8. Practical tips for batching episodes

I recently tried batching episodes for the first time. Overall, it was super helpful. When life got busy, I wasn't scrambling for content...until I was.

In this episode, I share practical tips to keep in mind the next time you batch episodes so that you always have relevant content ready. 

If you’re thinking about batching to stay ahead, this chat will help you do it in a way that works for you, your podcast, and your schedule.

Chapters

• 0:42 Why batch recording is helpful
• 2:56 Best practices when batch recording
• 11:42 On the next episode...

Transcript

* transcript via Descript (mostly unedited)

Intro

[00:00:05] Angela: I have heard so much about batch recording, but honestly I had never done it until recently. But I always heard how it was super helpful when you're busy or you're in a pinch. So I utilized it on this podcast and overall I found it to be really helpful, but I also found that there were things that I should have kept in mind that would've made a big difference.

So in this episode, let's talk about the pros about batch recording and some of the things that might make a difference along the way. My name is Angela Briones, and I wanna welcome you to the space where we talk about podcasting, sharing our voice and life behind the mic.

Why batch recording is helpful

[00:00:42] Angela: Hey friends, it's been a minute since I've published an episode on this podcast, and I wanted to talk to you a little bit about that because that obviously was not my plan. My plan was to publish a couple of episodes a month. Some pretty short ones, really, and then like sprinkle in a longer guest episode here and there.

But I very quickly went off schedule, very unintentionally. Lots of little things like life just, you know, pulling me here and there. And I just wasn't able to focus on the podcast the way I planned, right? And I couldn't dedicate the time to it that I wanted to. And this is just what happens sometimes. So one way we can kind of plan for it that everybody talks about is batching episodes, which honestly I did for this podcast.

Before this podcast launched. I recorded like, I don't know, like a handful of episodes. Some were solo episodes, some were guest episodes, and I really wanted to be like ready for this podcast launch in a way that I wasn't ready for my last podcast. Like just a different way really, you know, like kind of be more on top of things.

You learn a lot as you start podcasting, right? I batched those episodes late last year for this podcast, like I said, and it was nice to have those episodes ready to go before I even launched, because on the launch I was able to publish three episodes and that kind of gave me a little bit of a headstart.

And there was also one month into this podcast where I had this unexpected trip going outta town, and it coincided with when I wanted to post and and publish it- new episodes. So it was nice to just like literally on my phone, get on the Buzzsprout app. Pull up the episode and publish it. Like that was really nice.

So yeah, batch recording is really helpful, but there are a few things to keep in mind that I wanted to talk about and I wanted to dive into those. 'cause really all we ever hear about is batch recording is helpful. It can save you during these moments and you know, it can kind of help you get ahead, et cetera.

But until you actually do the action, which we've talked about in past episodes, right? Until you actually start doing the action, you don't really realize the things that are easy and work in your favor. And then the things that are a little bit more difficult. And I think they vary from person to person.

Best practices when batch recording

[00:02:56] Angela: So I wanted to share those things and share what happened to me in my experience in batch recording and batch editing, I'll say. 'cause I think that's the problem. I think we say batch recording and we don't really realize it's more than just the recording. So number one, depending on your process, and especially if you wear all the hats like me, if you do all the things, you're the host, you're the editor, you're the social media manager.

All the things you hear batch recording, and it sounds easy. You know, you just hit record, but you still have to edit. You still have to do the show notes, transcribe and you know, plan out your social media, all that stuff, if that's what you do. So if you're planning to batch episodes, you wanna keep in mind that it's gonna require some time to wrap all that up, right?

So that's just one thing to keep in mind of your process. If you're like, you know what, I'm just gonna record a bunch of episodes and then have them sit, and then I'll go back and edit later and I'll take one by one. That's fine. For me personally, if I'm gonna batch episodes, I want them all to be like wrapped neatly in a bow ready to go so that I can pull 'em and publish 'em when I need to, because.

For me, otherwise, what's the point? You know, like I want 'em to be ready and I wanna be able to use them. So keep that in mind as you're thinking about batch recording. Do you just wanna record or do you want to have everything completely done, including notes or transcription or whatever you do, and then upload them to your host so they can kind of be sitting and waiting.

And for me, when I think batch recording, that's what I'm thinking. For other people, batch recording is literally recording a bunch of episodes and then passing them off to the editor, which I mean, that sounds great. Right? But, um, I don't have that and I don't really want that to be honest. Like I really do like editing episodes.

So that's just something to keep in mind as you think about what batch recording means to you. Also, one of the things that came up for me was. Making sure I had consistent content because I had solo episodes and I had some guest episodes, but I ended up using the solo episodes so quickly that I ran into the scenario where once I needed to pull that episode, I didn't have any more solo episodes left.

All I had left were guest episodes, and the problem with that for me is I wanted to kind of keep the format of this show, like two to three Zillow episodes and then a guest episode sprinkled in between. So since I'd already used all my solo episodes, I didn't wanna do too many back-to-back guest episodes.

'cause then that throws off like the consistency of the podcast format. You know? And not that there's anything really wrong with that, because you know, it's your show. You can do whatever you want. You can change things as you need to. And I think that listeners really kind of ride that ride pretty well.

You know, I really do. I think people are very forgiving. But we as podcasters probably think that it's like this big mistake, right? It feels like we're scratching a record. That's definitely how I felt. I was like, oh, I can't do that. It's gonna mess everything up. And I mean, really it doesn't. But you know, I was left questioning what's worse if I don't use one of the guest episodes that I had batched and I just don't publish anything at all?

You know what's worse with that? Is it not being consistent with the frequency of the podcast or not being consistent with the frequency of the message of the podcast? So believe me when I say this was a tough call, but all in all. I learned that batch recording for me doesn't do a lot of good if I don't have the right content recorded.

So for me, like going forward, I'm gonna make sure that my batch recorded episodes, because obviously they help you when you're in a scheduling grind, right? I'm gonna make sure that most of those episodes are solo episodes instead of guest episodes. That way, hopefully I have the quote unquote right, content batched, and it's more useful to me as I need it.

And also, I realized one of the things for me that I did not like about batching guest episodes was that I didn't like holding onto them for too long. You know, I don't mind holding onto the solo episodes because they're like topic based, you know, talking about a certain topic. But when I have a guest on the podcast, this podcast specifically, you know, we're talking about what's happening in our life, in our podcast life right now, right?

So for example, episode six that I did with Jen Vertin, you know, I mentioned that between the time that I recorded the podcast and the time that I published that particular episode. She changed the name of her podcast, which that was really no big deal. You know, I talked about that in the last episodes, but it just shows how quickly things evolve in topics and conversation and in the content we're sharing.

So I found that I don't like to hold onto those batched episodes for too long. Plus, you know, when we're guests on somebody's podcast, we're excited about the episodes and we wanna hear it. So if we have to wait while, you know, a lot of our excitement might diminish a little bit. So you do run the risk of losing that excitement with your guest and you know, maybe even losing some confidence with that person.

I mean, unless you've set up an expectation that. Your episode's not gonna be out for a while. I know I did that in my last, um, my other podcast we recorded in like October of last year. And I told her, I was like, this episode's not gonna be out till like February of 2025. And she was like, that's cool. I'd rather do it now because I'm gonna be moving from December to January and I.

I don't know what life's gonna look like after that. She's like, I'd rather get this done. Right? So we have that expectation set, but it is still really weird to know that I have that conversation just sitting there like, I don't know why. I just don't like that. So that's just something to keep in mind as you are batching episodes, like how long do you wanna hold onto these?

And then solo episodes versus guest episodes. So that being said, I do have two more guest episodes that I batched back in December of last year, and I'm really ready to share those. So I think I'm going to go ahead and scratch the record of this podcast just a little bit. 'cause I don't wanna hold onto them anymore.

Like I wanna get them out, I wanna share them. So even though it changes the way I planned to do the format of this podcast, it's not gonna like have this deep impact on anything. So I share that with you just to remind you that if you're in a space where you're like. Oh my gosh. This is going to destroy everything.

It, it's probably not. I think it's gonna be okay. So as I end this, keep in mind the batch recording can be very, very helpful. It really can just make sure that it works for you. Like I'm thinking about with this podcast, maybe recording like another handful of solo episodes and getting them completely done.

Like I said, I like to have everything wrapped in a bow and maybe doing that like every, I don't know. Three or four months, you know, just to make sure I always have content ready. And that's the thing, like if you wanna have batched content to fall back on, you need to really continue to prep it. Like once you run out, you need to replace it.

So I realized that I thought like, oh, I'm ahead of the game. I have all this batch content, but as I was using it. I wasn't replacing it. So I'm gonna try to figure out a way in my schedule to kind of revisit that, you know, whether that's every three months or every four months, whatever. But consistently have that time that I sit and record whatever it is, whether it's two episodes, whether it's five episodes, something to where I keep recording, keep uploading content so that it actually is ready for me.

And that way it alleviates the stress of like. When life gets crazy and you just don't have time to record or you're just not in the mood, really, like that happens to me all the time. You have content batched and not only do you have content batched, but you have the right content batched, like for me for this podcast, I wanna make sure I have more solo episodes recorded because I wanna make sure whatever I'm recording is gonna help me down the line.

So as you are batching your episodes. Just remember that it can absolutely be helpful. You know, do you have the right content to pull from solo or guest episodes and keep recording, you know, here and there. Every now and again, revisit that and say, I'm going to batch some more episodes. That way you always have something to reach for.

And if you do batch record guest episodes, just make sure to give your guest and yourself reasonable expectation regarding the publishing date. So I hope all this has been helpful. This is something I learned along the way. I, I kind of hope to revisit this topic and maybe bring a podcast friend to talk about batch recording a little more, because like I said, I just started doing it and I'm kind of learning my way through it.

On the next episode...

[00:11:42] Angela: So hopefully we'll dive into this topic a little more later. I wanna thank you again for joining me for this podcast and hanging in there with me as I had this unintentional pause, and I'm glad you're still here, and I hope you enjoy the next episode. It's one of my batched guest episodes. My guest is Molly Lee.

She's the creator of a brand called Optimistic Soap, and we talk about how to show up on social media when you're juggling a full-time job. You know, a lot of podcasters ask if they have to show up on social media, and no, you don't. You know, I have podcast friends who actually prefer not to, and they don't post a lot, and I don't even post that much to be honest.

But I do wanna get better at it. And I want to work on the storytelling aspect of social media, and I want it to be fun and exciting and honestly easy. And Molly is one of those people who. Like she makes it look really easy and she talks about how for her it is, and I wanted to talk to her about that because I definitely wanted to learn from her.

So I was really excited to chat with her and I know you'll find her energy infectious. And the fun fact about that episode I. That relates to what we're talking about here with batching episodes. When Molly and I recorded that episode, she was working a full-time job. So the topic of that podcast is like juggling social media with a full-time job, and now she's retired.

So you see, this is exactly what I talk about of you might not wanna hold onto episodes for too long because. Things change really fast. All right, you guys. Thanks for listening. Until next time.