Podcasting 101

Finding the Sweet Spot: How Often to Release Your Podcast Episodes

Girl listening to a podcast with pink headphones

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When it comes to podcasting, we’re always told that consistency is key.

But a question that I get asked a lot is ‘How often should I release new episodes?’

The answer depends on a variety of factors, including your audience, content, and resources. So, in this guide, we’ll explore different release schedules and help you determine the best frequency for your podcast.

Determine your production schedule and resources

Before deciding on the frequency of your podcast episodes, it’s important to consider your production schedule and resources.
To me, this is the most important factor which is why I put it first.

There is no point in dedicating yourself to creating daily podcast episodes if you’re schedule and lifestyle just don’t allow for this. As a mum with two young children, running a business, and having two podcasts; I couldn’t imagine releasing daily episodes for either podcast!

That’s why I have the schedules that I have; weekly for The Confident CEO Podcast, and a slightly more relaxed minimum of one a week for The Lazy Girl’s Guide to Podcasting.
Before committing to a publication schedule, consider these questions:

  • How much time and effort can you realistically dedicate to creating and editing each episode?
  • Do you have a team to help with production, or are you a one-person show?

These factors will impact how often you can realistically release new episodes without sacrificing quality. In my opinion, it’s better to release fewer high-quality episodes than to release more episodes that are rushed and poorly produced. I’ve been known to skip a week with releasing an episode for The Confident CEO before. And guess what; it hasn’t affected my podcast.

Because I truly believe that my listeners deserve the best episodes I can give them, rather than something rushed because I’m feeling obligated to fill a schedule.
So, take the time to assess your resources and capabilities before deciding on your release schedule.

Consider your audience and their preferences

Another important factor to consider when deciding how often to release your podcast episodes is your audience and their preferences:

  • Are they busy professionals who only have time to listen once a week?
  • Or are they avid fans who can’t get enough and want daily episodes?

Conducting surveys or analysing listener data can help you understand your audience’s habits and preferences, and adjust your release schedule accordingly. Remember, keeping your audience engaged and satisfied is key to growing your podcast. But, also remember what I mentioned in the previous section. Even if your audience is clamouring for more episodes, there’s no point in burning yourself out if you can’t keep up with this production schedule.

Your audience will always thank you for quality over quantity.

When it comes to podcasting, consistency is key. Whether you release episodes weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly, it’s important to stick to a schedule that works for you and your audience. If you’re just starting out, it’s a good idea to start with something that’s achievable. A common schedule is once a week, or twice monthly.

As your audience grows and you become more comfortable with the production process, you can consider increasing your release frequency. Ultimately, the key is to find a schedule that works for you and your audience and to stick to it as closely as possible.

But, and I cannot stress this enough; think quality over quantity. Burnout and overwhelm are so last year.

Look at your competitors and industry standards

Another way to decide how often you should release your podcast episode is to research your competitors and industry standards.

Look at other podcasts in your niche and see how often they release new episodes. Are they releasing daily, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly?

This can give you an idea of what your audience may expect and what is considered standard in your industry. However, don’t feel like you have to conform to these standards if it doesn’t align with your production capabilities or goals for your podcast. Ultimately, the frequency of your podcast episodes should be based on what works best for you and your audience.

Test different release frequencies and gather feedback

Once you have determined a frequency for your podcast episodes, it’s important to test it out and gather feedback from your audience.

This can be done through surveys, social media polls, or simply asking for feedback on your episodes. If you want to have a more formalised feedback process, I love using Google Forms or JotForm to collect feedback.

If you want a more low-key approach to feedback, simply asking your listeners to DM you on Instagram (or other social media platforms) can also be very effective.

Pay attention to the engagement and download numbers for each episode in your podcast hosting platform and see if there are any patterns or trends. If you notice a drop in engagement or downloads, it may be time to adjust your release frequency. And don’t be afraid to experiment and try different frequencies of releasing your episodes until you find the sweet spot that works best for you and your audience.

Adjust and optimise based on your results

It’s important to remember that finding the right frequency for your podcast episodes is not a one-time decision. As your audience grows and changes, their preferences and habits may also change.

Plus, if you’re podcasting as part of your business marketing strategy for brand awareness or to increase your visibility, your own preferences and habits will change as your business evolves.

You may get to a point where you can outsource podcast management and therefore have more time to create more episodes. Equally, you might need to scale back your episode release schedule depending on how busy you get in your business.

It’s important to regularly evaluate your results and adjust your release frequency accordingly. It’s also important to evaluate your own workload and commitments to ensure that you can maintain a certain release timetable. This may mean increasing or decreasing the frequency or even changing the day or time of release. But, by staying flexible and responsive to your audience’s needs, you can ensure that your podcast continues to grow and thrive.

What is the best day and time to release new podcast episodes?

I firmly believe that the best day and time to release podcast episodes is whatever works best for you and your schedule.

That being said, if you want the statistics, research tells us that Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are the best days to release new episodes; with Wednesday being the optimal day.

Equally, episodes published in the early mornings tend to do best initially; probably because they’re available for listening on a listener’s work commute.

Remember timezones

This might be an odd point to raise, but when selecting a day and time to release your podcast episodes, remember that not all of your listeners are in the same time zone.

For example, if you release your new episode at 6am on a Wednesday morning in the UK, this will actually be Wednesday afternoon in Australia, or even Tuesday night in the USA.

Therefore, whilst having a schedule is great for encouraging consistency and helps you plan, do remember that not all of your audience are in the same place and in the same timezone and therefore will be listening at different times.

Also, because of differing locations, it is IMPOSSIBLE to get your episode to everyone at 6am on a Wednesday morning, for example. Therefore, I recommend picking a date and time for releasing new episodes that work best for you and rolling with it.

However, if you’re finding that your initial downloads aren’t getting the traction you’d like, consider the following:

  • Analyse your data and see where the majority of your audience is and try releasing episodes based on their location
  • Trial a few different release dates and times over the period of a few months and then analyse the data to decide which release day and time works best for you and your audience

So, what is the ideal frequency for publishing new podcast episodes?

While there is no hard and fast rule, most podcasters recommend a regular publishing schedule to build an audience and maintain engagement. Many successful podcasts publish weekly or bi-weekly, which allows enough time for research, recording, editing, and promotion without overwhelming you as the host.

That being said, the ideal frequency for your podcast will depend on your goals, the type of podcast, and the availability of the host(s). It’s essential to find a balance between maintaining a regular schedule and creating high-quality content.

What do you think? Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments!

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Verity Sangan

Hey! I'm Verity. I love all things podcasting and am passionate about getting more women find their voice through podcasts. When I'm not in work or busy with mum-duties, I host The Lazy Girl's Guide to Podcasting.