111. Are Podcast Seasons a Good Idea?| Podcasting Tips and Strategies

FAQ Friday answering the podcasting question of "Are Podcast Seasons a Good Idea?"

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Transcript

Welcome to Podcasting for Solopreneurs and FAQ Friday, where I answer a podcasting question in five minutes or less. Today's question is, are podcast seasons a good idea? This question comes from aspiring podcaster, Chrissy. And if that sounds familiar, that's because she submitted several questions, and I've broken them up into separate episodes to give each topic adequate attention. Last Friday, we talked about episode length and now we are talking about seasons. So I get some variation of this question all the time, and I have to be honest with you that I am not a fan of seasons for most podcasts. And that might be a little bit of a controversial opinion. There are plenty of people who love the seasonal format. And one of the beautiful things about podcasting is that there are no hard and fast rules to adhere to.

You get to create a show that works for you. But let me tell you why I'm generally not a fan of using seasons, especially for online business owners who have informational podcasts. So the thing is that podcast listeners are creatures of habit. Most people tune into your show as incorporating it into their routine. So maybe they listen during their morning walk or while they're driving to work or every time they fold laundry. You are part of their routine, you're part of their week. But if you're releasing your show in seasons and you are going on a week's or month's long break in between, it's really easy for your listeners to drift away. They are gonna find another show to fill that spot in the routine, another show to keep them company during that activity.

And then when your show starts back up with the next season, they may or may not come back to your show. I personally do not love that risk. I would rather work to retain their listenership each week than work to convince them to come back to me and leave the other show that is filling the spot. But seasons can make sense in certain cases. So narrative or true crime shows do seasons really well. They can build in suspense and cliffhangers that keep people coming back. Kind of like how TV shows end a season and you are on the edge of your seat waiting for the next one. Kind of the same concept.

Seasons also work for topic based formats. So let's say that your entrepreneurship podcast does a full season focused on the topic of social media marketing. Then you do a different season that's focused on email marketing. And then another one on website strategy. Those all fall under your entrepreneurship podcast, but you're focusing in and going deep on one aspect every season. So that structure makes sense, and it also can help your audience know what to expect. But for most informational podcasts, especially if you're an online business owner using your podcast to build trust and grow your audience, a regular ongoing release schedule tends to work the best. The listener knows when to expect new content.

You stay top of mind in that subject area, and you retain so many more listeners. Based on my experience, I don't think seasons are a great idea, but you always need to make the choice that's right for you, your content, and your audience. If you have a podcasting question, click the send me your question link in the episode description, and I'll answer it in an upcoming episode until next time happy podcasting