Do listeners like short podcasts?

[JonBischke]

I have an opportunity to produce a couple of shorter podcasts for people. These podcasts would be about a minute in a half in length. The content is good but my question is whether people really like listening to podcasts that are this short. Personally, I transfer all of my podcasts to my iPod manually and so I tend to avoid podcasts that are less than 5-10 minutes in length. I'm wondering what the consensus is out there. Is a short content chunk of a couple of minutes too short to really be the worth the effort?

Also, I'm wondering if anyone knows a good way to "auto-upload" podcasts so that one per day goes live on the feed. This would be another determining factor in my decision as these shorter podcasts would be daily. We would put all of them in the can at once and wouldn't want to have to remember to upload them every day. Is anyone currently doing some sort of auto-upload with their podcast?

[jeffoest]

At the gym (maybe 50% of all my podcast listening time), I don't reach for smaller podcasts, because my iPod is not readily acceptable (usually in a pocket in my gym shorts). I'd rather only have to change up a couple of times.

In the car (the other 50%), it doesn't seem to matter to me too much.

[O.C. Chris]

As a huge podcast fan I prefer shows that are around an hour or more.

[Hittman]

I prefer short podcasts, not only listening to them, but the challenge of doing one. 5-10 minutes, great. 10-15, not quite as great, but not bad.

But 1.5 minutes is awfully short.

[cybercooler]

A mintute and a half!?!
15 Seconds: "Welcome to the minute and a half podcast"
15 Seconds: "Subscribe to our podcast at www.minuteandahalf.com
30 Seconds: "In this podcast we'll continue our tak about this and that we started in the last podcast and (music starts) AW! we're out of time!
15 Seconds: "Ok be sure to vote for us at podcast alley, and we'll see you tomorrow."

I would recommend a short podcast for people who are using podcasting for marketing. More "touches" with your potential customer is always a good thing I'm doing one now that is 10-15 minutes (www.musicnewspodcast.net ) , and I swear I spend just as much time assembling/creating it as I do my normal 45-hour show (www.coolerpodcasts.com )

[roadrageradio]

A mintute and a half!?!
15 Seconds: "Welcome to the minute and a half podcast"
15 Seconds: "Subscribe to our podcast at www.minuteandahalf.com
30 Seconds: "In this podcast we'll continue our tak about this and that we started in the last podcast and (music starts) AW! we're out of time!
15 Seconds: "Ok be sure to vote for us at podcast alley, and we'll see you tomorrow."

I would recommend a short podcast for people who are using podcasting for marketing. More "touches" with your potential customer is always a good thing I'm doing one now that is 10-15 minutes (www.musicnewspodcast.net ) , and I swear I spend just as much time assembling/creating it as I do my normal 45-hour show (www.coolerpodcasts.com )

Very funny script for a 90 second podcast.

reminds me of a sixty second spoof ad for a one-minute sale that talks about all the fantastic deals that are available right now! and ends with something like, "if you're not here, you're gonna miss it. The fabulous one-minute sale is over"

[Paranormal Podcast]

This is a tough question. I think it depends on the subject matter. I think quick hitters like Future Tense can be very good, but a minute and half sounds like a challenge.

In my case, Paranormal Podcast typically runs about 40 minutes and I have listeners emailing me requesting longer shows. To date, no one has said it is too long. Like I said, its a tough question. Let me know if anyone finds the definitive answer :)

[podcastshuffle]

In general I like shorter podcasts over long ones. Sometimes 15-20 minutes is about all the time I want to listen to one thing. However, I don't think the time actually matters that much. I sometimes listen to an entire show and sometimes I skip past stuff just like I do with TIVO.

The "minute and a half" podcast reminds me of the astronomy thing on public radio "Earth & Sky" that's pretty short annd always interesting to listen to.

Jeff

[Floyd]

I am fully automated so I don't mind the shorter podcasts. Usually daily stuff, and news feeds of interest such as Diabeticfeed.

Doppler retrieve cast -> convert to .m4b (Bookmarkable) -> Itunes -> Ipod

I have to admit there is a daily Podcast I subscribe to that I actually like and it is just over 1 minute believe it or not. Content and sound are A+

Ongoing History Of New Music - http://www.edge102.com/station/rss.cfm

Give it a try if you are into music, bands, etc.

[JonBischke]

The "minute and a half" podcast reminds me of the astronomy thing on public radio "Earth & Sky" that's pretty short annd always interesting to listen to.

Jeff

Yeah, it would be kind of like this. The content itself is probably a minute and a half. With the intro and outro it would probably be more like two 1/2 or three minutes. I think it all boils down to what percentage of people are "fully automated." If many are than a short podcast is cool. If you're dragging podcasts into your iPod manually though then it's a pain in the *** to do this for short shows. The feedback that I've gotten here is encouraging in terms of shorter podcasts and I think we'll probably make a go of it.

[jeffoest]

The one thing I will add here is that over the last few months there have been several threads questioning length of show and desirability.

The results are al over the map. Do some people love short shows? yep. Do some people hate short shows? yep Do some people love long shows? yep Do some people hate long shows? yep! lol

I don't believe that there is any evidence to suggest that your concept is faulty. And if you have content that is optimized at that particular time frame - then that's what you should do!

[audiocollective]

I have an opportunity to produce a couple of shorter podcasts for people. These podcasts would be about a minute in a half in length. The content is good but my question is whether people really like listening to podcasts that are this short. Personally, I transfer all of my podcasts to my iPod manually and so I tend to avoid podcasts that are less than 5-10 minutes in length. I'm wondering what the consensus is out there. Is a short content chunk of a couple of minutes too short to really be the worth the effort?

yes.

[coreytronic]

I tend to think that the better a show is the longer it should be. We do 75 to 80 minute shows and I want do more, but we try to keep them cd-burn length. I just don't see the point in a 90 second cast, even if it is daily. Why even bother downloading something that small?

[comedy4cast]

I like short podcasts. It allows me to listen to a variety of shows over the course of the day. However, you may find a 1.5 minute format hard to maintain. I often find myself working very hard to edit my show down to 4 minutes. In fact, sometimes it's just plain impossible so the show runs long.

[haptran]

I like short podcast

[O.C. Chris]

I tend to think that the better a show is the longer it should be. We do 75 to 80 minute shows and I want do more, but we try to keep them cd-burn length. I just don't see the point in a 90 second cast, even if it is daily. Why even bother downloading something that small?

That's what i'm saying.

Then you can sell your shows on CD from your website. :wink:

[IMAO-Podcast]

JonBischke: "I have an opportunity to produce a couple of shorter podcasts for people. These podcasts would be about a minute in a half in length. The content is good but my question is whether people really like listening to podcasts that are this short. Personally, I transfer all of my podcasts to my iPod manually and so I tend to avoid podcasts that are less than 5-10 minutes in length. I'm wondering what the consensus is out there. Is a short content chunk of a couple of minutes too short to really be the worth the effort?"

It depends on the audience your potential clients are hoping to reach, Mr. Bischke. To illustrate this point, please review this totally scientific demographic breakdown of podcast listeners worldwide:

Most likely to download podcasts of 5-30 minutes in length:
-Young adult males (ages 13-24)
-Employed males with high school education or better (ages 18-45)
-Employed females with college degrees (ages 25-"how old do you think I am?")

Most likely to download podcasts of 30-60 minutes in length:
-Males aged 21-34 with a high school diploma or GED
-Females aged 18-23 with recording contracts through Sony Records
-Males/Females aged 25-54 who threw away their vote on Ralph Nader twice
-Collectors of comic books and/or assorted sci-fi paraphenalia
-Survivors of a lightning strike
-Belgians

Most likely to download podcasts 60+ minutes in length:
-Teenage boys with no girlfriends
-Serial killers
-Drug addicts
-Hardcore fans of "Fresh Air" on NPR
-Unemployed IT support staff workers
-Unemployed independent filmmakers
-Unemployed talentless radio hosts
-Musicians
-Drummers
-Other podcasters who produce shows 60+ minutes in length

I hope this information helps you make a decision and remember to check out:

[jeffoest]

Then you can sell your shows on CD from your website. :wink:

Why would anyone do this? Has anybody ever in the past or does anybody today think "gee, I wish I could buy and own a podcast on a CD"? And why? Maybe I'm missing something. Illuminate me.

[jbisjim]

I like podcasts about 40 minutes. I listen to them while I work and that seems to work out. The only cast I listen to that is longer is TWIT, which i dont mind being longer.

Casts that are about 20 minutes seem too short unless they post cast more often then it does not seem so bad to me

/end 2cents

[O.C. Chris]

Then you can sell your shows on CD from your website. :wink:

Why would anyone do this? Has anybody ever in the past or does anybody today think "gee, I wish I could buy and own a podcast on a CD"? And why? Maybe I'm missing something. Illuminate me.

It's a joke. You would have to listen to the show to get it.

[jeffoest]

Chris, yea - sorry - I did kind of realized that your comment was a joke. I suppose I should have responded to the other guy that mentioned keeping the show down to CD length.

I just can't imagine any podcast-length consideration more obtuse. But again, I'm probably just missing something. Any others do this?

[O.C. Chris]

JonBischke: "I have an opportunity to produce a couple of shorter podcasts for people. These podcasts would be about a minute in a half in length. The content is good but my question is whether people really like listening to podcasts that are this short. Personally, I transfer all of my podcasts to my iPod manually and so I tend to avoid podcasts that are less than 5-10 minutes in length. I'm wondering what the consensus is out there. Is a short content chunk of a couple of minutes too short to really be the worth the effort?"

It depends on the audience your potential clients are hoping to reach, Mr. Bischke. To illustrate this point, please review this totally scientific demographic breakdown of podcast listeners worldwide:

Most likely to download podcasts of 5-30 minutes in length:
-Young adult males (ages 13-24)
-Employed males with high school education or better (ages 18-45)
-Employed females with college degrees (ages 25-"how old do you think I am?")

Most likely to download podcasts of 30-60 minutes in length:
-Males aged 21-34 with a high school diploma or GED
-Females aged 18-23 with recording contracts through Sony Records
-Males/Females aged 25-54 who threw away their vote on Ralph Nader twice
-Collectors of comic books and/or assorted sci-fi paraphenalia
-Survivors of a lightning strike
-Belgians

Most likely to download podcasts 60+ minutes in length:
-Teenage boys with no girlfriends
-Serial killers
-Drug addicts
-Hardcore fans of "Fresh Air" on NPR
-Unemployed IT support staff workers
-Unemployed independent filmmakers
-Unemployed talentless radio hosts
-Musicians
-Drummers
-Other podcasters who produce shows 60+ minutes in length

I hope this information helps you make a decision and remember to check out:

This would be funny if it didn't suck.

[Version3]

Wow, I guess that demographic break-down means that my listeners are all lifeless, complete losers, or unemployed? I wonder if they know?





We typically have show length of 1.5 hours to 2.25 hours in length... it's just the nature of our show. Short shows sound really rushed and odd. We can really tell when a show is running too long.

As a listener though, I doubt I could ever sit through one that long... 30 minutes is my target as a listener.

[ToasterBoy]

Then you can sell your shows on CD from your website. :wink:

Why would anyone do this? Has anybody ever in the past or does anybody today think "gee, I wish I could buy and own a podcast on a CD"? And why? Maybe I'm missing something. Illuminate me.

We are doing this with the seasons of our show. We've already had a bunch of requests for CDs and we're working on them right now to release at the Expo. Then the plan is to get them on the iTunes music store to sell via CDBaby.

I can see where making CDs might not work for some shows, but for our format it's a natural. I think just about any Podcast could make a "best of" CD and put it on iTunes through CDBaby. You have the content, why wouldn't you? I'm sure most Podcasts have fans enough to buy CDs. maybe not 1,000,000 cds, but make some sales.

For our show, I actually think, for awhile we may sell more CDs then have people download our show via the website or Podcast. That's simply because when i tell people, "we have a Podcast." They always go, "Oh I don't have an iPod I couldn't hear it." But if I said, "Here's a CD of our radio show." They'd be more likely to pick one up because who doesn't have a CD player?

Also, if you continue to Podcast forever, you'll eventually have to take some episodes off the feed or your webiste (unless you're wealthy enough to keep buying space). Once you have enough episodes off of the feed, why not make a CD so those who just discover your show will have a way to get the older episodes or at least a 'best of" of old episodes.

With the ability for people to burn CDs on just about every computer, why wouldn't you sell CDs? Even if it was just at cost (though that would be silly) or a little above cost. As I said, you have the content.

Anyway, just my opinion.

Grant

[jeffoest]

Grant,

Thanks for sharing!

I suppose if you have a demand (you have folks asking your for it), what the heck, right?

I still don't really get it though. Even for a best-of show or something, I would imagine most people would want to simply get it off the internet (for pay or not) than wait ro recieve a physical copy of it that they would then have to convert if they wanted to listen to it on the run.

If someone really wanted to have and keep a copy of your show they could always burn a copy themselves or store it in their harddrive.

As far as having a CD player. I know I'm more 'high-tech' than most of the population, but I have to honestly say, I don't use any CD players anymore. CD Players and disks are a quickly dying breed. I used to put CD's in my 6-pack changer located in the trunk of my car. What a hassle. Now I have 200 CD's on my iPod. Why would I need a CD player?

Anyway all that said, if we had people asking for show CD's, I would find a way to provide them - so I understand where you are coming from. Just a bit surprised. :-)

[ToasterBoy]

I still don't really get it though. Even for a best-of show or something, I would imagine most people would want to simply get it off the internet (for pay or not) than wait ro recieve a physical copy of it that they would then have to convert if they wanted to listen to it on the run.

If someone really wanted to have and keep a copy of your show they could always burn a copy themselves or store it in their harddrive.

Jeff-

I agree with you. I'm sure the majority of the people who listen to our show would just download the mp3s and put them on their iPod or whatever. I bought 1 CD last month and this is from a guy who worked at a record store several years ago and was buying 10 CDs plus a month. So I'm in the same boat as you. My iPod and My Shuffle are constant companions.

I think it's probably pretty safe to say that the majority of people listening to podcasts are very tech savvy and will listen at their computer or on the run. I guess I'm just looking at it from the point of view of getting the content out to as many people as possible.

For example, my grandparents would look at me like a cat trying to figure out a screensaver if I told them about Podcasting. "Huh? Pod-what? What is that a disease?" But my Grandparents both have CD players and know how to use them (most of the time).

Also a large portion of our fans (of which there is roughly 5 or 6) are kids. We get e-mails from 5 - 10 year olds. I'm sure there's a few parents who would prefer to let their kids have a CD to listen to rather than giving them an iPod. I know there's probably 5 year olds out there with iPods, but I'm just thinking about how they are really marketing CD players to little kids now. All the Barbie, Disney, Spongebob CD players in Target & Wal-Mart, etc.

But yes, I agree with you, if all the shows were available for a certain Podcast and I could download them, then I wouldn't buy a CD. But if I came late to a podcast and they took the old episodes off and I'd really want to hear them, I would buy a CD (or download the tracks off iTunes).

This has kind of veered off the main topic of show length, so I'll give my opinion to try and bring it back around.

I prefer shorter shows. My commute, luckily, is only about 15 minutes so I don't have a TON of time to listen to longer podcasts. Manic Mondays is a great podcast as it's only about 15 mins and so it's what I listen to on the way to work every morning.

However, there are longer podcasts that I listen to, but those I'll usually listen to at home while doing web work. The one show I will listen to regularly that is 2 hours (and it's not a Podcast, I get it using my RadioShark) is LoveLine.

Our show's philosophy on running length is keep it short. 5 Mins is our goal. The reason we shoot for that is two-fold. One, we want to try and leave people "wanting more", just like "old time" radio shows did. The second reason is because our goal is to keep the shows as fast paced as possible and we figure around 5 minutes is how long someone can listen to that kind of thing. We have pushed 6 or 7 minutes a few times, but 5 is our goal.

Grant

[IMAO-Podcast]

O.C. Chris: "This would be funny if it didn't suck."

Keep in mind, gentle readers, that this person's podcast has a running time of well over 60+ minutes...

Oh, and by the way. it's "thermodynamics."

[anotherquizshow]

The time someone will listen to a podcast probably depends on the subject matter.

I've started to listen to a podcast where two people just rambled about what they did that week. It was probably 45 minutes long, but I got tired of it about 15 minutes into it and went to the another one I downloaded. I felt I had wasted my time listening to it.

However, I've listened to some information/educational podcasts that were 30 minutes long....and that was just about right.

I've also heard some podcasts that were 1-3 minutes long....these were more like newsbits, so it wasn't so bad....but I just listened to them on my computer b/c I didn't want to bother downloading such a short show on my MP3 player.

Our show (OK, this is a shameless plug) is 15-20 minutes long, and we've actually gotten praise on keeping the show to that short time.

I do feel that short shows (<10 minutes) should probably be done more than once a week to keep the listener interested enough though.

Michael

[Hittman]

From the production side, I like the challenge of keeping it short. Each one of my shows could easily be 20 or 30 minutes long, but who wants to listen to me for that long? Knocking it down to ten minutes is sometimes easy, but more often quite a challenge. You’ve got to boil down what you want to say, carefully, without burning it, tossing anything that’s even slightly marginal in order to get it to all fit.

Pascal once wrote to a friend “I’m sorry for sending you such a long letter, I didn’t have time to write a short one.� Short is harder, but the challenge is what makes it more fun.

Don’t discount CD listeners, Jeff. There are more CD players than iPods, and there will be for quite some time to come. Hell, I listen to podcasts on CDs. Yeah, I want an ipod, but for now my CD player does me just fine. I burn the podcasts to a cd, which is nearly free, and toss it when I’m done with it.

Topical shows are probably a waste on a CD, but Dr. Floyd seems like a perfect CD venture, especially considering that kids are a large part of the audience. A parent who is not about to let their kid use their iPod would be happy to give it to them on CD. And kids listen to stuff over and over and over again.

I think Dr. Floyd is the perfect length. And yes, it does live up to the second rule of show biz: Always leave them wanting more. If it were ten minutes, that would be OK, but much longer and it would go from very amusing to annoying. I love it, and never miss it, but if it were a half hour show, I don’t think I’d be such a fan.

[Big Mike]

I like short podcasters.

[O.C. Chris]

O.C. Chris: "This would be funny if it didn't suck."

Keep in mind, gentle readers, that this person's podcast has a running time of well over 60+ minutes...

Oh, and by the way. it's "thermodynamics."
No, jackass. I got the quote from the script.

And what is my podcast. Is it as bad as yours. Can anything be as bad as yours.

Now wouldn't it take someone that is dim witted to sit through a 60 min podcast. I think not.

Or is it that your not good enough to do more then 30 min of show?

[IMAO-Podcast]

No, jackass. I got the quote from the script.

Ah, it ain't just a river runnin' though Egypt!

Classic...

[docsnavely]

I like short podcasters.

midget podcasters or just shorties?



i like short podcasts :wink:

unfortunately, my podcast has turned out to be an hour long by evolution.... and for some kooky reason, my listeners want more!

[Barefoot Radio.com]

There are practical technical reasons to have a short podcast. For example, if you have bandwidth limitations that could wind up costing you money if you run over.

But, I say if you're talented, and if you're in this professionally for the long haul, I know for a fact that listeners who become regulars always want more shows that all last longer.

It also depends on the type of show you're doing. I think the best LONG podcasts are ones geared specifically toward entertainment.

Does this two cents of mine help? I don't know. But if you rock, and want to have a professional carreer, I say try to do at least an hour.

If you're a listener who can't stand a show that's longer than ten minutes then you can listen to those short podcasts. I like listeners with an attention span.

[X Pat Radio]

I prefer at least 30 min podcasts, but 90min is too long.

[coreytronic]

.

I say if you're talented, and if you're in this professionally for the long haul, I know for a fact that listeners who become regulars always want more shows that all last longer.




Excellent point. I think of it like logging airtime for a pilot or practice for an athlete. Longer shows help you get better faster.

[O.C. Chris]

.

I say if you're talented, and if you're in this professionally for the long haul, I know for a fact that listeners who become regulars always want more shows that all last longer.




Excellent point. I think of it like logging airtime for a pilot or practice for an athlete. Longer shows help you get better faster.

The more the C & J the better.

[ovation]

I've been producing a daily sixty second podcast along with a weekly 30 minute Podcast for about 4 months and have noticed a couple of things...

The short, daily Podcast, which actually takes more work, is very popular with my listeners. In survey's I've taken it's always come back 50/50 in terms of popularity.

In terms of downloads, my short programs have equal or more downloads than the longer shows. The difference seems to be only in how quickly folks download the program. On the longer shows it takes only a couple of days to reach a larger number of downloads while the short program can take a week or so.

I use the short shows as a way to keep in touch with my most loyal audience while also giving newbies a chance to sample my stuff and so far it's working.

For my longer show, I shoot for just a little under 30 minutes in length. I've found folks are able to fit a 30 minute show into their daily activities easily and more apt to listen more. Also - I always want to leave them wanting more.

As far as CD's... I get lots of requests for CD's but I won't sell just copies of my current show. What I've done is taken the original content of my :60 programs, I have over 70 of them now, and expand them to about 5 minutes. I then re-recored them into a longer, CD based program that I offer for sale. While it's based on my original content, it is totally different. The good news is that I get $65 per program and am selling a couple a day with virtually no promotion.

On more thing... the shorter program has drawn the attention of "broadcast stations" who want to air it during regular programming. I'll get that going by the end of the year and can only imagine how many folks I'll be able to draw to my longer Podcast with the help of the over the air stations.

Those are my thoughts... and what's working for me.

Scott

www.motivationtomove.com

[athumdu]

This is a tough question. I think it depends on the subject matter. I think quick hitters like Future Tense can be very good, but a minute and half sounds like a challenge.

In my case, Paranormal Podcast typically runs about 40 minutes and I have listeners emailing me requesting longer shows. To date, no one has said it is too long. Like I said, its a tough question. Let me know if anyone finds the definitive answer :)
In terms of downloads, my short programs have equal or more downloads than the longer shows. The difference seems to be only in how quickly folks download the program. On the longer shows it takes only a couple of days to reach a larger number of downloads while the short program can take a week or so.

[Because We Said So]

I don't like listening to short one (1-5 min) and have found with my own podcast, listener feedback responded that the audience like 15-20 minute episodes, so i am trying to produce that length now - good luck!

[tolo1987]

I would say that listeners like short podcasts from my experience.

[Poo'dcast]

Really people don't really care, I sometimes listen to four hour podcasts as long as it stays funny. People who are new to podcasts will like short ones.

[seedpress]

We just started putting up a short comedy podcast. The episodes are usually a bit less than 10 minutes:

Here's a link:

http://www.blubrry.com/alligator/

We have about 100 already recorded but only 3 up so far; we wanted to make sure we had enough to continue for awhile once we started. We will be putting up 3 new ones each week.

We submitted our listing here, but apparently have so far fallen victim to the dreaded "not-listed-here" syndrome.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

[goodmore]

Bought this for my daughter and she loves it! This little Tiffany&co Necklaces (http://www.tiffanyarea.com/) look classy and make a great gift for young and old. Great lenght, Beautiful necklace (http://www.tiffanyarea.com/) for the price.

[goodmore]

[quote=seedpress;661197]We just started putting up a short comedy podcast. The episodes are usually a bit less than 10 minutes:

Here's a link: http://www.blubrry.com/alligator/ (http://www.tiffanyarea.com/)

[Adamshefard]

I feel a lot more people need to read this, very good info!

[TheMulliganShow]

my show started out at 50 min long, and that was too long for my listeners, people were saying that it would be better around half hour...works best for us.

[abayarts]

well, I personally like long podcast if it's interesting. Short one are good too. I don't have many listeners for my podcast so I don't know what direction to use. haha.

[supermedia]

I prefer podcasts that lasts around 1 hour.

[OutcastRadio]

I think people appreciate long podcasts and short podcasts. How short is short though? Ours are usually about 45 minutes long.

outcast-radio.podomatic.com

[crystalw]

I like to have a choice between long and short podcasts. Having a summary is good to pick out the relevant points (a transcript would work even better though), but at the same time it's nice to have a longer version for more leisurely listening.

[Jim Smith]

I like to have a choice between long and short podcasts. Having a summary is good to pick out the relevant points (a transcript would work even better though), but at the same time it's nice to have a longer version for more leisurely listening.I try to format my show in the style of a radio talk show, and you don't get summaries or transcripts of most radio shows.

[aussietom]

I prefer them to be about an hour long because I don't want to be continually changing my train of thought.

[mathew64trujillo]

I like them to be about 15 minutes. Anything longer and I stop paying attention. Thats just me though.

[Jim Smith]

I agree with that, which is why I limit my podcasts to 15 minutes.