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Part of success in podcasting certainly depends on that you have kept publishing episodes. And when we publish episode after episode at some point we will want to celebrate a milestone podcast episode.
That could be the 100th or 200th, for example. But what do you do on these milestone podcast episodes? How do we celebrate them? Or do we? Let’s dive into some options and what to consider.
Why milestone podcast episodes matter
The milestone podcast episode matters because way too many podcasts stop too quickly after just a handful of episodes. So if you publish 25, 50 or 100 episodes it certainly is a sign that you’re committed and are playing the long-game of podcast success.
The tendency certainly can be there that we want to highlight our accomplishments and do something special. And that’s great but also keep in mind that it still needs to be an interesting episode for your audience as well.
Read next: How to sell a podcast
Special episode with new sound bites
This is an episode where you send previous guests a specific question to answer in a short soundbite. For the final episode, you cut them together and perhaps add some color commentary in between clips as well. I did this for my 400th episode.
This can be especially a good idea after a couple hundred episodes – given that you had close to 200 guests by then. Of course, you have to figure out what’s worthwhile question to ask.
And then what’s the easiest workflow for the guests to send you their files and for you to use them. I usually just ask them to share the file through Google Drive or some similar platform. If you use Spotify for Podcasters and are only doing an audio podcast you can also ask them to directly record in that platform.
Highlights from previous episodes
This is basically a flashback episode – a common practice on sitcoms in television. You can play some of the favorite quotes from previous episodes and add color commentary in between each clip.
This could work especially well when you can tell a different kind of story using existing content that hasn’t been told in that same package before.
Keep in mind that you do have to find those previous clips and then edit them together.
Bloopers
Most every video or audio content has bloopers. Some certainly are more entertaining than others but this is an option for a milestone podcast episode.
Publish the best-unused bloopers from previous episodes if you have enough. You could also use this as the foundation of an educational episode discussing how to make it through hiccups in a show.
Max Branstetter used bloopers on his 100th episode of the Wild Business Growth podcast.
Once again, if you’re planning on doing this kind of episode make sure you know where all the files are and make them relatively easy to search.
Also, be aware of your stakeholders’ opinions about bloopers. I’ve actually worked with a team before where some did not appreciate bloopers be published. Everything needed to be perfect so to speak.
A news release
For the 700th episode I actually did a news release that I pushed out on the wires. Certainly that’s a little bit of an investment but also created some buzz.
Usual episode
There’s no rule that you have to do anything special for a milestone podcast episode. You could just ignore it and do a regular episode or perhaps briefly mention it at the beginning of an episode that this is episode No. 300 and you’re so happy that everybody keeps tuning in.
For my 500th episode I did nothing special and published a regular episode.
What has been learned
You could also do an episode where it’s just you talking about what you have learned on previous episodes. This is kind of a mix between flashback and a solo episode. Basically, it’s just you talking and no flashback clips.
This might be a little bit easier to produce if you don’t have to find the clips but you still have to prepare the content and know what to talk about.
Turn it into an article
I also would recommend to turn the podcast episode into an articleturn the podcast episode into an article to even get more out of the content.
I’ve done a mix of these over the years and all were worth trying. One thing to keep in mind is the return on effort. For example, I live stream most of my podcast episodes so the production time is relatively minimal.
But when I have to edit an episode together like a flashback one it takes way longer. But do these episodes perform better than others? Typically the answer is no. So that’s also something worth considering as you lay out your podcast content strategy and calendar.