Summer often brings changes in listener habits and potential audience drops. The key is to keep your feed alive and adapt your strategy.

Plan Ahead for Breaks: If you’re taking time off, prepare content in advance to fill your feed. This could include packaged out takes, best-of episodes, or minisodes. You can also reuse evergreen content from your backlog, promoting older episodes that are still relevant.

Adapt Your Social Strategy: People use social media differently during summer, often seeking more relaxing content. This is a great time to explore social video, including engaging snippets, highlight reels, and podcast trailers. These video trailers should be short (under 60 seconds) and catchy to intrigue viewers and encourage re-engagement or new listeners. Also, consider running polls and Q&A sessions on platforms like Instagram Stories to boost engagement.

Be Clever with CTAs and Cross-Promotion: Think about how people interact with technology during holidays – on the go or while travelling. Include habit-building calls-to-action (CTAs), such as prompting listeners to pre-download episodes for travel. Consider cross-promoting your show with other podcasts that are popular in common holiday destinations or different time zones to ‘borrow’ audiences.

Be Honest with Your Audience: If you do plan a break, communicate it honestly with your listeners. Building trust by being transparent about your schedule is better than putting out low-quality content or disappearing without a word.

Think about how you can make your podcast irresistible for summer listening, when people might have more time for long-form content or new discoveries.

This could be through thematic Content? Try creating or curating thematic episodes (similar to holiday specials) by bringing together material that can be evergreen in content. Perhaps consider editing shorter, “family-friendly” versions of episodes or focusing on content that can be enjoyed during car journeys

Maybe try fostering a sense of community by hosting Q&A sessions and running competitions with summer-themed prizes. This encourages listening and sharing, building loyalty. Sharing behind-the-scenes content or out-takes can also make listeners feel more connected to your show.

Need some more help? Reach out to us; our team is here to help your podcast shine in the sun! Just email help@podcastdiscovery.com