As any successful content creator will attest, the path to success with podcasts (and even with YouTube, Instagram, Newsletters, Blogs etc) is to publish consistently and frequently. By that logic, a weekly show would be the best option. But is practical or feasible for you? This post will explore the advantages and disadvantages of various podcast publishing schedules and also whether you should plan your show out in seasons vs running it as an ongoing always-on production. We end with our recommendation.
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3 Types Of Podcast Publishing Schedules
The publishing schedule you choose will depend on your podcast’s goals, production capacity, and audience preferences. It’s important to stay consistent and communicate any schedule changes to your listeners. Here are 3 recommended publishing schedules that you can use for your podcast:
- Weekly Productions
- Biweekly (Fortnightly) Production
- Monthly Production
Weekly Productions
A weekly podcast hits all the high points we listed below. It is a great way to establish an engaged audience who follow your show as they make room for it in their lives. Additionally, a weekly podcast can provide an opportunity to explore a wide range of topics and perspectives, as you can feature a different guest each week. This can help to keep your content fresh and exciting for your listeners.
However, there are significant challenges to producing a weekly podcast, especially if you are a part-time podcaster. One hurdle is finding enough guests to sustain a regular publishing schedule. Depending on your niche or area of expertise, it may be difficult to consistently find high-quality guests who can provide valuable insights or perspectives. Additionally, keeping up with the production schedule can be demanding, especially if you are managing other responsibilities alongside your podcast. This might result in episodes of variable quality, which will hold you back from building the audience you seek – and deserve.
Biweekly (Fortnightly) Production
A bi-weekly podcast addresses the challenges of a weekly show. You probably have enough time to produce high-quality content and it reduces the pressure on you to produce a steady stream of guests, so you can be a bit more picky about whom you bring on. By spacing out your episodes, you might also give your listeners more time to consume each episode and engage with your content so they don’t start just cherry-picking episodes to listen to because they feel like they are falling behind.
However, there are drawbacks to having a bi-weekly podcast. One of the main challenges is that people tend to slot their calendars in weeks. So being on a bi-weekly cycle might mean they prioritise other weekly shows and you never get an opportunity to make it onto their regular schedule. This may mean they forget about your show altogether. So it’s important to be consistent and communicate clearly with your listeners about when they can expect new episodes. And of course, producing only two episodes per month means you have a much smaller back-catalogue for new listeners to discover and enjoy.
Overall, a bi-weekly podcast can be a good option for those who want to balance producing high-quality content with other commitments, but it may not be the best choice for those who are looking to build a large and engaged audience quickly.
Monthly Production
Very rarely are there successful monthly shows, and those are usually exceptional in terms of storytelling or production value and there’s a good reason for that. Monthly shows struggle to gain listener interest and also have too little content to hook a new listener. So to be successful, you either have to create content that is truly exceptional and unique for your target listener or create excitement between episodes by building a community or through engaging, relevant social media content.
On the plus side, you of course have plenty of time to polish and refine your material to be the best it can be.
The Benefits of Publishing Frequently
There are numerous benefits to publishing podcast episodes frequently, and here are four possible reasons that you can explore
- Discover: Publishing more often creates more opportunities for people to find you.
- Refinement: It helps you get better at your craft through constant practice, improving your content quality.
- Evergreen: It builds up a deep back catalogue that keeps people engaging with your material well after their first interaction.
- Consistency: It creates a habit, as people begin to expect your content to drop on a specific schedule and hence start to make space for it in their own schedules.
So, if you can handle it, running an always-on, weekly show is ideal. But for most of us, it might not be practical, especially if you do something other than podcast full-time or if you need to spend a lot of time in post-production.
Should You Have Seasons?
Another question you might have is whether to establish an always-on podcast or whether to have seasons. The answer to that depends on whether you have guests or not, since it is usually difficult to bring on a constant stream of guests and a break helps you catch up.
Finding Your Podcast Publishing Sweet Spot: Weekly, Bi-weekly, or Monthly?
Deciding on your podcast’s publishing schedule is an important step in establishing a successful show and at CrazyTok we believe sustainability is the most important objective, at least in the initial stages. Hence, we recommend the following approach:
Start bi-weekly, progress to weekly
Start with a bi-weekly schedule and evaluate how it’s going after a few months. This can help you gauge whether you have the time and resources to produce content more frequently, such as moving to a weekly schedule if the show is doing well. This approach is a lot better than the alternative of going from weekly to bi-weekly, confusing your audience and making it seem like your show is dying.
Record in batches before you release
Another important factor to consider is how you will manage your production schedule to ensure that you can remain consistent in your episode release schedule. Hence we recommend you pre-record episodes in batches so you always have a supply of content ready to go, which can help you stay on track even if you have unexpected interruptions or other demands on your time.
Have seasons but keep your listeners engaged
Gaps between seasons allow you time to find your next batch of great guests so you can continue to produce excellent content. But in the interim you can keep your audience engaged through trailers, recaps, highlight reels and short clips in the interim to generate more buzz and anticipation around each season.
CrazyTok helps you stick to your schedule by helping plan out your content calendar and doing all the heavy lifting around guest management, production and podcast growth so all you need to do is find guests and record a great show. Let us know if we can help. We’re just a click away! Explore our plans and pricing to streamline your podcasting journey.”
