Keep Publishing Over the Holidays, Podcast Report Says
‘Tis the season: Time to take a break, slow down and recharge for the new year, they say. Unless you’re a podcaster, that is.
If you’re thinking about taking a break in your podcast publishing schedule over the holidays this year, you might want to reconsider.
Some new data has emerged from The Podcast Marketing Academy, suggesting that, if last Christmas is anything to go by, the holidays are a great opportunity to boost downloads.
Here’s what the data tells us, and how to take advantage of Christmas downtime to grow your podcast.
Podcast Holiday Listening Trend Data
Jeremy Enn’s annual Podcast Marketing Trends has a whole load of other great insights – you can check out the full report here.
But what caught my eye in the report this year was this notable trend regarding holiday listening.
The study, which surveyed 500+ podcasters about their show data, revealed a dip in episode publishing over the holidays, but an increase in listener downloads at that time.
In fact, the study showed December as the second busiest month of the whole year for downloads, while the average number of episodes published was at its lowest level.
Number of episodes published per month
Downloads per episode by month
So, while many podcasters are taking that much-needed break at the end of the year, the demand for content is still strong.
Why People Still Want Podcasts Content During Holidays
Understanding content demand trends over the holidays isn’t easy because why people choose to listen to podcasts is a personal matter. However, there are a few realistic assumptions we can make.
While taking downtime to disconnect is important, not everyone wants this. And for many people, podcasts don’t count in their festive digital detox, as audio content doesn’t involve screen time.
For many listeners, podcasts are such an integral part of life that they don’t want to ‘switch off’ from listening during this time. Spending time with the hosts they know and love can even be a comfort to some people during what can be a difficult and lonely time of the year.
And on the opposite end of the scale, other listeners might find they need a break from their families and the chaos that can come with the festive season. Listening to podcasts is how many people unwind and take some time for themselves.
And lastly, we know that commutes are the most popular time of the day for listeners to tune into their favourite shows. What other time of year do you have a mass commute, when listeners around the world are travelling to reach their families, and potentially long distances too?
When you think about all of these (admittedly nuanced) holiday scenarios, you can see how crucial it can be to show up for your listeners during these weeks.
And the good news is, you can still take advantage of this popular season without missing out on that downtime for yourself.
How to Take Advantage of Holiday Season As a Podcaster
Here are a few ideas on how to give your listeners what they want for Christmas (more content!) without burning yourself out.
Stay consistent with your schedule
While you might not be able to create more content than usual during this popular time, it’s a good idea to stick to your usual publishing schedule.
If you’ve ever switched on the TV to watch your favourite program and found it’s been replaced by some Christmas movie you’ve seen a million times, you’ll know how disappointing that can feel.
If you normally publish new episodes on a Wednesday, but Christmas and New Year’s Day fall on this day, don’t let that put you off running a new episode.
We know that listeners crave consistency when it comes to podcast consumption, and (if the new data is anything to go by) you might find you have even more listeners tuning in that day than usual.
Create episodes in advance
The great thing about podcasting is that nothing is live. So, unlike radio hosts, we’re dab hands at creating our content in advance.
No one expects you to be behind the mic while the turkey’s in the oven (you’ll probably spark a festive family feud if you do!). So if you can, schedule some content to go out while you’re drinking Bailey’s in your pyjamas at 12pm.
Repost old content
If coming up with new episode ideas during the holidays feels out of your reach right now, don’t worry – you have other options.
Got a particular episode that you think deserves more attention from your (especially newer) listeners? You could always republish it with a fresh intro saying why it’s worth a revisit. Reruns actually go down pretty well with listeners – which is why so many of the big players (This American Life, for example) do them.
Or, if you’re up to a little bit more editing, you could always create a pastiche of some of your highlights of the year.
Promote your back catalogue
If you think you’ll struggle to find the capacity to publish fresh content or even edit together a rerun episode, you could promote old episodes with your listeners instead.
Whichever way you normally promote new episodes – by email newsletter, social media channels, etc. – use this space to promote some highlight episodes from your back catalogue that listeners might not have listened to yet.
Try something different
Why not take advantage of this time of year’s less ‘business as usual’ vibe to try something out of the ordinary?
For example, if you normally publish long-form deep-dive episodes once a month, try recording four shorter episodes and scheduling them to go out weekly over the month of December. If your episodes normally run under the 30-minute mark, why not try a deep dive and see how it resonates with your listeners?
Mixing up your formats is a good way to experiment with new approaches without jarring your audience. After all, they’ll be grateful you’re publishing anything at all over the holidays.
Collaborate on your Christmas single
If you’re keen to record and schedule some content for the holidays, now is the perfect time to reach out to other creators in your niche.
What other podcasts, YouTube channels, blogs, or social accounts cover the same (or a similar) topic as you?
Almost any content creator will be open to getting some low-barrier (but valuable and memorable) material in the bank to serve their audience over Christmas and New Year. So go out there and find the Bing Crosby to your David Bowie.
Podcast Gifts for Podcast Lovers & Creators
Read article called: Podcast Gifts for Podcast Lovers & CreatorsWrapping Up: Be the Not-So-Secret Santa
If listeners are writing “more podcasts” on their Christmas lists, while podcasters are perpetually asking the big man for “more listeners,” then it makes too much sense not to publish something over the holidays.
So, what approach will you take?
And remember, this is just one takeaway from The Podcast Marketing Trends 2024 Report—there are loads of other insights, lessons, and observations to explore over there. A big thanks to the PMA for putting it together!
