The ideal podcast episode length does not have a one-size-fits-all rule that every podcaster should follow. It depends on a combination of factors, including the purpose of your podcast, the content being discussed and your target audience.

On average, podcast episodes are between 20 and 60 minutes long. Many experienced podcast hosts will advise newbies to keep going until an episode feels "done," but if you have no experience, "done" is about as vague as the family pasta recipe.

Instead, focus on these requirements for each episode:

• Does the episode have a specific goal, and have you achieved it?

• Have you avoided rambling for the sake of lengthening the episode?

• Are you sure the episode will not leave listeners with more questions than answers?

• Have you provided value to your audience, ensuring that they will want to come back for more?

Adhering to these requirements can help give you more structure, but all of the above can still be achieved within varying time frames. This is where your target audience’s preferences become very important.

If your target audience consists of commuters, medium to long episodes might perform well. Contrastingly, professionals with fast-paced lifestyles will prefer episodes that are shorter than 30 minutes. 

The length of your episodes also depends on the content your podcast consists of. If your podcast serves to share the stories of inspirational people, longer episodes will make more sense than shorter ones. However, bite-sized daily motivational episodes should be on the shorter side.

Regularly checking in with your audience and utilising podcast analytics will also give you valuable insights that will help you fine-tune the length of your podcast episodes.