Throughout my posts on podcasting, I constantly mention an upload schedule. And whenever I mention the upload schedule, I also say once you’ve got one, stick to it for the algorithm. However, you might not know the different upload schedules out there and which could work for you and your podcast.
Today I will talk about the different upload routines. And how they work to help you decide your upload/publishing schedule for a podcast!
Weekly
Now for the first option, I could’ve gone for the least obvious, bi-weekly or bi-monthly. But I thought, for now, go with the most straightforward and possibly most sought out option.
Weekly uploads are episodes that are released once a week.
This upload schedule is excellent! As it means your audience doesn’t have to wait too long between uploads and has a constant stream of content. Because it’s weekly, they are constantly engaging with your topic.
Also, if you are doing the podcast solo, it’s easy to fit it into your life.
However, weekly uploads with a podcast can have some significant disadvantages. The first is if an emergency pops up during the week, it can be tough to fit in the recording process. If you miss your weekly deadline, your algorithm messes up, and it can be difficult getting back on track.
Another problem arises with a weekly upload schedule when more than one person is presenting the podcast. Because you’ve got to find time every week for everyone to meet up and record and then edit it. Then market the podcast to your audience, which can be challenging with how busy life can get.
There is a solution in which you record multiple episodes for a months worth of uploading and then schedule it. It gives you more time to edit multiple episodes and helps with the marketing. However, recording for various hours can be tricky and doesn’t enable you to go outside the proposed plan. Stopping you from noticing trends.
Monthly
Monthly uploading schedules are another popular publishing schedule for many podcasters. These uploads are great for podcasts with multiple hosts as you get four weeks to find time to get together and record an episode, which lessens the pressure of getting an episode into your directory if an emergency occurs.
Plus, it can be easier to talk about new ideas and what topics you can discuss. It also gives you a three-week break away from recording. That break enables you to have a clearer head to come up with more ideas for your topic. Whereas a weekly upload can make you drained, it can make it challenging to develop new ideas to discuss.
Another thing is with the monthly uploading schedule is that it gives you more time to edit. And you can put more time into marketing! From the audio snippets, you share to the pictures behind the scenes that you share.
The only problem is if you start with a monthly publishing date straight away. Your audience will only have one episode to listen to. Then they’ll have to wait three weeks for the next one. And to wait that long without some form of content or engagement can bore people and detract listeners.
The best thing to do is upload three episodes at launch and then go into the monthly schedule. So listeners have something to properly sink their teeth into and then tide them over until the next episode.
Bi-weekly
Bi-weekly uploads are either twice a week or every two weeks. The two-a-week schedule has the same problems as the weekly uploads.
When recording, you’ll have to do double uploads to reach the two-a-week upload amount.
If you went for the every two-week schedule for bi-weekly episodes, you’d get a tiny break. But you’ll still have the trouble of fitting it into your daily life.
However, it is easier than the twice a week/weekly uploads.
Bi-monthly
Bi-monthly uploads are either twice a month or every two months. If you do a podcast episode twice a month, you enable your audience to have more than one episode a month to listen to. Plus, it gives you more to market with, especially at launch.
And it’s easier to schedule with other people. It lessens the stress of your schedule if there’s an emergency.
Putting a podcast episode into the directories every two months, whilst easier to fit into peoples schedules, will still cause problems. Yes, it will be okay with the algorithm if you can keep up. Still, you won’t be putting out as much content. Which will be difficult to market with and scupper any engagement from your audience! And social media and online content thrives with attention! Which will be lost with this method of uploading.
Daily
Daily uploads of podcast episodes are rarely done. Because recording an episode takes up a lot of time, and so does the editing. It’ll be a challenge to get it into the directories.
On top of that, it can be not easy to schedule if you have multiple hosts or a full-time job, especially when a podcast isn’t monetised! And so, you’ll be putting in a lot of effort for something that provides minimal results.
If you haven’t got a full-time job and are a solo host, making daily podcast episodes will be much easier. But it’s not recommended as the quality will drop, and you’ll overload your audience with too much content. It’s a very different medium to a daily youtube vlog. As that can be short, but a podcast can’t get away with that.
Also, if you miss one upload, the algorithm will get ruined! Whereas you miss an upload on the weekly or monthly schedule, it’s easier to sort out.
However, it gives you a lot to market with and a lot of engagement for all the cons.
Only you can choose
In the end, only you can decide which schedule works for you. Even if I don’t recommend something, it is your decision in the end! Make sure you can stick to it, and it’s easy to put into your plan. So you can maximise other areas of your marketing and branding. And the algorithm is more likely to recommend your podcast.
Thanks for reading this article:
Hopefully, you found this article helpful, and as always our wer8 family is always available to help you on your content journey. If you haven’t already, please also download any one of our FREE ebooks to help you with your online presence.
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