7 Day Downloads: What Are They And Why Do They Matter?

What are 7-day downloads?

7-day downloads are a commonly used metric to measure the success of a particular episode within the first week it is published. As you might have guessed from the name, it accounts for the total number of plays that an episode has had within 7 days.

Why do 7-day downloads matter?

7-day downloads are a great way to internally benchmark your episode launch performance. 

For example, if the first episode you published had 200 total 7-day downloads and you’ve put a few marketing resources behind it, you can use that as a benchmark for where your second episode should land. 

Now, let’s continue that example. If the second episode you published only got 100 downloads, it’s worth exploring why a lower download count occurred. There could be a few reasons for this:

• Did you use additional promotional channels for your first episode? 
• Was your social media following initially excited about the launch of your show? 
• Was your second episode’s content not as timely or as “buzz-worthy” as your first episode?
• Did your first episode feature a more high-profile guest?

Whatever theories you have, consider how you can implement improvements to your next episode launch. By doing this each time you release an episode, eventually, through trial and error, you will get to the heart of what works for your audience.

Where to find 7-day downloads in CoHost

CoHost shows 7-day downloads in our dashboard summary or the analytics center under "downloads".