Podcasting Q&A

What are the benefits of podcast seasons?

September 21, 2020 Buzzsprout
Podcasting Q&A
What are the benefits of podcast seasons?
Show Notes Transcript Chapter Markers

Ethan from the The Young Perspective podcast asks, "What are the benefits of podcast seasons?"

TL;DR
Podcasting in seasons can make things a lot more manageable. It can relieve the pressure of constantly having to release new episodes and give you some breathing room to focus on make the best podcast possible.

But with every strategy, there are some drawbacks. So in this episode, we'll lay out the pros and cons of organizing your podcast into seasons.

Benefits to Seasons:

  1. Easier to produce
  2. You get to take breaks
  3. Tackle meatier subjects


Drawbacks to Seasons:

  1. More work up front
  2. Harder to grow an audience


At the end of the day, you should make the choice that works best for you and the kind of content you want to create.

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Sarah :

In today's episode, you'll learn why it's beneficial to have podcast seasons. Welcome to Podcasting Q&A, where you'll learn the best tips and strategies to launch, grow and monetize your podcast. This week's question comes from Ethan.

Ethan :

Hi, I'm Ethan, one of the hosts from the young perspective podcast. And my question is, what is the point of using seasons, my podcasts and if they're really beneficial at all? Thank you.

Sarah :

Thanks for your question. He said. Now, podcasting in seasons can make things a lot more manageable. It can relieve that pressure of constantly having to release new episodes and to find time to grow your audience. Now, that being said, there are some downsides to it. So let's take a look at what they are and whether podcasting and seasons is the right move for you. Before we talk about the benefits and drawbacks of podcasting in seasons, Let's talk about what it even is think of a podcast season like a television series where within a number of episodes, you're telling a succinct story, or talking about or exploring a theme. So types of podcasts that do really well with seasons are things like audio dramas, where they have a story arc or a narrative, or more evergreen topics where you can explore a topic at length. Now the number of episodes doesn't really matter. As long as you are declaring it's a podcast season and you're taking breaks, like what you would with a television series. Benefit number one is that it's actually easier to produce because you're doing upfront work and planning your stories or your interviews so that you have everything mapped out. By the time you hit record, you know exactly what you need to do. Benefit number two, is a gives you a break so that you can work on improving proving your show. Now, I don't know about you, but having to consistently produce an episode, marketing, engaging your audience, all those things. I know it's super overwhelming. So having that break in between seasons gives you an opportunity to do things like engage more with your audience on social media, getting listener surveys and looking at the feedback for that, or even looking at some of your download data so that it can help you do things moving forward, such as finding better ways to market your podcast, or even looking at topics that your audience members will really love. Benefit number three, is it gives your listeners a chance to digest all of the information. So let's say you have a really meaty topic that you want to cover in your podcast season. It gives you a chance to cram in a lot more things because you don't have to assume that each episode your listeners don't really know background information or any statistics that you may have covered in In a previous episode, so you can build up your episodes in a sequential fashion with each one where you're assuming the listener already knows something from the episode before. Here are some reasons why you might not want to podcast in seasons. So Reason number one is that it can take more time to create content. Yes, crying the upfront work can help you be more consistent. But that upfront work can take a lot of time. If you think about it, you have to map out an entire season how ever many episodes that is. So you got to figure out what you want to do from start to finish. You have to write the scripts, lineup, all your interviews, make sure all these things are ready, which can take a lot more time than if you were producing something like a weekly show. Reason number two, is that it can be harder to grow an audience, especially if your show is new. If you think about it, live There's crave consistency. So doing something like producing a weekly podcast, listeners know exactly when episodes drop and what they can expect. And when you're podcasting in seasons, during the actual season, yes, you are consistently dropping episodes. But between episodes, if you're not around, listeners might forget about you and move on to other shows. Now one way to combat that is to make sure you're still communicating with your audience members that could be keeping active on social media, it can mean still writing email newsletters consistently, or you can do something like drop bonus episodes so that people know you're still producing content and that they can anticipate a new season.

Sarah :

With the benefits and the drawbacks of podcasting is seasons. The point here is just to do podcasting on your own terms, figure out what it is that works best for you and feel really good about that. decision and just do it. Thanks for sending us your question, Ethan. Now if you have a question you'd like for us to answer in a future episode of the show, head to speakpipe.com/buzzsprout or click on the link in the show notes and leave a brief audio message. Podcasting Q&A is available in video and audio format. If you'd like video, please subscribe to the Buzzsprout YouTube channel. And if you prefer podcasts, Podcasting Q&A is available in your favorite podcasting app. That's it for today. Thanks for listening. And as always keep podcasting

Intro
"What are the benefits of seasons?"
What is a podcast season?
Benefits of seasons
Drawbacks of seasons
Are seasons best for you?