Unlike traditional broadcasting, there are no “show clocks,” scheduled ad breaks, or rigid time slots for podcasts. So should you care about publishing episodes of different lengths?
While I think episodes don't have to be the same length, there are some considerations.
1. What does your audience expect?
People don't usually pick a podcast because of its episode lengths, but they do often prioritize their listening based on it. For example, some people intentionally save long podcasts for road trips, chores, or non-focused work; but they might be quicker to listen to shorter podcasts.
Note that I specifically said “podcasts” and not “episodes.” This is because your podcast will build an expectation in your audience's mind for how long its episodes usually are, even if you don't explicitly say so. For example, I know that episodes of No Agenda, with Adam Curry and John C. Dvorak, are usually three to three and a half hours long. I know that episodes of Dan Carlin's Hardcore History are of varying lengths—but usually long. And I know that Ask the Podcast Coach, with Dave Jackson and Jim Collison, are about 90 minutes long. But none of these shows have made any promises about how long they are.
Your audience might expect pressing play on any episode of your podcast will be some level of commitment for an approximate amount of time. So significantly differing from that might crack their expectations just a little. It could leave them disappointed or frustrated.
If you have made a promise to your audience, then always strive to keep it! For example, The NewsWorthy, with Erica Mandy, promises episodes to be about 10 minutes long. 1-Minute Podcast Tips, with Danny Brown, gives podcasting tips in about 1 minute (wrapped with some other stuff, which is why episodes are 2–3 minutes long). And the original version of The Way I Heard It, with Mike Rowe, promised mysteries “for the curious mind with a short attention span.”
But remember that your audience expects an experience more than an amount of time. So I think it's okay to break from you audience's typical time expectations but still deliver the experience they want from your podcast.
2. Don't force a length
Perhaps the worst “reasonable” thing you could do in your podcast is to force it to be a particular length. This could mean cutting out great content just to make the episode shorter, or—worse—it could mean filling the episode with stuff that wastes your audience's time just so your episode is longer.
TV shows have to do that because they have to fill their “hour” (more like 43 minutes because of ads), but they also can't go longer than that because another show has to start on the next hour. (Side note: this frustrates me when streaming shows are consistent lengths because I know they edited it to that length intentionally, but for no good reason other than the possibility the show may be traditionally broadcast someday.) You can probably already remember episodes of your favorite TV shows that felt longer than they should have been, or even shorter than they should have been.
But your podcast doesn't have those constraints! Even if your description says your episodes are usually about 30 minutes (and “usually” is a great word to use!), your audience will never hate you for giving them back their time.
You've probably noticed that as I've gotten better with The Audacity to Podcast, my episodes have gotten shorter. I think part of that is the result of more preparation that I do now compared to before (and thus less directionless talking). And I actually feel better when I publish shorter episodes because I know that means you have more time to take action, and it also tells me that I didn't waste time. But some topics simply require me to share more information, and thus they end up longer.
After doing this for 15 years and 400 episodes, I've never received a single complaint about having inconsistent lengths. And I think a big reason for that is because my content is educational, and thus people don't mind it when it's shorter, but also because they might have come to expect varying lengths.
3. Should you mention the difference in length?
Whether your episode is much shorter or longer than your usual, whether you acknowledge that difference is ultimately up to you. But here's my main suggestion: be positive and don't apologize.
Here are some examples so you can think about how these would feel if you heard them in your favorite podcasts.
- “I'm sorry this episode went long, but I had a lot to share” versus “This episode is longer than usual because there's so much to love here!”
- “Sorry this was shorter than usual,” versus “Yes, this was shorter. Now you have more time to take action!”
Or, you could say nothing about it at all!
Thus, the most important things to remember are to keep your explicit or implied promises to your audience and don't force the length!
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This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship. I may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.
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I enjoyed listening to this — my first podcast from yourself. I agree with what you are saying, and I especially do not like episodes that are edited to a specific time. I can immediately think of the BBC in the UK, who now produce many episodes at 28 minutes long. This annoys me as I feel they are not always giving the topic the time it requires; more or less time. The show is being editing for radio broadcast I assume.
Also, I wanted to add that I find I have an optimum listening length of around 40 minutes. That seems to be about the right amount of time to hold my attention before I get distracted. Of course, I generally do something else while listening (have never really considered doing in the shower!) but after around 40 mins I will stop and return or have zoned out.
Oh, and a three minute podcast episode — please, that should be a blog post! 🤣
Thanks, David!
My favorite ~three-minute podcast is Podnews Daily, with James Cridland, because I don’t always get around to reading the article.
When you say 40 minutes, are you listening at normal speed?
Yes, I always listen at normal speed