Podcasting is a lot of work. It's not that the work isn't rewarding, but every once in a while we all need a little rest.
During the holidays, whichever ones you celebrate, it's probable that you might want to spend a little more time with friends and family. You probably should, we both know you deserve it.
But you can't do it all.
Taking more time for yourself, means spending a little less on your show. So, what do you do with it? How can you make sure you don't lose your audience while you're taking care of yourself?
Why take a break?
Podcasting is all about consistency — maybe not "all" but it's a big part of it.
Your audience needs to know when they can expect to hear something new, otherwise they'll move on to someone who publishes more predictably. So, it stands to reason that taking a short hiatus over the holidays might turn your audience off, right?
The thing is, as much as your audience loves your show, they understand that everyone needs a rest every once in a while. With a predictable schedule of when you're planning to return it's unlikely that you'll lose a large chunk of your audience.
But holidays can be a particularly good opportunity to take a breather because you're not the only one.
Listeners are often distracted, focusing on their own loved ones, so keeping up-to-date on their favorite podcasts tends to be a little less important. Many shows report a dip in listening during holidays (both winter and summer), and the effort to put out regular episodes while people aren't listening seems a little taxing.
So, if you want to pause and observe your own holiday traditions and spend time with the ones you love, your audience will probably understand.
But what should you do with your show?
Taking a short hiatus doesn't necessarily mean not releasing anything. You can continue to publish new content to your RSS feed without putting in a lot of extra work.
Whether you want to repurpose old recordings or create something new, there is a way to get creative so your feed remains updated without doing a ton of extra work. Here are some of the best ways to fill your schedule while you do a little TLC:
1. Space out your schedule
Many podcasts publish on a weekly basis, but during the holidays you might want to consider stretching that out a bit. Reducing your output by half — publishing once every other week — will make sure your feed stays warm but lighten your workload.
2 Create "best of" specials
You don't have to make something completely new to be able to publish. Chances are you have a TON of stuff from the last year that could be re-worked and shared with your audience. How you do this is up to you, but some shows:
Recap the best moments of the season
Create something "from the cutting room floor"
Republish top episodes
3. Host another show
Gaps in your show are perfect for networking with fellow podcasters, and one way you can do this is by swapping feeds. That is you publish an episode of someone else's podcast to help promote them and keep something on your feed weekly. If you go this route it's important you extend the invitation to a show that's in your niche.
4. Fly solo
This isn't an alternative if your show already follows a one-on-one model. But for those that regularly interview guests, you could mix it up by doing a special solo episode or two that you can release during your time off. Solo features can often be easier to record since you're not dealing with other people's schedules and you control the entirety of the show.
If your show has co-hosts instead of guests, you could modify this by each doing solo versions of the show, cutting everyone's recording time down a tad.
Batch recording episodes
Pre-recording your show isn't the right path for everyone.
Those that focus their skills on current events or more timely topics might not be able to be done in advance. But for shows that can, this advanced planning can help ensure you have a show to put out while you're giving yourself a rest.
But even if your regular show isn't able to be recorded early, chances are you can create an engaging wrap-up episode (or two) in advance. When you repurpose, you already have everything available to you, it's just a matter of rearranging it into a new idea for those that listen.
Really though, what should you do?
The truth is there aren't any rules when it comes to dealing with your show during the holidays. It's really dealer's choice. But you want to make sure you do what works best for both you and your audience.
Most importantly, you want to make sure you let your listeners know about the interruption to your regularly scheduled programming in advance. That way they're not waiting impatiently beside their devices to download your next new episode.
