Most series get abandoned long before the first post ever goes live. The premise is vague, the format too loose, the publishing schedule a loose guideline. An intentionally planned series builds smart digital branding over time, and that planning needs to begin long before any content is put out into the world.
Know where it’s going to end
Without knowing where the series will end, the viewer will have no sense of what they are leading up to. The first thing that needs to be taken into consideration before you write any episode is the achievement of your series at the point in which it is finished and base the remainder of your writing around this concluding event and allow your audience to care about the finale. Over time, audiences for open ended series’ begin to drop out of watching because there is nothing that can be done about the leading up.
Build the Premise Around a Specific Audience Problem
The audience should clearly understand what problem the series helps them understand or overcome that individual posts alone do not. A premise centered around a recurring audience problem can be self-sustaining because it constantly creates new problems for you to explore, whereas a series that’s centered around your own interests can run out of steam when your personal excitement does.
Create a specific format for your audience to follow
Consistency of format breeds anticipation, and anticipation can turn a casual viewer into a dedicated follower. It needs to be specific enough that the audience knows what they’re tuning in for without a single click to a page, yet varied enough that no two posts are the same after a while. The format needs to be easily digestible so the audience can describe what the series is in one sentence to another user, something an algorithm just can’t replace for promotional purposes.
Map out the episode arc prior to publishing
A series without an arc will quickly become listless and loses momentum within the first few episodes. By mapping out your episode run you will have a sense of the story that your series should take in the run of the episodes to make sure each post has a specific part in the bigger story. With the level of profile authority Spotifystorm builds, audiences may feel comfortable clicking start on your first episode, believing that the investment in your series is worth their time throughout the entire run.
Commit to a consistent posting schedule
A series that publishes irregularly trains audiences to expect it to not show up. An occasional absence from posting trains your audience that a show being absent doesn’t affect much, and it leads them to invest in a series that may vanish overnight. The publishing schedule is the primary trust signal you send your audience, and a series that consistently posts, bit by bit, slowly but surely gains the kind of loyalty that one single viral post just cannot.
In conclusion
A series that gains and retains viewers is one that was created with those viewers in mind. Know your endpoint, centered on your audience’s problems, format, episode arc, and be committed to your posting schedule no matter what, because the content that you produce before you ever hit publish determines the extent to which the rest of it will travel.