My name is Niall Mackay, the Podcast Guy
I’ve produced hundreds of episodes and helped many others launch their shows too. But one thing I always wondered was this: how do you grow your podcast to massive numbers?
So I invited Gary Arndt onto the Smarter Podcasting show to find out. Gary is the host of Everything Everywhere Daily, and he recently hit 50 million downloads.
Gary’s Start in Podcasting
Gary told me he started with digital audio all the way back in the year 2000. It wasn’t even called podcasting yet. That blew my mind. I thought I had been doing this for a while, but Gary was way ahead.
He was using Winamp to live stream while playing EverQuest with his guild. He also had a video game company and created a live show called All Game Radio. But since it was all live, it was hard to grow an audience.
His first real podcast came in 2009. He was traveling the world and met a group of travel bloggers. He suggested starting a show together. That became This Week in Travel. They ran it for 11 years and got around 20,000–25,000 downloads per month. But as Gary shared, they never made a cent from it. Scheduling was always tough, and during the pandemic, they simply had nothing left to talk about.
Gary Arndt started Everything Everywhere Daily during the pandemic, around early 2020. He mentioned that he began it as a daily show when the travel industry shut down and he suddenly had “nothing but time.” He told me that when he started Everything Everywhere Daily, he committed to doing a daily show from day one. Even when his audience was still small, he was showing up every day. He also did something very smart — he added ads right from the first episode, even though he didn’t have real sponsors yet.
Instead, he signed up for affiliate programs, created his own ads, and got his listeners used to hearing them. That way, when real ads came along, it felt normal.
But here’s what really stood out: Gary invested money into his show right away. Not a lot — just a few hundred dollars at first — but enough to make a difference. He spent it on ads inside podcast apps. And when your audience is small, even small ad budgets can make a big impact.
1. You Need a Great Show First (Not Just Great Marketing)
Gary didn’t sugarcoat this. He said it directly: Most podcasts aren’t very good.
He’s not trying to be mean, just honest. He pointed out that many podcasts fail because there’s no compelling reason for people to listen. They might have poor sound quality, unfocused content, or just not enough preparation.
As a podcast producer, I’ve seen this too. I once listened to a show from a big company and expected it to be polished. Instead, I could hear background noise, people talking, and even see a broken light flickering in the studio. It was a mess. Your show has to give people a reason to listen. That starts with quality. No amount of marketing can save a bad show.
2. You Don’t Have to Niche Down – If You Do This Instead
Most podcasting advice tells you to pick a niche and go deep. Gary ignored that completely. His podcast is called Everything Everywhere Daily. It’s as broad as it gets.
But here’s the secret: even though his topics are broad, his format is tight. The show is consistent: one host, scripted content, short episodes, and daily publishing. That structure keeps people coming back.
His audience is incredibly diverse: kids, professors, truck drivers, curious minds from all over the world. That’s possible because he focused on format and quality, not on narrowing his content. Instead of building for a niche, he built the show he wished someone else had made. And because of his unique background (five university degrees, 13 years of travel), he was the perfect person to make it.
3. Short, Scripted, Daily Shows = Binge-Worthy
One of Gary’s best decisions was to make the show short. Each episode is about 15 minutes. It’s dense with info, well written, and easy to digest. And because it’s short, people often listen to multiple episodes at once. He said, “People consume it like candy.”
He even started something called the Completionist Club for listeners who’ve heard every single episode. Not just a few people — thousands have done it.
At the time of our conversation, Gary had recorded nearly 1,800 episodes. And that consistency has built an incredibly loyal audience. He said every episode is an opportunity to be discovered, and doing a daily show gives him seven times more chances to reach people than a weekly one.
This really made me think about my own podcast. When I added a second weekly episode, I started seeing more downloads, not just on new episodes but across my entire back catalog. Consistency + volume = growth.
4. Interviews Can Hurt You (Unless You’re a Big Name)
Gary doesn’t do interviews on his show. Ever. He’s the only voice on his show (aside from historical clips now and then).
He explained why interview shows are hard to grow: unless your guest is famous, people aren’t likely to care. And with so many interview podcasts out there, it’s almost impossible to stand out. Even great hosts struggle if the guest isn’t interesting or if the conversation doesn’t go deep enough.
This made me laugh, because I was literally interviewing him while he said this.
But he’s right. The best podcasts bring something unique. His solo format gives him total control, and it helps him focus on delivering value in every single episode. There’s no small talk, no fluff. Just content.
5. Stop Relying on Social Media – Promote Where Podcast Listeners Are
This one really hit home.
Gary had a TikTok account with 17,000 followers. Some of his videos got hundreds of thousands of views. But guess what? It didn’t lead to new podcast listeners.
He explained that people on TikTok are just scrolling. They’re not stopping to open Spotify or Apple Podcasts. The gap between platforms is too big. He even hired someone to make professional video clips, but it still didn’t work. That’s when he decided to stop using social media entirely.
Instead, Gary puts his energy into advertising on podcast apps and running ads on other podcasts. And it works, because that’s where podcast listeners already are. He said it best:
“100% of people listening to this podcast… listen to podcasts.”
It sounds obvious, but so many of us forget that.
6. Treat It Like a Business – Time AND Money
Gary’s most powerful point was this: if you’re not putting in real time or money, don’t expect real growth.
He said when he launched Everything Everywhere Daily, he added affiliate ads from episode one — even though he didn’t have a big audience yet. He also started spending money right away. Just a couple hundred dollars on podcast app ads at first, but he saw results.
Now? He’s investing up to $35,000 this summer to promote his show.
He compared it to launching a restaurant. You wouldn’t open one without investing money. Yet many podcasters expect growth from zero investment. He said:
“If Marvel Studios has to spend $100 million to promote The Avengers, why do you think your podcast doesn’t need any marketing?”
And that stuck with me.
Gary also broke another “rule”: he went full-time from the start. The pandemic killed his travel business, so he gave 100% of his energy to podcasting. And that’s what it took. Half-effort won’t get you full results.
Final Thoughts: Effort In = Results Out
Talking to Gary gave me a lot to think about. He didn’t just stumble into success. He planned for it. He wrote every day. He spent money. He made a show people actually wanted to listen to — not just once, but every day.
And I get it — not everyone can go full-time or spend thousands on ads. But we can all treat our shows like they matter. We can improve quality, stay consistent, and promote smart.
Since I started adding a second weekly episode to my shows, I’ve seen growth. After talking to Gary, I’m seriously thinking about doing more.
Because like he said:
“The fastest way to double your downloads… is to do two episodes a week.”
