It’s fun to have a podcast, but it’s infinitely more fun to have one that’s popular, where growing numbers of people tune in every time you drop an episode. But why would they do that? Because you share information that’s useful, relevant, and relatively unique versus all the other thousands of shows out there. That’s why it’s really important to select a theme carefully. The time you spend here could save you hundreds of hours of trial-and-error as you try to guess what your audience might want. It could also mean the difference between having a few dozen listeners in a year and a thousand in a matter of weeks!
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3 Tips for Choosing the Perfect Podcasting Theme
Luckily this step need not take very long, perhaps no more than an hour. You just need to take care of three things when you choose the theme for your podcast.
- Why do you want to start a podcast?
- Who’s your ideal audience and what do they want to know (in your area of expertise)?
- Why should they listen to you?
Why do you want to start a podcast?
Is it a lead-generation tool to attract prospective customers? Is it to build a personal brand so you can establish a future consulting career? Is it to influence large numbers of people in preparation for a run in politics? Is it to build a body of content that you can eventually consolidate into a book? Be honest with yourself, as audience-building is a long game and you don’t want to waste months and years building one kind of audience, only to realise they aren’t of use in realising your overall ambitions.
Who’s your ideal audience and what do they want to know (in your area of expertise)?
Given the objective above, who is the ideal listener for your show? Is it a fresh graduate eager to climb the career ladder? Is it a mid-career professional who wants to save for retirement? Is it a billionaire who is seeking meaning in life? Is it an ambitious hustler from a small town looking to make it big? Is it an Asian parent looking to give their kid an edge in college applications? Be very specific with your choice of persona(s) as they will inform what you should (and should not) talk about in your show.
Why should they listen to you?
What is it that makes your show unique to your target audience? This is perhaps the hardest question of all because it’s hard to be unique in a sea of competing options. And that’s why you need to niche down vs going very broad. Perhaps yours is the only crypto show focused on Singapore. Or the only Marketing show in Vietnamese. Or the only one where people can hear from heavy-hitting industry insiders.
Putting these together, you will have a really good idea of what your show should be about. Some mock examples:
- The Kiasu Parent Podcast is for Singaporean parents who want to get their high-schoolers into elite US colleges. Every episode, we bring in parents, college counsellors and high-achieving students to discuss tips and tricks to crack an Ivy League admission. Listeners also get 50% off on our 1-1 counselling.
- The Nine-Figure Pauper is a podcast for individuals who have built or inherited generational wealth, but are seeking purpose and meaning in life. Tune in to be guided by career coaches, spiritual leaders and other ultra-wealthy achievers on how to re-discover your motivation and find joy in new and unexpected ways.
So if you have an hour right now, what are you waiting for? Let’s get started, and if you get stuck feel free to drop us a line at hello@crazytokmedia.com. We’d be happy to help you out!
