
What is the optimal length for a podcast?
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How many people do you need to start a podcast?
How to Start a Podcast: Every Single Step for 2021
- What's Your Podcast For? So firstly, why do you want to make a podcast? ...
- Who is Your Podcast For? So first day, get the big question in: Who are you making this podcast for? ...
- Give Them a Reason to Listen Whether you're providing information that will help someone to lose weight (in the case of our personal trainer), or doing a really entertaining ...
How to go about starting a podcast?
- Choose a topic you’re passionate about and you’ll stick to
- Research your target audience to come up with a plan for your show
- Decide on your podcast title, description, and artwork
- Buy and setup your equipment
- Prepare for recording your first episode
- Record your first episode
- Edit and publish the episode
- Launch and promote your podcast to the world!
How long does it take to launch a podcast?
Veteran podcaster reveals a step-by-step system to launch your first podcast on a budget in 7 days. , Producer of How to Live in Denmark, a weekly podcast for newcomers to Denmark.
What is the minimum length for a podcast?
But the general theory of podcast episode lengths is simple. If you have 40 minutes of good, on-topic content, and your episode lasts 1 hour, then it's too long. If If you have 40 minutes of good, on-topic content, and your episode lasts 20 minutes, then it's too short.
Is a 5 minute podcast too short?
No, it can't be too short. There is no definitive time which a podcast has to reach. Shorter podcasts leave you less time to deliver information, engage and entertain, but can work well if you have a lot of useful tips to share.
How often do podcasts fail?
Less than 20% of the podcasts that have launched this year will make it to next year. Most podcasts fail. If you've launched a podcast or are thinking about launching one, you don't want to put in all that work just to see your experiment get canned in a few months.
Do podcasts make money?
Sponsorships are the most common way podcasters make money. This is when the podcast promotes the sponsor during the show. You probably hear your favorite shows plug their advertisers a few times in every episode. How much you earn from a sponsor depends on the number of downloads your episodes earn.
How long is a podcast?
The average podcast episode length on a Buzzsprout review is 38 minutes. 38 minutes and 42 seconds to be exact according to research. Keep in mind that people who have hours and hours to dedicate to podcast listening tend to be in the minority, which is why a lot of podcasts are between 20 minutes and 30 minutes while some get up to 60 minutes.
What is the Average Podcast Length?
The podcast episode length can vary dramatically; therefore, it may be helpful to look at a few specific podcast examples and talk about the average length for podcast episodes.
How Much Time Do You Have?
While much of the conversation about podcast length involves thinking about the audience, you should also think about yourself. Few people have the time and energy to devote hours and hours to podcasting each week consistently. You do not need to feel bad if you are not one of those people; you just need to be honest with yourself and with your listeners. Making one fantastic podcast episode every two weeks is much better than throwing together a lackluster show every week.
Why is podcast content important?
This is an important question to ask because the odds are that many of your listeners are listening to your podcast on their way to and from work. Audio and Podcast content works well for commuting in comparison to YouTube because it allows people to keep their eyes on the road or the way they are going while still allowing them to get new information. If you can find out what your audience’s average commute is, then that could influence how long you choose to make your podcast.
How to get a better idea of how long a podcast should be?
Consider asking your audience what the average length of their commute is as well as how long they would like to spend listening to your content to get a better idea of how long your podcast specifically should be. Use information directly from your audience whenever possible to be sure you are serving your listeners as best you can.
What happens if you don't give yourself enough time for podcasting?
If you do not give yourself enough time for audio editing after recording, then you will likely end up with a podcast that is not of the right quality for your show.
How long is the longest podcast?
The longest continuous podcast episode ever spanned 36 hours. Mike Russell of UK Podcasters gave up sleep to record continually for a day and a half. While this was a one-time endeavor, podcasts out there regularly record episodes that clock in at several hours long.
How long should a podcast be?
The ideal length of a podcast comes down to: 1 How often you can consistently publish without burning out 2 Your podcast's topic 3 Your audience's commute time, habits, and lifestyle 4 The amount of time you can set aside to create your podcast
What can you use stats for in podcasts?
You can use these stats to inventive your audience and see if any podcast listening trends emerge that can help you better tailor your content.
How often do you publish?
When it comes to your podcast publishing schedule, more frequent episodes are not necessarily better.
How many podcast listeners listen to podcasts while driving?
According to a 2019 study by Infinite Dial, over one-fourth of podcast listeners consume podcast content while driving. So the question is, how long is your listener's average commute, and how can you best tailor your content to fit into their routine?
How long is Joe Rogan's podcast?
And the wildly popular podcast The Joe Rogan Experience averages about three hours, and some episodes can get close to five.
Why do you carve out days for podcasts?
Carving out set days and times to work on your podcast brings clarity to your podcast creation and helps determine the length of your podcast.
What to ask a podcast host?
You can also ask them about their favorite and least favorite parts of your podcast, whether they like the intro where you banter with your co-host or if you should use more sound effects. You can also get feedback on:
How Long is the Average Podcast?
The No Such Thing as a Fish podcast tends to average around 40 minutes per episode. Some episodes are longer, some shorter but mostly they’re around this mark.
How many podcasts are there?
There are now over 660,000 podcasts, all of which vary in length. The Longest Podcast in the World clocks in at 36 hours and the world’s shortest is just under a second long ( though that was probably an accident ). The 60-Second Science podcast is an example of a great non-accidental short podcast.
Is it better to have a podcast than an hour?
Podcasts are about quality, not quantity. It’s better to release a podcast that is 20 minutes of great content than an hour of substandard content.
Why are podcasts longer?
Longer podcasts can indicate that you are an industry thought leader. And they allow you to drill deeper into your subject. This results in absorbing content that keeps your listeners interested, engaged and subscribed. Longer podcasts will:
What is Joe Rogan's podcast?
A well-known US comedian, martial artist, TV host and actor, Joe interviews a wide variety of guests about anything and everything – from aerospace entrepreneurs to filmmakers, authors to comedians and many others. Joe’s podcasts are often three hours or more, yet he commands a huge following of thousands.
How long should I listen to a podcast?
If you want to know the optimum duration for a podcast, you might want to know how long “something else” is. For example, the average commuting timein the US is 26 minutes.
How long is the average commute for podcasts?
For example, the average commuting timein the US is 26 minutes. If you make a podcast longer than the average commute time, you could reasonably expect that podcast to be less satisfying for those who listen to podcasts while commuting. However, an average - by its very nature - means many peoples’ commute takes shorter, while others take longer.
Why do podcasts exist?
A podcast exists to tell a story or convey an idea. Unlike radio or TV, it needn’t be any specific duration to fit a schedule. The selfish method. Some podcasters hit 'record’, do their podcast, and then, after hitting 'stop’ simply publish the result. It’s “as long as it needs to be”.
Why is editing important for podcasts?
Recording is fun, editing can be boring and dull; but it’s important to do, they say, because your number one job as a podcast host is to delight your listeners. If you don’t, they’ll go away. So, according to many podcasters, editing is just as important as finding the right guests or the right content.
How long are YouTube commercials?
In August 2019, research showed that the most popular commercials on YouTube were just 6 seconds long. And in December 2019, RAIN Newswas comparing the total length of daily news podcasts with the amount of ads in them - and how long they took to get going.
How long should a story be?
If it takes 25 minutes to tell a great story, with all the fluff taken out and ensuring that every minute matters - then 25 minutes is the right duration for that story. But if it takes three hours, then that’s fine, too - as long as every single minute matters. If not, edit it, and keep editing it.
Do listeners come back to podcasts?
Two thirds of listeners do come back to a podcast later to continue listening, according to research of radio fans; but the same survey says 21% of listeners - one in five - never come back.
What does it depend on the length of a podcast?
When I say, “it depends,” I mean that there is no perfect length that will influence the popularity and success of your podcast. The length of successful podcasts is as varied as the audience who listens to them.
How long does it take to listen to podcasts on the way to work?
You should keep the habits of your listeners in mind. Do they listen to podcasts on their way to work? The average commute time is around 30 minutes, so you may want to stick around that mark.
Should you stick to the same length for all of the episodes?
The same rules apply to each episode: “Talk as much as you need and only as much as you need.” If that means that some of your episodes are longer than others, then so be it.
Is there an ideal episode length?
I’d say there is. It is not what is the ideal length for listeners, but you. Everything rests upon the content that you create, which topic you choose. It rests upon how long you can give it your all.
How long is an off topic podcast?
One of my favorite podcasts, “Off-topic,” which, as you might guess, doesn’t have one specific topic but is formatted as a talk between a group of friends, tends to go as long as 2 hours and more .
Can you use other podcasts as a reference?
Use other podcasts as a sort of a reference, or a picture in a coloring book. However, as we all know, sometimes it’s more fun to color outside the lines, so do not restrict yourself with the length of other popular podcasts. Use them as guides, not as rules.
Do you cut anything that you deem essential to have a shorter episode?
You waste your time choosing what is less important at the cost of quality. And I say you don’t need to choose. Don’t cut anything that you deem essential to have a shorter episode.
How long should a podcast be?
As a result, podcasts range from as short as a minute to as long as 3+ hours. But what do listeners really want?
How long is a podcast session?
At the same time the average number of podcasts listened went from 4.5 to 7. The authors did note that 56% of those surveyed listened to podcasts in multiple sessions - meaning they continued listening to episodes beyond a single session.
Why are NPR shows so long?
Popular shows from NPR and the like are long because they’re built for the radio broadcast schedule first. Celebrity-driven shows like Joe Rogan’s might have a higher tolerance for longness thanks to the rabid fanbases of the host and celebrity guests.
How long is a good sweet spot for NPR?
NPR goes on to say their data also suggests that 18-30 minutes may be a “sweet spot” for keeping an audience engaged. NPR isn’t saying much about its methodology here, but we can assume they’re working from a large, if NPR-centric, data set.
Is it better to have a longer podcast or a longer podcast?
As you may have guessed by now, there isn’t an ideal length. Yes, there’s some evidence that shorter is better, but many long shows are thriving. Just look at the Apple Podcasts top 50 chart:
Do podcasts collect listener data?
Aggregate podcast listening data is still hard to come by, since publishing and listening are so decentralized. In many cases we don’t even know if a user actually listened after downloading. In other cases, app makers and hosting providers collect detailed listener data, but won’t share that information publicly, or even with the podcasters themselves. All that to say that the data we’re about to discuss should be taken with a grain of salt. With that said, let’s see if we can infer anything from the available information.
What is the longest podcast?
Longest Podcast in the World is a special one-off podcast that was made to raise awareness of the burgeoning podcasting scene around the world. It was a 36 hour non-stop podcast that attracted thousands of listeners and supporters.
What is the podcast "Lie, cheat, and steal" about?
Lie, Cheat, and Steal is a podcast about famous con artists, liars and fraudsters. Some episodes are as long as 70 minutes meaning it goes into a lot of detail. Last Podcast on the Left is a horror podcast featuring both mythical horror stories and real-life true crime stories told in a comedic fashion.
What Do You Usually Talk About?
Focussing on the subject matter of your podcast is a good idea when deciding its length. If your podcast is serious and you need to add in a lot of information then it’s more likely that your podcast should be longer. If your podcast tells a short story then it can be shorter. Never cut your content short if you have a lot of it but similarly don’t leave every thought and piece of content in it unedited to fill up time.
Is it okay to cut a podcast short?
It’s the same with Seven Minute Opinions, which is a podcast featuring different opinions in seven minutes or less. It is best to not cut your podcast short if it means you’re not making your points or you’re edging around the topic.
Is it better to make a podcast shorter?
Making shorter podcasts doesn’t necessarily mean that new listeners are bound to listen so making your podcasts shorter to appeal to new audiences isn’t always a wise one. That being said some podcasts suit being shorter. For example, The Memory Palace which is a storytelling podcast where podcasts can be as short as 4 minutes but usually no longer than half an hour.
Is there a set length for a podcast?
Length Should Be Relative to Your Content. As The Memory Palace just goes to show, there really is no set length for a podcast. Really, the length of your podcast should reflect the content, rather than the content reflecting the length.

A Quick Clarification on Podcast Length
What About Listening Habits?
- Over the years I’ve heard people try to answer the question of podcast episode length by referring to things like average commuter times. Or the time it takes someone to have a shower. I don’t buy that these are relevant to podcast listening, because you can stop and start listening to episodes wherever and whenever you like. You can play 5 minutes of a show whilst making your breakfas…
Should All My Podcast Episodes Be The Same length?
- The same rules apply here: you should never stretch something out if it’s finished, or cut it short if it’s not. There’s definitely a benefit to having some consistency here though. Loyal listeners will come to expect your episodes to be within a certain length range. But you get into that position by having a system, process, and routine in place for putting your episodes together. They’re all sim…
Flash Briefings & Daily News
- One reason to create short (sub 10 minute) episodes is if you want to do a daily news or “flash briefing” show. These are becoming increasingly popular on smart speakers, where listeners are building playlists of shows that can update them on their areas of interest on a daily basis. These shows, by their very nature, are short and to the point. But it’s the content that should dictate the …
Should I Avoid Overly Long Podcast Episodes?
- Arguably, one of the biggest shows on the planet is Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History. The term “biggest” works on two levels. New episodes of the series are downloaded millions of times within the first month of their release. On top of that though, these episodes tend to be between 3 and 6 hourslong. This length is perfect for the show’s content, which means they are in no way “too lon…
Summary: Podcast Episode Length
- As ever, there’s no single one answer here, because everyone’s podcast is different. But the general theory of podcast episode lengths is simple. If you have 40 minutes of good, on-topic content, and your episode lasts 1 hour, then it’s too long. If If you have 40 minutes of good, on-topic content, and your episode lasts 20 minutes, then it’s too short. And if you’re consistent an…
Need More Podcast Questions answered?
- So now you’ve got your answer to the question “how long should a podcast be?”. Why not let us help you with a few more frequently asked questions? 1. What’s a Good Number of Downloads for a Podcast? 2. How Do I Upload a Podcast? 3. What’s the Best Podcast Editing Software? 4. What Music Can I Use in My Podcast? 5. How Loud Should a Podcast Be? If you’re a fan of our free co…