Quickie Quick Quick: Does podcast length matter?

The answer is....yes and no.

But first, a quick story.

The NPR clock was the first "clock" I learned when I started working on a local show at an affiliate station. I was then introduced to a "hard clock" and a "floating clock." Not going to get into all the details here but basically these clocks dictated how an hour of radio was shaped. If you're curious, check out the show clock link here.

For example, if a B segment was 11 minutes and 9 seconds, it better damn well be close to that. Otherwise there is the risk of the dreaded "dead air" moment. When producers got timing wrong and suddenly you had over a minute to burn on a national show airing live in almost every market (nightmare), you have no idea the amount of screaming, shouting, expletives, and music that filled our control room.

SO....we were psyched when podcasting came along and there was no clock anywhere to be seen. Free flow! No slicing! No dicing! Open-ended convos! OK that didn't happen but we did get to think about show timing in a completely different (and sometimes painful) way.

Here is what I have learned

Consistency is key

If you want your show to hover around 30-40 minutes, keep it there forever and ever, amen. Don't do a 30 minute episode followed by a 90 minute episode followed by a 15 minute episode. It frustrates listeners who plan their lives, walks, commutes, work-outs, dinner prep, etc around a certain podcast.

Regular release schedule

Deciding to release on Thursday, keep it on Thursday. If you want to have a way to do shorter, bite-sized episode, create a day where you can release a much shorter show (like a mini-episode) but keep your regular episodes on a dependable schedule. You can build in flexibility by thinking about your branding and language. "Here is our occasional mini-episode where I react to something I saw in TV the night before." That language doesn't promise a regular release cadence and it also explains the pop-up episode. You've also given it a separate brand "mini episode" to differentiate it from your regular episodes.

This is a relationship. Communicate!

You're human and sometimes you'll need a break or you'll have to go outside the normal parameters to make specific content fit into your format. If you're not dropping episodes for awhile or going super long, let the people know.

Podcast to Radio Takes Time.

It doesn't matter what kind of radio: public, community, commercial....slow your roll. There is a clock and you need to understand it. You may have to cut content (watch that language!), build in breaks or even remove entire conversations. It's not impossible but it's not turnkey.

If you have questions or words of wisdom, feel free to DM me or comment below.