Returning After a Long Hiatus

Summary

Episode Overview

Title: Returning After a Long Hiatus
Host: Dave Jackson
Date: July 3, 2025
Main Theme:
Dave Jackson answers a key question from a Reddit user about the best approach to returning to podcasting after a long hiatus. He discusses how to reconnect with your audience, whether to restart your existing feed or create a new one, and how to relaunch your show with clarity and purpose—drawing on his extensive podcasting experience while offering actionable, no-nonsense advice.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Audience Question: Restarting After a Podcast Hiatus

[00:36]

• Dave references a Reddit post from "classy cat dad" asking if, after years away from podcasting, they should continue with the existing feed or start afresh for a “clean slate.”
• Dave empathizes, confirming this is a relatable situation for many podcasters.

2. Why Taking a Break Is Risky

[01:28]

• “I always say if you can avoid [taking a break], definitely do that because you become part of their routine.”
• Dave explains listeners are creatures of habit: if you disappear, they replace you with another show, potentially better, making the return harder.

3. Communication During Hiatus

[01:50]

• Best practice is to keep your audience informed about your absence and planned return: “Just say, ‘Hey, I’m taking a break. I’ll be back on this date,’ and then on that date, come back.”
• If plans change, communicate again rather than disappear.

4. Analogy: The Car Ride

[02:37]

• Dave uses an analogy:

  “If I want to go to Cleveland, Ohio, it is north. So let’s say I get in the car…and I drive for 40 minutes, but instead of going north, I go northeast…Do I go back to Akron, Ohio and start again? No, that would be silly…You have gone somewhere, and now it’s a matter of like, oh, wait, I went northeast, not just north. So now I need to steer a little west to get back on track while I continue to go north.”

• Moral: Don’t start over entirely—adjust and keep moving forward.

5. Key Questions to Ask Before Relaunch

[03:30]

• “Figure out why you quit your show two years ago.”
• Consider format and workload: Was the original publishing schedule sustainable? Should you do fewer episodes or shorter shows?
• “Figure out who it’s for, figure out why you’re doing it, figure out how you’re going to measure your success.”
• Success does not have to equal money: “I get paid in fun, by the way. Completely acceptable.”

6. Don’t Lead with an Apology

[04:10]

• Caution against beginning your comeback episode with a long apology:

  “Because what happens is, six months from now and you’ve been putting out episodes, somebody finds your show…and they get to this episode, and…it’s 10 minutes of you explaining how Grandma died again and you’re really sorry…and to them, that makes no sense.”

• If you feel you must apologize, do it at the end of the episode, not at the beginning: “Remember, always come out with your best stuff.”

7. There’s No Shame in Returning

[05:04]

• “There’s no shame in this...Nobody’s going to punch you in the face. If you think about it, when bands...come back around, people still buy tickets because they love that band.”
• Example: The “Ask a Ninja” video podcast, which left for years and then returned to positive fanfare.

8. Relaunch Strategy

[06:16]

• Focus on content:

  “Just get organized, figure out who your audience is, figure out what they want, and then deliver it in a way that’s going to be entertaining and educational with a little bit of energy and a smile on your face because you’re happy to be back.”

9. Support and Resources

[07:01]

• Dave plugs his site, schoolofpodcasting.com, offering resources, courses, and discounts for podcasters restarting or growing their shows.
• Notably, he’s launched a new quarterly payment option for those not ready for a yearly commitment.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If you disappear, they’re like, I don’t know, maybe you got hit by a bus.” (01:50)
• “Don’t start off the show with a giant apology.” (04:10)
• “You do not have to make money with your show.” (03:55)
• “Nobody’s going to punch you in the face.” (05:04)
• “Always come out with your best stuff.” (04:29)
• “The people that like your content are going to be happy that you’re back.” (05:12)
• “Video podcasts have been around since 2005.” (05:26)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:36] — Introduction of listener question about relaunching after hiatus
• [01:28] — Risks of taking podcast breaks
• [02:37] — Car ride analogy: adjust course vs. start over
• [03:30] — Steps to relaunch: self-evaluation and format
• [04:10] — Why not to begin with an apology
• [05:04] — No shame in coming back; music/band analogy; Ask a Ninja example
• [06:16] — Keys to a successful return: know your audience and deliver
• [07:01] — Resources for podcasters and new School of Podcasting options

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Summary Flow & Tone

Dave Jackson’s style is friendly, direct, and a bit humorous—with a focus on practical, no-guilt advice. He reminds returning podcasters to focus on the future, not the past, and to avoid getting bogged down in apologies or fresh starts unless absolutely necessary. The show delivers a reassuring message: it’s never too late to come back, and your audience will welcome you if you deliver value and show enthusiasm.

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If you’re thinking about restarting your show after a long pause, stick with your existing feed, retool your approach, communicate briefly and clearly, and dive back in with energy and confidence.

Transcript

[A]

Today I'm answering a question from Reddit where someone asks a question about restarting your podcast after you've taken a break.

[B]

Welcome to your podcast consultant, Small Lessons with Big Value. With more than a decade of experience and millions of downloads, this hall of fame podcaster is a featured speaker, author, and mentor to thousands. Now he wants to work with you, your podcast consultant, Dave Jackson.

[A]

So I hang out a lot in Reddit and Facebook and other groups. Why? Because I want to make content that I know resonates with my audience. And I know in this case it's going to resonate with classy cat dad who says this in Reddit. He says, hi all. I have a podcast with my wife that we did for many years. It wasn't very successful and barely grew, but I enjoy the topic and we built and what we built. We ended up taking a hiatus a couple of years ago and I've been wanting to return to the podcast since it's been so long and we didn't grow much. Should we continue with the same feed or create a brand new one to start fresh and try again? Would love people's feedback that have had similar experiences and what they did and how it helped or hurt them. Thanks in advance. Well, I've talked about taking a break in the past. I always say if you can avoid it, definitely do that because you become part of their routine. And if for some reason someone listens to your show on the way to work, it's not like they get in the car and go, well, I would listen to Dave show, but he's on break, so I'll just sit in the car alone and in silence. No, they go find another show and you better hope that the show they find isn't better than yours. So I try to avoid taking a break. If you do take a break, you don't have to apologize. Just say, hey, I'm taking a break. I'll be back on this date. And then on that date come back. And if you're not ready to come back, then make another episode that says, hey, I thought I'd be ready to come back, but I'm not. The bottom line is keep your audience involved and keep them so they know what's going on. Because if you just disappear, they're like, I don't know, maybe you got hit by a bus. So in this case, you didn't plan it. So that's bad. You've been gone for a few years. That's really bad because they've definitely found something to fill your slot. But here's the thing. I live in Akron, Ohio. It's me and LeBron James. And if I want to go to Cleveland, Ohio, it is north. So let's say I get in the car and I drive for 40 minutes, but instead of going north, I go northeast. So I'm not completely wrong, but I'm definitely not exactly in the right position. And so I stop when I get back in the car, and I see that I've kind of missed my mark. Do I go back to Akron, Ohio, and start again? No, that would be silly. It's a waste of gas. It's a waste of time. You have gone somewhere, and now it's a matter of like, oh, wait, I went northeast, not just north. So now I need to steer a little west to get back on track while I continue to go north. So you figure out where you are. You figure out where you want to be. And in this case, I would go, why did you quit your show two years ago? Maybe if you were doing a show two or three times a week, maybe that's not sustainable. Maybe we should do once a week. Maybe we should do twice a month. Maybe we should do a shorter show. Figure out why it didn't work last time, figure out who it's for, figure out why you're doing it, figure out how you're going to measure your success, and it could be simply fun. It's a fun thing to do with my spouse. I get paid in fun, by the way. Completely acceptable. You do not have to make money with your show. The other thing I would recommend is do not start your episode. Even though it's kind of good that you want to start with an apology, do not do that. Because what happens is six months from now and you've been putting out episodes, somebody finds your show and they're like, holy cow, this is great. And they go and they download a big chunk of your back catalog, and they get to this episode that to them, you weren't gone. They weren't around during the years you were gone. And all of a sudden, they hit play on this episode, and it's 10 minutes of you explaining how Grandma died again and you're really sorry and the dog ate the homework. And then whatever other excuse you have for not putting out your episode, to them, that makes no sense because they were, you know, they just found you. So don't start off the show with a giant apology. And I realize in some cases you're like, no, I really feel bad. That's fine. Okay, do it at the end of the episode. Don't do it at the beginning. Remember, always come out with your best stuff. So the good news is there's no shame. There's no shame in this. If you're like, well, for whatever reason, you took a break and now you want to come back because you, you miss having that fun, by all means, come back. Nobody's going to punch you in the face. If you think about it, when bands, let's look at musicians that have taken off. When they come back around, people still buy tickets because they love that band. And the people that like your content are going to be happy that you're back. I'll give you an example. Way, way, way, way long ago, before there was even a YouTube, there were video podcasts. So when people talk about video podcasts being new, that is not true. Video podcasts have been around since 2005 and one of them was Ask a Ninja and it was very, very popular. In fact, in the very early days of Netflix, Ask a Ninja was on Netflix. It was very popular. And then as happens, right, they just got tired of doing it, I guess, and they quit. And they came back this year on YouTube and did people go, oh, I'm not going to watch that because they've been gone for literally like probably 10 years. No, we're all like, hey, have you heard the Ninja's back. We were happy to hear it and we went out and we watched it. So keep that in mind. You kind of don't really need to do a big giant apology. Just get organized, figure out who your audience is, figure out what they want, and then deliver it in a way that's going to be entertaining and educational with a little bit of energy and a smile on your face because you're happy to be back. Now, if you need any help with that, you know where to go. Schoolofpodcasting.com you go to schoolofpodcasting.com start and use the coupon code listener. That'll save you on either a monthly or a yearly or are you ready for this? This is actually going over gangbusters. I wish I would have done this about, I don't know, 20 years ago. There's now a quarterly option. So for those people that want a little discount but they can't quite afford the yearly, check out the quarterly when you go to schoolofpodcasting.com start. And again, don't forget the coupon code listener and realize that comes with a 30 day money back guarantee. I'm Dave Jackson. I help podcasters. It's what I do. And I can't wait to see what we're going to do together because I want to be your podcast consultant. Want more podcasting tips? Join the 1700 people who read my newsletter at podcastingobservations.com that's podcastingobservations.com.