Is it better to have podcast seasons or publish without breaks?
I'm Amelia Hruby, and I am the founder of Softer Sounds, a feminist podcast studio for those of us who maybe don't feel like we quite fit into mainstream podcasting. On this show, I answer your questions about podcasting so that we can all make better, more brilliant, more beautiful shows together. Today, I have a question about whether your show should have seasons or just run regularly all the time. Let's hear from our question asker.
Verena:Hello, Amelia This is Verena. First of all, thank you so much for all of your work. I'm such a big fan of of the grit and, of course, of the softer cast. So thank you.
Verena:Thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you are doing. And now here comes my question. I'm about to release a new podcast, my solar and soma podcast, where I weave together evolutionary astrology, somatic experiencing, my intuition, and my own experiences. And I'm wondering if it is smarter to release the podcast episodes just, yeah, on a regular basis, like, for example, twice a month, or if it is smart to release podcast episodes in seasons.
Verena:So, like, you are doing in it's in off the grid. So I would love to hear more about the advantages and disadvantages of releasing podcast episodes in a seasonal framework versus without seasons. Thank you so much, and I send you so much love from Austria. Bye.
Amelia Hruby:Okay. What a wonderful question. This is one of those many, many, many decisions that you have to make on the way to launching your podcast or even evolving your existing show, and it's one of the decisions that can stand in the way between you and your best show being out in the world. So let's talk about it. Like this question suggests, I typically divide podcast release schedules into two categories.
Amelia Hruby:There are the seasonal shows that have a season that starts and stops and then takes a break, and then there's another season. And then there are the ongoing shows, and those shows typically have a selected cadence that could be weekly. It could be every other week. It could be once a month. But they have a set cadence, and then they keep publishing at that cadence in an ongoing way.
Amelia Hruby:There's no, like, stopping point or specific, like, our season has started and ended, and often there's not a extended break period between seasons either. So this is really a question about publication schedule. And when I'm thinking about that, I have two groups in mind. The first, I guess, isn't really a group, but it's you, dear listener, dear podcaster. I think that when you are deciding if you want to have a seasonal show or an ongoing show, the first question to ask yourself is what sort of rhythm works best for you?
Amelia Hruby:So if you are somebody who likes to sprint, if you like to work in batches, if you feel really drawn toward recording a bunch of episodes, and then editing them, and then releasing them, you might enjoy seasonal podcasting because you can kind of do a whole sprint, a batch of work, and then release it, and then take a break, and then go again. So I think that for those of us who like to work that way, seasonal could be a great approach for our shows. Also, if you're somebody who knows there are certain times of year when you don't have time to make your podcast or you don't desire to make your podcast, For me, that is always gonna be every August. I have no desire to be making or releasing my show. All I wanna do is, like, be in the little kiddie pool of my backyard.
Amelia Hruby:So I run a seasonal show because I like to take breaks, and it is really supportive for me to have that, like, predetermined delineated space between seasons that is my break time. I did an episode, gosh, I think, like, over a year ago at this point, answering the question, how do I take a podcast break without losing listeners? And that dives more into how to plan and take a successful break, so you can learn more about that there. But so far, those are just two reasons that you might want to create a seasonal show. One, if you like to sprint and work in batches and that works well for you, or two, if you know that there are times of the year when you don't wanna be working on your podcast and you wanna plan for breaks between seasons around those times.
Amelia Hruby:I said at the top that when I think about this question of should I do seasons or ongoing, I'm thinking about two groups. That first group is you, the creator. The second group is the listener. So that episode I just pointed you to, how do I take a podcast break without losing listeners? Well, we also wanna think about our listener when we're making this decision between seasonal or ongoing.
Amelia Hruby:I think that there is this sort of long held convention in the podcasting industry that your show will maintain listeners better if it is ongoing. I see this talked about and taught a lot, that if you want to grow a show and build momentum, you need to have a weekly show that never takes breaks. Now in my own personal experience, I have seen that having a weekly show does engage and create a more loyal audience, But I have also seen that taking breaks does not seem to detract from my growth. In fact, what I've noticed is that over the course of my podcast seasons, people start to fall off. Right?
Amelia Hruby:Like, miss an episode or they don't quite tune in. And then when I take a break, everybody seems to catch up. And when I launch my new season, that next episode, the first episode of the new season, always has a lot more listeners than I was getting in the last couple episodes of my last season. So I have found that actually breaks seem to allow me the space to retain listeners and gather new listeners. So if you are thinking, oh, I have to have an ongoing show.
Amelia Hruby:I can't take any breaks because I'm gonna lose listeners. I wanna ask you to pause and do some experiments and see if that's actually true for you. Every show's listenership is a little bit different, and I invite you to experiment and discover what's actually working for you and your show. So I guess that is a broader answer to this question of, should my show be seasonal or ongoing? My general answer to that is you have to experiment and see what works best.
Amelia Hruby:Firstly, you have to see what works best for you as a creator. Maybe creating seasons works best for you, or maybe you're somebody who really works well with routine and rhythm, and you wanna make an ongoing show because you know, like, okay. I'm always gonna work on my podcast the first week of the month, and I can do that every month, and that feels really good to me, and so I'm just gonna keep going. I don't need a break. Not everybody needs breaks.
Amelia Hruby:So if you don't, then an ongoing show may be a great fit for you. The important thing is knowing what your best rhythm and routine is. And then we think about our listeners. So do our listeners want to check-in with us in a steady and regular way, or do they like to sort of have a more, like, we're all in it together for a while, and then we take a break from each other? If you don't know what your listeners want or desire, I would encourage you to ask them.
Amelia Hruby:If you already have a show, you could poll your audience. If you're creating a show and you don't have one yet, you could check-in with folks on your email list. You could ask your friends and peers. You could put up a poll on social media if you are active on social. There are so many ways that you can get a sense of how your community likes to engage with podcasts, and I think that's a great check-in before making any assumptions that being seasonal or ongoing would be more or less strategic or successful for you.
Amelia Hruby:What I have seen in the podcasting space is that the shows that are successful are the ones that are really tuned in to what the creator needs and desires and what the listeners need and desire. And so I support you in having a seasonal show or an ongoing show as long as you're connecting with how that's working for you and your community. And again, I have my own shows that are seasonal that are super successful, and I work on a lot of client shows that are ongoing and also super successful. There's not an either or here. Both paths can lead to success, especially when you're defining success on your own terms.
Amelia Hruby:Another factor that really has me rethinking my decision to have a seasonal show is that now that I have sponsors on my show, I only do sponsors when I'm in season. And that means there are certain months of the year when I'm taking a break, and I'm not making money with ads on my podcast. And so far, I still need the break, so that's fine with me. But in the future, I may decide that I don't wanna take breaks that are as frequent or as long because I get in a really good flow with that ad revenue and those partnerships and sponsorships. Again, you also have permission to change your mind and do things differently.
Amelia Hruby:And then as one follow-up and final thought on this question, when I talked to Verena about doing a seasonal or an ongoing show, something that came up is that with her work, she likes to tap into the cycles of the moon and the seasons of astrology. And so for her, doing an ongoing show felt like the perfect way to tap in with those seasonal cycles. And so maybe you want to look to a rhythm outside of yourself or your community. Maybe you want to tap into a natural or a cosmological rhythm that can guide your podcast forward. There are so many different ways to plan a publication schedule, and I'm really here to give you permission to do what you want to do.
Amelia Hruby:Again, as long as you're checking in with yourself and your listeners, there's a lot of space for creative freedom in the podcasting process. I hope this response has helped you find your way forward on your podcast journey today. As always, we have lots of free resources in the show notes. And until next time, I will see you on the softer side of podcasting. Thanks so much for listening to the Softercast.
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Amelia Hruby:No matter where you're at in your podcasting journey, we're here to support you. Thanks again for tuning in and joining us on the softer side of podcast.