Keep Your Podcast Relevant with Dynamic Content

When it comes to podcasts and dynamic content, many (most?) podcasters might think this means dynamic ads or dynamic sponsor messages. And, while this is definitely one of the biggest uses of dynamic content, there’s so much more that can be done with it.

But what is dynamic content, you might ask? Simply put, its content you can use on your podcast that is 100% dynamic, as opposed to static.

• Episode audio is generally static - you record the audio, you upload the file, you publish and send to podcast apps. If you need to change anything, you usually need to record a new version, then upload that to replace the previous one.

• Dynamic content, on the other hand, is content you can upload at any time, and easily replace, update, remove, etc, without touching the main episode audio.

It’s because of this that dynamic content has become so popular for ads and sponsor messages. If you run ads by seasons or date ranges, for example, you can run a sponsor message for Q1 - so, January to March - and then at the end of that, switch out that message for your new sponsor for Q2.

Here’s an example of what that looks like.

And, because it’s dynamic, it doesn’t matter if it’s a pre-roll (before the episode audio), post-roll (after the episode audio), or mid-roll (“inside” the episode itself) - since you’re only changing the dynamic content, there’s no need to upload a new audio file for the episode with the Q2 message. Instead, you just switch out the dynamic content and away you go.

It’s a great way to add multiple monetization options to your podcast. But it’s not the only use case - there are a lot of ways you can use dynamic content to keep your podcast relevant, no matter what type of show you have.

Dynamic Content = Improved Listening Experience

As a podcaster, you want to make sure your followers/listeners have the best experience they can. It’s why you edit, optimize the audio, add research links and more to every episode.

Dynamic content adds to that and makes sure every episode is the most relevant it can be, no matter how old the episode is or where new followers started listening to your podcast. Because the content is dynamic, and can be added, updated, or removed at any time, it makes it easy to have the most timely information in your episodes, whether that’s offers, news, time-sensitive information, limited time calls to action, and more.

Think about it:

• A true crime show has an episode that’s two years old. New facts about the case come to light, completely changing the narrative (and maybe identifying the suspect). Instead of that episode being out of date, or recording a new episode, you simply record a snippet of audio regarding the update, and insert that into the episode itself.

• You have a new Membership feature for your podcast. While you could record a bonus episode advising listeners, that’s only one episode and might not be listened to by all your followers. So, instead, record a short promo for your listeners and insert that across your whole back catalogue. Here’s an example for my 5 Random Questions podcast.

• You have an upcoming live webinar and you want to let people know about it. So record a snippet of audio with details of where and when, and maybe a special offer for early sign ups, and insert that across your complete catalog.

• You have a guest on who has a new book or movie out. Record a short snippet talking about that new release, and then insert into the specific episode with that guest.

These are just some examples of how you can use dynamic content outside the usual sponsor messages and ads. And if the inserts are time-sensitive, being dynamic makes it super easy to remove once that date has passed.

You can even use it for other key parts of your podcasts - for my One Minute Podcast Tips show, for example, both my intro and outro are dynamic, as opposed to “baked in” to the episode.

This means if I ever want to change things up, it’s easy enough for me to do as opposed to having an intro or outro that’s no longer relevant to the show itself.

Hopefully this shows you the benefits of using dynamic content beyond the usual use for ads. By changing up your podcast and episodes with fresh, relevant content, you’re ensuring listeners have the most up-to-date media, which can only help elevate your show in their listening library.

Until the next time, happy podcasting.