One important consideration when launching a new podcast is what the shelf life of your episodes will be. Here are two examples:
I often listen to the NPR show Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! as a podcast. This program takes current events and turns them into a game show. On the one hand, I feel an increased pressure to listen each week because I know that if I don’t, the show will become out of date. On the other hand, I have never gone back to listen to a six-month old episode, because I know that it’s no longer relevant.
On the other hand, stand-up comedian Marc Maron hosts the WTF podcast. His show features evergreen interviews with celebrities like Robin Williams, Paul McCartney, and even Barack Obama. I have listened to episodes of his podcasts months or even years after they were initially recorded because they are timeless. However, I don’t feel the increased pressure to listen to every episode as soon as it is released, so with Marc’s podcast, I will often binge listen to several episodes, then go months without listening, then return to it again.
As you can see, the shelf life of your content can have a significant impact on how people consume it. A podcast series featuring evergreen content can get a lot more life out of older episodes, while a current-events driven podcast can take a lot longer to gain traction. When you are launching a new podcast, think carefully about how your episodes will age.
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