3 Podcast Best Practices for Producing an Epic Show

Throughout the years, we have been consumed by digital technology that has reduced our attention span. In the most recent study by Microsoft, they have found that we have the attention span of a goldfish with 8 seconds. With this in mind, we want to answer questions that we’ve been asked a lot: How long should your podcast be? And how often should you podcast? Here are 3 podcast best Practices for producing an epic show!

How long should your podcast be?

The length of people’s attention spans can be scary to think about when looking into starting a podcast to enhance your content marketing strategy. The great news is that according to various resources we have come across, when it comes to podcasts, they can be anywhere from 22-60 minutes.

When it comes down to it, a lot of people who listen to podcasts listen to them in their cars on the way to or home from work (average 25.4 minutes) or during their workout sessions (average 30-60 minutes). We’ve also had guests on our show who have told us that they like to take time out of their morning to sit and listen to podcasts as a way to start off productive.

With the numbers presented, we would recommend being around 30-45 minutes if you are considering having guests on your show. We recommend this time to allow you to dive deep into your conversation and ask in-depth questions that will give your listeners valuable information to hear. Having this time also allows you the opportunity to build a relationship with your guest and widen your network.

If you are considering only having solocasts, 10-20 minutes is a perfect amount of time to talk to your audience and give them valuable information. Still unsure of the timing for your solocasts? Drew McLellan, host of the Build a Better Agency podcast is a great example of a 20-minute time frame for solocasts. If you would like to go shorter to around 10 minutes, Stacy Tuschl, host of the Business Rescue Road Map podcast does a great job of using her solocasts to share resources with her listeners and answers questions that may have been asked during one of her Facebook Live sessions.

How often should you podcast?

The frequency can depend on your schedule and the time you are willing to commit to your podcast. We suggest having a podcast at least once a week to ensure consistency with your audience and content development. If you have the time to do three – five episodes a week, that is great because you are putting more valuable content out there.

Consistency is key

If we were to stress one thing to those who are thinking about starting a podcast, consistency is key. Understand the time you are allowing yourself to record interviews with guests and how long it will take to have it edited, whether you, your team does it, or a company you hire does it, with the need to have optimized show notes completed for each episode takes time.

TIP: If you are considering airing 3-5 episodes a week, be sure that you have at least 1-2 month’s worth of audio recorded before you launch to stay ahead.

We recommend having a queue of interviews completed before launch because there may be times where you want to go on vacation, fall sick, or are attending a conference. How annoying would it be to realize that you forgot to record Wednesday’s solocast while you are at a networking event out of the state with no podcasting equipment? Staying on top and ahead will keep your mind clear and your content filled.

How long should your podcast be and how often should you podcast? Whether you are looking at having a podcast that airs once a week to five times a week, we hope that you decide a length and schedule that fits you and your audience!