Podcasters Invited to Go 90 Days without Checking Their Stats

Stats like download numbers, likes, reshares, and followers are important, but excessive focus on them can lead to distraction, frustration, and burnout.

Today, podcaster and creative coach Mark Steadman challenges creators to go 90 days without counting their downloads and to raise funds for charity in the process.

“I want to shift the focus towards the things we can control and away from the things we can’t”, said Mark.

As a podcaster himself, Mark understands how easy it is for checking stats to become a habit. It can be like a nervous tic - a moment of boredom leads to checking for new downloads, only to be disappointed when the numbers haven’t changed since the last check just 15 minutes ago.

Mark believes that excessive focus on outcomes, such as whether numbers go up or down, distracts from focusing on outputs - the daily actions creators take to improve by just 1%. By staying away from analytics, creators can redirect their energy towards producing quality content and building meaningful connections with their audience.

“There are other ways to get feedback than looking at a graph. And you don’t fatten a chicken by weighing it,” Mark continues.

This playful campaign aims to foster a healthier mindset, enhance productivity, and contribute to the overall wellbeing of podcasters and internet creators.

What sets this challenge apart is that participants are invited to raise funds for a charity of their choice. By creating their own JustGiving page and sharing the link, creators’ audiences can challenge them by pledging an amount of money to encourage them to go further.

Creators can take up the challenge at nostats90.com and use the hashtag #nostats90. The challenge begins on February 5th.

Mark Steadman is a veteran podcaster, published author, creative coach, and the host of Morning Creative, a daily podcast for professional creatives, hobbyists, makers, and artists. He founded the Birmingham Podcast Festival in the UK’s second city, co-designed the Bullseye category of the British Podcast Awards, and has appeared on the BBC and ITV.

Morning Creative is a podcast intended to be a regular companion for people who do creative work or want to make a living from their own art. Each episode offers a story, lessons, and actionable advice for creators to consider on their creative journey.