Podcasting can be hard. The smartest thing you can do is learn from those who have tried, failed, and occasionally succeeded. My podcast recently crossed 6k downloads and I remember how hard it was starting out, so here are the important things I learned, for free. :)
Be different
The idea of differentiating yourself is an important one online. There are millions of people who are online trying to get eyeballs and you’re just another one of the crowd.
If you don’t do anything differently then you will be ignored like the vast majority of the other people online. It’s better to be different then to be better than the competition. You can escape direct competition with authenticity.
I wouldn’t recommend trying long form interview discussions because Joe Rogan is going to have you beat no matter what you do. Most people can’t even name another person who does interviews that way because it doesn’t matter, Joe Rogan will always have them beat.
The first and foremost thing that your podcast should have is something that clearly differentiates it from other podcasts. And if you can’t think of anything to differentiate your podcast… you should really rethink why it is you’re trying to start a podcast to begin with.
Intrinsic Motivation
You need to pick something that you were genuinely interested in. I know this will seem like obvious advice for many, but it is one of the most important aspects of your podcast. Sure there are some cases where someone can talk about something they don’t really care about and it will be a successful podcast, but generally this is not going to hold long-term and you shouldn’t count on trying to be the exception here.
If you don’t care about what you’re talking about it’s going to be very obvious and no one is going to enjoy it. It’s also important because having a genuine interest in your subject matter will help get you though it if you don’t have immediate success, which you likely won’t.
Intrinsic motivation is going to make all the difference in your podcast. A good way to find out if you’re really interested in the subject matter is to look at how much you read/watch/listen to other stuff in your niche. Is it a 10-minute YouTube video once a week or is it 20+ minutes a day in different mediums?
Quality
Quality is another tip that should be obvious for anyone that wants to create anything worth something online. Quality does not necessarily mean Great audio, a really thorough script, or even a long podcast. Quality simply means you are bringing value to the listener.
Maybe you have a deep discussion on a philosophical concept. And even if you record that podcast on your iPhone and it doesn’t sound the greatest it can still provide massive value if you get it to the right people and play your cards right.
Consistent Branding
Before you even publish your first episode you should have solid podcast name, as well as a good understanding of what the heck you’re even going to be doing on this podcast.. Because if you don’t know what you’re doing the chances of your audience knowing what you’re doing is going to be zero.
For example, my podcast is the combination of the words biography and podcast. Biocast. There is going to be no misunderstanding of a podcast episode because every single episode is going to be a biography. Your podcast’s branding should follow suit.
Know Your Audience
You are podcasting to bring value to someone’s life. You need to know everything you can about that someone. The interest of your target audience is going to determine not only the content that you talk about but also the way you talk about it.
For example, if your target audience is a bunch of workaholics, then it’s probably against your best interest to publish a podcast that is multiple hours long and four times a week. They’re not gonna be able to listen to all of it and a lot of your hard work is going to be wasted. Especially because most of them probably won’t give your podcast to try because what do you know they got to go to work.
You should also have a good idea of where your target audience hangs out on the Internet. You don’t necessarily need to be a data scientist and you don’t need any money to interact with your target audience on their preferred platforms. I did this for free and you can too. This can be Reddit, Instagram, or twitter. Ideally, a combination of multiple platforms.