The Audience Growth Advice Podcasters Should Ignore with Alex Sanfilippo

Podcasting advice usually follows a predictable script: * Grow your audience. * Monetize the audience. * Sell a course teaching other people how to monetize their audience. But today’s guest accidentally breaks that formula. Alex Sanfilippo , founder of PodMatch and host of Podcasting Made Simple , builds tools for podcasters, teaches podcasting, and works with thousands of hosts… yet he argues something that sounds almost heretical: Stop focusing on growing your audience. Instead, focus on the listeners you already have. In this episode of Monetize This! , we dig into the strange economics and mythology of podcasting — from inflated rankings to fear-based platform advice — and why your listeners might be your best marketing team. Along the way we talk about: * The surprising origin story of PodMatch * Why “Top 1% Podcast” probably doesn’t mean what you think * The moment a YouTube executive predicted podcasts would become irrelevant * Why niche podcasts outperform “shows about everything” * The myth that every podcast needs social media * The rise of obvious AI-generated podcast episodes * Why 100 listeners might be far more valuable than 100,000 If you’ve ever felt like podcasting advice sounds suspiciously like internet marketing advice… this episode might be for you. Links • PodMatch • Podcasting Made Simple About Monetize This! Monetize This! is the podcast that looks at podcasting advice with a skeptical eye.Because if every guru strategy worked, every podcast would already be rich. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit monetizethispodcast.com