Did you know that almost a third of Americans listen to at least one podcast a month?
Well, yes and if you get things right there’s more than enough potential to turn your podcast into a successful venture.
And the very first thing you need to do for starting a successful podcast is choosing the right topic. If needed, pour more than half of your time and resources researching because it’s the solid foundation that you need. If that is strong, everything else will fall into place.
To help you build a solid base, here’s your 4 step guide to help you find the perfect topic for your podcast!
Set Clear Goals
A Podcast is a platform to express your creativity, opinions, and support a cause. Apart from that, it can also be a medium to generate business leads. So, you need to be clear about why you want to make a Podcast.
In general, it is important to identify your motive and stick to it before starting anything.
So, think really thoroughly and set clear goals. Are you making the podcast for a living or it is to support your business objectives?
For example, this is the Ikonns podcast where Mimi and Alex Ikonn as a couple are determined to deliver value that transforms people’s lives for the better. That is also the primary objective of their business and the products they offer. Their podcast works as a supportive marketing channel for them to reach out to their potential audience and in a way, it is also a product for their customers to consume since it has a different value proposition.
So what you can do is, make a list of podcast topic ideas based on your goals — it could be personal as well as for your business. For example, if you specialize in the catering industry then you might create a podcast focused on healthy eating and cooking, or current trends in the industry, etc. It will inspire people to turn to you for help and information regularly. This not only adds value but also makes your brand positioning better.
You should also go through some of the popular sites to take inspiration for your podcast. Spotify, Podbay.fm, Pod gallery are some of the great podcast hosting sites where you can check how others from your niche address particular ideas and topics. This will help you in setting up your goals and what you can expect from starting your podcast.
Keep Your Audience in Mind
Your primary purpose should be addressing the needs/challenges of your audience. They may have a challenge to overcome, a problem, or a subject they want to explore more, or maybe they just want to be entertained.
This clearly means that you need to know who your target audience is and what they need. There are sites like Statista, American FactFinder that offer high-level information about different demographics.
After selecting a niche from your audience, try learning more about their needs. For that, you can browse social media to see what type of content they like to consume, interact with. You can also directly interact in the niche community groups. If you have a good number of followers on your social media, ask them what topics they are interested in and the areas that you could focus your podcast on.
All this information that you come across, start jotting down in an organized manner to create an ideal person for your podcast listeners — which will ultimately help you create a visual map of your audiences’ interests and behavior and thereby making it easier for you to choose a topic that can be a hit with your audience.
This step helps in finding just the right topics for your podcast that resonate highly with your audience.
Your Interests Matter
If your topic doesn’t excite you enough, it won’t appeal to your audience too. How much do you care about your podcast idea is among the most important things you need to consider. Hence, introspect to align your interests and goals in order to select a topic that you love talking about.
To be honest, it is not easy to get success in a podcast initially. There are chances that your first few episodes may not see any downloads or views. At such times, having a compelling topic or having a podcast about your favorite topic gives you the inspiration to work even harder and put your best foot forward.
Keep the Fun Factor Alive
This American Life — mentioned as one of the best podcasts to listen to in 2020 is the first-ever podcast to win a Pulitzer Prize. Best known for their storytelling, this was a popular radio show long before the podcast revolution.
So, what’s the best thing about them?
They choose the topic and present their content with something that you can’t find elsewhere. They talk about a conventional topic in their way, creating their own style.
They do not hesitate to throw their sassy jokes and share their opinions wherever needed to keep the audience engaged and most importantly entertained. Hence, make sure you choose a topic that not only aligns with your audience but also gives you space to make the conversations happening around your podcast more fun than a typical podcast.
These topics are not just about fun but they also help in creating amazing engagement. Your audience keeps coming back for more episodes because they don’t get that kind of content anywhere else.
Over to you
So, here are three key takeaways that you need to keep in mind:
- Choose a topic that you like as much as your audience does. If you love what you are talking about, all the analysis and research to prepare the content for your podcast will not feel like a task.
- Analyze your niche and follow the trends that they are following to keep your podcast relevant.
- Setting goals for your podcast will help you stir it in the right direction.
And the rest will follow. Once your podcast is ready, you should start looking for podcast editing services to take your podcast to the next level.