What doesn’t matter when it comes to having a successful podcast

Here’s the truth.

It doesn’t matter if you have the most expensive podcast recording setup, a team of sound engineers, and all that good stuff.

That’s not what a successful podcast is all about.

In reality, most people don’t know the difference between audio recorded at 64kbs or 128kbs.

As long as your audio isn’t horrible, they’ll keep listening.

It doesn’t matter if you have a video to go with your podcast episodes or a really cool office.

All those things are the sizzle that get people to salivate. It’s all for nothing if there’s no steak being served afterward.

If people bite down and end up with air, they’ll never come back to listen to another episode of your podcast.

Now, let’s look at the two things that matter more than anything else to when it comes to creating a podcast that stands the test of time.

A theme

When people are searching for podcasts, they’re looking for a specific type of information. For example, if I were to open the Apple Podcast app, I’d ignore all the suggested podcasts that popped up in my feed. Instead, I’d type in one or two keywords and start looking.

Those keywords could be anything and it depends on how I’m feeling at the moment. The point is, I’m looking for a specific type of content. I’m not looking for a podcast that covers science, music, business, and philosophy.

That’s too broad for my liking.

Through there are podcasts which work like that and it happens to be their theme. An example of this is Stuff You Should Know. They’re an exception to the rule. They’ve mastered the art of detailed research, storytelling, and breaking down information into its component parts. It’s a skill most people don’t have.

Instead of starting a podcast that covers all your interests, start a blog. A podcast is a focused medium.

How do you find your theme

This is an easy question to ask but a difficult one to answer. Unlike business where you shouldn’t follow your passion unless it aligns with your skill, podcasting has a bit of passion involved.

That’s because, at its core, it’s a creative pursuit. Yes, business is creative as well but not to the extent podcasting is. Whether you’re doing an interview style podcast where you bring on experts to talk about different aspects of the podcast or you’re doing a podcast where you have commentary, people will listen.

As humans, we’re good at hearing the underlying tone in someone’s voice. We can hear fear, joy, a smile, excitement, and apathy. If you’re not interested in the area you’ve started a podcast in, it won’t take you very far.

You won’t be able to go the distance and the guests won’t interest you the way they should. So, the first step in creating a successful podcast is finding a theme you’re passionate about or very interested in.

The second part of finding your theme is understanding which areas have a lot of appeal in the market as a whole. For example, if you start a podcast about toothpicks, it may interest a few people but those people won’t be enough to support you.

If you started a podcast about home décor on the other hand, good things can happen. The topic has mass appeal and there are countless guests you can invite over time.

You can call people who’re work as interior designers, you can call contractors, you can call architects, etc.

Navigate to Google trends and type in a few of the topics you’re interested in or passionate about. You’re trying to see if interest is increasing over time, falling, or remaining steady.

You want to go after a market that’s remaining steady or is growing.

If you go after one that’s declining, even if it’s large, you’ll eventually be talking to a group that’s too small to support you. After you’ve decided on a niche, go over to Google Keyword Planner or any keyword research tool and type in the most popular key phrases.

Is there a decent amount of search volume for all of them combined (at least 100,000)? If the answer is yes then you may be on to something.

After you go through this process, be sure to consistenly send out surveys to your podcast audience to make sure you're still resonating with them. 

A good story

The way people interact with stories is different from the way they interact with facts. The ultimate test of whether or not your podcast will succeed is your ability to consistently tell a story.

Not only a story but a consistent narrative. Is it enough to get people to want to come back?

 Is your story compelling? Does it interest those around you? If it is and it does then you may have a chance of podcast hosting stardom. If it doesn’t then you may need to go back to the drawing board.

Look at the way popular podcasts tell their story. What’s the narrative? What’s the underlying message that they’re trying to get across to you. All the good ones have it.

Gary Vaynerchuck, Joe Rogan, Without Fail. There is a message. You may not find it the first time but it’s there and it’s waiting for you. All you have to do is pick it up.

That’s what your podcast should do. As soon as you figure that out, you’re on your way to winning the podcast wars. If you don’t figure it out then you may be treading in place for a long time.

However, once you've come up with a topic, found cool speakers, and recorded quality material, the hardest part remains: editing all the material. This is where not only any beginner will get lost, but also an experienced specialist.

But do not hurry to despair, we have prepared for your podcast editing software that will help you understand all the subtleties and nuances.

Conclusion

Podcasting isn’t exactly new. It’s just a new twist on a decades old discipline – radio. That means what worked then will work now. The equipment, the marketing, and everything else you use for you podcast are secondary to the two things I mentioned here:

• Your theme;
• Your story.

If you get those right then everything else can be forgiven.