surprising and/or unfamiliar. She begins every episode with the same refrain: “When I was 28, everyone around me seemed to be getting married, getting promotions, buying houses, and having babies. I was single, redundant, and living with my mum. At the time, I thought it was a private crisis. Now I understand: it was just my panic years, and that is what this podcast is all about.” 

Each episode features a different interview with a somewhat-public figure (as they’re British and I am Canadian, most of them are unfamiliar to me, but there are a few, like Rob Delaney and Pandora Sykes, who I recognize) and an expert to unpack some of what they talked about in the interview. 
So if you find yourself feeling a little panicked, might I recommend going on a Sound Girl Walk (I’m making it a thing, ok) and letting Nell and her guests remind you that everything’s going to be just fine.

Do you have woes about the state of the world? Do you want to do something about those woes, but you’re not sure where to start? Start by getting inspired! Producer Kattie Laur wrote a list of podcast episodes to inspire a social revolution. Big changes start in small places.

We want to hear from you! What are you looking for in your podcast news? Let us know on Twitter, Instagram, or by email at info@vocalfrystudios.com.

Thanks to Jay Cockburn for editing this newsletter, and to Katie Jensen for designing it.

We’ll see you again on June 17. Until then, here’s an update from Kattie’s model dog, Joe, who’s celebrating his six-year anniversary of being adopted. We love you, Joe!

NewsletterMichal SteinnewsletterComment