PodCamp NYC Session Update | How Often Should You Update Your Podcast?
During one of my PodCamp NYC sessions I was asked how often you should update your podcast. I gave what I thought was my usual answer, but from what I’ve seen quoted in a couple blogs I either miscommunicated or was misunderstood. So I’d like to clarify my point of view.
It’s no mystery that podcasting takes time. Posting a new episode multiple times a week (or even just every week) can be tough. Many of the most dedicated podcasters who posted 3-5 episodes a week in the early days have since dropped to once or twice a week.
In addition, podcast listeners can only consume so much. They only have so much time. Bridge Ratings released the following data in March 2006:
…currently approximately 20% of users who have ever downloaded and listened to a podcast do so on a weekly basis. This group downloads an average of five podcasts per week and spends approximately three-and-a-half hours a month listening to the podcasts they download.
According to this statement, regular podcast listeners download an average of five podcasts a week (~20/month) yet they only spend 3.5 hours a month listening to the podcasts they download. Even if this data has changed over the last year, it is still clear that the listener’s ability to consume your content is limited.
I prefer to know that my audience is getting all my info rather than having every other episode go ignored. At the same time, you need to post often enough to maintain and grow your audience. So what is the right balance?
The truth is that there’s no right answer. It depends on your audience. It depends on your goals. It’s something you should test to know what works best for you. Here are several things to consider:
- How much new content can your audience handle without reaching overload?
- How often can you come up with new content that is relevant?
- How much time do you have to produce new content?
- What kind of audience growth are you shooting for?
- How often do you need to update in order to stay fresh in the mind of your audience?
The longer you go without updating your podcast the more your audience will forget about you and find other things to give their attention to.
I can’t remember exactly what I said at PodCamp NYC, but what I have seen quoted is:
Jason Van Orden says updating your podcast once a month is sufficient.
This is what I tell my clients:
If you want to maximize your audience growth, you need to post more often than this, ideally 2-4+ times a month or whatever is appropriate for your topic, format and audience. At a minimum you should update your podcast once a month. If you can’t do that, then don’t bother. But this is an absolute minimum to maintain your audience.
I’m not sure how the miscommunication occurred. Maybe I was talking in my usual New Yorker supersonic speed. Maybe I didn’t explain myself right. Maybe someone heard me say one thing, took it to their own session/blog/podcast and quoted it out of context.
The right frequency will vary for you. I’ve never been able to maintain a weekly podcast schedule. I just don’t have the time. I maintain two podcasts right now with a third I want to pick back up again. I would love to post more often, but twice a month has been my average
This has worked well for me. My audience growth has been steady and my audiences are not small. I’m sure my audience would love to have more, but I’d also rather leave them wanting more than to give them too much.
I don’t want anyone to avoid podcasting because they feel like they have to post multiple times a week. Find what works for you and your audience. Consider their needs and your goals. Test and track.
April 12th, 2007 08:47
Hear hear, Jason. Test and track is great advice. Also, in my opinion the main thing is to let your audience know what you’re doing. If you go weekly and have to miss a week here or there, just let people know in advance. I’ve read dozens of stories where pod/vidcasters will do that and their fans will email them to, “have a great vacation” and all that. If it happens too often, that’s a different story, and you may want to let people know you’re moving to a new format.
But people also need to remember putting together a show is a large amount of work, and one subject I was excited to hear about at PodCampNYC was that people may start charging for their work (think, the Anything But Monday show). My point here is that I think we’re getting to the point where people’s expectations (an audience) now have to be backed up with more support for content producers. If one thing that’s needed here is money for said content producers, I say, great. People may react negatively to this and say they can listen to thousands of other shows for free, and they can and should. Great. But if we (the collective audience) want quality pod/videocasts to survive, we have to start thinking about their content as worth paying for, period. You pay your mechanic, right? You buy food with money? Well now let’s shift out of the “I get every bit of learning for free any time I want no matter what” mindset to “if I want this great learning I may have to pony up and help these people pay some bills” mentality.
I don’t mean to sound flippant, by the by-just reminding folks that folks like Jason Van Orden are a precious commodity and the fact that he shares SO MUCH for free is great and we should listen/read/watch as much as possible. But if you haven’t bought his book or hired him as a podcast consultant, consider recommending him to others. Podcasting Godfather that he is, he does have to pay bills.
April 28th, 2007 22:17
Sweet picture! : )
December 17th, 2007 15:11
[...] this year I had to post a clarification to my blog about show frequency after Todd posted about my PodCamp NYC session (again out of [...]