What is podcast batching?

Instead of recording one episode and doing all of its related tasks every week, podcast batching is the approach of completing similar tasks of multiple episodes all at once.

For example, content planning for an entire season can be completed in one hyper-focused strategy session. Interviews with guests can be batch recorded in a one- or two-week timeframe. Editing, scheduling, marketing? Batch, batch, batch.

Stacey Harris, podcast strategist and producer at Uncommonly More, agrees and says, “If you're moving from planning to writing to recording to editing to writing show notes, etc., it's going to be impossible to build meaningful momentum. And that momentum is what makes batching possible.”

Why podcasters like batching their work

There are many pros to batching podcast tasks, with one of the best being the ability to get ahead on your work. I originally started approaching my work in batches in preparation of the holiday down time. I didn’t want to lose out on the ability to interview guests who may be taking time off to wind down at the end of the year. Now I’m doing the same thing to avoid recording during the summer so I can spend more one-on-one time with my children when they’re home from school. (That, and to avoid air conditioners. Choosing between background noise and sweating isn’t something I enjoy doing.)

And I’m not the only one who appreciates prepping in advance. Alesia Galati, podcast producer and founder of Galati Media, was able to batch out enough of her weekly podcast episodes for a full four months — enough for the whole summer — in just one month. “The tasks that I batched…were reviewing guest pitches, sending invitations to guest pitches, and recording interviews,” she says. “Now I’ve sent over my content to my team to manage every week without worrying about wrangling people over the busy summer.”

Besides being one less thing to do, getting ahead helps you prepare for when things go wrong — and things have a tendency to go wrong. Tara Newman, host of The Bold Money Revolution Podcast says, “Not only does batching help from a strategic content perspective, it keeps the show going if I get sick, something comes up with kids, or I’m on sabbatical.” 

As a mom of young children who spent months over the fall and winter moving from one cold to another, I can absolutely echo the importance of at least recording as many episodes in advance as possible. There were times I had to decide between recording with a sore throat and stuffy nose or delaying the episode for days, or worse, skipping an entire week together. After previously enjoying the benefits of being so far ahead with my efforts of batch recording, falling behind felt awful — which is probably what led me to being so passionate about podcast batching in the first place.

Different ways to batch

There are many ways to approach podcast batching, such as batching by task, content, or process. Here are some of the most common approaches to podcast batching. Pick one, pick a few, or do them all if that appeals to you.

Batching content strategy and episode prep

One of the easiest ways to dip your toe into batching your work is by planning out your episodes ahead of time.

Having a plan about what you’re going to talk about in each episode removes the need to scramble last minute for ideas. It gives you time to prepare in advance of the recording so you show up sounding confident and well-informed. 

Individual episode preparation is something you can batch too. Once you’ve batched the content strategy and know what the topics are, you can do your research for the shows, come up with questions for guest interviews, and create an outline for what you’d like to cover in the recording.

And batching content isn’t just good for you as a podcast host. Podcast listeners get something out of strategic content batching, too.

Tara explains, “We batch in a number of episodes. What we like to do is think of them as a miniseries.”

“As an example, last year I did a series on money where I had episodes on why I talk about money, what is cash flow, what is the difference between revenue and profit, and more. By batching in groups like that, it allows us to create something that’s bingeable and can become a larger asset.”

Miniseries are also great promotional tools, since newsletters, podcast apps, and other media sources are more likely to cover a podcast that’s doing something new and different.

Batching guest sourcing and management

If you have an interview show or another style of podcast where guests join you for the episode, you know that guest management can be one of the most complicated tasks that podcast hosts juggle. 

Batching helps with guest management tasks, such as finding guest experts, scheduling (and potentially rescheduling) interviews, collecting guest information, and encouraging guests to promote their episodes. It also helps soften the blow when a guest ghosts you or turns you down — with so many yeses in your inbox, who cares about a few nos?

After you’re able to sit down and work through the same tasks for multiple guests at one time, you can move on to some of the more important podcast duties, like recording and editing.

Read more: Where to find podcast guests: 7 tips to find your next guest

Batch recording and editing

Interviewing guests can be a lot of fun, but it also eats up a lot of time on your calendar. If you’re hoping to gain back time in your week, batch recording is one way you can continue to interview the same number of guests without having to set aside time for it week after week.

I mentioned earlier that I started my podcast batching by batch recording episodes ahead of the holiday season. To prepare for that, I singled out a few weeks on my calendar to record a few months worth of episodes, and I let guests know in advance that I was only recording during that time frame. While some recordings did need to get rescheduled, I was able to record the majority of the episodes during just two weeks. 

Now, this approach works best if you’re already prepared with interview questions and an outline for the episode. And while I was excited to hyper-focus on the interviews, I did find myself feeling drained on the days I had more than two interviews scheduled. I also needed to plan my client-based work in advance to accommodate for this schedule, which meant I was taking on a lighter workload than usual to free up some time.

Then it was time for batch editing. I found I was more efficient if I edited the interviews close to the time they were recorded. Otherwise, I approached editing having forgotten some of what was discussed, which meant I needed to listen more carefully to edit the content. When I edited the tracks while the conversation was still fresh in my mind, I was able to cut audio clips more quickly and indicate timestamps for the audiograms I’d make when I was batching content.

Batching content and other marketing tasks

Creating content assets is one of the easiest ways to try batching podcast tasks. From show notes to video and audiograms, social copy and email newsletters, it’s so much easier to write or design in one sitting than to cycle through a large number of tasks. For example, if I worked through the marketing tasks for one singular episode, I’d be moving from tools like Descript, Canva, Headliner, Google Docs, and my social media scheduler over and over again. Instead, I could create all the audiograms at once, and then move on to the social graphics, before settling in to work on the written content.

Don’t forget about offloading the batching work

While we’ve mostly talked about how you can batch your own podcast tasks, know that you don’t have to do it alone. There are many ways to bring in employees, contractors, or a podcast management company to help you produce your podcast.

For example, a podcast host who simply wants to show up, speak into a microphone, and then celebrate the podcast as it launches new episodes can hire a production team to take over all the editing, guest management, and content creation.

And if you’re worried about the overall content strategy, you can hire people to help with that too. I work with many of my clients to develop an editorial calendar of sorts that dictates what episodes will launch throughout every quarter according to their goals for their business.

Is podcast batching for you?

While there are certainly perks to podcast batching, that doesn’t mean it’s for everyone. Batching requires a ton of concentration in one area, and some people may find that overwhelming.

Alesia says, “As an introvert, being ‘on’ for four to six weekly interviews that you’re hosting can be a lot. I kept the end goal in mind, and that helped me get through.”

Similarly, as someone with ADHD, when I’m experiencing brain fog or struggling to concentrate, batching feels impossible. But for the same reason, this is why batching is so vital to me. I need to constantly be ahead in my work — whether that’s with my podcast or client work in general — so that I can make space for the moments in which I need to give myself some grace and understand that my brain chemistry is requesting a bit of time off from work to rest and recuperate.

So, will batch recording, editing, planning, marketing, or whatever work for you? There’s only one way to find out. It’s at least worth giving one of these options a try. And if it doesn’t work, move onto something else.

And remember, batching isn’t something you need to do forever. You can stop if it isn’t working for you, or put the practice on pause if something else needs your attention. Stacey says, “It's important to give yourself permission to make changes when it stops working, even if they're temporary.”