fresh b2b podcast benchmarks 📊

and why downloads don’t matter

Ever checked your podcast downloads, compared them to industry benchmarks, and immediately thought: Are we even doing this right? Here’s the thing—download numbers are just part of the story. We broke down the real benchmarks for B2B podcasts (based on data from 60+ SYG shows) and the metrics that actually define success.

—Rachel Elsts Downey, Founder & CEO, Share Your Genius

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🎙 What Do Podcast Benchmarks Really Tell You?

We all love numbers, but the standard podcast benchmarks you see floating around? They cover all podcasts—true crime, comedy, business—you name it.

For context, here’s the latest industry-wide benchmarks for downloads of one episode in 7 days from The Podcast Host:

Top 50% of podcasts = 28+ downloads in the first 7 days
Top 25% of podcasts = 109+ downloads in the first 7 days
Top 10% of podcasts = 462+ downloads in the first 7 days
Top 1% of podcasts = 4,707+ downloads in the first 7 days

Why this matters: If you’re getting more than 30 downloads in a week, you’re already outperforming half of all podcasts.

This is great context for your show in the full industry. But it’s not the full story of your show’s success.

Let’s get closer by examining some B2B podcast benchmarks:

⭐ SYG’s B2B Podcast Benchmarks

At Share Your Genius, we’ve worked with 60+ B2B brands in 2024. When pulling our annual data, here’s what we saw across the board:

321 downloads per episode in the first 7 days (top 25% average)
67% average listener retention rate (our goal is to get everyone above 70%)
1,003 average subscribers per show
34-minute average episode length

Why this matters: This is a great gut check for you and your show against other shows like yours.

BUT all of these numbers? They are (still) just context.

The real analysis of your show comes from these three questions:

🎯 Stop Chasing Downloads. Measure This Instead.

Here are 3 questions to help you understand your podcast’s success:

Are the right people listening?
What proof do you have that you are reaching decision-makers and potential customers?

Is your audience engaged?
And not just with the podcast, but across platforms, with any content created from the show.

Is your podcast driving business impact?
Example: One of our clients saw two highly qualified leads from their podcast in just three weeks—because they started tracking self-reported attribution on a demo form.

Bottom line: Downloads are nice. But the real ROI of a B2B podcast comes from engagement, lead generation, and brand influence.

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✨ Genius Musings

A collection of helpful resources, events, and other content highlighting what we’re paying attention to currently.

💌 The love month has ended, but we’re still as obsessed with podcasting as ever. Check out our latest show, Wait For It: an annual love letter to podcasting for a breakdown on the strategy, trends, and best practices that developed over 2024. Apple | Spotify | YouTube

📊 Still want more data? Here’s an article from our friends at Pacific Content breaking down video-podcasting metrics b2b podcasters need to know.

😆 Need a good laugh? Listen to this episode of Don’t Say Content if you need a marketing-style pick-me-up.

🏁 Indy friends—event alert! We’d love to see you at Stand Tall in Your Story on March 13th! It’s a this one-of-a-kind evening bringing people for real, human stories, deep connections, and an electric atmosphere of inspiration. (And our own Jackie Yafremava will be sharing her story at the event! 🥳)

📧 Straight from my email, we couldn’t suggest another newsletter more—introducing the team’s current favorite: Kyle Lacy’s Revenue Diaries. You should subscribe.

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🔦 Content Spotlight: Earned ( from CreatorIQ)

It's not every day you see a branded show that gets a shoutout next to Smartless, NPR, and Pop Apologists.

Earned by CreatorIQ landed on a list of beauty execs' favorite podcasts written by WWD. Check out the article here. We are so proud of the CIQ & SYG teams that made this possible! 👏

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