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How Long Should my Podcast Be?
Kerr Mathieson
So, here's a common Podcasting question I get asked a lot:
How long should my Podcast be?
The actual answer you'll get is, of course.........'it depends' (aaaargh!!!).
Well, in my view, 2 things:
Your Content, and
Get these answers right, and you're far more likely to engage and retain your listeners.
How long should my Podcast be?
I've seen recent studies that suggest the average is between 38 and 43 minutes.
That however, varies massively by category. For example, Video Game Podcasts are regularly twice that length, where as Language Course Podcasts can be less than half of it.
The business podcasts, shared internally, or as customer engagement tools tend to sit somewhere around the 20 minute mark.
The actual answer you'll get is, of course.........'it depends' (aaaargh!!!).
But, depends on what?
Well, in my view, 2 things:
Your Content, and
Your Audience
Your Content:
So, what message are you trying to deliver and how long (or short) does it take to do that concisely?
If it's a meaty topic, or it's one that has interviews attached, maybe you need to do a short taster podcast for it, signposting a longer 'in depth' episode.
If you're simply updating information, or sending out instruction/motivation internally, then short and sweet it is!
Your Audience:
The question to consider here is when are they going to listen to it, and how long is that listening opportunity?
You could lead the answer to this question yourself of course, by 'designing' your podcast to fit into a certain time frame. i.e. Is it on the commute, over a cup of tea, or lunch break?
Or you may need to do a little research on your target audience to see when the most likely listening period is.
This may also depend on whether your audience is internal or external to your business.
It definitely depends on whether you're creating a 'business' or 'leisure' podcast!
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, whether you're a seasoned producer or trying to make these decisions yourself. Let me know in the comments below.
And if you'd like help figuring out the answers to these questions, get in touch and let's chat (for an appropriate length of time, obviously!).
Audio Outsource Blog
In this first of three posts, I explore the What. What is a podcast? What is it made and used for. In the next post, I'll explore the Why.