Hey Friend!
Do you have trouble getting your listeners to tune in to your whole podcast episode? Or are you curious about how to drive engagement and increase downloads? One of my best tips for podcasting is to shorten your episodes. Shortening your podcast episode length is a fantastic strategy to drive downloads and engagement and helps your listeners tune in for the WHOLE episode. But it can be hard to cut down your episodes when you have so much value to share. In today’s blog, I share with your three hacks to help you get your episode length down to 15-20 minutes per show.
How to Shorten Your Podcast Episodes – 3 Tips for Podcasting
Statistically, podcast episodes that perform the best are under 15 minutes. I know! It is so hard to do! But it’s essential to condense your episodes to only teach the most pertinent information and what your listener needs to know to implement and get a result.
1. Only teach 1-3 steps per episode
One of my first tips for podcasting and shortening your episodes is to pick only one to three steps or things to teach per episode. If you like to talk, choose one thing and do it well. Or, if you are more concise, tactical, and to the point, you can do up to three things or steps per show.
Instead of doing an episode about 10 Ways to Connect with Your Kids Over the Holiday Break, you could do, The Number One Way to Connect With Your Kids Over the Holiday Break or 2 Ways to Connect With Your Kids When They Are Out of School for the Holidays. Instead of cramming ten things into a single episode, you can spread it out across five episodes where those things are explained well and in good detail.
2. Create a podcast outline to guide your episode length
My second podcasting hack is to create a podcast outline for each episode. This shouldn’t be a novel or a full-out blog post. Just a simple, high-level outline. My outlines consist of one sheet of paper in my notebook with the title and three hacks written on it. That is it!
Having a high-level outline will help you stay super-attuned to your three main points and not go rogue. If you have extensive, beefy outlines, cut out the fluff and only have the pain points you want to mention. When you focus on the main point of the episode, you won’t go off on a tangent and this will cut down the episode length.
I’ve found the sweet spot to be a single page with bullet points for my main ideas. You can also add the story or story mapping you want to use, which we teach in Podcast to Profit. Additionally, you can add any wrap-up points for the end of the episode.
3. Cut long episodes into parts
My final tip for podcasting and shortening your episode length is to cut long episodes into parts. If you have an amazing interview with a fantastic guest, but they went way over the recommended time of 25-35 minutes, then cut the episode into parts!
The truth is people don’t want to listen to an hour-long podcast. Most of my students’ avatars are moms or busy working women who don’t have time for long episodes. So, if you’ve got an hour-long episode, cut it into two to three parts and air them over separate days. Not only does it help your download number increase, but it also leaves your listener on a cliffhanger where they want to come back and consume the rest of the content.
My best tip for podcasting and growing your downloads and listener engagement is to shorten your episode length. And while it can feel challenging or overwhelming, it doesn’t have to be. By following these three simple steps; only teaching one to three things per episode, creating a podcast outline, and cutting long episodes into manageable pieces, you can create engaging, practical content for your listeners. Remember, don’t forget to take out the fluff and only include the super tactical steps your target audience needs!
I pray this blesses you!
Xo,
Stef
P.S. Also, listen to podcast episode 519 for the full training on 3 Easy Hacks to Shorten Your Podcast Episode Length!
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