How much time does it take to produce a podcast?
When setting out to make a podcast, it's a good idea to know how much time it might take. Of course, much like snowflakes, all shows are unique, haha! Still, this post will give you a better idea of how much time it might require to make a killer podcast.
Let's start by breaking down a podcast into three stages, or the 3 P's: prepare, produce, promote. Most shows have an initial push to set up podcast feeds, organize graphics, and do several one-time actions required in the beginning. Once those items are taken care of, the demands on your time become more predictable. So let's start with what you'll need to do before every show:
Prepare.
There are two trains of thought on podcast preparation. On the one hand, you might take the more "Larry King" approach. Larry King rarely wanted to prepare for an interview so that he could ask the questions his listeners or viewers might have. Being unashamed to ask simple questions often unlocked interesting insights for the legend. On the other, you have wartime reporters. These reporters are so in-depth with their interview preparation that they know their questions and generally the answers their subject will give.
Most hosts we work with fall in the middle. A level of comfort comes from having questions in front of you if the interviewee turns rigid or gets nervous. But over-preparing can backfire, too, taking away the natural flow of conversation that might happen in an interview.
Another variable might be the style of the show. For example, if your podcast has a thematic approach where the centrality of the conversation is the same between episodes, your prep time will be less. However, if your show bounces from topic to topic, your preparation time will likely be more intense.
For this reason, we suggest planning 10 minutes to 1 hour for the Prepare stage of the process.
Produce.
It's game time! You're ready to begin your podcast interview. We typically see shows running around 30 minutes, whether virtual or in person. That being said, it's best to plan 1 hour per interview. This will allow a few minutes for you and your guest to settle in, check audio levels, walk through any pre-interview material needed, and do the actual interview.
While we suggest batching several recordings in one sitting, putting a little buffer around your episodes is essential. Not only do you need a moment to catch your breath, but it's nice to have a little time for punching mistakes that happened in the interview. It's also nice to have time and space to prepare for the following interviews.
Lastly, you have your podcast editing. We tend to see editing being a 5:1 ratio of recording vs. editing time. For example, if your episode lasts 30 minutes, you'll need 2.5 hours to equalize, compress, and edit um's out of your episode. Note, if you don't have a lot of experience with audio editing, the ratio will likely be 8:1 +.
For this reason, we suggest planning 1 hour for the Produce stage if you hire a professional editing service. However, if you do it yourself, plan on around 8 hours.
Promote.
Particularly at the beginning of your show's life, you will have to spend a massive amount of time promoting it. Whether it means getting your guests to share, adding it to your email list, pushing it through social, or running ads — promotion is a big part of the process. There's no reason to make great content if you're not willing to promote it.
One of the best ways to bring great SEO value to your business's website (and your podcast) is by doing transcriptions. I've found that sometimes, listeners prefer to read an educational show rather than listen. Particularly on educational podcasts where someone can scan the content while on a conference call. You also have a large portion of the population that tend to retain information best through reading.
There's also the low time drain but vastly important side of podcasting. Writing great titles. Sure, this doesn't take too terribly long. But it still takes time if you're using something like a headline checker or title critique software. You may also need to make sound bites and then word these appropriately for your brand.
For this reason, we suggest planning 5 hours for the Promote stage of the process.
In Closing
As you can tell, DIY'ing your podcast might run as high as 14 hours per episode to do it the right way. So it's easy to see that outsourcing some processes can be much more manageable and sustainable in the long run.