Off Script: Christmas Cheers and Podcasting Wins: 2025 Wrapped

Join David John Clark, the Late Bloomer Actor, for a festive Christmas Day episode filled with reflections on a remarkable year. From the warmth of Adelaide, Australia, David shares insights into his podcasting journey, celebrating a 125% audience growth and a 51% increase in followers. Dive into the stats, hear about the most popular episodes, and enjoy a heartfelt thank you to listeners worldwide. Whether you're celebrating a white Christmas or enjoying the summer sun, this episode is a perfect companion to your holiday festivities. Tune in for a blend of gratitude, data, and a sneak peek into what's coming in 2026!

Chapters

• 0:00 Christmas Greetings and Reflections
• 2:43 Podcasting Journey and Listener Engagement
• 5:14 Spotify Wrapped Insights
• 6:08 Audience Growth and Engagement
• 8:00 Top Episodes and Listener Demographics
• 15:02 Celebrating Achievements and Future Plans

Transcript

David John Clark (00:00)

Ho, ho, ho Merry Christmas. Well, you're to hear me say that twice

because I had to record the whole Christmas special edition with my Christmas shirt on and my Christmas tree, but I forgot my Christmas hat. So you got the whole episode for you, for everyone watching on YouTube. I didn't wear my Christmas hat and I wanted to do something quickly. This is a prelude to the episode with my Christmas hat and my Christmas tree and my almost Christmas shirt. So you just won't my hat. So get ready guys. We've got a special edition

coming up for you for this Christmas Day 2025. Merry Christmas.

David John Clark (00:37)

Ho ho ho Merry Christmas Merry Christmas everyone and welcome. Welcome to The Late Bloomer Actor. That is me David John Clark the late bloomer actor and this is a special Christmas Day episode and partially blocked by my mic for those watching on YouTube. You can see my wonderful Christmas tree in the background there. So and this is the closest shirt I could get to a Christmas feel I should have ordered Christmas outfit or something like that. But I didn't!

And for everyone listening on your podcast player. Thank you very much for joining us. If you wanna have a look at my Christmas tree, check me out on YouTube and have a sticky beak there or watch the whole episode again if you feel up to it. But welcome. Thank you very much for joining me on this wonderful Christmas day wherever you are in the world. For us, it's not a very hot Christmas, which is unusual. It's a beautiful day for us in Adelaide, Australia.

For the rest of the world, well, those over in Europe and the States, you might be having a standard white Christmas. So congratulations if you are. But wherever you are, I hope you are having a wonderful day. If you're listening to this after Christmas, I hope you had a wonderful day. And if it's after New Year, I hope you had a wonderful New Year and are looking forward to 2026. Can you believe that 2026 already here and we'll be going into season five

of The Late Bloomer Actor podcast. So that's pretty amazing really. And that's a good segue into what I would like to talk about today for this special episode is stats. ⁓ my God, Christmas day, we're gonna talk about stats. Yes, I'm hoping this will be interesting both for those viewing, you'll be able to see what I'm looking at and I will try and articulate the data as much as possible for those listening. Basically, I just wanted to just...

return some feedback to you, the listeners, for everything that you do. The medium of podcasting is sometimes a one-way medium from the host to you, the listener. You've got your headphones in, in the gym or out walking, or you're in the car. Most of the times, unlike anyone watching on YouTube or anything on YouTube, where you can make comments straight up anytime in the video, it's a bit hard with podcasting. And then by the time you get home and you're...

cooking dinner, you've forgotten about it, you don't get that opportunity to interact if you wish to. So that's why I wanted to have this quick episode today to run through. It's the stats from Spotify, so the Wrapped for Creators. It is a pretty good indication of the stats across the board, both through Apple and all other podcast players. My host Buzzsprout will be releasing a full

similar wrapped, forget what they call it, but it'll be a stat for the year. But they like to do it in January. And so encompasses the entire year. But for our purposes today, it'll be pretty good. So what I'm going to do for those watching on YouTube, I will be sharing my screen. And if I have the time and the ability, I will try and put some screenshots in as chapter art. So for those listening on their podcast players, if your podcast player allows chapters, you'll be able to see the

images there as small as it will be on your phone. Before we go into that, again, I just really wanted to reiterate, thank you very much. At times both in my acting journey and podcasting journey, I feel like I'm not gaining traction, I'm not going anywhere. But then you see data like this, and it sort of gives you that impetus to keep pushing through. So and that's all because of you guys listening. So thank you very much. And if you do have

something you want to put up for the new year. So what am I going to do next year is different. Sending some feedback or questions or reviews or anything like that, that I can get that feedback coming back to me would be wonderful. So thank you very much.

Alrighty. that comes up good for me. I can see my ⁓ web page from Spotify and I can see myself in a little pop up so I know what's going on. There you go, ladies and gentlemen, if you're on YouTube, thank you very much for joining us. You are seeing my 2025 Wrapped for Creators from Spotify. And for those of you listening, thank you very much. I'm going to do my best to articulate the data as much as possible so you can hear

what we're seeing. So we're clicking see it now. This is from Spotify data. But as I said, it is quite similar to the data across the board. Most of the listener data is quite similar. So it's just loading now and then we'll go through.

2025 Wrapped for Creators for the Late Bloomer Actor podcast. It is here. Let's go.

Quite a year for me, apparently.

And as I was saying before, it's a little proof that hard work pays off. Spotify is reading my mind I swear. My total audience from last year has increased by 125%. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, listening on podcasts, you heard that correct. 125 % increase in total audience. You sort of don't see that as you release each episode, but to see that data at the end of the year is absolutely fantastic.

My total new audience is up 999%. That figure seems a little bit off to me. I have seen that in other data, so I'm not 100 % sure where they get that data from, but I'm running with it. 1000%! But this is a bit more realistic, ladies and gentlemen, 51 % in total followers, an increase of 51 % from last year. So that's a very good number. It shows that we've got that steady, you

curve upwards, which is fantastic. And we have a 50 % increase in total listening time from last year. One of the biggest things I talk about in podcasting and with some of my podcasts shows that I listen to is, is about the data. And they always talk about downloads in data and they all wrote so many downloads, but unfortunately, download is just if someone's downloaded your show or they've clicked on it, but they haven't listened to it.

I'm after a change in 2026 of listener data being retention data. So knowing how long people listen to, it's no good knowing that a thousand downloads happened if no one's listening to your episode past five minutes marks, but I'd rather know that 70 % of my audience listens to on average 80 % of the show. Or if 70 % of my audience is only listening to 10 % of my show, then that gives me data to say, we need to make some changes. That's what I'm hoping for in the future.

Now we dive a little bit more into the episode. So this might be good for someone that, for any of you that have listened to every episode. So this year there was one episode that rose above the rest. Dun, dun, dun, dun. And not surprisingly, it's the Chubbuck Technique with Ivana Chubbuck. This was played 298 % more than my average episodes. Ivana is a, a well-known author and acting teacher as all my acting listeners here should know.

And it was a very, very good episode. And it was wonderful to have a chat with her because I just thought, my God, it's just one of those moments where you get to talk to someone that you think that you would never have that opportunity. So it was fantastic. Because I've never been classically trained or anything. So I've never really had a direct involvement into her technique, but I've aware of it and to have a chat with her and to see her insights into the whole process and, to be able to refer back to her book that I've read

was fantastic. So that was very good. If you haven't checked it out, check out the Chubbuck Technique with Ivana Chubbuck. Play 298 % more than your average episode. So there you go.

And we're still quoting it. What have we got here?

You're listening passport got a real workout. Okay. This is the data that's really interesting guys. I'm really ⁓ like this one. There was 33 countries reached overall. 33 countries! I didn't even know there was that many countries in the world. No, that's a silly statement, but that is absolutely amazing to have that kind of data. So my top countries were going from five to number one, Italy was number five, Germany, the number four.

Canada, number three. It's wonderful. The United States, number two and what do you think, ladies and gentlemen? Of course, number one hidden by my camera was Australia. So thank you very much to everyone in those countries for listening. Certainly appreciated. And how cool would that be if I get to go to all those countries one day and meet my listeners. Australia, of course, I get to meet you all the time, especially in Adelaide anyway.

Continuing on...

Now we're talking about fans. Top fans assemble. Your show made it to the top of many fans lists. I am a top 10 show for 62 fans. Now that doesn't seem like a big number, but that's pretty fantastic in my opinion. The top 10 shows. It depends. I don't know how many shows people listen to. I've got probably, I reckon 30 podcasts in my podcast player that I regularly listen to ⁓ over time.

So to be a people's top 10 show is fantastic. So if you're one of those 62 reach out and let me know that's fantastic. And I really, really appreciate it. So I'm a top five show for 37 fans. Now we're building it. Now I'm in the top five of someone's shows that they listen to. That's fantastic. Thank you very much.

And I am the number one show for nine fans. Again, you go nine fans, but that's fantastic. Around the whole world out of all the shows that people listen to, like Joe Rogan is the number one, but I am the number one show for nine fans. So thank you very much. Now, if you know that's you, again, reach out because we can have a chat. Maybe we'll bring you on the show for a special Off Script episode to have a chat to you and find out what you get from the show. So I appreciate that.

To have someone that has my show as their number one. So thank you very much. That is just brilliant.

My top fan streamed 2.8 times more than everyone else. And 20 % of them binge two plus episodes in one day. Listening to me for two hours in one day. That is saying it all. So thank you very much. That dedication. Spotify just says that is dedication and certainly much appreciated with me. It goes without saying your fans have great taste. Wow. Well, thank you. Thank you very much.

All right. Okay. We're gonna have a look at what else they're listening to. so besides listening to my old voice, they're listening to Taylor Swift. I know Taylor Swift, The Weeknd spelled W E E K N D. I'm assuming that's not a spelling mistake. I have not heard that one. Lady Gaga. Well, everyone knows Lady Gaga is the number three. Drake is number four. And Morgan Wallen. Another one. I don't know Morgan Wallen. I'm going to have to look these people up.

Top audio books listened to my listeners. Well, number one was The Subtle Art Of Not Giving a F*ck. I've not read the book. ⁓ I've heard it is very good. And in, in the way life is going at the moment, I just love that title. I'm going to keep this episode so I don't have to tick explicit. So I won't say the full word, but the Subtle Art Of Not Giving a F*ck is supposed to be a great book.

Number two was Finding Gobi of main edition. The true story of a little dog and an incredible journey. ⁓ that sounds wonderful. ⁓ Sounds probably got sad moments in it. Certainly something my wife would not be interested in listening to because she doesn't like anything sad with animals. Number three, the cheetahs game. Interesting. The shards by Brett Esten Ellis and number five was visualize. Think, feel, perform like

top 1%. Sounds like a motivational book. Maybe I should read that one. Fantastic guys. Awesome. And the top shows by my fans from Wandery. Number one, the armchair expert with Dax Shepard. Unfortunately, that's not one that I've listened to. So I've just got too many, too many shows. Can't keep up. The sleepy bookshelf, something to wrestle with Bruce Pritchard.

And here's one I do listen to the diary of a CEO with Stephen Bartlett, but he's been a bit quiet for the last month. So I'm not 100 % sure what's going there. But some of his episodes are very, very insightful. So I do enjoy that. And number five, Jim Cornett's drive through. I've not heard that one either. So, if you're interested guys, look them up. Okay, apparently I might want to frame this. So I'll try and articulate this one for you listeners as much as possible. But

For those watching on YouTube, you get to see it. I'm going to need a drum roll. Maybe I should use the sound effects that Riverside provides so can have a drum roll. 2025 rising star this year, your show's growth outpaced 83 % of other shows. 83 % of other shows. That's pretty good. It's a 2025 marathon show. Fans listen to my show for longer than 85 % of other shows. There's that magic number again. 85%. Wow.

And my average rating was higher than 72 % of other shows. That is fantastic. Out of all the shows out there, I'm getting these kind of numbers. So that is invigorating to keep going, especially as we're going to season five. The Late Bloomer Actor with David John Clark. There's my logo for those of you not watching your year, your fans, your story, let them in on the win! And that's what I'm doing today. I'm letting you in on the win. And that is it by the looks of it. People.

Thank you very much. I will try and articulate those screenshots as much as possible into the chapters for you listening on on podcast players and and for everyone on YouTube. Thank you very much for joining us. What else am going to say? I should let you go back to your Christmas dinners if you listening to this on Christmas Day, I release at about 7 p.m. Christmas Day in Australian time, which is just after midnight in the United States, who are the ⁓

last across the threshold at midnight. So thank you very much. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to the new year. If you're listening to this before then or after, I hope 2026 is absolutely fantastic for you. If I can ask you a couple of things going into 2026, I would love to have some feedback from you through

whatever medium you wish to do, reach out to me via my email address. The link is in the show notes or follow me on Facebook or LinkedIn. I have the Late Bloomer Actor podcast page there and let's get some interaction going. It would be fantastic to have some ⁓ guests mentioned here. And if you wish, you can subscribe for as little as $3 a month. And if you do get to, if you do become a subscriber, you get to be involved in my live recording. So you get to see it all happening

in the studio and ask questions of the guests. So, and you'll get a mention on future episodes as well. So that would be fantastic. So I'm not going to waste any more of your Christmas day people. Thank you very much. It's been a wonderful year. I, once I get my Buzzsprout stats, I may share them again, perhaps not in a whole episode to bore you with them, but if you're interested, I'm certainly happy to share them with you because my data is your data.

It's there because you listen. So I appreciate that very much. Thank you very much. As we go into season five, I'm looking forward to it. I've got January's episode ready to go in the bag. It's something a little bit different, but it's something I've spoken about on the podcast and something that is very pertinent for actors. It was talked about during COVID. It's all about the financial side and about how you can make money, make ⁓ your dreams continue. So you're not just a

out of work actor as a waiter or waitress, so to speak, a little bit of a sort of a hint into what we're talking about there. I found it very exciting, very interesting, something that I do follow both in the acting world, but just in general for the economy. So I'm very interested in that. So look out for that on the 15th of January. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. It's been a wonderful year, some great episodes. I'm sorry that the off script episodes were a little bit lacking. ⁓

time has just got past me as you know, is time getting faster for all of us? Or is it just for us oldies? That feels like it's getting a bit faster. But that's the way it is. So again, there we go. Winding it up. Merry Christmas, everyone. There's my wonderful tree in the background for you guys listening on YouTube. Trust me, if you're listening on podcast players, it's there and it's beautiful. Have a wonderful Christmas day. Have a happy new year and all the best for 2026. And I'll see you on set.