Batch recording can save you from a podcast induced heart attack
If you’re planning on releasing a podcast episode every week you’ll need to have a plan in place.
Consistency is REALLY important in podcasting if you want your show to be a success but dropping episodes that regularly (or more regularly) is A LOT of work.
Batch recording is an easy way to get on top of your schedule so you’re not pulling your hair out every time that release date comes around.
The benefits of batch recording your podcast
It’s inevitable at some point during the course of your show you’ll get sick, have a family emergency, be too busy at work to concentrate on the show or you’ll just need to take some time off to rest.
If you’ve batch recorded episodes, your podcast can continue even when you’re not able to.
It also prevents you from ending up in a cold sweat the night before each show thinking “what the hell am I going to talk about tomorrow?”
Even if disaster doesn’t strike, batch recording means you can maintain a manageable pace and get your episodes out consistently and on time.
Since consistency is one of the most important factors in podcast success, batch recording can help you hit your release schedule and keep your podcast growth going.
What is batch recording?
Batch recording is the process of recording multiple episodes at a time so you can bank up weeks of content in advance rather than recording one episode at a time.
Maybe you decide Sunday night is your recording night, and you record four episodes in one go.
That’s four weeks of content you can prepare so if the proverbial hits the fan, you’ve got plenty of episodes up your sleeve and the show doesn’t have to stop, even if you do.
The beauty of batch recording is you can do as much or as little as you like, but the more you smash out in one go the better.
If you’re really short on time, even if you just do two episodes that means you’re recording fortnightly rather than weekly and even that small buffer will help a lot.
Does batch recording make your show sound better?
Yes! Planning episodes ahead of time isn’t just a good idea for your sanity it’s great for your content mix.
When you’re planning ahead you can see what’s coming up and curate your episodes so your audience gets something different every week.
Often, when you’re flying by the seat of your pants you end up stuck in the cycle of preparing things quickly.
That means it can be tempting to reach for the easiest idea which might be similar to the one you’ve done the week before.
By planning episodes in advance you’ll have plenty of time to prepare a better mix of content and this will give your listeners a much better experience.
You’ll also have more time for editing which is really important if you want your show to sound its best.
Is batch recording for everyone?
Unfortunately, no.
If your show contains topical content e.g. stories in the news cycle or content that’s ‘of the moment’ then batch recording will be difficult.
It’s usually only do-able if you have a show that works with general themes or evergreen topics that won’t date. Or if you’re doing an interview show.
In fact, batch recording interviews is a GREAT idea because scheduling guests can be a nightmare, so getting ahead of yourself will make your job so much easier.
How do you batch record?
Set aside time to record each week and make sure it’s a no-go zone for social events (no matter how hot the person asking you out is).
Plan your content ahead of time and try to get as far ahead of yourself as possible.
That doesn’t mean you have to record all your episodes in one go but if you’ve planned everything out you’ll know what’s coming up and you can break up the recording into smaller batches so it’s manageable.
Don’t forget to schedule in editing time too because those episodes won’t polish themselves!
Be disciplined
You need to set yourself clear goals and turn the willpower on to get this kicking.
But once you start to get in the rhythm and realise how much less stressful it is to be ahead of yourself, it’ll be a no-brainer to keep this as a regular event in your podcasting schedule.
Got a burning podcasting question you’d like answered? Send me an email.
Want to start your own podcast but need a little help? Download my “How To Start A Podcast” guide or sign up for my online podcasting course, PodSchool.
Got some time on your hands? Read the full episode transcript
Hello and welcome to the show. Today I'm going to be talking about 'Batch Recording' and why it's something you need to put in your little podcasting pocket because it will help you immeasurably. Batch recording can be the difference between a chilled podcasting process and a nervous breakdown of titanic proportions. Podcasting takes a lot of time and effort especially if you are going to be releasing an episode. So anything that you can do to take the pressure off yourself to make it easier to actually meet that deadline of a weekly podcast is going to really save your bacon. The last thing you want to do is to be sitting in a cold sweat trying to come up with any kind of excuse that you can possibly muster as to why your episode isn't going to be out the next day.
If you're telling your audience that you're going to be turning up on a weekly basis to rock up in their inbox or in their podcast app, that can take a lot of effort and a lot of time. However, you can make that process easier and desirable through batch recording. Batch recording is just like a batch of muffins, you wouldn't make just one. Batch recording is exactly that. It's doing more than one podcast episode at a time. If you've got longer podcast episodes this probably isn't going to be as doable.
You might not be able to batch record a bunch, but even if you can record two in one sitting instead of one you can really save yourself a lot of time if you think about it and you try and do two episodes in one crack. That's two weeks' worth of content that you've got there ready to go. You really just want to try and avoid if at all possible, doing things week by week because as soon as you decide you're going to do a weekly podcast and you go week by week guaranteed someone will get sick. You will need a day or two off. There will be some kind of family disaster and all of a sudden not only will you have the stress of that you also have the stress of letting your audience down. Obviously, this is not always going to be possible particularly if you are doing a show that contains topical content or content that's "of the moment."
If you are doing a comedy show or a new show or anything that deals with current events and it needs to be current then you are going to really struggle to batch record. If there is anything that you can do ahead of time I would highly recommend it but this is probably better suited to those evergreen shows where the content doesn't necessarily date.
Once you start getting in the rhythm of this and it takes a real discipline in the early days to say "Right! Sunday or Monday night or 'insert day here' is going to be my recording day and I am locking it in no matter how many times people ask me to come to drinks."
You really have to set yourself some clear goals to get this kicking. But once you start to get in the rhythm and you realise how much less stressful it is to be really far ahead of yourself, it will be an absolute no-brainer to keep this as a regular thing in your calendar.
If you have that buffer of time, then if things go wrong or family gets sick or you need some days off you'll be able to take that time without feeling the additional pressure of needing to get that podcast out and into people's ears.
It also gives you an opportunity to take a bit of a bird's eye view of the content you're doing. You can sit down and plan out episodes ahead of time, look at them on the timeline, move things around on the basis of which episodes might go better so there are not two episodes that are too similar one after the other. When you're just going week to week it's really easy to not think about what you've done before or even have any thought about what you're going to do after. So you're flying by the seat of your pants and sometimes it can mean that the content you dish up can be a little bit same-y or it might not paint as coherent a picture as if you stood back and had a look at it all planned out and then recorded those planned episodes in batches.
If you've wanted to podcast for as long as you can remember you don't want this to be a situation where you jump in the deep end and think, "Why did I decide to go swimming?" It can be a really tough road because it's a lot of work and you really want to set yourself up for success. The way to do that is to stop yourself from having a heart attack and getting ahead of yourself.
Set yourself a day every week that is your recording day or your recording evening and you know that is a no-go zone for social events no matter how hot the person that asks you out is and you will really reap the benefits of this kind of discipline.
I hope that's helped you understand a little bit more about Batch recording. If you have any questions you can always hit me up at podschoolpodcast.com and you'll find my contact page there where you can send me an e-mail and I'd love to answer one of your questions on the show. If you are enjoying these episodes please tell a friend and if you could leave a review in iTunes or wherever you listen to this podcast I would be forever grateful. I'll see you again next week and until then, happy podcasting.
