Starting a podcast is now a norm for most creatives out there, both experienced and beginners. Well, a podcast is just another way to get your views on various matters and topics of interest out there to a wide audience of listeners. Also, making podcasts is easier than making video content, as not a lot of editing goes into each podcast session.
So, if you’re looking out to kick off your podcast, this article is just what you need. This article is designed to give you all the information that you need to get you on your way to starting your podcast. Just like with every other step you take in life, starting a podcast isn’t something that you jump into, you need to understand the waters that you’re getting into before taking the plunge.
In this article, we’ll move over from your format and niche to the more technical aspects of things that shape your podcast. Of course, it’s only natural to have a well-defined plan before delving into recording or publishing your podcast sessions. Let’s now delve into how you can find the format and niche for your podcast.
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Defining your podcast format and finding a niche
A podcast is a digital media with various episodes that is available on the internet for streaming or download. This digital media covers various topics of interest to certain target audiences, hence making it relevant to a group of people. Most well-established podcasts out there, have a niche of listeners that stream their various episodes each day.
They also conduct each episode in a certain format, which at times defines the style of the podcast. If you’re starting your own podcast, you’ll need to clearly define your podcast format as well as your niche. This will help you to grow an audience that relates to your topics of interest or format style.
A podcast niche is a topic on which you centre your podcast’s content (for instance: gadgets, politics, travel, cryptocurrency, and so on). You must have a set niche as this will help draw in the following that your podcast needs to grow, hence building a community. Here’s how to find a podcast niche:
- Pick a content topic that you’re very familiar with or can relate to. This will make each episode of your podcast appear natural and not forced
- Do proper research and stay up-to-date with all updates on the said niche
- Define your audience of people who relate to the niche your podcast focuses on
- Identify online demographics that are in your podcast’s niche
- Interact with your community to get an idea of their views on various topics so you can consider that when recording your episodes (this will give your audience the understanding that you’re really into the niche and have a good understanding of trending topics)
- Build your content around trending topics of interest. Avoid stale trends, this will help strengthen your presence in the niche you select.
Now that you have been able to identify and build your presence in any niche of your choice, you’ll need a podcast format. Here, most beginners in the podcasting space seem to go with what is popular and trending. A podcast format is simply the way that you organize your content on each of your podcast episodes.
There are various podcast formats that you can build your content on when starting your podcast. Your podcast format can help define your audience and grow this audience strategically. Here are the various podcast formats that you can make use of on your various episodes:
- Interview podcast format: Here, the podcaster invites a guest (with a certain level of expertise in the topic of conversation) to the show. Various questions are then thrown at the guest in a bid to shed more light on the topic of consideration. Listeners often get a more insightful view of the podcast’s episode topic.
- Solo or monologue podcast format: In this format, you, the podcast host, sit by yourself and talk about the topic under consideration. This helps you give your viewpoint on the topic and helps shape your audience as they relate to your line of thinking. Just like other formats, this needs a proper script or well-prepared outline.
- Conversational or co-hosted podcast format: This is a very natural podcast format with a host and a co-host. Unlike the interview podcast, this method brings two people with an existing relationship, hence ensuing a natural conversation. Most podcast listeners love this format as it is more relaxed and reveals the host’s and co-host’s bubbly personalities.
- Panel or roundtable podcast format: The host invites more people to their podcast to talk about a set topic. This method is very interesting as the topic gets a wider range of views and perspectives. Needs more funding than most formats on this list.
- Fictional podcast format: This is a storytelling podcast format. This is best suited for a niche that loves listening to stories that aren’t based on any real happenings. If your podcast aligns with this, then you should try out this format.
- Non-fictional storytelling podcast format: This format deals with real-life events and occurrences from around the world, or the niche of your podcast. Listeners find this podcast format to be informative as it deals with real-world occurrences. You can also blend this format with other formats on this list.
- Reformatted podcast format: With this formatting method, the podcast host takes already existing content and reformats it to fit the podcast’s audience. This content might be from blog posts, articles, or any other source. Content derived from this format treats trending issues in the podcast’s niche.
For your podcast, you can choose to pick one of these formats and stick to it to make your podcast unique. You can also blend each of these formats or use them interchangeably on various episodes of your podcast. For instance, a podcast session might be non-fictional as well as a solo podcast, it can also be reformatted as well as a roundtable podcast.
The choice of which format to use depends on the needs of the podcast host and listeners. So you need to pick how best to make use of the formats that’ll suit your podcast’s needs. Now let’s move over to finding out what software you’ll need to start your podcast.
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Best software to make use of when starting your podcast
As a podcaster, you’ll need to make use of software programs to edit and at times record your episodes. It is important to get the best software available to ensure that the quality of your recordings is very presentable. Here is the best free podcast editing software that you can get your hands on now:
- Audacity: This is a free software that you can use to edit your podcast episodes. It comes with a bunch of tools and features that can help you improve the audio quality of your podcasts. Regardless of the mobile platform you’re using, you can download and make use of this software
- Restream: Podcasters can use the Restream platform for free to record their sessions. It comes with a lot of features to help with the editing process for not only audio sessions but also video sessions as well. The Restream platform is also very accessible as it is a browser-based software
- GarageBand: If you own a MacBook or a Mac Mini, then you might have come across the GarageBand software. It is a podcast creation or editing software that you can put to use on your Apple device. This software is only available for use on Apple devices, so if you don’t own an Apple device, you can make use of the other options on this list.
While there are a lot of podcast software products out there, these are the best free options that you can start with. All three on this list come with all the features that you need to step up your podcast journey. If you need more features or tools, you can try out other paid software programs like Adobe Audition, Logic Pro, Descript, and so on.
Once you’re done with your editing, you’ll need a platform like Buzzcast, Castos, SoundCloud, RSS, and so on for hosting. This software distributes your podcast sessions to platforms like Spotify, YouTube Music, and Apple Podcast for listeners to engage with. Once you upload your podcast and schedule it to go live, you can then head over to the various platforms where you shared your podcast and start listening.
Other factors to take to mind when setting up your podcast are its name, description, and cover art. In your description or title for each session, you’ll need easily searchable keywords to ensure that they reach the right audience. Once you’ve taken the various factors pointed out in this article in mind, you’ll be ready to start your podcast.
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