Monthly podcast report template for useful reviews

This monthly podcast report template gives you one repeatable page for reach, discovery, attention, and action. Copy the block below into a document or spreadsheet, replace the brackets, and keep the definitions stable from month to month.

The report is built for decisions, not for collecting every number your tools expose. It keeps cross-app downloads separate from platform plays, retention, and conversions because those metrics observe different events.

Copyable monthly podcast report template

**[Show name] monthly podcast report**

Reporting period: [Month and year]
Prepared by: [Owner]
Data extracted: [Date and time]
Cross-app measurement source: [Host or prefix]
Comparison period: [Previous month or other fixed period]
Episode comparison window: [Fixed period after publication]

**1. Executive readout**

- Reach: [One sentence stating the result and comparison]
- Discovery: [One sentence stating what changed]
- Attention: [One sentence stating the clearest retention finding]
- Action: [One sentence stating the observable outcome]
- Constraint: [Missing data, outage, schedule change, or scope limit]

**2. Reach**

| Metric | This month | Comparison | Change | Source and scope |
|---|---:|---:|---:|---|
| Cross-app downloads | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [Named source] |
| New-episode downloads in fixed window | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [Named source] |
| Back-catalog downloads | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [Named source] |

Notes: [Publishing cadence, feed change, promotion, or other context]

**3. Episode performance**

| Episode | Published | Format | Downloads in fixed window | Platform attention note | Action note |
|---|---|---|---:|---|---|
| [Title] | [Date] | [Interview/solo/etc.] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| [Title] | [Date] | [Interview/solo/etc.] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| [Title] | [Date] | [Interview/solo/etc.] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |

Best-supported finding: [One finding based on comparable episodes]

**4. Discovery**

| Source | Metric | This month | Comparison | Scope |
|---|---|---:|---:|---|
| Spotify for Creators | Impressions | [ ] | [ ] | Spotify only |
| Spotify for Creators | Plays | [ ] | [ ] | Spotify only |
| [Campaign source] | Tagged visits or clicks | [ ] | [ ] | [Defined campaign] |

Finding: [Where discovery rose or fell, without claiming a cause you did not test]

**5. Attention**

| Platform | Episode | Measure | Result | Drop point or note |
|---|---|---|---:|---|
| [Platform] | [Title] | [Source-defined measure] | [ ] | [Timestamp and audio event] |
| [Platform] | [Title] | [Source-defined measure] | [ ] | [Timestamp and audio event] |

Finding: [What the platform-level data supports]

**6. Actions**

| Goal | Observable event | Result | Source | Campaign or destination |
|---|---|---:|---|---|
| [Newsletter growth] | [Confirmed signup] | [ ] | [Email tool] | [Tagged page] |
| [Sponsor response] | [Defined conversion] | [ ] | [Advertiser/tool] | [Campaign] |
| [Product demand] | [Trial/purchase/call] | [ ] | [CRM/store] | [Tagged page] |

Limitation: [State any mismatch between exposure and conversion scope]

**7. Decisions and owners**

| Finding | Action | Owner | Due date | How we will check it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |

**8. Definition or source changes**

[Record any changed metric, source, filter, feed, host, prefix, or extraction schedule. Write "None" if nothing changed.]

How to fill the monthly podcast report

Complete the header first. The reporting period says which activity belongs in the report. The extraction date says when you pulled it. The source and comparison window tell the reader what the numbers mean.

The IAB Tech Lab podcast measurement guidelines state that podcast measurement relies on server logs because episodes are downloaded for consumption, unlike media that keeps an open connection with the user's device. The guidelines cover downloads, audience, and ad delivery. Name the system applying those definitions in your report.

If you changed hosts or installed a prefix during the month, write the cutover date in the header and section 8. Do not present the two sources as one uninterrupted series unless you have verified that their definitions and filters match.

Customize the reach section

Use one cross-app source for the reach table. Include total downloads, a fixed-window view of new releases, and back-catalog activity if the archive contributes meaningful traffic.

A fixed window gives every episode the same time to accumulate requests. Without it, an episode published early in the month will usually have an unfair advantage over one published near month end.

Keep lifetime episode totals on a supporting tab. The monthly review needs a fair current comparison, while lifetime performance answers a different question. How to measure podcast downloads explains the underlying count and its limits.

Customize the discovery section

Discovery is platform-specific. Spotify's creator growth page describes plays, followers, retention, and impression analytics inside Spotify. Put those metrics in a Spotify-labelled panel rather than treating them as the whole show's audience.

Add rows for campaigns you can identify through tagged links or a defined promotion source. Report the observed visits or clicks. Do not claim that every later download came from the campaign unless your measurement method can support that link.

The podcast analytics tools guide can help you decide which dashboard belongs in each section.

Customize the attention section

Retention belongs to the platform that observed playback. Name the platform, its metric, and the episode. Do not average unlike retention measures into a cross-app percentage.

For each notable drop, listen at the timestamp and write down the audio event. A drop beside "six-minute housekeeping segment" gives the producer something to test. A drop with no listening review is only a shape on a chart.

Compare interviews with interviews and short episodes with short episodes when possible. How to measure listener retention provides a more detailed review method.

Customize the actions section

Choose events your systems record: confirmed newsletter signups, tracked link visits, purchases, trials, booked calls, replies, or advertiser-defined conversions. Name the source and destination for each row.

Keep the scope honest. A sponsor conversion report may cover one campaign and one tracking method. A cross-app download count covers another population. Show both facts, but do not manufacture a rate from incompatible numerator and denominator data.

For sponsor-facing reports, add delivery, campaign dates, placement, creative, and the advertiser's agreed outcome. The podcast sponsorship guide covers the commercial context behind those fields.

Write the executive readout last

The executive readout is not a recap of every cell. It should give one supported sentence for each measurement lane and one limitation that affects interpretation.

Use concrete language:

• "Two interview episodes led the fixed-window download table."
• "Spotify impressions rose while the play rate moved the other way."
• "The largest repeated retention drop began during the opening housekeeping segment."
• "Tagged newsletter visits produced confirmed signups in the email platform."

Avoid causal language unless you ran a test that supports it. An episode can rise after a promotion without proving that the promotion caused the full increase.

Run the monthly review

Send the completed report before the meeting. Use the meeting to decide what changes, not to watch someone copy values between tabs.

Limit the action register to work the team can complete and evaluate before the next review. Give every action one owner and one check. Put findings that change a decision in the readout and leave the rest in the supporting data.

Keep section 8 even when nothing changed. A written "None" confirms that somebody checked the measurement setup. That makes later trend breaks much easier to investigate.

Start tracking your show with Podder, then copy this report into your monthly workflow. Keep the source labels visible, preserve the definitions, and end each review with work somebody owns.