Some of the most common questions podcasters have are about podcast episodes. How many
episodes should I launch my podcast with? How many podcasts episodes should be in a
season? How long should my episodes be? Well, in this video, you'll learn the best answer
to all your podcast-episode questions.
Are you ready? Let's get to it.
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So let's talk about podcasts, episodes, plenty, your podcast episodes, purposely and strategically.
We'll give you a better bang for your buck producing a podcast episode, depending on
your show can take you many hours of researching writing, recording, and editing. And that's
not all for each episode. You must factor in some time for promoting on social media
or email market.
So we want to squeeze as much value out of your episodes after investing hard work and
time into them. And the fact that you're watching this video tells me that you're taking this
project seriously and want to set up your podcast for success from the get-go. Okay.
So let's tackle the first question.
How many episodes should I launch my podcast with? You may have heard us or older people
in the industry saying that it's a good idea to launch your podcast with three or five
episodes. The benefit of lunching with more than one episode is that your listener can
have more choices and the opportunity to dive a little deeper into your show, the content
and get a better idea of you as a host.
Another benefit is that you will have more material to create content for your social
media. Then when you're releasing just one episode, especially if your social media accounts
are new, this gives your followers more content to learn more about your podcast. For example,
for each episode, you may choose to release audiograms. photos,
or quotes, which by the way, Studio Steve has these two videos showing you how we create
our content for Instagram. You may also have heard that launching your podcast with multiple
episodes can increase your chances to rank on apple podcasts or that it can help your
SEO. The truth is that Apple Podcast's algorithm is kind of a mystery.
There's not a straight answer from Apple, what criteria they use to showcase podcasts
on new and awarding. However, some experts in the industry, ourselves included, believe
that the number of subscribers and not the downloads within the next seven weeks after
launching is what triggers the algorithm, increasing your chances of getting you a spot
on the desire, new and new Orleans.
So since subscribers are more important than downloads you can launch your podcast with
a trailer and one episode and still rank on the popularity lists which in turn will give
your show more exposure, more subscribers, and more downloads.
We cover SEO as well as everything you need to know to launch your podcast from planning
your episodes and professional audio production to launch strategy and promotion and our smart
and sexy podcast lunch program.
We're offering a free training with one of the lessons with each inside the program.
So you can see if it's a good fit for you, and you can get a taste of our teaching style
to sign up, go to podcasting smart.com and I'll drop the link in the description box
below. Another question I get is whether or not launching with multiple episodes can be
good for your SEO.
For those of you who are not familiar with SEO yet, SEO stands for search engine optimization.
Don't feel intimidated by this fancy name. Let me break it down for you. Social media
platforms. So YouTube, Google, and some podcast players like apple podcasts, Spotify, Google
podcasts are search engines or have search engine components.
Meaning that users search for things like how to survive my toddler, how to parent a
toddler looking for recommendations. Will you create any type of content to be posted
on any of these platforms you want to include keywords and titles and descriptions that
will tell the algorithm while your show is all about.
So when somebody's searching for your topic, your episode will come up. This is a very
cool and free marketing strategy. However, it is something that will build over time
and will require consistency. That's how SEO is built. This is why launching when multiple
episodes may not instantly make your podcasts come up in searches.
And if you want to learn more about how you can improve your SEO for your podcast, I have
this video with the most common SEO mistakes and how to avoid them, the format of your
show and the topic may also dictate whether or not you should launch with multiple levels.
For example, let's say that the episodes are a three-part series and your listeners will
need to listen to all of the episodes, or maybe your episodes are a three-part story.
And it makes sense to launch all the three at the same time. The conclusion: there's
not a hard rule or an exact number. It all depends on your audience, your topic. And
your particular circumstances. If podcasting is a new side project and you're doing it
solo, you may want to pace yourself and be strategic with your content.
It's 10 times better to be consistent than to launch with five episodes and going hiatus
right after because you can keep up in this gaze. What I recommend is to launch your podcast
with a killer trailer and one, two, three episodes. And if you like to work ahead, then
instead of posting all of the episodes at once, you can schedule them on your web host
to be released at a later date this way you'll always be ahead and you will have plenty of
time to keep producing your episodes instead of feeling pressured and rushed.
Okay, so let's move on to the next question. How many episodes should be in a season? This
is another question that doesn't have a definitive answer, but I will give you pointers that
will help you arrive at your own conclusion. Organizing your episodes in seasons is very
smart. For many reasons. First, it will allow you to schedule breaks in between seasons.
When you get into podcasts in everything is new and exciting. You're learning new skills.
Networking with guests, connecting with your listeners, and creating episodes every week.
But we have to think long term to really see and experience the benefits and opportunities
podcasts will bring you must plan to stay in it for the long run.
This means that you should plan breaks. When you get up the podcast treadmill to refresh
your creative TBD, come up with new ideas for content, look at your stats and get feedback
from your listeners and evaluate what's working. And what's not working. These periods in-between
seasons are just as important as those when you're in full podcasting mode.
This is why you should organize your episodes and seasons. I know another thing to consider
before you decide. Aside to commit to any schedule is whether your podcast requires
intense research and writing like a journalistic type podcast. The times in between seasons
can be used to dive deep into researching and writing, which sometimes can be the most
time-consuming part depending on your podcast topic.
Another reason why organizing your episodes into the season is smart is that it allows
you to explore a topic in more depth. For example, one of my favorite podcasts, Even
the Rich Podcast, dedicates a whole season to the lives of specific, rich, and famous
people in each season, they dive deep into different celebrities.
I listened to the whole season about the Kardashians family. They also have a season about Beyonce
and a season about Brittany Spears. Organizing your episodes in seasons also breaks it down
for the listeners who can decide to binge on an entire season. Yeah. And while doing
your work or cleaning your house also is educational or addresses complex topics.
Consider organizing the episodes into seasons to make the learning easier. But if your podcast
is about the latest news or current events organizing your episodes in seasons may not
be an option because you won't be able to plan in advance. Structuring and contemplating
is my jam is my jam jam structure is my plan is my jam.
All right. All right. All right. It's what I teach in our program, a smart and sexy podcast
lunch. So feel free to leave any of your questions about episodes in the comments below. Another
question that comes up a lot. When it comes to podcast seasons, how much time is appropriate
to take in-between seasons?
Well, in my opinion, if you're just starting out, I take no longer than two weeks off in-between
seasons. It's taking longer than that. And may come with the risk of losing your audience's
interest in your show. If you decide to take time off between seasons, remember to keep
your audience informed about the details of the new season, like when it will be available
and what it will be all about.
Also, you can still interact with your fans on social media while you're on hiatus. So
you and your podcast, they present in their minds. Okay, let's tackle another big podcast
episode question. How regularly should episodes be released or episode frequency? There's
not a hard rule dictating how often you should release episodes.
But what we noticed is that podcasters consistently releasing weekly episodes are more likely
to grow and maintain their audience. For example, Amy Porterfield with Online Marketing Made
Easy has never missed a week since she started her podcast. Seven years ago, her podcast
has been key to growing her audience and her business.
I know that our example is Tim fairies with a temporary show who has been consistently
posting weekly episodes for seven years. So the decision is yours when it comes to deciding
on a posting schedule, it all depends on your schedule, topic and bandwidth. Okay. Podski,
do me a favor. Grab a piece of paper right now.
I'm watching. And before committing to any episodes scheduled right down. Questions and
answered them. How much time does it take me to produce an episode? How can it batch
record to save time? Can I outsource the time-consuming stuff like editing and social media promotions?
Am I producing my podcast solo or do I have a co-host that can help me?
Who else can help me?
El Chapulin Colorado!
My Mexican friends will know. Look at the months ahead and figure it out. What will
be a good releasing schedule for your particular situation? What matters? And I want you to
remember this what's important is that you have a consistent schedule and have very good
quality episodes. Okay. My lovely ski. This takes us to our last question.
What's that you don't want me to go yet? I know I'll miss you too, but you have podcasting
work to do and you can come and see me every week right here. So hit that subscribe button.
It will make you feel so much better. That way I can remind you when I post new videos.
Okay. And the last question, drum roll, please.
How long should my episodes feed? According to a bus sprout article, the average episode
length is 38 minutes. We recommend our clients and students keep their episodes no longer
than 45 minutes. But you don't have to make this a strict rule. Here are the three main
factors that come into play when deciding how long your episodes should be topic, editing,
and audience.
Okay. Here are some questions you can add to the notes you're taking. I know you're
a good student who always takes notes for my videos. Is the topic of my show. Interesting
enough to keep my listener's attention for a long time is my episode about a compelling
story or a dry subject that can be broken down into two.
The two episodes. Also, the way you edit your podcast plays a huge role in how long episodes
can be. Here are some editing questions to think about. Do I edit my episodes to cut
off unnecessary banter? Do I add sound effects and music to make my episodes more entertaining?
Or do I post my hour-long un-edited conversations with my guests?
And the third factor when considering the length of your episodes depends on your audience.
Think about it. Does my audience have time in their schedules to listen to a long episode?
How does my audience listen to podcasts as much as you can cut off the unnecessary banter,
unless you're a comedian, And that's what your audience expects from you.
Keep your interest shore with a single call to action and get to the point quickly. And
there you go. Passkey. If I didn't answer your questions about episodes in this video,
feel free to ask me in the comments below. Also, I hope I'll get to see you inside our
signature program, smart and sexy partners lunch.
You can find out more information about our online courses by going to pod sound, school.com
where the best podcast teachers and coaches around. And we're crazy dedicated to our students.
So come and join us in one of our programs. And before you go to things, No olviden hacer
la tarea. And don't forget to subscribe and like this video, happy casting Podski! Content
planning
It is my Jam. So we want to squish row, row, row your boat,
Mary, Mary Lena, as well. Perfect.