Audio Drama Sunday Best Practices

Audio Drama Sunday is a simple and straightforward concept: Every Sunday, the audio drama community comes together on Twitter to talk about their recent favorite listens, tagging their posts #AudioDramaSunday. At least . . . they did a few years ago.

It’s no surprise that #AudioDramaSunday doesn’t get the same level of enthusiasm as it used to. Between, um, y’know, [gestures to the entire world for the past several years], it makes sense that the energy required to engage in community events has dwindled. It doesn’t help that on its face, #AudioDramaSunday seems like the opposite of marketing: you hype up other creators, not yourself. As such, the hashtag has recently been flooded with self-promotion and @ mention on @ mention on @ mention.

The current state of #AudioDramaSunday needs some work. Done right, a weekly hashtag to support other creators can work both as a moment to talk about what we love and, potentially, get some love sent back to us. It’s an opportunity to get ourselves seen as veritable fans of the medium we’re creating in. And it’s an opportunity to let other creators know they inspire you. I don’t think the staleness of #AudioDramaSunday comes from a lack of trying; I think it comes from us getting too far from the hashtag’s roots.

Let’s take a look at why #AudioDramaSunday is so helpful, and how you can best interact each week.

Why take part in #AudioDramaSunday?

First, I want to make something clear: you should participate in #AudioDramaSunday because it’s cool and nice. Can you leverage the day for your own marketing? Yes. Is that why you should get involved? No. You should get involved because you have a genuine love of the medium and the works within it. You should get involved because you want to make a creator’s day by telling them how much they inspire you. You should get involved because it’s cool and nice.

But if you need additional motivation, here’s some more directly self-serving reasons for you to join in.

You are what you eat

The audio drama community can seem insular, and it is — but not for no reason. Fairly consistently, the conversation about the industry has been dominated by people who aren’t a part of it, meaning we get article after article asserting that someone has just “invented audio drama” (which has existed for pretty as long as oral storytelling, and at least as long as radio drama, depending on which technicalities you’re accepting as valid). The audio drama community can be wary of newcomers because those newcomers have a tendency of demeaning audio drama or setting it back several years in the public’s eye.

By engaging in #AudioDramaSunday, you show that you are a fan of the space. You show that you’re not just creating, but also listening to your contemporaries. You show that you know the space and respect it. You show that you’re not here to make a quick buck (which actual audio drama creators know is a hilarious concept), or make something because you want to sell the TV rights, or make something because you think you’ll have no real peers or competition in the space.

Likes get likes

Thanks to Twitter’s algo, when a creator likes your tweet, it might show up in their followers’ feed. If you tweet about one podcast for #AudioDramaSunday one week, and that account likes those tweets, and another podcast the next week, and that account likes those tweets, that means you’ve shown up to both of those podcasts’ fans — and, critically, that your tweets have been seen by fans of both podcasts. Your account starts getting familiar, especially if you tweet within a specific vibe or genre. And if you match that vibe or genre? The curious followers of those other podcasts might click on your tweet, see your bio, and take a listen.

The community is give and give, not take and take

To become a part of a community, you have to put yourself out there, and you have to give to receive. If you make it clear that you’re an active part of #AudioDramaSunday, there will be a greater chance that you’ll get talked up on #AudioDramaSunday. Your account will be recalled when people think of what to post about. This isn’t to say that your engagement should be given with the expectation that you’ll be seen as a sacred steward of the hashtag; as before, this specific type of community support should be given because it is felt. You may not receive any #AudioDramaSunday tweets about your project. But engaging actively is the best way to get your podcast on people’s minds when they think of Sundays on Twitter.

The Don’ts of Audio Drama Sunday

I like ending on a positive note with actionable steps, so let’s start with what not to do on #AudioDramaSunday.

Don’t post a list of @ mentions

Do not tweet a list of @ mentions with no context. Straight up, nobody likes this. These lists don’t feel celebratory and inclusive; they feel spammy and cold. Think about why you’re engaging in #AudioDramaSunday, and then try to tailor your tweet to serve that purpose. A list of @ mentions doesn’t serve anyone, because it doesn’t provide any real information. If you engage because you want more people to listen to a podcast, choose one podcast to focus on. If you engage because you want to make a creator’s day, make pick one to three podcasts to focus on. If you engage only because you want exposure: please scroll back up to the top of this article and read it again, but better.

Don’t talk about your own podcast

#AudioDramaSunday is a day to celebrate the podcasts you’ve been enjoying. (Not sure where to start finding more audio dramas to listen to? I recommend a little app called Apollo.) Don’t talk about your own podcast. At all. You have six other days a week to talk about your own podcast(s). This is a day to celebrate your peers, so celebrate your peers only!

And hey, you can in fact listen to Dreambound on Apollo

Don’t give criticism

#AudioDramaSunday is a day to celebrate. Celebrate. It isn’t a moment to say, “I would have liked this episode better if,” or, “Even with the weird acting I still liked it,” or, “The writing isn’t very good but…” Nobody has asked for con-crit. Don’t make up accolades or give compliments you don’t mean — just save the critique for another venue and keep it quiet on #AudioDramaSunday.

The Do’s of Audio Drama Sunday

And now, let’s end on some actionable steps forward. Follow these best practices of #AudioDramaSunday, and you’ll find yourself in great community.

Do explain yourself

Why did you choose the podcast(s) you did for #AudioDramaSunday? Give that context with your tweet. Explain what you love so much about the podcast, whether it’s a great moment from their most recent episode, a performance that knocked you off your feet, sound design that kept you engrossed, or writing that had you floored. Don’t worry; nobody is expecting you to be a vertiable Elena Fernández Collins to participate. You don’t have to be posting full-on critical analysis. You just gotta speak from the heart.

Think back to why you’re engaging in the first place. Do you want new listeners to find the podcast? Talk about other podcasts that have a similar vibe — or even movies, films, TV shows, video games, and music that have a similar vibe to the podcast. Do you want to make a creator’s day? Quote specific moments that made you feel a lot or laugh a lot (without spoiling anything, of course).

Do use @ mentions — wisely

When posting for #AudioDramaSunday, you want the podcast’s team to see your tweets, so make sure to @ mention them! If you know who wrote an episode and you’re talking about the writing, mention the writer. If you’re talking about a performance, @ mention the actor. This accomplishes two goals: first, those people will get to see the nice compliments you’re giving them, which is nice and cool! Second, those people will be more likely to retweet, which means your tweet and account will be seen by more people. But it should really be the former that motivates you most of all.

Do Capitalize Each Word

For Twitter users who use screen readers or other accessibility tools, keeping hashtags in lowercase means all of the words blend together: #AudioDramaSunday becomes audiodramasunday all one word, pronounced clumsily like one word. For most accessibility devices, capitalizing each word in the tag differentiates them all as different words, making #AudioDramaSunday sound like what it is: hashtag audio drama Sunday.

Do you participate in #AudioDramaSunday? Do you have any best practices to share? Let us know in the comments, and we’ll see you on Sunday!