How Often Should You Publish Podcast Episodes?
By The OnlyCasts team3 min read
New podcasters ask how often they should publish. The honest answer is that the best schedule is the one you can keep for a long time. Listeners come back to shows that arrive when they expect them, and most shows that stop do so because the pace was too ambitious.
Consistency beats frequency
A show that publishes every other week for two years does better than one that publishes daily for a month and disappears. Regular listeners build the show into a routine, such as a commute or a Friday afternoon. A reliable day matters more than a high count.
Common rhythms
- Weekly is the most common choice. It is frequent enough to build a habit and slow enough to do well.
- Every two weeks suits shows that need a lot of research, editing or guest scheduling.
- Daily or several times a week suits short news or commentary shows with a quick workflow.
- Seasons mean a run of episodes, such as ten weeks, then a planned break. They suit storytelling and interview series, and they give you time to plan the next run.
Do the time math before you decide
Add up everything one episode takes: research, booking, recording, editing, writing show notes, publishing and promotion. If an episode takes six hours in total, a weekly show costs you six hours every week, which is about 300 hours a year. Check that against the time you really have, then pick a rhythm you can protect on a busy week.
Batch your work
Recording several episodes in one session is more efficient than recording one at a time. You set up once, warm up once, and finish with a stock of episodes. Even a stock of two or three episodes protects your schedule when something comes up.
Schedule episodes in advance
You do not have to publish by hand on the day. Upload an episode when it is ready, then schedule it for the date and time you want. OnlyCasts lets you choose the date and time in your own time zone, and the episode goes live on its own. This takes the pressure off, and it means the show keeps going when you are sick, away or busy.
Tell people about breaks
If you need to pause, say so. A short episode or a note in the last one, such as "we are back on the first of the month", keeps listeners from assuming the show has ended. Seasons make breaks part of the plan.
Do not forget the episode length
How often you publish and how long each episode runs work together. A 20 minute show is easier to publish weekly than a 90 minute show. If you are struggling to keep up, shortening episodes is often better than publishing less.
A way to decide
- Write down the hours one episode really takes.
- Choose the number of hours you can give each week or month.
- Divide, and round down.
- Pick a day, and keep it for a few months before changing it.
- Build up a stock of two or three finished episodes.
You can always publish more later. It is much harder to recover from promising more than you can deliver.
