155. What Should a Podcast Season Look Like? | Podcasting Tips for Online Marketing

FAQ Friday answering the podcasting question of "What Should a Podcast Season Look Like?"

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Transcript

Welcome to Podcasting for solopreneurs and FAQ Friday, where I answer a podcasting question in five minutes or less. Today's question is what should a podcast season look like? This question comes from one of my Growth Collective members, Jillian, who's the host of the Crowned and called Mama Podcast. While of course I answered her question inside the collective, I thought this might be a question that some of you have too, and so I wanted to answer it here. I'll start with just a little context about seasons and my opinion on them, and then I'll answer the actual literal question. So I'm generally not a big fan of seasons because podcast listeners are creatures of habit. Most people are tuning into your show as part of their routine. Maybe they listen during their morning walk or while they're driving to work, while they're folding laundry, something where you are a regular part of their week. If you're releasing your show in seasons and therefore having some breaks in your content, it's really easy for your listeners to drift away.

They're going to find another show to fill that spot in their routine, and when your next season starts, they may or may not come back. I personally don't love that risk. I would rather work to retain their listenership than work to convince them to come back. To me, that's just simply my opinion. And there are no rights or wrongs in podcasting, so you can absolutely do whatever feels right to you. I wanted to share my opinion so that you have all the information and can make an informed decision. If you choose to do seasons, there's no set length that one quote unquote should be. So a season can be 10 episodes, it can be 20, it can be 50.

You decide the length of a season based on your content, your personal schedule, and your audience's needs. When you wrap up one season, waiting a few weeks to a few months before starting the next season is typical. But again, you're allowed to do what feels right to you. The most important thing with seasons is clear communication. So you want to make sure to tell the listeners that the season is concluding. And if you have an estimate or a target date that you're coming back in the next season, make sure and communicate that to them. Also, give them a way to keep in touch in the meantime. So maybe that's by getting on your email list or by following you on a particular social media platform, but some way to stay in the loop.

And finally, be sure to encourage them to follow or subscribe to the podcast so that they automatically get the next episodes from the next season. When you are ready to start the next season, treat it like the launch of your show so you want to start teasing content in advance, creating buzz a few weeks before, and doing all of the promotional things leading up to kind of the launch of the next season. While I'm not personally a fan of seasons, I understand that there are reasons you may choose to use them for your podcast, and that's okay. Do what works for you and for your audience. 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.