There are currently over 2 million active podcasts in the world, according to Podcast Insights. With so many podcasts in circulation, choosing a unique topic for your own podcast is crucial. People want something new and something that has never been done before. Choosing a topic, then, is much harder than it sounds. We have tips on how to choose the right topic for your podcast.
Our first tip is to brainstorm a list of topics you already discuss or work with every single day. Write down things you could talk about tirelessly. Maybe you’re passionate about gardening or oil painting or crafting. Think about your hobbies, interests, and what you enjoy doing, either at work or in your free time.
At the end of the day, your podcast topic doesn’t necessarily need to cover the most popular or trendy material. It needs to be something you are passionate about. If you’re bored with what you’re talking about, the audience will undoubtedly be bored, too.
Before going any further, decide what broad genre your podcast will fall under: Comedy? News? Education? Narrative fiction? This will help you determine what general direction and tone the podcast will take before you decide on your specific topic. Browse the categories of podcasts in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or another podcast listening app to spark some ideas.
Next, think about what overall niche your podcast will live in. Do you want your show to cover marketing? Sports? Technology? Narrow your topic down a bit to fit in a general category.
Check out this list of podcast topic ideas: https://www.buzzsprout.com/blog/untapped-podcasting-ideas
If you’re creating a podcast for your business, you can relate your topic to your industry. You could choose a topic that is at least somewhat related to the industry in which your business exists. For example, if your company is in the food or food service industries, your show could explore international cuisine or the history of your favorite dishes.
Of course, this is not a hard-and-fast rule. You can always build a podcast around a niche that is totally unrelated to your industry, but if you’re stumped on ideas, it could be a good starting point to think about topics related to your business.
Looking for a podcast about building podcasts? Check out Podcraft: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/podcraft-how-to-podcast-craft-a-fantastic-show/id821720737
Now that you’ve narrowed down your idea once to a broad category, it’s time to narrow it down even more. This is where you want your topic to get really unique and specific. Instead of creating just another marketing podcast, you could create a podcast centered on marketing for moms who own small businesses or social media for businesses in the healthcare industry.
Your topic should be as special as you want your listeners to be. People want to learn new things specific to their lifestyles and identities, and they are searching for solutions to their unique problems. Your show should be the one that makes them think, This podcast was made just for me!
Making your topic more specific will narrow down your potential audience, but it will make the listeners you do attract more invested in and loyal to your podcast.
Once you have your specific podcast topic, brainstorm a list of ultra-specific subjects you could cover in your episodes. Think about your potential listeners and what their interests, curiosities, and problems might be, and address those in your episode topics.
This is the step where you make sure that your podcast’s topic is unique enough to stand out to the audience but not so specialized that there isn’t enough to talk about for multiple episodes and even seasons on end. If you find yourself struggling to find topics under your subject matter to discuss in episodes, you may have to return to step 4.
If you’re ready to start building a podcast for your business, contact us today to see how our team can help you create the best podcast for expanding your brand.
Read more posts about podcasts below.
5 Best Websites for Free Podcast Music
Need help launching and promoting your podcast? Shoot us a message!
