whats the best day to release a podcast
I asked a lot of questions when I first started podcasting, such as, "What kind of mic should I use?", "Where can I notice proficient podsafe intro music?", and "What's the best solar day to publish a podcast?"
I told myself that I was request these questions (and countless more) because I wanted to exist "strategic"—but actually, I wanted to maximize my download numbers. Considering in my heed, the higher the download numbers, the nigh successful the show—and the stronger the reassurance that all of this time and endeavor spent podcasting is worth it.
Timing is important in the marketing globe, where it'due south crucial to transport emails, tweets, and SMS campaigns at exactly the correct moment to maximize open up charge per unit. Surely, I thought, the same must be true for podcasting.
I was wrong.
My Own Data
For the past 2 years, I've used my own podcast every bit a republic of guinea pig in a variety of content marketing experiments, to mixed results and marginal success. And I've collected some interesting data forth the way, which takes into account about a quarter of a meg full downloads. (Since Write At present is a niche indie show for creative writers, it will never see the sheer numbers of a mass-appeal or networked prove.)
I decided to release episodes on Mondays when I was offset starting out because a.) I couldn't observe definitive proof that one day was better than whatsoever other, and b.) it worked for my schedule.
As I was putting together my initial thoughts for this commodity, I expected that downloads would exist highest on Mondays since my subscribers' podcatchers would automatically download new episodes upon their release.
However, I did non await that downloads would be relatively consistent throughout the week, as you can see in this graph:
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In that location was a less than 1% difference between Mon (which claimed 17.5% of all downloads) and Tuesday (sixteen.half-dozen%), and while downloads did taper off nigh the weekend, they did not dwindle equally much as I had predicted they would (catastrophe upward at 9.7% of all downloads for Sunday).
Please note that since I don't have a second data set for a podcast released on another day of the week (e.g., Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday), nosotros cannot assume that Monday is the best day to release, or that Lord's day is necessarily the worst. If I were to release weekly episodes on Thursdays, that day of the calendar week might show the highest number of downloads—or information technology might not. Again, we cannot determine that from this data.
What Nigh Time?
Once again, dissimilar the email marketing blasts that hit one target market at a strategic date and time, podcasting is able to bask a more expansive view (in many senses of the word).
Before I started podcasting, I had a very narrow view of my ain identify in time. I debated whether to release my episode at vi:fifteen a.m. or 6:xxx a.one thousand., as if that would make the divergence between podcast success and podcast failure.
Embarrassingly, I'd disregarded the fact that podcasting is a global medium, and that 6:fifteen a.m. in my time zone (CST) is 4:xv a.thou. in California (PST), where the majority of my listeners are based.
6:fifteen a.m. CST is also 7:15 a.m. in Ontario, Canada, 12:xv p.m. in Manchester, UK, 8:15 p.1000. in Canberra, Australia, and 7:fifteen p.k. in Beijing, China. You lot become the picture. Unless your show is both time-sensitive and hyper-local (e.thou., a live podcast that covers breaking news in your neighborhood or relies on live call-ins), the time of episode release won't make or break your bear witness.
And then What Tin can You Tell Us?
Hither's what I can tell you. Correlation and causation aside, the fact that my download numbers showed less than a ane% divergence among multiple days in the to a higher place nautical chart indicates that there is not plenty variance to determine the "best solar day to publish a podcast".
But that in itself is not unimportant.
One of the reason podcasting is so powerful is because of its evergreen—that is to say, perennially fresh or indelible—qualities.
For instance, my very first podcast episode (released back in January 2015) has gone very few days without at least one download:
While people are generally non willing to scroll dorsum in fourth dimension to read two-yr-quondam weblog posts, they are willing to mind to two-year-old podcast episodes on the same topic.
Additionally, these back-catalog or "legacy" downloads likely don't have anything to practice with the original day of the week on which the episode was published.
Rather, they have everything to do with what the listener wants and when the listener wants it. It's simultaneously the upside and the downside of an on-demand medium like podcasting—the listener is in full control.
So if a listener in California wants to wake upwards at 4:15 a.g. to download my newest episode right when information technology comes out, that's their prerogative. But they can also download it before their morn commute at vii:00 a.one thousand. with absolutely no loss of content or value.
Amplification Matters
It'due south important to remember that not all of your listeners are subscribers to your evidence—in fact, the percentage of subscribers amid your full listeners might be very low. And so while I don't think yous should obsess over episode release dates and times, I do remember you should consider how and when you lot dilate your show.
While reviewing my information for this commodity, I saw a number of spikes in my downloads—days where downloads were significantly higher than boilerplate. The ii highest (November 29, 2016, and March 28, 2017), were both on Tuesdays, so I wondered if there might exist a design there.
However, when I looked at the data for the top 100 highest download days over the total run of my evidence, my top spike day was Wednesday:
I was surprised to notice my publication day (Monday) in the middle of the pack, with Wednesday (followed by Tuesday) in the lead.
I release a weekly newsletter near my podcast and, following a hunch, I reviewed my Mailchimp send information. My email newsletter is largely sent out on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and it always contains a link to my latest podcast episode on my website, iTunes, and other sources.
In improver to email, another great tool for amplifying or sharing your content is social media. The day and time at which you share your content on social media—the time at which listeners who don't subscribe to your show may be made aware that it exists—is vastly more than important than the appointment and fourth dimension at which you release your episode.
The Best Day to Publish a Podcast: What Actually Matters
It's piece of cake every bit a podcaster to obsess over all of the little things that can help you increase your downloads. Only in many cases, it's non worth information technology—or at to the lowest degree information technology's less worth it than other important factors.
Focus on releasing episodes consistently, which means setting expectations for your listeners and sticking to your schedule. Since the date and time of episode release does not accept a pregnant effect on downloads, gear up a date and fourth dimension that works most conveniently for you.
Focus on amplifying your content via email, social media, and word of rima oris.
And nigh importantly, focus on producing great content that is evergreen—content that will build upwardly a swell catalogue and bolster your total downloads over the long run while helping establish you as a leader in your field.
Moving Forward: Growing Your Audience
If you're looking for some practical and actionable tips for promoting your podcast, cheque out our Audition Growth course inside The Podcast Host Academy.
And that's just ane of the courses in there too. You'll observe others on everything from planning and launching, to audio editing, phonation grooming, monetisation, and more.
On tiptop of that, you become access to our weekly live Q&A sessions too. You might non need to ask "what'south the best day to publish a podcast?" any more – but there's certainly enough questions you'll yet accept floating around in your head!
Source: https://www.thepodcasthost.com/planning/whats-best-day-time-publish-podcast/
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