What Is the Average Podcast Length? How Long Should Yours Be?

Did you know that there are over 2 million active podcasts? When you really think about this, that’s a huge number compared to the world population.

A lot of people enjoy getting information and entertainment from podcasts, just like from television or radio. If you’re interested in making your own podcast, you clearly have a lot of competition out there – how can you make yours a success?

When considering your own podcast, you need to think about a lot of variables, including the style you like, the average podcast length, your topic, and more.

Keep reading to learn about the best podcast length and other podcast tips that will help you in the long run.

How Long Is the Average Podcast Length?

If you’re a podcast fan, you’ve likely seen podcasts ranging anywhere from under 10 minutes to over 2 hours. There is a wide range here due to the fact that podcasts cover such a wide variety of topics.

However, there is still an average length that you may want to aim for when creating your own podcast. This is the right amount of time to make sure that you’re able to get your point across and still keep your audience engaged.

Based on the data gathered, the sweet spot for optimal podcast length seems to fall at around 40 minutes. This may seem a lot longer or a lot shorter than what you were originally thinking, but keep in mind that there is a lot of variability in the podcast world. 

What to Consider When Making Your Own Podcast

The first thing to consider when trying to figure out how long your podcast should be is your topic. What will you be talking about? What is your niche?

The next thing is what type of subjects you’ll specifically focus on for each podcast episode. If you plan to cover an array of topics within one sitting, this podcast will arguably be longer than if you do one topic per episode.

You’ll also want to think about your format. What is your hosting style going to be like? You could be the podcaster that has conversations with friends over their podcast, or you could be the podcaster that lectures their audience from pre-arranged notes.

If you’re not sure what will work best, it might be worth it to get podcast consulting. People that want to make something out of their podcasts and take them seriously will talk to the pros beforehand to do it right.

Consider if you want to have an intro, outro, or advertisements in your podcast. These will eat up some time as well. 

How Long Is Too Long?

If you’re worried that the podcast you’ve made is too long, you very well may be right. However, this could also be self-doubt eating into your success! 

Remember that a lot of the longer podcasts with a lot of listeners tend to come from celebrities or experts in those fields. Unless you’re one of those things, you may struggle to gain an audience that has the attention span if their heart isn’t in it.

Talk to your friends or people you trust about your podcast and see if they will do a test listen for you. This way, you can determine if your podcast may need some edits before you push it out into the world. 

Preparation Leads to Success With Your Podcast

Regardless of what type of podcast you want to make, always keep the average podcast length in mind so that you’re not going overboard. This will help you engage your audience and allow them to be more active within the type of podcast community you create! 

If you’re interested in finding out more about making a successful podcast, check out some of our related podcast posts next.