The Signal for Podcast Hosts
Chart movement, guest amplification, episode citations, competitor shows — all monitored across the week and delivered Monday morning with exactly three things to do before your next recording.
Start your free briefBuilt for independent podcast hosts. No agency account required.
What The Signal watches
Other reputation tools monitor your name in the general web. Podcast hosts have a parallel ecosystem — directories, chart rankings, episode citation networks, guest amplification signals. The Signal is built for that ecosystem specifically.
Chart position
Your rank in Apple Podcasts and Spotify by category — tracked weekly with delta. Know when you are climbing, holding, or sliding before it becomes a trend.
Review velocity
New reviews across Apple, Spotify, and Podchaser. Volume spikes, sentiment shifts, and every 1-star review flagged individually so you can respond this week.
Guest amplification
When a guest mentions your show on LinkedIn, Instagram, or their own platform after recording — detected within 48 hours so you can capitalise on the window.
Episode citations
When another show, publication, or newsletter references one of your episodes as source material. Authority signals that compound over time.
Competitor shows
The three shows you watch most closely — monitored for chart movement, new episodes, and citation activity in your category.
Publish frequency
Your RSS feed monitored for gaps. Chart position begins to slip after 150% of your normal interval — you will know before the algorithm does.
Sample Brief
What happened
Your Partner in Success moved from #34 to #27 in the Entrepreneurship category this week — up 7 places. Four new Apple Podcasts reviews posted (avg 5★), including one 5-star review that specifically mentioned the Gary Rossini episode. Your guest from last Tuesday, Marcus Chen, mentioned the show in a LinkedIn post to his 22,000 followers 36 hours after the episode dropped — the post currently has 847 impressions. Competitor show The Business Growth Podcast entered the Entrepreneurship top 25 for the first time this week, landing at #22.
What it means
The chart movement is real — seven positions in one week puts you back inside the top 30, which is the visibility threshold where Apple begins surfacing your show to non-subscribers in the category browse. Marcus Chen's LinkedIn post is the signal of the week: with 36 hours elapsed you are still inside the amplification window, and 847 impressions from someone else's audience is earned distribution you did not pay for. The Business Growth Podcast entering the top 25 warrants a listen — not panic, but awareness. If they are covering the same founder interview territory you cover, knowing their angle this week is worth 20 minutes.
What to do
1. **Reply to Marcus Chen's LinkedIn post today** — go to the post, reply with something specific: the timestamp of the part he mentioned, a link to the episode, and one sentence for his audience on why they should listen. Do not just say thank you. The 48-hour window on guest amplification is closing tonight. 2. **Share your chart position on LinkedIn this afternoon** — "#27 in Entrepreneurship this week" with the category name is more specific social proof than "top 30 podcast." Specific numbers convert better than ranges, and the algorithm is rewarding you right now. 3. **Listen to one recent episode of The Business Growth Podcast this week** — 20 minutes, take one note on their positioning angle. You do not need to change your show. You need to know if they are moving into your territory before it shows up in your chart numbers.
In every brief
Chart position delta
Apple & Spotify, by category
Review count + sentiment
Apple, Spotify, Podchaser
Guest amplification alerts
48–72 hr window detection
Episode citation tracking
Shows, press, newsletters
Competitor show monitoring
Up to 3 shows
Publish frequency tracking
Via RSS feed
How it works
01
Set up your show
Enter your show name, Apple and Spotify URLs, and the three competitor shows you watch. Takes under five minutes.
02
The Signal watches all week
Chart position, reviews, guest amplification, episode citations, competitor movement — all tracked Monday to Sunday.
03
Monday morning brief
What happened, what it means, and three specific things to do. In your inbox before your first call.
Set up in under five minutes. Your first brief arrives next Monday. No credit card required to get started.
Start watching your show →