How do I keep my podcast going when I need a break?

I’ve seen it time and time again. A new podcaster starts their show once a week, builds an audience, and then hits a wall. ‘I can’t take time off!’ ‘What about the school holidays?’ ‘I’ve run out of ideas’.

Here are my top tips for making a podcast that works for you, and allows you to take the breaks you need.

• Be honest with yourself - if you’re a solo podcaster, can you really commit to an ongoing weekly release schedule? Think about your working rhythm, and how your production will fit in not fight you. If you can’t commit to a weekly release, why not try something different?

• Go with a series structure - Sketch out your working year. Does it follow school terms? Religious holidays? Industry seasons? If your year naturally falls into three or four parts, use that to your advantage. Plan a number of podcast series to fit those parts, and give yourself a break in between.

• If you’re committed to a weekly, fortnightly or monthly release schedule, plan for breaks.

  • Revisit old episodes - If you have a large back catalogue of episodes, few of your current listeners are likely to have heard them all. A holiday or break is the perfect time to re-run older episodes that have particular relevance or are listener favourites.

    Jen Gale used this to take the summer off to spend with her family this year - she recorded new intros for her most popular episodes in a short series she called, ‘Re-run the fun…!’

• Make your show in advance - Aaron Manke makes his flagship show ‘Lore’ months in advance to allow for holidays.

Whatever strategy you employ, the most important thing to remember if you take a break, is to tell your audience. Listeners like to know what they are getting, even if that’s a few weeks without your show. If you disappear without a trace, you’ll lose them. If you let them know, the chances are, they’ll be there when you return.