Pass the Pie and Publish the Podcast
Suggestions for Avoiding Holiday Creator Burnout
No matter how much my brain insists that it's too soon, November has arrived. In the mid-Atlantic U.S., we're shoveling decomposing pumpkins off our stoops and leaving work in the dark. On store shelves, anatomically unlikely plastic animal skeletons and individually wrapped candies have been replaced by impossibly shiny plastic pine branches and individually wrapped candies, but in green.
If you're anything like me, you're staring down the barrel of six weeks of compulsory frivolity, you’re feeling significant pressure to maximize your leveragable synergies for Q4, and you don’t have a team of producers to pitch you stories and cut tape. How the hell will you have time to publish your podcast over the holidays?
The answer should, in my opinion, depend mostly on how much time and energy you will comfortably have to spare. Fortunately, there are publishing strategies to accommodate lots of different holiday schedules. Here are a few possibilities to consider.
Option 1: Go on hiatus.
Take a break! Tis the season for juggling a million priorities. Your listeners are human too, and they get it. At the same time, they expect (and deserve) some courtesy. Don’t just ghost them like an awkward Tinder conversation. Put a short notice in your feed if (you can) that lets them know when you’ll be stepping away and when you’ll resume production (if you know). If you end up needing more time, let them know that, too. You might lose some people during the break, but a strategic hiatus that conserves your resources will be less damaging than an abrupt, “I’m too burned out and full of egg nog to function” disappearance.
Option 2: Scale back your release schedule.
Do you publish an episode every week? Consider taking a “dark week” here and there, or dialing back to publishing twice or even once a month. Again, it’s best to let your listeners know in advance; you don’t want them to waste time googling whether your feed is dormant because you’ve drowned in latke oil.
Option 3: Frontload your recording schedule.
This isn’t exactly its own approach, but more of a tactic today you can use to do a solid for future you. If you have the time now, record an extra episode or three, and get them as ready as possible so you can put the finishing touches on and drop them into your feed between the turkey and the pie.
Option 4: Re-share old episodes.
You’ve got a back catalog of episodes dribbling in long-tail downloads. Why not put them to work? You’ve listened to every episode you’ve released (haven’t you?) but most newer listeners probably haven’t gone all the way back to check out best_show_ep_001_complete_edited_final_05.mp3. And even if they have, they’ve grown and changed just like you. They might hear something they didn’t catch the first time, or relate to it in an entirely different way.
A way to guarantee they hear with fresh ears is to add something to the original edit. The science podcast Radiolab will routinely revisit older episodes, and include updates on new research that adds context to the original story. My client Mind Witchery recently asked listeners to nominate their favorite episodes, then released them in themed pairings with additional commentary. It’s a non-zero amount of work, but it will keep your feed updating with less effort than creating all-new episodes.
Option 5: Consider a show swap or feed drop.
You’re probably not publishing on a big podcasting network with several layers of middle management to absorb cross-promotion requests, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find other podcasters who’d be willing to cross your stream. Reach out to shows where you’ve been a guest, or whose host you’ve had on your show. Or even shoot your shot with a host you admire but have never had an excuse to contact.
They might be open to a swap, where you share one of their episodes in your feed, and they share one of yours with their audience. They might prefer a drop, where they don’t return the favor, but at least you’re keeping your feed active with interesting content. Or, if they celebrate a different holiday than you, you might even arrange to produce an original episode for each other. The only hard and fast rule: NEVER share someone else’s episode in your feed without getting their permission IN WRITING (yes, an email counts).
Option 6: Don’t change a thing.
Some of us stumble into early January at the end of our social ropes, wanting nothing more than a warm drink and a week of absolute silence. During dark winter evenings, we whisper to each other about mythical creatures for whom holiday gatherings are a source of energy and excitement, who don’t find themselves needing a nap after watching a parade on television.
If you’re one of these lucky folks with vigor to spare, there’s no reason why you can’t stay the course. Just be careful to schedule the time and quiet you need to do some recording. Or, if all you really want is an excuse to duck out before your worst relative goes on a paranoid, right-wing rant, tell your family you’ve got no choice but to go away and record. Your secret is safe with me.
Fortunately(?) your listeners are just as stressed-out and overcommitted as you are. Most of them will understand if you need to adjust your schedule over the season. However, they’re also likely to find themselves stuck in the car or the airport or the rec room at a tense family gathering, desperate for an entertaining distraction, at least once between now and New Year’s. If you have the capacity to keep your feed updating, I recommend you do. But the most important thing is what keeps you engaged with the process of creating your show.
Cutting back on publishing might ding your downloads in the short term, but building an audience is a long game. Forcing yourself to record an episode just trains your brain to think of podcasting as an unpleasant chore. Do you really want to feel like you’re taking out the trash every time you get behind the mic? If staying excited about making your show requires stepping away for a bit and coming back fresh in the New Year, then don’t hesitate.
I’d love to help you figure out how to make podcasting more rewarding for you, over the holidays and beyond. Give yourself the gift of clicking here to get started!