How to Choose the Best Podcast Release Day and Time

If you're searching for the “best” time to publish your podcast episodes, this episode is for you. We share an easy approach to choosing a release schedule grounded in listener behavior, production reality, and a few smart operational tweaks that actually move the needle. Rather than chasing an elusive magic time, we focus on what listeners really value: a predictable schedule, clear communication, and episodes that show up when they’re ready to listen.

If you have questions about about releasing new episodes, reach out to the Podcaster Success team by email support@buzzsprout.com. 

Keep podcasting!

Transcript

Introduction & Question

Cara Pacetti 0:00

Welcome to Podcasting Q&A, brought to you by the people at Buzzsprout. I'm your host, Cara Pacetti, and I'm bringing you the best tips and strategies to keep you podcasting with confidence. I recently found a question on Reddit that I wanted to answer in this week's episode. The question read: What is the best time to publish a podcast episode in order to maximize exposure? Or do you just upload at different times and then narrow down the best time based on downloads? I thought this was a really great question. And honestly, it's so common, especially as you are getting started. I know when I was even doing my relaunch for Podcasting Q&A, the question was when will we release new episodes? What is that magical perfect time to publish an episode for your listeners? I actually want to tackle this question from two vantage points, from the perspective of the podcaster and also from the perspective of a listener. So let's start with the listener's perspective. In all honesty, podcast episodes are pretty on demand. Listeners want to know that their favorite podcaster is dropping an episode on a certain day, and of course they look forward to that release date, but it doesn't mean that they are quick to listen to it right at the time the episode drops. In fact, I read recently in an article from Talks.co almost 46% of listeners tune in to the new episode within 24 hours of their release. Typically, listeners will tune in when their schedule allows for it. They could wait until they're working outside or even doing chores around their house. Another thing to take into account are time zones. So unless your audience is local to you, there really is no best time to publish your episode since listeners are tuning in globally. Morning for one listener is actually the middle of the night for another, and lunchtime for someone else. Instead of hyper focusing on the perfect release day, I think listeners are most concerned with consistency. Seeing a new episode drop from your favorite podcaster can really be the highlight in someone's day. A listener relies on that consistency, which creates fun anticipation of your next episode. Ultimately, your listener just wants consistency on the day that you choose to release your episodes. Now I want to shift to the podcaster's perspective. So what does this mean for you as you are planning your podcast and trying to decide on your release date? First, what works for you? Since consistency is so important, what can you make work for your schedule? I recently heard a podcaster say that they picked an arbitrary time based on their schedule and their co-host's schedule and just went with it. They were less concerned about optimizing the algorithm and more concerned about keeping up consistently with the content. I thought that was great advice because if the end goal here is just to have your episodes available and ready for your listeners to consume, the main priority has to be if you're able to make that happen. You want to make sure you are creating a schedule that works for you and your entire team. So not only you as the host and your guest, but also the post-production team. Are you doing your own editing or are you outsourcing for that? So take all of that into consideration when you are determining what day you are going to be releasing these episodes and how often you'll be releasing episodes. And just keep in mind, just like this podcaster was saying, don't focus all of your attention on an algorithm and don't let that algorithm bully you into creating content that you just don't have the capacity for. Podcasting apps do use an algorithm slightly. Some do not at all. They are just searchable libraries, essentially. But podcasting growth comes from so much more than an algorithm. Again, just find a schedule that works for you and put that into practice. And that will create a long-lasting, enjoyable podcasting journey. Since we are talking about the timing of your episodes, so the release of your episodes, I do have one important recommendation for you as the podcaster. You want to publish your episodes early, early enough so the directories have enough time to see that episode and show it reflecting on their end. The way that podcasting works is that when you hit publish on your hosting platform, it may go live on your RSS feed within just a few moments, but it can take a little bit before it actually appears on the listening directories. Sometimes for new podcasters, we'll say go ahead and publish that episode at 12 a.m. on the day that you want your episode to go live. If you want your episode to be available for your listeners' morning commute to work. Now, if you're hosted here on Buzz Sprout, we do have a schedule feature. If you want to go ahead and schedule that episode to go live at 12 a.m. on the day that your episode is released, we will go ahead and publish it for you while you're sleeping. So we try to make that really easy for you. I actually do that with our Podcasting Q&A episodes at 12 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on the day of our episode release. That episode will be published for me by Buzz sprout. And then when I log on to work, I can see that it's already been live and already had a few downloads. The last thing I want to touch on for the podcaster's perspective is give yourself permission to pivot. It's okay if you start with a release schedule with weekly episodes launching every Monday. And then you get into this and realize that's a little too much. I can actually not commit to that. Instead of letting your listeners down on those weeks that you just can't get it done, make a pivot. It is completely okay to pivot. It's recommended to communicate that with your listeners. But if you shift to every other week and that allows you to hit that mark and to hit that date as you have planned and as your listeners are anticipating, that is going to serve you well in the long run. Another form of growth is learning your audience and making adjustments accordingly. Sometimes that may come in the form of feedback. If you put it out there to your listeners and ask for their feedback of when is the best day for you, you can ask that. And you can look for engagement either using fan mail, if you're hosted here on Buzzsprout, or using your social media platforms. Engage with your listeners, see what they're thinking. Another form of growth and pivoting is if you see your stats are really high on certain days of the week and you want to build a little bit more anticipation for those specific days, shift your release date. Go ahead and push it to that day that you know that your listeners will be tuning in. My point here is that you can always pivot and it's okay to adjust as your podcast grows. So the three takeaways from this episode I want to leave you with are first, make a plan. Create a routine that works for you as the host so you can stay consistent with that. I also want you to take action. Don't overthink it. Delaying your episode release dates will not grow your audience. And podcasting, and really with anything new that you do, you have to feel comfortable just going for it and learning along the way. And the third step is you probably guessed it, pivot. As you grow, as you learn about your abilities when it comes to podcasting, give yourself the freedom to change it up with the end goal always being consistently showing up for your loyal listeners. If you have questions for us on the podcaster success team, please reach out to us by emailing support@buzzprout.com. We'd love to offer our perspective on your situation and always offer encouragement. If there's a question you'd like answered on a future Podcasting Q&A episode, you can click the send us a text link in the show notes and send in your question, and we can feature that on a future episode. Be sure to join us every Monday to kickstart your week. Thank you so much for listening. And as always, keep podcasting.