59. Should My Podcast Have Seasons? | Podcasting Tips and Strategies

FAQ Friday answering the question of "Should My Podcast Have Seasons?"

This episode was produced by me, The Podcast Teacher! Contact me at Hello@ThePodcastTeacher.com.

Transcript

Welcome to podcasting for solopreneurs and FAQ Friday, where I answer a common podcasting question in 5 minutes or less. Today's question is, should my podcast have seasons? This question comes from an anonymous listener. Hey there, anonymous. Thank you for being a fan of the show. I get this kind of question all the time. And to be honest, I'm not a fan of seasons for most podcasts. That's a bit of a controversial opinion because a lot of people are fans of seasons. And one of the beautiful things about podcasting is that there are no hard and fast rules, so you get to do what works for you.

But let me tell you why I'm generally not a big fan of seasons. The success of a podcast, of course, depends on listeners, and listeners are creatures of habit. They are likely going to listen to your show during part of their routine. So while they walk the dog, drive to work, something like that. You're their companion during this time. And if your podcast season is over, they're going to find someone else to keep them company during their routine. When your next season begins, they may or may not return to your show. Seasons work really well for narrative or true crime podcasts because they naturally build tension and curiosity, and the listener is at the edge of their seat waiting for more.

Kind of like how TV shows often end a season on a cliffhanger, they are incentivizing you to come back for the next season. That's strategic because they know that there's a likelihood that you will forget about the show or will get just get consumed with something else if they don't give you a reason to make sure and come back. Seasons also work well for podcasts that dive deep on one topic over a period of time and then dive deep on a different topic. So, for example, if there's a podcast where the overall topic is marketing and they did a season on social media marketing, and then a season on email marketing, and so on, then that could make sense. But in my experience, informational podcasts do much better when there's a regular cadence of release. The listeners are happier and retention rates are higher. So for the majority of podcasters that I work with, I am anti seasons. If you have a podcasting question, click the send me your question link in the episode description, and I'll answer it in an upcoming episode.

Until next time, happy podcasting.