We examine tips for creating strong podcast topic ideas.
By the end of 2023, experts forecast a podcasting market worth over $20 billion. What’s more, analysts anticipate the industry will rocket to $58 billion by 2026. Needless to say, there’s a gold rush in the podcasting vertical at the moment. With all this competition, it’s important to note, the days of improv are over; you need a plan – which means you need to develop engaging podcast topic ideas.
It’s a good thing and a bad thing. Consumers now have endless choices, but the arena is packed. Content creators who were once pioneers of a novelty medium now face newcomers with better equipment, on more platforms, and the kind of momentum that comes when popular directors, producers, actors, gamers, and online influencers just turn on a mic and tell their fans to join them (which means they ditch you).
If you’re new to podcasting it’s much more difficult. On top of creating engaging content, you’ll need to brush up on your social media game, SEO, and much more if you intend on developing an audience that keeps coming back for more. Our advice: do what you love, and the rest will come. If you’re chasing listeners in the early days, expect months, if not years, of frustration and self-doubt. We’ve talked to many podcasters and influencers online and their advice was always the same: if you don’t love it, don’t do it.
Last year, we sat down with Matt Rushing, host of the 602 Club, who had this to say about his passion project turned profession:
“It will be worth all the frustration, behind-the-scenes drama, and pain because you’ll make some of your best friends along the way.”
In other words, if you’re doing it for the money, stop.
Still, highly successful podcasters have built incredibly powerful revenue streams by adding a podcast to their content strategy. If that’s you, or you’re just interested in carving out a corner in the podcasting space, we’ve put together a few tips to build podcast topic ideas that will resonate with your intended audience.
3 tips for developing strong podcast topic ideas
Here are a few tips for developing strong podcast topic ideas that keep your content engaging and help you stand out from the competition.
Look for what’s trending
In a 24-hour news-cycle world, trends change fast. In this dynamic environment, you need to grab your listener’s attention, quickly. Knowing what is trending and the type of topics your listeners might be interested in is critical. In many ways, you’re a market researcher as much as a podcast host.
Once you’ve identified your niche, use anything available to identify what’s buzzing. Twitter is a great place to identify “trending” topics, but you can also scour Quora and Reddit for content. Look for questions that have not been answered and develop podcast topic ideas that will offer answers. Think of the online community as a mountain of questions, you just need to find one that hasn’t been answered properly, yet.
You can also use Google searches to find weak spots online. For example, in this article, we’ve used the keyword “podcast topics ideas,” with the hopes that what we have to offer is unique and distinguishable from the rest. If it doesn’t, that’s ok, the point is that we’re trying to solve problems. That’s what your podcast should do too. What new information would your podcast topic ideas generate for your listeners? Do not skip this step.
Know your niche
If you podcast on a specific niche, before deciding to scale up, make sure the change makes sense in your niche and is what your listeners are interested in. For example, if you are a podcaster who focuses on Marvel films, like our friend Matt Rushing, kicking off a rant about politics isn’t going to stimulate the MCU fanbase, yawn.
For podcasters who’d consider themselves all-arounders, like Joe Rogan, covering a vast variety of topics, looking for podcast topic ideas that are trending is even more important. Podcasters like Rogan have name recognition and believe it or not, spend more time listening than talking (even if it doesn’t sound that way), which is what their listeners want.
But covering an array of topics is difficult. Without a specific focus, you’re going to have an uphill battle. The best move for beginners is to start with a niche and scale up. Don’t try to take on the world.
Know your audience. Look for the things they are interested in and build podcast topic ideas that they’ll enjoy. If you know that a movie like Avatar 2 is coming out soon, plan a podcast to talk about the film in the weeks before its release. Save your personal opinions about Thor’s last film for your friends, that’s old news.
Go live: surveying and live podcasting
Going live with your audience is always a good option to find ideas about what your listeners are interested in. Using live surveys and Q&As is also an effective way to understand and create a strong bond with your fans.
Twitch streamers do a great job with this because they’re usually talking to themselves for long periods. Because they can go hours without speaking to anyone outside of chat, most successful Twitch streamers have built very intimate bonds with their viewers and create content strategies that speak to their interests.
Last October we interviewed @idKatherine, a popular small community streamer with over 1,000 followers, who says that getting to know your community is critical, but ultimately you need to find the audience that fits you because it makes it easier to identify with them and the things they’re interested in.
“If you’re enjoying yourself with what you play, then it’s more likely that those who come by will enjoy themselves along with you. It shouldn’t matter if what you love is a big popular game, or something more niche and small, if it’s your cup of tea then that’s what matters. The right people will find you and enjoy you for you.”
And ultimately, if the right people find you, it should be easy to talk to them. And starting that conversation will help you identify meaningful podcast topic ideas in the future.
Conclusion
If you’re struggling with ways to develop strong podcast topic ideas, don’t stress. Start by identifying your niche and audience. Use social media tools and search engines to find the things people are looking for, but more specifically, the things YOUR people are looking for. Yes, it takes more work; but ultimately, if you’re skipping these steps you’re likely talking to yourself on your podcast anyway.
Don’t waste your time, do your research, create useful podcast topic ideas and the rest will come.
Related: 2 Podbean Tips For A More Professional Podcast