EP22 Admitting You Ghosted Them 👻
Rebooting your podcast after a break can feel daunting, but it’s totally possible to comeback smooth, strategic, and stress-free.
Ideas Discussed This Episode + Episode Timecodes:
00:00 – Introduction: A new series on rebooting your podcast
00:40 – The reality of ghosting your podcast—why it happens and why it’s okay
02:22 – Checking in with yourself: Do you still love your podcast?
02:44 – Reassessing your podcasting goals—fun, business, or community?
03:45 – Why you shouldn’t do a dramatic “We’re back!” episode
05:00 – Planning your comeback strategy: Own your break, be realistic, and engage your audience
05:27 – Wrapping up and what’s next
Reboot Your Podcast: Admitting You Ghosted
Whether life got in the way, burnout hit, or you just needed a breather, taking a break from podcasting is normal—but how do you come back? In this episode of VIC Podcasters, we explore the mindset shifts, practical steps, and strategies to confidently relaunch your podcast and re-engage your audience.
Taking a break from your podcast isn’t failure—it’s just a pause. Whether planned or unexpected, life happens, and even top podcasters step away. The key is to reflect on why you stopped and whether you still have the passion to continue. If the excitement is still there, then it’s worth considering how you want to come back.
Before making a big announcement, reassess your podcast’s purpose. Is it still aligned with your goals? Do you need to tweak the format or update your topics? Instead of a grand comeback episode, a more strategic approach—like batching episodes, teasing your return on social media, or even updating your trailer—can create momentum without overwhelming you.
The most important part of restarting your podcast is consistency. If you’ve committed to a return date, stick to it. Letting your audience know what to expect helps rebuild trust and engagement. Ready to get back behind the mic? If you want personalised guidance on rebooting your podcast, work with Zoë Wood of the Video Confidence Coach to get back on track.
TIME FOR A QUICK QUIZ 🤓
What’s the best way to announce your podcast comeback?
A) A surprise episode drop
B) A long apology monologue
C) Teasing it on socials first
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Answer: C) Teasing it on socials first - give your audience a chance to resubscribe.
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Unknown Speaker 0:00
It's time to dust off those podcasting boots and get back into rebooting your podcast.
Unknown Speaker 0:12
You're listening to the Vic podcasters podcast, your bite sized slice of podcasting. Know how we're here to connect Victorian podcasters, whether you're just starting season Pro or stuck in the one day I will phase Stop dreaming and dive in, join our email list or hop onto our Facebook and LinkedIn groups for updates, resources and a supportive community, because podcasting is better when we do it together. Vic podcasters is proudly produced on wadawurrung land
Unknown Speaker 0:40
with our first series back for 2025 I wanted to touch on a subject that a lot of people have been talking about in the Facebook, LinkedIn and in the email groups, regarding how to reinvigorate or re boost your podcast. So if you are someone who's taken a break for whatever reason from your podcast or podcasting in general, and you want to get back into it. Let's discuss how to actually go about this. We have a three part series going from ghosting to a tech and mental refresh and finally winning back your listeners. So let's go into ghosting. Ghosting may seem harsh to say, but that's essentially what's happening when life happens, when work, family, burnout, existential, trade, business, the life, your world falls apart. Things are going to happen. And sometimes you take a break from podcasting, be it planned or unplanned. Sometimes you finish off the end of a season high, and then you end up not coming back, and even big name podcasters disappear for a bit, but taking a break does not mean failure. It's just a pause, and even if you decide to never go back to a podcast, it's also not a failure. You are allowed to pivot yourself and your podcast to whatever niche you find yourself in. You do this by checking in with yourself. Are you still excited about the podcast idea or topic or the community that you've built around your podcast. Will you continue the way that you are now, or will you pivot or thinking about what's stopping you from hitting record? Is there other factors in your life that are stopping you? Because maybe those factors are still there, just maybe not in front of your face like they used to be. Let's take a break zo
Unknown Speaker 2:22
podcasters, I'm pausing your podcasting experience to let you know that I have my own podcast, the unborn your brand podcast. So if you have a personal brand, or you are a small business owner who wants to leverage their personal brand without the boring stuff, follow me on unborn, your brand podcast. Check out the one by the video, confidence coach,
Unknown Speaker 2:44
so you've checked in with yourself, and now it's time to actually think about your reassessing your podcasting goals. Because you know you want to restart the podcast again, or you probably wouldn't be this far into the episode. But in regards to reassessing your podcasting goals, are you doing your podcast for fun? Is it a marketing adventure for your small business or personal brand, or are you using it to interact and build a community that you're already a part of? Does the old format still work for you? Is it all your files and everything still available to you, or with you coming back to reboot your podcast? Is it time for a refresh? Are there new topics, new structure, but maybe, or maybe some like old but better techniques that you can use over your time, that over podcasting, because there is no way that you are still the same person or the same skills since when you went on your break. So think about what that means for you. And most people take this opportunity to announce their comeback or rebooting the podcast, but I'm gonna say Not yet.
Unknown Speaker 3:45
Instead of going for a dramatic we're back episode, maybe think about maybe batching a couple of podcasts and releasing a couple of social media teasers before you release your podcast episode again, remind people why they subscribed in the first place, and tease on your email list, your website or any other places before you go big whole hog live again, to drum up some anticipation and hopefully get some downloads. And you can also take this opportunity to record a trailer, or if you're pivoting the podcast in a new direction, to record a 32nd 62nd trailer to get people on board for both new and old listeners, to refresh the way that you're now working with the podcast. So now what to do from here? Let's talk about a comeback strategy. You can write down why you took a break and owning it and actually telling your audience why that is. You don't have to go into detail, but just letting them know you took a break and you don't intend to do it again, or maybe you do intend to do it again, depending on your life circumstances, be realistic about a start time, and also making sure that you stick to it. If you have told people and recorded a couple of batch episodes, making sure that you stick to your release schedule is going to be useful for you. And also keeping the.
Unknown Speaker 5:00
Those audience members engaged and ultimately deciding how you are going to let your listeners know about you coming back into the fold. Is it going to be a big we've returned splash podcast and all the marketing adventures, or is it going to be a low key just returning episodes again because you've found the time and energy to do. So what works for you?
Unknown Speaker 5:27
That's it for this week's episode. Tune in next week for more tips, updates and the occasional pun. Good ideas, buzzing, excellent. Head to the show notes in this episode for details that you'll need to dive deeper into Victoria's podcasting community. Vic podcasters would like to acknowledge and pay our respects to the wadawurrung people of the Kulin nation, the traditional custodians of the land on which we work, live and play. We pay our respects to our elders past and present. We stand with the traditional custodians in these lands and working towards a more equal future. Always was, always will be, Aboriginal land and hey, don't forget, podcasting is better with mates.
The above episode description and transcript were generated with human knowledge + ai.
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