Audience Growth Still Eludes Many Independent Podcasters, Survey Finds.

Independent podcasters are publishing consistently, embracing video and AI, and spending money on their shows. But despite those investments, the biggest challenge remains finding new listeners.

RSS.com’s new Podcaster Insights Survey gathered responses from 195 creators using the hosting platform. While it isn’t meant to represent every podcaster, the data offers a snapshot of how many independent podcasters are building and growing their businesses today.

The survey finds 62% of respondents publish new episodes at least weekly, while 41% have produced more than 50 episodes and 27% have surpassed the 100-episode mark, suggesting many respondents are established creators rather than newcomers.

Yet even experienced podcasters continue to struggle with audience development. Seven in ten identify growing their audience as one of their biggest challenges, far ahead of discoverability (32%), monetization (24%) and marketing or promotion (18%). Nearly half (46%) also say audience growth is their primary goal today.

The findings suggest that for independent creators, building an audience remains the gateway to virtually every other objective, from attracting sponsors to booking guests and sustaining long-term production.

“Audience growth affects almost everything else: motivation, monetization potential, collaboration opportunities, guest booking, and long-term consistency,” RSS.com says in a blog post. “Even creators who are publishing regularly are still asking the same question: how do I get this show in front of more of the right people?”

The survey also shows there is no longer a single path to podcast discovery.

Podcast apps remain the largest source of new listeners, cited by nearly a third (31%) of respondents, followed closely by social media at 29%. One in five say word of mouth is important for them.

While podcast apps remain the biggest current source of new listeners, creators are placing their future growth bets elsewhere. When asked which platforms offer the greatest opportunity for future growth, respondents ranked social media first at 35%, more than double the share that selected YouTube (15%) or Apple Podcasts (14%). Websites and SEO and Spotify each followed at 11%.

Video is also becoming a standard part of the discovery strategy. The survey finds half (51%) of respondents now record video in some form. More than a third (35%) publish both audio and video versions of their podcasts, while another 15% record video even if they ultimately release only the audio version. Among those publishing video, nearly two in three (63%) believe it has helped grow their audience.

“Video is not replacing audio podcasting. It’s becoming a top-of-funnel growth layer that creates discovery opportunities the traditional podcast directories don’t,” RSS.com says.

Artificial intelligence is becoming another increasingly common part of podcast production, although respondents appear to be using it primarily to streamline workflows rather than create content.

Overall, 56% say they either regularly use AI or are experimenting with it. The most common applications include generating transcripts (35%), writing show notes and descriptions (33%), brainstorming topics (32%), creating artwork (24%), editing (22%) and repurposing episodes into social content (21%).

Monetization, meanwhile, remains a work in progress for many independent creators. Only 39% of respondents say they currently monetize their podcasts. Among those generating revenue, nearly half (48%) identify programmatic advertising as their primary income source, followed by listener support (20%) and sponsorships (14%). For creators who have yet to monetize, the biggest obstacle is audience size (48%), while more than a quarter (28%) say they’re focused on growing their shows before pursuing revenue opportunities.

While RSS.com does offer free hosting options, its survey finds that 72% of indie creators are paying for podcast-related tools or services, most commonly hosting platforms, websites, editing software and AI tools.