January 9, 2023

Do I Have To Podcast Forever?

The Open-Ended Question

The way we think about a podcast is a bit like a universe. It has a reasonably definitive starting point1. A lot of noise and activity happens In The Beginning, but after that, it just exists, expanding at a respectable pace toward some value of perpetuity.

This Standard Model of Podcasting2 is often intimidating for folks contemplating a new show. Even if you’re completely in love with your chosen topic, thinking about taking on a project without an end date can be exhausting. Fortunately, a podcast doesn’t have to be an open-ended effort. Here are a few alternative models to consider.

Proof of Concept: Very few funders are going to invest in a podcast based solely on a pitch. Particularly because the costs of equipment are so modest, they’ll expect you to have invested some of your own money (as well as time and effort) into giving them something to experience. Whether you’re looking for investment, sponsorships, or crowdfunding, having some demonstration episodes will allow them to hear the potential of the project before committing their hard-earned money. And, once you’ve got your demo episodes produced, you can plan out a…

Limited Series: How many projects, professional or personal, have you started by going “well, now I do this forever?”3 Why not set a start and an end date for your podcast? Knowing your energy investment will end in a timely fashion can help you maintain that investment through the finish. It’s also helpful from a budget perspective. Very few funding sources are completely open-ended, either, so you might get more interest if you’re pitching a project that comes to a satisfying culmination.

The limited series model is an especially good fit if you want to dig into a specific story rather than scraping out every nook and cranny of a topic. If you get to the end of your series and find there’s still more you want to explore, you can start making plans for a…

Season Schedule: There are lots of reasons why seasons of shows became the standard operating mode in television, but the main advantage of planning seasons for a podcast is how it helps manage your time investment. It assumes that you, like most humans, can benefit from some rest between periods of hard work. Having a season schedule builds in breaks for you to plan your next arc, to assess and tweak parts of the project, or to change direction if find yourself inspired by something different. It also primes the audience to expect start and end points, so you can make arrangements to wind down the project…

When it’s time: Whether you’re publishing every week or in seasonal bursts, your engagement and interest are your most precious commodity. If you start to feel less than fulfilled by the topic or the process, it’s important to trust that feeling. It can often be addressed by changing things up, like varying your publishing schedule or bringing on a co-host. But if it’s time, it’s time, and you shouldn’t be afraid to put a pin in a podcast that’s no longer firing your interest. Again, because of the relatively modest economics of file hosting, it’s possible for your show to remain available for sharing as a reputation-building tool and audio portfolio long after you’ve stepped away from regular updates.

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Podcasting is still a young medium, with relatively low barriers to entry. Amazon and Spotify notwithstanding, it hasn’t centralized as much as older formats. This means it’s usually up to a creator to decide how long their show lasts, rather than waiting on an order from a network. Whether you plan it out from the start or come to a point where it’s time to move on, there are lots of ways to think of a podcast as something other than something you’re committed to ad infinitum.

I’m offering free calls to talk about your podcasting dreams, and what it would take to make them a reality. Whether you’re thinking of starting a podcast, or you need some help to make your show run smoothly, let’s talk about how to make podcasting work for you. Click here to book yours now.