Podcasting during the holiday season is a fun time for many — but it also presents unique challenges and opportunities for podcasters. You’ll need to balance your schedule, record podcasts in advance, and cut through holiday clutter with strong social media marketing strategy.
Keep your podcast momentum strong during the holidays with these practical tips for engaging listeners and maintaining your show’s rhythm.
- 7 Easy Ways to Optimize Your Podcast During the Holidays
- The Bottom Line on Podcasting During the Holidays
7 Easy Ways to Optimize Your Podcast During the Holidays
Holiday podcasting has all sorts of potential — provided you know how to plan for it, that is.
Let’s dive into seven key strategies to help your podcast thrive during the holiday season:
1. Timing Podcast Releases
Plan your release schedule thoughtfully around holiday dates. Consider shifting Thursday episodes to Wednesday during Thanksgiving week to catch listeners before their schedules fill up. Downloads typically dip in late November and December, so mapping out your content calendar early gives you room to adapt – and enjoy your own celebrations.
There are a number of strategies you can try:
- Stick to your schedule regardless of the holidays.
- Shift release dates (like launching your episode on a Thursday rather than a Friday)
- Take a break and return once the holidays are over.
If you do choose to take a break, you may need to communicate this to your audience. An email blast may be enough for your show, or even a simple social media message could help.
2. Maintaining Consistency
A whopping 75% of podcasts eventually stop releasing episodes. The holidays might make this harder by pushing you out of your regularly scheduled ‘groove.’
To avoid breaking your episode streak and risking potential ‘podfade,’ you should find a way to drip-release content and ensure your podcast remains active and engaged.
Let’s take a look at recent studies. The numbers show that podcast downloads drop significantly during holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. However, research shows there’s a significant increase that occurs before and after these widely celebrated holidays.
Rather than pausing your show entirely during the holidays, consider recording episodes in advance to maintain your presence while giving yourself breathing room. You might try shorter segments or special editions that keep your feed active without overwhelming your production schedule.
3. Generating Creative Content
The holiday season offers many opportunities to get creative with your content.
Here are several ideas to keep your podcast fresh and engaging:
- Best-of Episodes: Consider compiling clips from top episodes into a single “best of” show, with brief narrations introducing each clip. This offers a comprehensive recap of the year’s highlights and can help new listeners catch up on cornerstone content.
- Special Holiday Content: Create holiday-specific content that acknowledges the season and keeps your podcast relevant during end-of-year festivities. Perhaps you could record holiday-related topics that align with your podcast’s theme, or share personal holiday experiences and traditions.
- Guest Appearances and Collaborations: The holiday season is a great time to feature guest appearances or collaborate with other podcasters. You can invite guests to share their holiday stories or insights, bring fresh perspectives to your podcast, and authentically attract new listeners from your guest’s audience.
4. Engaging with Your Audience
Many of your listeners will appreciate the holiday season, and they’ll likely want to get involved with your content, too. Acknowledging the major celebrations shows that you see your listeners as real people, fostering a stronger listener-podcaster relationship.
This could be an excellent time to encourage listener interaction by asking them to share their holiday experiences, favorite traditions, or plans for the season. You can collect these stories through social media, email, or voicemail, then feature them in your episodes for everyone to hear.
Your listeners will feel like valued members of your podcasting family. Plus, you’ll be leveraging the magic of user-generated content to enrich your podcast.
5. Using Social Media Effectively
Holiday-themed content tends to spark higher engagement. Consider incorporating seasonal graphics and captions that capture the warmth and joy of the season.
Here are some suggestions to get you started:
- Use popular holiday-related hashtags such as #HolidayPodcast to increase your reach.
- You can also share teaser clips and countdowns to build anticipation for your episodes.
- Try sponsored or boosted posts to cut through the other holiday clutter.
Remember: effectively leveraging social media can help you reach a broader audience, drive traffic to your episodes, and keep your podcast in mind.
6. Leveraging Email Newsletters
Think of email newsletters as your direct line to listeners. While social posts can get lost in holiday noise, newsletters help you maintain steady contact with your audience, share schedule changes, and keep the conversation going.
Email newsletters often reach listeners more reliably than social posts, helping build stronger connections with your audience. Here’s how to get started:
- Highlight your holiday content in your newsletters, including links to new episodes.
- Write special holiday messages wishing your readers a happy season.
- Use festive templates to imbue your newsletters with a strong holiday spirit.
7. Offering Giveaways and Contests
Seasonal contests and giveaways spark organic sharing among your current listeners while attracting potential fans. The excitement of participating often leads people to discover and try your podcast.
One strategy is to design a contest around your podcast’s theme. You could offer a prize for the best listener-submitted holiday story, or give away gift cards to users in exchange for positive reviews.
You could also leverage giveaways associated with podcast engagement. Audience members who share, comment, or listen the most in a given period could be eligible to win a prize (such as a free subscription to your podcast).
The Bottom Line on Podcasting During the Holidays
The holiday season offers a change of pace — both in good and bad ways. But by planning ahead and adapting your podcast accordingly, you can easily create more memorable holiday content.
Looking for more tips on successful podcasting?
Some of these resources may offer what you’re looking for: