1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,000 Between 2010 and 2018, the term evergreen content was sort of a buzzword around 2 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:20,000 podcasting, but what does it actually mean? Well, in this episode of Podcasting Insights, I'm going to share with you why 3 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:28,000 green and how to keep those old episodes alive without lying to yourself. Let's do it. 4 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:30,000 People love the 5 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:40,000 idea of evergreen content. I mean, it sounds so reassuring, doesn't it? Like once you've made something, you could just 6 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:43,000 freezer that you are absolutely, definitely gonna eat one day. 7 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:50,000 The ones where you think, yeah, I probably wouldn't say that now. 8 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:54,000 Let's talk about those. 9 00:00:54,000 --> 00:01:00,000 Evergreen started off as a sensible idea. It meant an episode that 10 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:11,000 wasn't tied to a specific news event or topical timeline, not a trending piece. In other words, not here's what happened last 11 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:20,000 evergreen as a term, quietly mutated. It stopped meaning still useful even over time and started 12 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:30,000 meaning, I'm never gonna think about this again. Evergreen became emotional insulation. And honestly, I get it because 13 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:40,000 revisiting old content forces you to confront some deeply irritating truths that you'd probably explain differently 14 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:42,000 you'd probably explain it all differently. 15 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:50,000 Now you've learned more, you've changed your mind. Some tools you confidently recommended no longer 16 00:01:50,000 --> 00:02:00,000 exist, were acquired, or maybe turned into a flaming bin fire or worse. The episode didn't do very well, and your brain has 17 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:10,000 sticker on it that says, do not draw attention to this ever. So instead of dealing with any of that, most podcasters 18 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:20,000 They move on. They publish new episodes in the hope that they bury those old ones in the feed and they promote the latest 19 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:30,000 still working for them. Meanwhile, the back catalogue quietly turns into a content drawer. Still there technically 20 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:33,000 one day, probably haunted. 21 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:40,000 And here's where I want to be a bit annoying in a loving way to you. Evergreen does not mean 22 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:50,000 timeless. It does not mean always correct. It does not mean perfectly current enough, and it definitely does not mean immune to 23 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:56,000 context reality, or mild cringe. Evergreen actually means something much less impressive. 24 00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:00,000 The core problem still exists. The thinking still 25 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:10,000 mostly holds up, and someone can still get something useful out of it without you having to apologize first. That's it. If 26 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:17,000 imaginary gold standard of perfection, you are never gonna use them again, and you don't need to lie to yourself about why. 27 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:20,000 So let's talk about why people stop 28 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:30,000 sharing the old episodes. Because this bit gets weirdly emotional for some. Some people stop because they're embarrassed by 29 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:40,000 because the audio isn't as good as their current stuff. Some stop because the episode mentions platforms or tactics that 30 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:55,000 because, well, frankly, it all, and that one kind of hurts because even though everyone. 31 00:03:55,000 --> 00:04:00,000 Because even though everyone pretends they don't care about their numbers, the 32 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:10,000 brain remembers them vividly like a traumatic event with charts. So 33 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:20,000 instead of asking, is this still useful, we tend to ask. What if people were to judge this now and that's how content 34 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:30,000 quietly dies. Not because it stopped being valuable, but because you stopped wanting to be associated with it. So let's 35 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:36,000 actually make this episode earn its place. There are three ways to keep old podcast episodes alive. 36 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:40,000 Honestly, no pretending, no marketing, 37 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:50,000 gymnastics, no. Just rediscovered this gem nonsense. First, reintroduce the episodes. Don't just reshare them. 38 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:55,000 Stop flinging links around, like time is fake. Say why? It still matters now, 39 00:04:55,000 --> 00:05:00,000 Or I'd explain parts of this differently 40 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:10,000 today, but the core problem hasn't gone anywhere. That level of honesty builds trust instantly, and it's much, and it's 41 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:18,000 embarrassing than pretending that it's brand new and hoping nobody notices you reference clubhouse with a straight face. 42 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:20,000 Secondly, 43 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:30,000 update the context, not the content. You don't need to rerecord everything. Just add a short new intro. Add a line at the 44 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:40,000 notes, pin a, add a line at the top of the episode. Description, pin a comment, explain what's changed since it was 45 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:51,000 rewriting history. Here you are adding footnotes, which is a very much calmer, more grown up energy, much better than 46 00:05:51,000 --> 00:06:00,000 And thirdly. This is the one people hate hearing, so I do apologize in advance, but some episodes are allowed to 47 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:10,000 die. Not everything deserves saving. Some episodes were experiments, some were placeholders, some were okay. Letting them 48 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:14,000 mean you failed. It means you are curating, not hoarding. 49 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:20,000 Dragging every single episode into the present like some kind of wounded soldier, helps nobody, 50 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:30,000 least of all you. Here's the sneaky upside of all this. Once you stop trying to be timeless, something loosens you stop 51 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:38,000 trying to future proof every single sentence you utter. You stop over explaining. 52 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:40,000 So if your 53 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:50,000 back catalogue of episodes feels awkward, ignored, or quietly avoided, that's not a sign you've messed up. 54 00:06:50,000 --> 00:07:00,000 It's a sign that you've changed. You've grown, you've progressed. You don't need more episodes. 55 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:10,000 You probably don't even need a new strategy around this. You just need to stop pretending. The past version of you 56 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:15,000 embarrassing. 57 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:20,000 Treat the work you've already done with a bit more honesty. A bit more 58 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:41,000 respect. We all came from somewhere and just having grown and progressed doesn't make previous you invalid. 59 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:50,000 I hope this has prevented you from wasting hours of your time going back and deleting old episodes just to rerecord them again. 60 00:07:50,000 --> 00:08:00,000 Hopefully I've given you an idea of how you might be able to repurpose some of that content if you use a platform such as 61 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:04,000 dynamically inject new content on your old episodes. 62 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:10,000 Maybe consider how you could use that tool to inject 63 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:20,000 a bit of fresh perspective on the beginnings and the ends of your old episodes. I hope you found this episode 64 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:31,000 useful, and if you did. Please do share it with another podcaster that you think might find it useful. 65 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:40,000 If you haven't yet, please do follow the podcast in your favourite podcast app. Whichever one you're listening to right 66 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:54,000 If you haven't yet, smash that subscribe button on YouTube. It really helps us to get discovered by more like-minded 67 00:08:54,000 --> 00:09:00,000 The next episode, I am wishing you continued luck and success with 68 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:02,222 your journey towards attaining pod mastery.