August 21, 2023
Introducing subscription analytics, more Delegated Delivery partners, and Linkfire for Podcasts
Creators can easily see how listeners engage with premium subscriptions and grow their audience using powerful marketing tools provided by Linkfire
Apple today announced three new updates for podcasters to help grow their audiences and businesses.
Subscription analytics
With subscription analytics in Apple Podcasts Connect, creators can see how listeners engage with their premium subscriptions on Apple Podcasts.
Once a subscription is selected from the updated Analytics tab, creators can use the Overview tab to see how many listeners started a free trial, the number of paid subscriptions, the percentage of listeners who convert from a free trial to a paid subscription, and the estimated proceeds generated from their subscriptions. Creators can also view breakdowns of subscriptions by country or region and by subscription status, such as monthly versus annual plans. These modules can be filtered to display the real-time analytics for various time periods, such as the past 30 days or the previous month.
On the Trends tab, creators can leverage a powerful visualization tool to gain insight into the performance of their subscriptions over time and using various filters. For example, creators can filter the Trends tab by Active Subscriptions to view a visual breakdown of subscribers by Subscription Status, such as those who are in their first year versus those who have been subscribed for more than one year. Creators can also use the Trends tab to view their Subscription Events, such as Activations, Cancellations, and Renewals, and filter Sales on the Trends tab by Subscription Duration to see the breakdown of estimated proceeds generated by monthly versus yearly subscriptions.
Subscription analytics are available worldwide today for all creators with at least one active subscription and an Admin, Finance, or Legal role in Apple Podcasts Connect. Creators can continue to access downloadable reports for their subscriptions from the Analytics tab and listening analytics remain available for all creators and shows.
Learn more about subscription analytics
New Delegated Delivery partners
In January, Apple Podcasts launched Delegated Delivery, making it possible for creators to publish subscriber episodes directly from their participating hosting provider dashboard. Now, over 50% of new subscription episodes from Triton Digital’s Omny Studio are published to Apple Podcasts using Delegated Delivery.
Today, we’re pleased to share the following hosting providers will support Delegated Delivery by the end of this year:
Podbean will begin supporting Delegated Delivery starting today. Creators who host their shows with these providers are encouraged to reach out to them to learn more about launching Apple Podcasts Subscriptions and publishing subscriber episodes to Apple Podcasts.
Linkfire for Podcasts
Linkfire, the marketing platform used by the world’s top artists and labels, is expanding into podcasting this fall with a powerful toolkit built for podcasters, featuring an exclusive integration with Apple Podcasts.
With a Linkfire account*, creators will be able to generate an unlimited number of smart links to landing pages for their podcasts and measure the ways listeners engage with them — while respecting listeners’ privacy. These pages, which are easy to set up and work across devices, are designed to connect listeners to shows and subscriptions on Apple Podcasts. Creators can also link to their shows on other apps and feature related products, such as social channels, newsletters, merch stores, and live events.
Using the Linkfire Insights dashboard, creators will be able to measure real-time user engagement with these links and pages, including anonymized visits and click-through rates. As listeners use these pages to access Apple Podcasts, creators can view all-new engagement insights, including whether a listener has played an episode or followed a show on Apple Podcasts. Creators who offer Apple Podcasts Subscriptions and are enrolled in the Apple Podcasts Affiliate Program, can add their affiliate token to also measure free trials, subscriptions, subscription proceeds, and affiliate commissions generated using these links.
These industry-leading insights, which are aggregated and anonymized to protect user privacy, can be viewed across links and over various time periods, making it possible to reliably attribute performance to a specific channel, campaign, or promotion. This means creators can use Linkfire for Podcasts to measure the performance of audio cross promotions, digital ads, or a limited subscription offer, such as an extended free trial.
“Linkfire for Podcasts is an absolute game-changer for podcast marketing,” said Jeppe Faurfelt, Linkfire co-founder and CCO. “Through our exclusive partnership with Apple Podcasts, the world’s leading podcast platform, Linkfire for Podcasts delivers all-new engagement insights that unlock new marketing capabilities for creators while respecting listener privacy. We’re excited to see the creative ways podcasters promote their shows using this innovative toolkit.”
Linkfire will be available to all creators and shows worldwide for free this fall. Additional features can be unlocked with a subscription to Linkfire for Podcasts starting at $9.99 per month. Creators can learn more and register to be notified when Linkfire for Podcasts is available at linkfire.com/podcasts.