Some once-exclusive podcasters are challenging the notion that you can never go home again. They assume their audience will be happy to see them. But reality may not line up with those assumptions.Podcasters who’ve gone exclusive do the calculus on moving back to free and wide distribution by making three assumptions. Assumptions that could do with some challenging.Assumption #1: My existing listeners will keep listening when the podcast is no longer exclusive.Yes, I think that assumption is largely true. But what if the exclusive app you left is only for exclusive podcasts? Or you burned a bridge your podcast is no longer be welcome there? And what if the listener’s experience is truly better on that platform? Assumption #2: The listeners I lost when I went exclusive will love to have my podcast back.Are you sure about that? Some grudges run deep and are hard to get over. And every lost listener found other content and hosts to fill the void left by your podcast. Because people move on.3rd Assumption: Wider distribution + loyal fans + the fans who returned = larger audience.The math checks out on that, but the big question is: larger audience than when? There’s a very good chance you lost a lot when your podcast went exclusive. And a lot of your old fans won’t return. You may have to learn a new hustle game.I’m not opposed to shows deciding to take the exclusive route if that is the right opportunity for them. Just be sure you’ve thought through what happens when the exclusivity is over. The game may have changed while you were away.-----Links:• Getting more than 10K downloads per episode? Talk to Gumball.fm! • She Podcast LIVE - https://www.shepodcasts.com/live/• Value-for-value for this show - https://podcastpontifications.com/value-4-value• Now booking sponsorships for 2022! - https://podcastpontifications.com/sponsor-----A written-to-be-read article and a full transcript of the audio of this episode can be found at https://podcastpontifications.com/episode/from-free-podcast-to-exclusive-podcast-back-again.Visit https://twitter.com/evoterra for more podcasting insights from Evo Terra as they come.Return the value-for-value of the podcasting wisdom of this episode and more at https://PodcastPontifications.com/supportAnd if you need a professional in your podcasting corner, please visit https://Simpler.Media to see how Simpler Media Productions can help you reach your business objectives with podcasting.Allie Press assists with the production and transcription of the show. Learn more about Allie at http://alliepress.net.Podcast Pontifications four times a week to provide ideas and ask questions every working podcaster should be thinking about. Subscribe/follow today at https://PodcastPontifications.com.Photo by Kido Dong on UnsplashMentioned in this episode:Support For Abortion RightsWhile Americans overwhelmingly support the right of an individual to make their own decisions about abortion, unfortunately, that right is no longer protected everywhere in the U.S. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24th. Abortion is a...