Whether live-streaming or only offering a download, your timing is important! Learn some tips on picking the best time for you and your audience.
Core differences between live and download
When we talk about live-streaming, it may be video or audio. When we talk about download, it would be someone subscribed to your podcast via RSS reader, podcatcher, email, social network, or manual visits.
Live
- No subscriptions, but can be reminded.
- Must be present at the right time to watch or listen.
- Requires a computer or device that supports the live-streaming player.
- Similar to live TV.
Download
- Subscribe to automatically receive content, or manually find it on-demand.
- Watch or listen whenever (time-shifted).
- Watch or listen anywhere on almost any portable digital-media device.
- Similar to DVR (like TiVo) in convenience.
Know your audience
- Kids in school?
- Parents who have to put kids in bed?
- Businesspeople with commutes?
- Self-employed professionals?
- Stay-at-home moms?
- Workers with limited or no Internet access?
- Movie or TV-show viewers?
Pick a day—weekdays versus weekends
Depending on your audience, a particular day of the week may be better than others. Here are some general tips.
- Weekends are usually for personal projects, social events, or religious activities.
- Monday is usually the day to catch up with stuff from the weekend.
- Friday is often filled with rushing projects to completion.
- Big organizations tend to prefer Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays for product launches and major announcements. They've done their research!
- Movies are usually released on disc on Tuesdays and enter theaters on Fridays.
Pick a time and be friendly to most timezones
If your podcast is specific to a location (for example, “The Cincinnati Family Podcast”), then you may not have to worry as much about timezones. However, podcasting opens you up to an international audience.
- Always give times with timezones.
- Consider what time it is in your listeners' timezones.
- Daytime allows someone to listen during work or download for their commute home.
- Nighttime may be harder for multitasking.
- Early mornings may be missed as people start their days, or it may be part of their morning routines.
Give yourself time for prep. and setup
Whatever time you choose that works for your audience, make sure it works for you, too! If you don't prepare your shownotes until the day of recording, then live-streaming at 8:00 a.m. requires you to start pulling things together during breakfast.
Allow time for any regular setup, teardown, and especially testing.
Timing matters for downloads, too!
If you couldn't already tell, a lot of this applies to when you publish your podcasts. Here are some interesting observations on social-network sharing.
- Website updates are generally best in the morning.
- Facebook updates are best around noon or on the weekends.
- Tweets are best in the afternoon to evening.
For more about timing, look at The Science of Social Timing Part 1 and Part 2.
You want your downloadable content to be waiting for people when they check their stuff. So you could post early in the morning or late in the evening.
Don't ignore anybody
Whether you focus on live or on download, don't ignore the other spaces in which you participate.
- Cross-promote your other presences: live, subscribe, and website.
- Never be only a live-streaming show.
- Keep the context for downloading listeners.
- Use absolute times and dates.
Get podcasting and Audacity tips by email
I now offer a free email newsletter for podcasting tips and Audacity tips. From the same sign-up form, you can also receive email from our other podcasts.
Need personalized podcasting help?
I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.
Ask your questions or share your feedback
- Comment on the shownotes
- Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221
- Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)
Connect with me
- Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android.
- Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET)
- Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more
- Follow @theDanielJLewis
Disclosure
This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and 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.
Related Content
Just a quick and funny observation Daniel – toward the end when you were making the point about referring to days or dates in absolute terms due to the time-shifting nature of podcasting – you made the mistake intentionally as a joke, and then went on to do it seriously and made the same mistake! You said something like “Friday, Sept. 10th” (referring to the deadline for the Podcast awards submissions) but didn’t give a YEAR! I laughed and laughed while driving to work…
Ha ha! It’s too easy to realize people will be consuming our content years after we release it!
[…] going to have to discover what works and what doesn’t over time. That said, here are a few tips that should be universally […]