How Long Should My Podcast Be?

Photo Credit: Andrik Langfield

Figuring Out Podcast Length

How long should my podcast be? It depends. And we know that's probably not the specific answer you're looking for. Let’s talk about figuring out the magic number for your podcast.

We’ve found that a lot of people recommend that the best length for a podcast is 27 minutes, because the average American's commute time is 27 minutes. Here's why that doesn't matter. If the average American's commute time is 27 minutes, that means that there are lots of people who have shorter commute times and there are lots of people that have longer commute times. So it doesn't make sense to have a 27 minute podcast for the person who has a 37 minute commute. Or somebody who has a seven minute commute. A lot of people are listening to podcasts when they're in their car. But that's not where they always listen to their podcasts.

Really, there are two questions you need to ask yourself when you're trying to figure out how long should my podcast be?

The first one is does the length of this podcast work for me? So think about your time and the time it takes to prepare and record and edit an episode. And think about the frequency that you're putting out an episode. You want to make sure that the length of the podcast is something that's sustainable for you, so you can continue making your podcast. If you don't have a lot of time, but you're making a two hour episode, it might be better to shorten the length of that episode, so it seems sustainable for you.

The second question is, does the length of this podcast work for them? And by them, we mean, your audience. So think about what they're getting out of your show, what value does it provide? The value could be you're teaching them something, you're making them laugh, you're telling them a compelling story that's entertaining, when your podcast stops providing that value, that's how long your podcast needs to be.