Critical Decisions for A Successful Podcast

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Hosting your audio podcast is not as hard as you think. If you can have an interesting phone conversation with even one person in your life, you have the presenting skills you need to be a good pod-caster. It doesn’t mean it’s effortless. It would help if you do some planning and fundamental decisions. Here we will go through the basic decisions you need to make to get ready for your podcast so that the whole world can listen.

People can listen to the audio podcasts on their cell phones, in their cars or anywhere. It is all about creating audio by talking differently from the traditional live radio. The podcast involves creating a file people can listen to any time, anywhere.

The Topic of A Podcast

The first and critical thing you have to decide before starting a podcast is the subject of your podcast. It defines what you are going to talk about. There are no generalizations for the topic selection as good or bad. You can select any subject for your podcast on which you can talk flawlessly. There is a large audience out there with whom you can connect through the internet. Think about the content you already know about? Select a topic which you are passionate about. Any topic with which you are comfortable and can talk fluently will be a proper selection. Selecting a hot, trendy topic to draw in a large audience without having the appropriate knowledge of and passion for the subject will not work. A topic selected based only on a desire to earn money will not get much success. The area about which you are already reading and researching will work for you.

For example, suppose you are a football lover and know the statistics of most football players, the history of the football matches and updates about new football events. In that case, you can do a podcast on this topic. You can reach a larger audience by delivering exciting information, and people will love to hear you. If you do not have much knowledge about your subject, you will have to spend money on professional writers to write the script for you. If you select a topic you are already thinking and talking about, you will have plenty of content to say and share. In the beginning, you will not have a vast audience, so you must have something you love to talk about and sink your teeth into so that you can keep going even if there is not a great response to your podcasts in the form of fan emails and postings every single month. If the advertisers are not flocking to you, you still want to talk about your topic for hours and hours. This will be the best strategy in picking a topic for your podcast.

Pick a Narrow Niche

After selecting the main subject area of your podcast, narrow the niche to go deeper in your conversation. For example, if you are interested in starting a podcast about news and select the news of your neighborhood or retirement village, that is something that will generate interest. The reason is that you may be delivering information people could not get anywhere else. But suppose you are doing national or international news or summarizing what is in the newspaper already. In that case, it is hard to see the value of that content, unless you give a very unique opinion because many people are already doing it.

Format of A Podcast

Next, you will have to decide what the format is going to be for your podcast. There are a lot of different ways a podcast can be structured. Some people go for a solo show the whole time. They may be giving their insights, some poetry, or anything they want to talk about. It can be fascinating for some, while others may find it uninteresting. There is no one right or wrong fixed format. You will have to figure out what works for you and what you like doing. Then check whether it resonates with your target audience.

Think about whether you are going to call a different guest to the studio every few episode or have a regular cast of panelists? For example, a magazine can round up 4 top writers and talk about the magazine’s current events that will come out. This is a perfect format. You can also call someone and record. You can think about having a new guest every week, a regular panel, or a revolving panel. If you are going to have guests, is the focus on you or the guests. There are some talk shows where the focus is on the guest, and the host does not give much opinion. In contrast, some shows are host-focused, where the host is talking a lot and conveying his ideas, messages, and opinions.

Pick a format you feel comfortable with, and the one that seems to work for you and your subject, then stick on it. When your podcast is consistent; every day, every week or every ten days, your audience will get comfortable with it and tune in.

Many people are interesting, engaging, and well-informed, but they give their opinion, analysis, and comments in only two minutes. They want and need a guest to talk and make a podcast. Others may be so interesting that they can talk for an hour or half an hour on a regular basis, and people find them fantastic.

The benefit and beauty of podcasting are that you can experiment to see what works best for you. You do not need to hire an expensive studio or other significant equipment to check out the formats.

Length and Frequency of The Podcast

Another critical decision you must make is how long the podcast will be and how frequently you will appear. For successful pod-casters, it is ideal to podcast daily, but it is a huge responsibility. It builds a strong relationship with the audience. For beginners, it is better to start every week, and when you catch up with the flow, you can come daily. The time of your podcast must be consistent, as it prepares your audience for how much time they should allocate to listen to your podcast. You have the freedom of time in podcasting online, not a fixed 2 or 3-minute window like in a traditional radio broadcasting system.

Conclusion

Before starting your podcast, make some critical decisions that will determine the success level. Select the topic you are passionate about and can talk about for hours regularly rather than a trendy topic. Select a format for your podcast, i.e., solo or with guests. Will the guests be a fixed panel or a revolving one? Experiment with the formats and pick the one that works best for you. Remain consistent with the time and frequency of your appearance, so your audience gets tuned with you on a long-term basis.

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