What is Rolling 7-Day Downloads?
Rolling 7-day downloads is the total download count from the past 7 days, recalculated daily. This metric smooths out day-to-day fluctuations and release-day spikes to reveal your podcast's underlying growth trend.
How Rolling Metrics Work
Each day, the 7-day window shifts forward:
| Date | Includes Downloads From |
|---|---|
| January 8 | January 2–8 |
| January 9 | January 3–9 |
| January 10 | January 4–10 |
As each day "rolls off" and a new day "rolls on," the metric updates smoothly.
Rolling 7-Day vs Single-Day
| Metric | Shows | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Single-day | Downloads on that specific day | Release day performance |
| Rolling 7-day | Average recent performance | Growth trending |
| Rolling 30-day | Monthly baseline | Long-term patterns |
Understanding the Pattern
Weekly podcasts typically see:
Release day: ████████████████ (peak)
Day 2: ████████ (declining)
Day 3: ███ (long tail)
Days 4–7: █ (minimal)
Rolling 7-day smooths this to show actual audience size rather than release-day spikes.
Interpreting Trends
| Rolling 7-Day Pattern | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Steady increase | Growing audience |
| Steady decrease | Losing listeners |
| Flat line | Stable audience |
| Spike then return | Viral episode, not retained |
| Step change up | New baseline (promotion worked) |
| Step change down | Possible issue (investigate) |
Seasonality Considerations
Rolling metrics still reflect seasonal patterns:
- Holiday periods often show dips
- Back-to-school may increase for certain niches
- Summer slumps common in many categories
- Compare year-over-year when possible
Why It Matters
Daily download counts are noisy—release days spike, weekends vary, holidays distort everything. Rolling metrics cut through this noise to show whether your show is actually growing.
Why rolling metrics matter:
-
Trend clarity: A 10% jump on a random Wednesday is noise. A 10% increase in rolling 7-day is signal.
-
Release schedule independence: Compare shows with different release frequencies fairly.
-
Marketing effectiveness: See if promotions create lasting growth or temporary spikes.
-
Sponsor reporting: More meaningful than single-episode numbers for demonstrating reach.
Rolling metric best practices:
| Use Case | Best Metric |
|---|---|
| Daily monitoring | Rolling 7-day |
| Sponsor reports | Rolling 30-day or episode average |
| Growth assessment | Rolling 7-day week-over-week |
| Seasonal analysis | Year-over-year comparison |
Avoiding common misinterpretations:
| Mistake | Reality |
|---|---|
| "Downloads dropped 50% from yesterday" | Normal day-after-release pattern |
| "We're down 10% from last month" | Check for seasonality first |
| "This episode flopped" | Give it 7 days to accumulate |
| "Growth is flat" | 0% change might be great depending on market |
The compounding effect: A 1% weekly increase in rolling 7-day downloads = 67% annual growth. Small consistent improvements compound dramatically over time.
How to Use This in Dispatch
View rolling download metrics on your Analytics dashboard:
Available rolling metrics:
- Rolling 7-day total downloads
- Rolling 30-day total downloads
- Week-over-week change percentage
- Month-over-month change percentage
Dashboard features:
- Trend line visualization
- Comparison to previous period
- Export for sponsor reports
- Anomaly highlighting
Sponsor reporting: Generate rolling metric reports formatted for sponsor presentations, showing consistent audience reach rather than individual episode variance.
Alerts: Set up notifications for significant changes in your rolling metrics—both positive (celebrate!) and negative (investigate).