Will People Listen to Podcasts Over the Holidays?
As the song goes, “Over the river and through the woods, to Grandmother’s house we go.” This means we spend a lot of time in airports and cars traveling to be with family. It’s a prime time to listen to podcasts.
By Christmas, many new phones may be under the tree for podcast consumers.
We all have that relative (the one we don’t want to sit next to at Thanksgiving). We love them because they are family, but they can be annoying! Podcasts take me away!
We’re pressed for time to deck the halls, bake cookies, wrap presents, and pick up Uncle Leo. It’s stressful. How do people unwind? By listening to podcasts. I once stressed over assembling a desk. It was frustrating. I put on a podcast and felt better.
Becoming Someone’s Routine
As podcasters, we want to become part of the audience’s routine. I listen to a show that publishes on Friday afternoons, and I listen to it Friday night (my Friday routine).
I don’t stop listening to podcasts if that show takes a break. I listen to another podcast. When you return, your show needs to deliver more value than the one that filled your spot.
My Plate Is Too Full
I understand the holidays bring extra work. It’s often a unique event you don’t want to miss (you can't skip hearing a bunch of third graders play The Dreidel Song). You’ve decided (for your health, sanity, and marriage) to take a break. Here’s a strategy to try.
Inspire them to Follow
Create a new episode to quickly explain there’s no episode this week. There’s no need to apologize, they understand. If they’re not following the show, they should go to yourwebsite.com/follow (where yourwebsite.com is YOUR WEBSITE) to follow the show and browse the back catalog for missed episodes.
It reinforces your brand by mentioning your website.
It may inspire others to follow.
It may inspire new listeners to older content.
It gives them someone to listen to on the way to Grandma’s house.
So it might go, "Hey everyone no show today, but here is something you can do. Go to yourwebsite.com/follow - the link is in the episode description - and follow the show. There you will see episodes you may have missed such as (and then name some of your popular episodes). Thanks again, and I'll be back on (the day you will be back).
P.S. Podpage creates the /follow page for you. Just add the links to your show under settings > podcast players links.
At Podpage, we’re thankful to ALL our users and wish them a Happy Thanksgiving.
