What Your Competitor’s Podcast Is Telling You
If You Know Where to Look
Most podcasters think their biggest competition is attention span.
It’s not.
It’s indifference.
The truth is, most podcasts don’t lose because the host isn’t good or the content isn’t solid, they lose because they’re invisible, undifferentiated, and running on assumptions instead of insight.
That’s why I built my Competitive Intelligence System.
Not to copy.
But to understand the landscape, spot blind spots, and build smarter strategies for visibility, positioning, and growth.
Let me show you how I do it step by step.
Why Competitive Intelligence Matters for Podcasters
You’re not just competing with other podcasts in your niche.
You’re competing with:
Podcasts in adjacent spaces
Newsletters and YouTube channels your listeners follow
The creator who speaks to your audience slightly better than you do
The real advantage comes when you stop guessing what your audience wants and start studying what else they’re already consuming.
The Competitive Intelligence Framework
This is the 5-part process I use to reverse-engineer competitors.
1. Identify Your Real Competitors (Not Just the Obvious Ones)
It’s easy to look at the top 10 podcasts in your category and call them competitors.
But real competition is more subtle:
Who else is speaking to your exact audience?
Whose guests overlap with yours?
Who ranks in Google or YouTube when someone searches for your topic?
Tools I use:
ListenNotes: Great for finding similar podcasts by topic, keywords, or audience tags.
Chartable: Track category rankings, see who’s climbing.
Podchaser: See guest appearances across multiple shows.
YouTube & Google: What shows pop up when your niche is searched?
Pro tip: Look beyond “big” podcasts. The rising mid-tier shows are often your real competition and often easier to outmaneuver.
2. Analyze Their Content Strategy
What are they doing that’s working? What’s not?
I track:
Episode titles and formats
Frequency and publishing cadence
Guest types and headline topics
Visual branding on Spotify/YouTube
Hook structure and intro flow
Calls to action - what are they promoting?
Tools I use:
Rephonic: Great visual network maps of podcast relationships
Snipd or Descript: For analyzing episode transcripts
Spotify/YouTube: To reverse-engineer thumbnails, hooks, and retention
I break this into a simple table:
▪️ Titles
They use mostly question-based titles.
→ My take: I’d add an emotional trigger or personal angle to make the title hit harder.
▪️ CTAs (Calls to Action)
Their CTAs are generic — usually just “subscribe” or “leave a review.”
→ My take: I’d use personalized, episode-specific CTAs that speak to the topic and audience pain.
▪️ Episode Format
Most episodes are around 60 minutes with no clear structure or segments.
→ My take: I’d test shorter episodes or add defined segments to keep attention and improve retention.
3. Track Their Audience Signals
Look at how their audience engages:
What episodes get the most shares?
Which guests get the highest views?
What posts perform best on social?
What kind of comments show up under episodes?
Tools I use:
Twitter/X + LinkedIn: How their content is being discussed
YouTube comment analysis: Which topics trigger real feedback
Substack or email newsletters: What angles they use to drive traffic
Look for patterns. Is their audience obsessed with "starting a business" or more interested in "mental resilience”? That’s your clue.
4. Reverse-Engineer Their Monetization & Funnel
Where does their podcast lead?
I look at:
Lead magnets or freebies
Links in their show notes
Product mentions (courses, books, services)
Affiliate marketing
Podcast ad placement or sponsor strategy
Tools I use:
Podscribe.ai: Helps extract sponsor info and transcript CTAs
Their website/Linktree: To understand their funnel flow
Beehiiv/Substack: Check how they position their newsletter
💡 Ask yourself: What’s their business model? Can I offer something more specific, faster, more actionable, or more aligned with my audience’s pain?
5. Position Smarter, Not Louder
This is where everything clicks.
Once I know:
Who else my audience follows
What those shows do well
Where they’re dropping the ball
What gaps exist…
…position yourself trategically. Not by being louder but by being clearer.
ask:
What do I say that they don’t?
What belief can I challenge that no one else is touching?
What format, frequency, or experience could I offer that stands out?
💡 This is how you create your visibility loop by aligning your show’s positioning with what the audience really wants but isn’t getting yet.
A Quick Example: One Client’s Pivot
One of my clients was running a podcast in the productivity niche.
Her growth had stalled.
We ran a competitive intelligence audit and found:
Her titles were clear but uninspiring.
Competitors were running shorter episodes with strong storytelling arcs.
Her audience was responding more to emotional decision-making content than tactical advice.
We adjusted:
Titles from “How to Plan Your Day” → “I Wasted 3 Years Trying to Get More Done - Here’s What Actually Worked”
Episodes from 60 min unstructured → 30 min 3-act arcs with strong intros
Added a 3-email sequence from the podcast → course funnel
In 60 days, her downloads went up 2x - and she started getting inbound client leads.
Why?
Because we stopped guessing and started studying.
TL;DR: If You’re Not Studying the Landscape, You’re Flying Blind
This system isn’t about stealing.
It’s about understanding the market you’re trying to grow in.
Because the real podcast edge in 2025 isn’t luck.
It’s clarity.
And clarity comes from knowing who else is in the room and exactly how to stand out.
👋 Thanks for reading!
ALex.