Many podcasters follow the same playbook: Build a big audience, then give early, special, and private access to a select group who pay for the privilege. But what would happen if you flipped the script?

Podcast apps and big podcast networks often rely on "windowing" to give select users—paying users—exclusive access to a podcast for a week. Sometimes a month. 

Indie podcasters do something similar, but we call it "early release" and keep it exclusive for a few hours or days, using specialty services to handle the mechanics for us. 

After the windowed or early release period is up, the episode is released to the main audience. At least that's how we think about the larger release. And I wonder if we have that backward? I wonder if we're missing an opportunity to shift our thinking?

What if, instead of viewing the release as early, what if that release was the main release?

What if we created content for the benefit of the exclusive group who listen first, and treated the wider distribution as... well, reruns, I guess?

What if we cared more about the select group of people who get our windowed content? What if we only cared about those people?

if you're making a good living running podcast ads on your show, then this strange strategy may not be your best play. You don't want to jeopardize your bread and butter, so be cautious before you do something that could reduce the ad-supported downloads you're already successfully selling. 

But for shows unlikely to ever get fat stacks of cash by getting two pennies per listener... then this might be an interesting approach. Actually, a totally different approach. 

As the podcast ranks continue to swell with new shows from top-notch content producers, this could become a strategy—perhaps a survival strategy—that more and more everyday podcasters like you and me embrace.

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Links

• Looking for a remote recording solution that handles both audio and video? you need Riverside.fm!
• SmartLess
• BBC Sounds windows some shows for a month!
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• Serious about podcasting? Join the Advancing Podcasting Community today!

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