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ManualsBrandsWiley Manualsbooks978-0-470-14926-3

Selecting the Right

Topic for Your

Podcast

s Kermit the Frog said, “It’s not easy being green.” While the verac-

ity of this statement is subject to debate, we, the authors of this

book, posit to you that selecting the right topic for your podcast

is not easy either. The key word in that statement is “right.” We heartily

agree that all too many podcasts are chosen without sufficient foresight

and planning — the collective decision of one or more parties after too

much alcohol, too little sleep, and the auspicious statement, “You know,

this would make a great podcast!”

Well, no, we’re not talking about that at all. The title of this book has the

words expert practices in it, and we’re certainly not about to start off

breaking from the code on the very first practice of the book (even

though the authors of this book have been guilty of the aforementioned,

on more than one occasion). Heck, by some accounts, the story of how

we decided to write our first book together, Podcasting For Dummies, is

eerily similar.

In this practice, we advocate the use of rational and logical thought to

help guide you toward one of the many “right” topics you may choose for

your podcast. The truth is, there are probably many topics you are quali-

fied to speak about, that are of interest to a potential audience, and that

allow you (as well as any co-hosts or support staff you might employ) to

grow and expand. Podcasting is fun. But podcasting with a purpose is

sublime.

Taking Inventory of Your Interests

Let’s start this off with the most important person in the equation: you.

No, it’s not your audience. It’s not the community you aim to serve. It’s

not even the person who might have paid you to pick up the mic and

start cranking out episodes. We’ll even tell you that it isn’t your spouse,

though as we say this we cast a wary eye over our shoulders, burning

through even more SPUs (which we explain later).

The host of the show is the lifeblood of the show. We’re not trying to put

undue pressure on you, but your show won’t get very far if the topic isn’t

Practice

In This Practice

 Broadening your focus

 Becoming multifaceted

 Tapping into the

community

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Summary of content (5 pages)

PAGE 1
AL 1 Practice Selecting the Right Topic for Your Podcast A Broadening your focus TE Becoming multifaceted RI s Kermit the Frog said, “It’s not easy being green.” While the veracity of this statement is subject to debate, we, the authors of this book, posit to you that selecting the right topic for your podcast is not easy either. The key word in that statement is “right.
PAGE 2
10 Practice 1: Selecting the Right Topic for Your Podcast something that you (a) want to talk about and (b) can talk about while (c) demonstrating that you know what you’re talking about.
PAGE 3
Narrowing Your Focus to Make Your Show Unique hundreds — of shows out there doing basically the same thing. The suggestions in the previous section should have given you more than one idea. If one of those ideas is adequately (and only you can decide this) covered by a host of other shows, consider moving on to the next topic. Practice 2 covers a few podcastdiscovery ideas. You’ll best serve the current and future audience of podcast listeners by selecting a niche topic.
PAGE 4
12 Practice 1: Selecting the Right Topic for Your Podcast and financing Ultimate Fighting Championship matches? When you narrow your focus to specific elements within a specific topic, sometimes you can actually uncover more content. Now, that may sound counterintuitive, but consider the extreme-sports marketing angle. A show on general sports marketing might turn off an audience if the host delves into the venue-selection process for rock climbing to maximize sponsorship branding.
PAGE 5
Broadening Your Focus to Appeal to New Listeners A little of this technique goes a long way. Don’t use it as a crutch when you’re out of things to talk about. And certainly don’t use it in your first 20 episodes. There are few things more annoying than a show host begging the audience to come up with ideas. Audiences see that as laziness on the part of the host, and they quickly find someone else willing to put forth the necessary effort to keep producing the content they want to hear.