Welcome to Podcast Insider. I'm Dave Clements, support
and media specialist here at Blueberry Podcasting.
And I'm Mackenzie Bennett, director of marketing at
Blueberry.
Today, we're talking about something that can make
podcasting feel a lot more manageable, and that
is planning a full year of podcast growth.
Because growth can feel pretty out of reach
when you're reacting episode by episode. But if
you have a plan, that can make it
a lot more intentional
and obtainable.
So we'll walk you through why planning ahead
matters, how to how to define growth for
your own show, and how to stay consistent
without burning out.
So if you're new to podcasting or trying
to level up
an existing show, this episode is gonna help
you put a clear plan into place.
You're listening to Podcast Insider hosted by Mike
Dell, Dave Clements, and Mackenzie Bennett from the
Blubrry team, bringing you weekly insights, advice, and
insider tips and tricks to help you start,
grow, and thrive through podcasting with all the
support of your team here at Blueberry Podcasting.
Welcome.
Let's dive in.
We have been doing quite a bit of
planning at Blueberry ourselves
recently, so I think this is, you know,
pretty good timing
to to have a separate
yeah. Mhmm.
We,
we are
a tad lax
on the planning ahead for Podcast Insider for
the rest of the year, but we at
least have the first
month and a half planned out already. Mhmm.
So I think that's, you know, that's doing
a pretty decent job. But
but at the end of the year, we
did discuss
kind of
at least a handful of topics that we
wanted to hit throughout the year. So
you think that's all that's also
helpful to, you know, have in the back
of your head.
Yeah. Yeah. For sure.
When I saw this on our our docket
for episodes,
I think for a a lot of podcasters,
we all look at it and go,
growth is like, it's a scary
thing. I imagine it as
a big scary thing that is staring at
you from, like, the corner of your bedroom,
like, when you were a kid. Mhmm. Because
you're like, I don't know what that actually
is. So you have to take the time
and realize, oh, it's just a coat rack
that I know is there, and,
you know, I just gotta make sense of
it. And so
this concept for this episode of planning a
year of growth, it doesn't have to be
scary. I think that it's
a lot easier than I myself would ever
make it out to be. I mean, I've
been doing this for
a long time,
and I'm still scared of whatever growth is.
Yeah.
I mean, that's definitely understandable. The first thing
that we
wanna talk about is essentially defining what growth
means for you and your podcast, because it's
not gonna be the same for everyone. That's
for sure. And it's not
just meaning more downloads, more listens, a bigger
audience, something like that. It can be so
much more than that. Yeah. You can really,
like, fine tune it. Some of our examples
are just publishing consistently without missing episodes. I
know that's always been a big one for
me where I'm like, I am a weekly
release podcast.
Mhmm. And then I will release every single
week for about three months. And then I
stop for whatever reason.
And then I come back and, you know,
just publishing consistently. That that can be growth.
Improving
the content that you already have. We've discussed
this a couple of times on Podcast Insider.
So go back and listen to those episodes.
You can also build a more engaged audience.
I think that's one of the the hardest
things. So that might be something to really
dig into in the future. Yeah. And then
you can look into monetization
and sponsorships,
or you can just fix your own workflow.
Like, make something that actually works and is
sustainable for you.
Those are just some of the ideas that
we have.
Yeah. Last year, I feel like we actually
did a really
good job of planning episodes out beforehand,
where it was just more along the lines
of, like, okay. We we know what we're
gonna talk about. We have show notes,
you know, planned out a little bit. Now
we just need to find the time to
record and get that done. And I think
that saved us, like, a lot of headache
compared to what it has in the past.
So something just as simple as, you know,
we improved
the
production side
on our end, you know, the the preproduction
side.
And I really do think that helped. And
I think the other one that you were
talking about with
building a more engaged audience, that is
the hardest one to do. You're right. That
one is can then that is dedication. That
takes time. That is
not one that you can necessarily rush.
And I think if you try to rush
it, you might actually be doing some damage.
Yeah. Yeah. For sure.
Because for as as much as you want
to build an engaged audience, you could
kind of how do I wanna say this
the right way? You could abuse that position,
and then it turns into spam
instead of actually growing that support.
Yeah. You could engage with your audience so
much that you enraged them, and now you
have an enraged engaged audience.
So that's not exactly something you want either.
You know, look around.
Take a good idea of what you think
your show is and what you want it
to be and what all these things mean
for you. What does growth actually mean
to you?
It's the new year.
A lot of people take a fresh look
at,
you know, their hobbies,
their habits,
their what they wanna do with their year,
and this is definitely something that I think
falls in line with that. Yeah. And I
would definitely, like, don't get overwhelmed and go,
oh, I have to do, like, all five
of these things that we've
mentioned. Like, pick one Yeah. And let that
be the focus for your year because you
can't do
everything
all at once and enjoy podcasting.
We're gonna talk about it a little bit
later. But, you know, burnout, that's that's a
huge thing. And you can burn yourself out
right here at the start just defining what
growth is for you for the year.
Yeah. Exactly. That's that's perfect into our next
one, which is
break the year into manageable phases.
I've really, in the past two or three
years, started to think about the year, like,
professionally and personally
in the quarters. You know, the January 1,
March 31
into,
into summer, and then the the end of
summer into fall, and then the winter.
And it has helped me immensely.
It just allows you to focus on certain
things for perhaps that quarter or that month
or, you know, two months, ninety days, whatever
it is that you
wanna think about
it without pressure for, like, the entire year.
But also, it's, like, kind of motivating because
you're like, okay. I said I was gonna
do this in 2026,
and I was gonna do it in quarter
one.
So, like Yeah. Let's get it done in
quarter one.
Yeah. To pull the curtain back a little
bit, that's what we've been doing at Blueberry
is going, okay.
From a marketing perspective
and even in, like, a development perspective, how
how do we break things up into the
these manageable
chunks? And we we've kind of been focusing
on, you know, topics.
Like, what are the topics that we wanna
communicate? What are the projects that need to
be improved
the most?
And you can look at your podcast
very much the same way.
And,
again, the the only way to eat an
elephant is one bite at a time.
Definitely.
And, I mean, I know I kinda like,
I just took
two weeks off at the end of the
year. I always know
I need to get the most important stuff
that I need to do done by Thanksgiving
because I'm done for the rest of the
year. Like, I am wrapping things up. I
am not starting anything new.
I am literally just going off of, like,
a checklist of
this has gotta be done
and and go from there. There is nothing
being added to it.
So
the seasons of your life,
definitely take part.
That's a really good point too because I've
I've run into that in doing shows where
you have these plans, and then you go,
oh, shoot. Holidays exist. Yeah.
And then it's like, well, how do you
prepare for those? Do you batch record? Do
you just go, hey. We're taking a break.
Again, that's part of your phases in growth.
You know? Because maybe you do take a
break this year, and you figure out, oh,
well, maybe that didn't work as well as
I wanted it to. Mhmm. And then next
year, part of your growth plan can be,
well, I'm in a batch record,
or maybe I just release a little bit
less. Like, again,
ebb and flow. You'll figure it out. You'll
figure it out,
and and you're not gonna figure it all
out in the first year, the first six
months. Nothing like that. Yeah. And even if
you do three months later, you're gonna be
like, that was useless. This is so much
better.
Yeah.
Yeah. So things are constantly evolving.
The next one that we wanted to talk
about was planned content with purpose.
This is kinda what I was saying earlier
of we have the first month and a
half planned out. Mhmm.
I I generally try to work in about
six to eight weeks, and then I come
back so that I'm not doing everything for
the entire year at once because things change.
News breaks about stuff in podcasting.
You know, people's
habits, trends, that type of stuff you have
to factor in. So you you identify
a few core themes and topics that that
you might wanna stick with, and then, that
that kinda helps your brain settle, I think.
Yeah. And then being able to
find, like, the evergreen content. I mean, it
really depends on what your show is.
But, you know, if if it's January now,
it's gonna be really hard to plan for
July
because,
like Mackenzie said, you know, things things can
change.
But, also,
because things change, is it going to be
relevant
in July
when you're thinking about it now?
Again, I think I think Mackenzie's
got a point here. Don't plan too far
out, but do those themes. And then drill
down into those
specific
content ideas,
you know, the per episode things. You can
drill down into those as you get closer.
So, like, six to eight weeks out,
most things aren't gonna shift too much
in that time depending on what your show
is about. Unless you're doing a daily show,
and then I don't know how you do
that. Oh, I like, I can't
scary. The daily show people are,
like, a whole other type of podcaster. I
could not imagine.
But No. You like, yeah. You guys
have immense dedication and have to have, like,
some type of system set up.
You know? There's Yeah. There is a method
to that madness, and I say madness,
very seriously.
Yeah. For sure.
And then also, leave room for being creative.
I think that that's always been one of
my biggest struggles is that's why I can't
plan too far out because sometimes I'm just
like, I don't really feel like covering that
topic. I've mentioned it a few times
here on this show. You know, I've done
a pod culture podcast for years.
And I used to lay out the full
year based on what movies were coming out.
And then it'd get closer, and then a
movie would come out. And I'm like, I
am not interested in seeing that movie whatsoever.
Yeah. I'm gonna do something else.
So, yeah, give yourself room,
but also think ahead.
And I I think everything just kind of
weaves together.
There's usually
some clearing in the chaos,
and, that's that's generally true with podcasting as
well.
The last one that we'll talk about today
to kinda wrap all of this up is
focus on a few growth strategies.
So that means trying to grow everywhere at
once is gonna lead you to that burnout
that Dave was warning you about.
Choose one or two and go from there.
Yeah. So, again, this is just gonna depend
on what your show
is about.
Maybe you wanna do some guest appearances. You
wanna improve your SEO and your show notes.
Maybe you wanna start a newsletter or get
that newsletter growing.
Like, just just pick some things
that are manageable and
hone in on those. And don't obsess
too much over making sure that it's done
perfectly.
I think that's another key thing that that
we could talk about here is, I I
think sometimes we put too much weight on
ourselves to make sure that it's done perfect
the first time,
or is it growing fast enough? So keep
those in mind. Like, give yourself some grace
and be patient with yourself.
Because while this may be a year long
plan,
if it doesn't happen in a year,
that's fine. You're the person that's in charge.
Now, obviously, if you are not the person
in charge, in this case, Mackenzie is our
director of marketing,
and the podcast falls under that. So, you
know, if Mackenzie's like, this has to happen
in a year, and we don't you know,
if we miss that target, well, you know,
then we've got an answer to Mackenzie. But
Mackenzie's also part of the team. So
I think you get what I'm saying. Right?
I do understand what you're saying. And a
podcast is generally a group effort, and it's
the what's that phrase? Poor planning on your
part does not constitute an emergency on my
part.
And that don't get me wrong. That is
a very true statement for many situations. But
your podcast, at the end of the day,
if plans change
for the betterment
of
yourself
and which will probably
include the podcast in that, then go that
direction. You know? Things change.
Focus on what you can
and and just try to move forward. That's
I think that's the most important thing. Yeah.
And, I mean, I think the bottom line
for
for this entire episode and I feel like
I tend to be labor points way more
than I should. But just know that
podcast growth is about you.
It's not about,
you know, chasing trends or having instant results.
You really just build habits and systems and
content
that support your goals as they change. We
try to give a little bit of structure,
but the biggest takeaway is just slow down,
give yourself grace,
and know that everything's gonna be okay. Yeah.
You know, the tracking progress
for your podcast is important. We're never gonna
not say that, you know, that's something you
shouldn't really take a look at. One of
our main offerings as a podcast host is
podcast
statistics.
Like, we Right. We do see the importance
of them, and we know the value that
they hold.
But it's also not
worth it enough to obsess over them to
where it is detrimental to yourself. You know,
obsessing over something to the point of you
only care about
the feeling of that obsession
and not Mhmm. Putting your efforts and mental
capacity towards
actually reaching that goal, you're gonna not enjoy
your podcast as much. And we want you
to be having a good time.
Yeah. For sure. We're we're in the social
age. Like, we are watching all of these
very curated lifestyles and and things like that
on social media, on television, on,
in the things that we just consume
all the time.
And
we do see people that obsess over their
numbers, and if they dip
more than they should or
or whatever. I've seen people just get into
a big panic, and
it's not worth it. It's not worth it
because then you're you're you're not having fun.
You're not wanting
to push toward
more growth,
really. You're just you wanna get that I
don't know if it's dopamine or serotonin, but
you need you need that hit because,
oh, good. I hit, you know,
my my golden number in my stats. Mhmm.
Just don't forget to have fun.
You don't have to conform to all of
the the social media
trends and things that are that are out
there right now. And sometimes we just need
reminded of that.
It's a very good mindset for the beginning
of the year. Yeah. Planning growth is, is
all up to you, but we just hope
that we can help you make it more
achievable.
Fully what we've provided here, even if some
of it is belabored, welcome to me being
on the show now.
Hopefully, this all works as a guide for
you, and we're excited for your 2026
and the years that you continue to podcast.
Plan ahead now, and you're gonna be less
frustrated later.
Absolutely.
It's gonna look different for every show, every
podcaster, every host. But the important thing is,
you know, just stick with a plan that
you actually want to work on.
And if you need tools, there's a lot
of them over at blueberry.com.
So tools, resources,
and you can even talk to myself or
Mike over at support.
So go over to blueberry.com
for that. Thanks everyone for listening to Podcast
Insider. We'll see you next time. Thanks for
joining us. Come back next week. And in
the meantime, head to podcastinsider.com
for more information,
to subscribe,
share, and read our show notes.
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and learn how Blueberry can help you leverage
your podcast. Visit blueberry.com.
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