Shownotes
Navigating the Summer Breaks and Planning for Success in Podcasting
Podcasting has become a popular medium for sharing ideas, knowledge, and stories. However, many podcasters face a challenge during the summer months - to continue with their regular podcasting schedule or to take a break. In this episode, we delve into the potential advantages and pitfalls of taking a break during the summer months and offers strategies for success for those who use a podcast as a tool for their business.
Podcast Breaks for Summer: Pros and Cons
The episode begins by exploring the pros and cons of taking a podcast break during the summer. Using industry data, I’ve examines whether audiences are still actively listening during these months, which podcast categories see a significant drop in listenership, and how the choice of topics can influence this summer dip.
For small-scale podcasters contemplating a break, the episode shares strategies to maximize the summer, should they choose to continue with their podcasting. It also stresses the importance of understanding your listeners' routines and their motivation to learn during the summer months.
Taking a Podcast Break: Assessments and Planning
The second half of the episode emphasizes the importance of assessing your podcast's performance and taking time to plan for the last quarter of the year. It warns against prematurely going on a break, as it may result in losing potential clients and listeners. The episode also highlights how consistently podcasting, even if it feels uncomfortable, can boost your confidence and consistency.
Staying Engaged with Your Podcast Audience
The episode also explores how to stay engaged with your podcast listeners while taking a break during the summer months. It discusses the potential of using platforms like Instagram to communicate with your audience and the importance of upskilling during your summer break.
CHAPTERS
- 00:00 - Intro: Should You Take a Summer Break From Your Podcast?
- 00:49 - The Data: What Really Happens to Downloads in the Summer?
- 03:01 - A Key Strategy for Smaller Podcasters
- 04:20 - Consider Your Listeners' Changing Routines
- 05:23 - The Most Important Question: Do YOU Need a Break?
- 06:49 - 5 Clear Signs It's Time to Take a Break
- 10:33 - The #1 Reason You SHOULDN'T Take a Break
- 14:43 - Alternatives to Disappearing: How to Wind Down Strategically
- 15:19 - My Summer Strategy: How I'm Taking a Break (Without Taking a Break)
- 16:41 - A Special Announcement for September
- 18:10 - Outro & How to Connect
Resources mentioned in the episode:
👩💻 Book your Podcast Power Hour: thepodcastspace.com/powerhour
Let's work together to grow your podcast. Book your discovery call:
Episode 24: Tight schedule? Try these 3 effective episode styles
Episode 20: Solo Episodes
Social media course for Podcasters: https://bit.ly/3CsTtXg
Feeling stuck? Book a Podcast Power Hour: https://thepodcastspace.ck.page/products/pod-power-hour
Learn more about our Maximize Your Podcast Content course: https://bit.ly/3TesQwc
Subscribe to the Podcast on Audio Platforms: https://bit.ly/3Y4bF2c
Subscribe to our newsletter for more Podcast Tips: https://thepodcastspace.ck.page/32680fa82e
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp
Transcripts
It's summertime.
Speaker A:Is now the best time to take a break from your podcast and come back to a full inbox with emails from listeners telling you how much they've missed you?
Speaker A:Or could it be catastrophic for your business to stop?
Speaker A:It's time to consider, and in this episode, I'm going to delve not just into the kind of like, the pros and cons of doing each one, but also things to consider.
Speaker A:Data from the industry.
Speaker A:Are people actually listening all all of these things that you do need to know in case you are still deciding whether you want to take a break or what your strategy should be for the summertime.
Speaker A:I'm Anna Xavier, and this is the Podcast Base.
Speaker A:A podcast that is practical and is filled with strategies that will get you unstuck and will help elevate your podcast journey.
Speaker A:Let's go.
Speaker A:All right, let's start strong.
Speaker A:For my people that love the data, that love the analytics.
Speaker A:So I spend some time looking online into reports done by podcast agencies, hosting platforms, companies like Triton Media or Edison Research, and just try to combine and make sense of what does happen in the summertime.
Speaker A:And something that I've noticed was that, like, for the mo, for the kind of, like the biggest players, there is a dip that is around like 5 to 10% in downloads.
Speaker A:So it is expected to come down.
Speaker A:But something that I've also noticed is that this is the time when, you know, bigger podcasters take a break or they.
Speaker A:They use other strategies that just overall will reduce their download numbers.
Speaker A:And the reason why I'm telling you this is that, you know, like, just look around, like, even the bigger guys, the big dogs, will have kind of like lower downloads.
Speaker A:Some categories will have a bigger dip than others.
Speaker A:And so these 5 to 10% dip is.
Speaker A:It's kind of like for the months of July and August.
Speaker A:And when you're making decisions about should I continue?
Speaker A:Is anyone listening?
Speaker A:There's also a few other things that you have to consider.
Speaker A:One is that obviously, just because big names are taking a break, it doesn't mean that you, as a smaller creator, should stop too, because I was kind of looking into that data and just looking into my own reporting client data that I have gathered through the years.
Speaker A:And it kind of depended.
Speaker A:Some of my clients did see a little bit of a dip because some of them didn't release any new episodes.
Speaker A:Others because they kind of like just did replay summer series.
Speaker A:And so those definitely saw a dip.
Speaker A:The topics were also a little more kind of like work focused and so on.
Speaker A:That Sense, it didn't really help.
Speaker A:But other clients who had like self development clients that were kind of like doing business to consumer, those continue to stay strong.
Speaker A:And actually like we saw about a 12% increase in some of those months.
Speaker A:So it does not mean that, you know, like summertime, everyone's gonna have like lower downloads.
Speaker A:It really depends on the category.
Speaker A:So like, imagine if your podcast is about like really heavy subjects that you, you know, you cover.
Speaker A:Like sometimes people are just not that interested in going for really heavy topics in the summertime.
Speaker A:They kind of like want to get their head out of all of the, you know, the routine and they want different things.
Speaker A:And so here are a few things that you may want to consider.
Speaker A:So as a smaller podcaster, you want to look around and notice your quote unquote competition, right?
Speaker A:People in your industry, people in your topics, like, what are they doing?
Speaker A:Are they taking a break?
Speaker A:Are they going on kind of like a small hiatus?
Speaker A:Are they releasing a season, you know, within a couple of weeks?
Speaker A:Like, what is it?
Speaker A:Because if your listeners are consuming, you know, similar content and if they are taking a break, you may want to consider, okay, I am not taking a break because then I can use all of the time that my listeners have free that they will be able to binge through my content, right?
Speaker A:Like instead of, let's say someone has 20 minutes of their time and your podcasts are quite short, instead of only being able to listen to one episode, maybe they'll be listening to two or three, right?
Speaker A:How could you benefit from your audience just having less choice to pick from?
Speaker A:Just another thing to consider is that your listeners routines will change and so really take time to think about, like, how do my listeners behave?
Speaker A:Are they the, you know, the kind of people who, you know, whether they're on vacation or not, like they have the same routines, like very little changes in their life.
Speaker A:And so that's, that's something that if they don't have like a regular drive, if they are people who, for instance, are, you know, like working remotely and maybe they don't have like the walk that they have on their day, or maybe they have a more walk, like what are they doing in the summer months?
Speaker A:Are they in need of taking a break or are they upskilling?
Speaker A:So many people take the summertime to uplevel their skills.
Speaker A:Maybe they want to look for a new job in September.
Speaker A:Maybe they are trying to make a career change and you need to be there for them, right?
Speaker A:Are your listeners people who are just so, like, they love the homework they love self development and it doesn't matter.
Speaker A:Like, whatever it is, they're constantly learning.
Speaker A:And, and so you want to make sure that you're there for them in case they, they.
Speaker A:They need you.
Speaker A:And if you're like, thinking about, like, should I take a break?
Speaker A:These are a few things that you may want to consider when it's time to make a decision.
Speaker A:Do you need to take a break as well?
Speaker A:Like, most important, do you need to take a break?
Speaker A:So many podcasters that I work with, they kind of like, they don't have the answer to the podcast, but they just kind of like, continue burning through every week because the.
Speaker A:They just like, okay, I'm publicly out there now.
Speaker A:People are expecting my content.
Speaker A:And so they kind of like push that, you know, like that question that is like, do you need a break?
Speaker A:That to me is just like, you can stop these episodes here.
Speaker A:If you're like, yes, Anna, I do need a break.
Speaker A:It's fair.
Speaker A:But when it's time to make a decision, consider, like, can I create shorter episodes?
Speaker A:Can I do replays?
Speaker A:Can I invite another creator to take over my feed?
Speaker A:Can I do solo episodes where I connect more intimately to my listeners?
Speaker A:Do I need to try new concepts and kind of strip down the complexity of the show and just make, like, a simpler show?
Speaker A:Or do you want to try live?
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Like, live is possibly the simplest thing you can do, because when it's out, it's out, right?
Speaker A:Or do you need to look into audio only?
Speaker A:All of these are things that you have to consider.
Speaker A:But, you know, it's just like disappearing does not need to be an option.
Speaker A:You can, you can try different things, but when you're trying to make a decision about, like, taking a break, these are the things that I think are important to consider as well.
Speaker A:So if you need to take a break from the content itself.
Speaker A:So let's say you create content per seasons, you really need to kind of like to have that mental and physical disconnection from the content, from the actions, from just the week to week.
Speaker A:I think it's important to take a break also to create like, for, like an experience for your own listeners.
Speaker A:Like a journey where, okay, we finished the season.
Speaker A:Stop.
Speaker A:They need.
Speaker A:They, you know, maybe if you wait just two weeks and you release a new season, or if you need to research, if that.
Speaker A:That's something that you need a lot of time for.
Speaker A:If you need to batch a lot of stuff or research in order to batch, you need to take a break and focus on creating experiences that are consistent with the level of content that you'd normally release.
Speaker A:So it may be time to stop.
Speaker A:If you are doubting the impact of the podcast not just on your personal life, but also on your business, right?
Speaker A:If you can't see how you're growing, the purpose of the show, it's time to stop.
Speaker A:And it doesn't mean that it's time to stop completely.
Speaker A:It's time to stop for like a month or two months, right?
Speaker A:Um, if you are kind of feeling like you're going through the week to week drag, and if it's making no sense, it's time to stop, like, just take a beat.
Speaker A:We don't grow when we're constantly in motion.
Speaker A:We sometimes need to stop and take a minute, assess what's, what's happening, look around where we headed, and then continue to the next phase.
Speaker A:So another thing that you may want to consider stopping if the podcast just feels very stale and you're just like in the comfort zone, right?
Speaker A:Like, nothing is exciting.
Speaker A:Everything feels very kind of like, you know, going through the motions.
Speaker A:Okay, this is it now.
Speaker A:And if you're not feeling excited, if you're not feeling challenged by the podcast, it's time to stop.
Speaker A:Last but not least, you are not meaning your, your business goals and your podcast goals.
Speaker A:So if you're looking at your podcast and you know, like, you look in the beginning, let's say you launch in January and it's, you know, June, July, and you're looking at the show and you're like, I have not hit any markers, anything that I set myself for.
Speaker A:And also, I don't see, you know, any other positives.
Speaker A:It may be time to just stop what you're doing because you're getting through the motions and you have no perspective.
Speaker A:And so just making sure that you make time to make those assessments, that you can look at analytics, you can look at trends, you can talk to your community and really understand what happened down the line that became, you know, kind of like almost like a misalignment or you started going on a different direction than your initial GPS was set for.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:And before I move into the next one, I want to kind of like make a, kind of like almost like a specific section for this one.
Speaker A:And that is if you need time to plan your last quarter.
Speaker A:I see so many people burning through the summertime just to kind of be consistent.
Speaker A:But then they get to the end of the year and sometimes they have big goals because, you know, maybe they didn't hit their financial milestones, maybe they just like have big plans for, you know, the end of the year and not taking time to plan accordingly is just going to make it a hot mess until the end of the year.
Speaker A:Because September is fast approaching and then October fast approaching.
Speaker A:And when you know it, it's December.
Speaker A:And just a reminder that December is also a month that is super low in downloads compared to the rest of the year.
Speaker A:So if you have to take a break, take a break in the summertime as well so that you can plan those very important ends of the the year, those like three months before December and now when shouldn't you take a break?
Speaker A:Potentially this is the most important thing that you have to ask yourself.
Speaker A:I see so many podcasters who are business owners, who are professionals, who start having a lot of momentum on their business because of their podcast or because of their online presence or you know, like whatever it is, and they stop because they're like, hey, my books are full.
Speaker A:And so I don't need the podcast to do as much as it did before, so I'm going to kind of like wind down.
Speaker A:And the thing is, a lot of times and I had this conversation with clients where I was like, yeah, like everything's fine now, but these contracts are about to run out, right?
Speaker A:And so you have to start creating that intimacy with your upcoming leads and not just rely that these contracts will get fulfilled again.
Speaker A:Or I see so many people who are like, I'm fully booked, I cannot imagine posting myself.
Speaker A:What's the point?
Speaker A:Well, when you're like out of, out of sight, out of mind, right?
Speaker A:And so many people could be joining, you know, like a wait list for your business and if you're just not showing up, not showing your face, they kind of stop looking at you as the solution to their problem.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Another reason not to stop podcasting completely is if you just started podcasting in Q2 and honestly it's really soon.
Speaker A:Normally you can start seeing results on the podcast anywhere from three to six months.
Speaker A:Majority of people it is from the six month onward to a year.
Speaker A:And if you just started podcasting and you take a break, you're not building like the habit of your listeners getting used to just consuming your content and being with there every week with you, right?
Speaker A:Or however you release content.
Speaker A:So it's too soon to take a break, you should continue and maybe, and I'll get into that into again, like what things you can do to kind of minimize the work that you're going to be doing in the summertime.
Speaker A:Still being top of mind, but another one That I want you to consider is that if you're still uncomfortable in front of the microphone, podcasting truly is, like, a skill that is, like, if you don't use it, you lose it.
Speaker A:And so many podcasters feel like they're like, every single time they're.
Speaker A:Whenever they're taking a break, it feels like it's hard and they are not owning their expertise as well because they just didn't practice as much.
Speaker A:And so they never got to that level that, like, I'm a confident host.
Speaker A:I. I really understand where I at, what I'm supposed to be doing here.
Speaker A:And so if you're not comfortable just as of yet, like, continue podcasting because it will really help you stay consistent and confident in the long run when you're just kind of like, working through that skill set consistently.
Speaker A:Last but not least, I talked to my.
Speaker A:One of my podcasters in my community.
Speaker A:So we were talking about, like, people graduating your content.
Speaker A:So frequently as people who provide service to listeners, we are there until they have, like, that necessity.
Speaker A:We're probably talking about a skill set, like a service that they are interested in or something that they are interested in and they want to buy from us.
Speaker A:A lot of times people will stick around because they love who we are as a person.
Speaker A:They've built that personal connection.
Speaker A:We're kind of like their friend if they already stopped, if they upskilled, if they are past the level of expertise that you teach or that you talk about, or maybe it's something that, you know, like a hobby that you.
Speaker A:You teach.
Speaker A:If you disappear from their life, especially in summertime, it's really hard for them to pick up again.
Speaker A:And what's going to happen is that they have that same free time, so they're going to replace you with someone else.
Speaker A:So if you want to be top of mind with those people who are very likely to graduate, you continue releasing content because they will continue to listen to episodes.
Speaker A:Maybe they go from, you know, a super fan into a.
Speaker A:An occasional listener.
Speaker A:So they pick the episodes based on the titles, but they'll still continue being there, and they'll continue kind of promoting the podcast with new audiences, people who will become your, you know, new listeners.
Speaker A:And so you're like, okay, Anna, I hear you, I hear you.
Speaker A:But I feel like, kind of need to wind down what I'm doing.
Speaker A:Perfect.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:So you can create shorter podcast episodes.
Speaker A:You can do replays, you can invite a friend or appear to guest on the show or to share their podcast episode with your audience.
Speaker A:You can do Solo episodes and really built into that, like intimacy with a listener.
Speaker A:You can try new concepts and maybe try live streaming, maybe doing Instagram lives and repurposing that content for podcast episodes.
Speaker A:Now let me tell you what's going to happen this summer for me, I'm going to take a break and I'm not going to take a break.
Speaker A:So externally you're going to look, I'm going to continue to release episodes.
Speaker A:They're going to be audio only, but I will have everything scheduled at the end of July, which means that August will be my month off because I've been having so many amazing things come and happen my way.
Speaker A:And so I do need a break.
Speaker A:And just, you know, it is a lot.
Speaker A:Everything that I do here in the podcast space as almost like a one woman band, like, it's a lot.
Speaker A:And so for me, I do feel like I need a break.
Speaker A:But I'm not going to let you hanging.
Speaker A:We're going to be working together through some mindset and limiting beliefs that you may be experiencing.
Speaker A:They're actually limiting the growth of your podcast.
Speaker A:And so I thought it was like, oh yeah, like, I don't want to give you homework, right.
Speaker A:If you want to go and journal, you can, you can go in general in journal, but I want you to just like food for thought, you know, like, if you're going on a walk, I want to go with you.
Speaker A:I want you to just expand your potential for the podcast.
Speaker A:Like, I want you to consider different ways to host the show, to create content for yourself, to enjoy this process.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:There's so much about your podcast that you don't know about yet.
Speaker A:And I want to open doors for you.
Speaker A:And so I'm going to actually be opening doors to a really cool program in September.
Speaker A:And I want to just kind of like let you know if you're experiencing this, you want to know more.
Speaker A:So basically, if you're publishing content and nobody really reacts to it, if you feel like nobody is listening to the episodes, if you're kind of like, it's crickets, Anna, or if you're confused as to why you're not getting yeses from guests who are, you know, improving the quality of your network, even though you pour so much soul, so much of you, so much quality content gets published every week, or if you just don't want to be defeated because you know you're, you're meant for more downloads and just receiving emails in your inbox every week from people saying how much you're helping them, how much they're enjoying being part of your community.
Speaker A:All of this is for you.
Speaker A:So you can visit the link in the show notes, but it's thepodcastspace.com boost and the word boost is B O o s t. I want you to just consider that the last quarter of the year is so important and you've been working so hard on these podcasts and if things are not working, it's time to change them.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Like only a fool tries the same thing a thousand times and expects a different result.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:So we are all about being very practical over here.
Speaker A:So make sure that you check that link and talk to me about your strategy for this summer.
Speaker A:I'm at the podcast space on Instagram and all the resources mentioned in this episode will be on thepodcastpace.com podcast.
Speaker A:So tell me about your plans for the summer.
Speaker A:Tag me if you're listening to the podcast on your walk, kind of like chill moment, or if you are just upskilling, I want to know.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:You have a great week and keep creating content that is authentic but that keeps moving forward in your podcast journey.
