Should You Change Your Podcast?
4 Signs It Might Be Time
How Do I Know When It’s Time to Make Changes to My Podcast?
It may be time to change your podcast if it’s no longer achieving the business goal it was created to support, the results no longer justify the time and money you’re putting into it, your business has evolved, but your podcast hasn’t, or you no longer enjoy making the show.
Those are signs that something may need to change, but they don’t necessarily mean you need a complete overhaul. Before changing your format, frequency, content or positioning, identify what’s actually causing the problem so you can make a change that addresses it.
Before You Change Your Podcast, Figure Out What’s Actually Wrong
Making a change to your podcast can feel like a lifeline when you’re frustrated with the results you’re getting, or not getting, from all the effort you’re putting into it.
Maybe your downloads aren’t where you thought they’d be. Maybe the show is taking way too much time. Maybe your business has changed since you launched it.
Or maybe you’re just bored.
You sit down to plan another episode and think, What the hell am I going to talk about now?
Any of those things might be a reason to change your podcast. But before you start messing with your format, frequency, artwork, guests, or the whole damn premise of your show, you need to figure out what the actual problem is.
I’ve been a podcast coach for over a decade, and I’ve met plenty of podcasters who come to me after they’ve already made changes to their show. The problem is, those changes didn’t move the needle. Often, I can show them that they fixed something that wasn’t broken while the thing that actually was broken is still sitting there.
So before you start tinkering, let’s figure out whether it really is time to change your podcast.
1. Your Podcast Isn’t Delivering the Results You Need
Before you can decide your podcast isn’t working, you need to know what its job actually is.
If you’re podcasting for your business, that job probably isn’t simply to get more downloads. Maybe you created the show to generate leads or build your authority. Maybe you want potential clients to get to know and trust you before they get on a sales call. Maybe you want speaking opportunities, referrals, a community, or a shorter sales cycle.
Whatever the job is, that’s what you need to measure your podcast against.
This is where podcasters can get themselves into trouble. You see another show getting thousands of downloads. Your YouTube videos aren’t getting much engagement. Your audience hasn’t grown as quickly as you hoped.
So you think, Something’s wrong. I need to change my podcast.
Do you?
If you’ve got 150 or 200 of exactly the right people listening to each episode and three to five of them became clients that month, I’m not particularly worried that somebody else’s podcast got 10,000 downloads.
Go back to the reason your podcast exists and ask yourself: Is it doing the job I need it to do?
If you’re not sure how to answer that question, our Free Podcast Audit is a seven-point diagnostic that walks you through your podcast from a business and ROI perspective so you can see what’s working, what isn’t, and where there may be gaps between your podcast and what you actually need it to do for your business.
2. Your Podcast Takes More Time and Money Than the Results Justify
Podcasting takes resources. It takes your time. It might take your team’s time. You may be paying an editor, producer, VA, or designer. Or all of the above.
That isn’t necessarily a problem. If your podcast is generating leads and helping you sell a high-value service, spending a few hours a week and a fraction of the money you make back on a sale can be a fantastic use of your resources.
But what if you’re spending eight hours creating every episode, shelling out thousands to your team, and the podcast isn’t producing enough traffic, leads, or sales?
Now we need to have a conversation.
Notice I didn’t say you need to quit. Podcasting is a long game. But you may be able to make changes that decrease the drain on your resources.
Maybe you publish less often. Maybe you shorten your episodes. Maybe you do more solo episodes and fewer interviews. Maybe you simplify your production process. Or maybe your team grows, and you hand some of the work off to an editor so you can spend your valuable time directly generating revenue.
One caution here: the goal shouldn’t be to make your podcast take as little time as possible. Ahem. There are enough crappy podcasts out there already.
The goal is to find a better balance. Make sure the outcome makes sense for the resources you’re putting into it.
Sometimes your podcast doesn’t need a whole new concept. It just needs to fit your capacity better.
3. Your Business Has Changed, but Your Podcast Hasn’t
Entrepreneurs start their podcasts, and over the years the show becomes a well-oiled machine they don’t want to mess with. Meanwhile, the business keeps evolving.
Your offers change to match market demand. You get clearer about your ideal client. Your positioning becomes more focused. Your brand shifts. Your business grows.
But every week, you’re still making the podcast for the business you had three years ago.
Your podcast is a marketing tool. It needs to support the business you have now.
Take a look at who the show is speaking to. Is that still your ideal client?
Look at the topics you’re covering. Are those still the conversations that will build authority around what you want to be known for?
Look at where you’re sending listeners. Are your calls to action connected to the offers you’re actually trying to sell?
And pay attention to what you’re hearing from your clients and listeners. Maybe the people you want to work with have changed. Maybe their needs have changed. Maybe you’re noticing that the people you really want to reach aren’t connecting with the show anymore.
Your business will evolve, and your podcast should evolve with it.
4. You Don’t Enjoy Making Your Podcast Anymore
You’ve talked about everything. You’ve interviewed everybody in your industry. You’re staring at your content calendar thinking, I’ve already done that. And that. And that.
Now every episode feels like work.
I hear this plenty from podcasters who reach out to me in exactly this place. Just because you’re bored doesn’t mean you have to be done with podcasting. First, figure out what’s actually causing the slump.
Maybe you’re tired of your format. Maybe weekly episodes no longer make sense. Maybe you’re sick of interviewing people, and you’d rather get behind the mic and teach.
Or maybe you’ve been doing the whole thing week after week after week and need a production process that lets you batch some episodes, get away from it for a while, and actually look forward to recording again.
You may even need permission to repeat yourself.
GRANTED.
Seriously. Just because you’ve heard every episode you’ve ever made doesn’t mean your listener has. And even the listeners who’ve been with you for years probably don’t remember the brilliant thing you said in Episode 37.
Don’t mistake I’ve talked about this before for my audience doesn’t need to hear this. Remember, your podcast is for them, not you. If you switch the focus back to serving them, it will serve your business and ultimately you.
Sometimes those mindset shifts are enough to reenergize a podcaster. But if you’ve genuinely lost interest in your show, pay attention to that too. It’s pretty hard to make an engaging podcast when you sound like you’d rather be doing literally anything else.
How to Decide What to Change About Your Podcast
If one or more of these signs sound familiar, don’t immediately go change everything.
The change should match the problem. If the show isn’t producing the business results you need, look at whether the podcast is actually aligned with your business goals. If the outcome doesn’t justify the input, look at your format, frequency or production process. If your business has evolved, look at your audience, positioning, topics and offers. And if you’re bored, maybe the show needs some fresh energy rather than a complete overhaul.
I’ve talked about some of those changes before. In Episode 201, I shared five different ways you can change your podcast to get a better return on your investment. And in Episode 210, I shared three ways to refresh your podcast without completely overhauling it.
There’s a reason I keep coming back to this topic. I’ve seen way too many podcasters make changes for the sake of changing something, only to discover they didn’t fix the real problem.
I’d much rather you figure that out before you rename the show, change the format, buy a video setup, fire your editor, and start interviewing three people a week because somebody on YouTube told you that’s the secret to podcast growth.
Dig a little deeper. Figure out what’s no longer working and why. Then make the change that actually solves the problem.
Not Sure What Needs to Change With Your Podcast?
If you know something needs to change with your podcast but you’re having trouble figuring out what, or how to navigate that change without completely blowing up your show or wasting a ton of time, that’s exactly the kind of thing we work through directly with you in the Podcast Tune-Up program.
We’ll look at your show, your ideal listener, your content and positioning, how the podcast connects to your business, and the resources you’re putting into it. Then we can figure out what actually needs your attention.
Because sometimes your podcast needs a pretty significant change. And sometimes you’re about to mess with something that just needs a tweak.
