So, you’ve decided you want to launch your podcast and be part of the sporting conversation. That’s great. But do you know what your podcast is going to be about? What topics it’s going to cover and what angle it’s going to have?
Many podcasters when they start make the mistake of being far too broad with their concept. They may well have a headline topic of conversation (ie. ‘We’re going to talk about Football’ but fail to consider the nuances of their content or where it fits into the wider podcast landscape.
Before you take the plunge consider the following questions?
Who Is My Podcast Audience?
One of the most important things any media professional will tell you is “Understand your audience” and that is just as important within podcasting as it is within other forms of media. If you don’t know who you want to talk to how will you know how to talk to them?
Considering who your podcast is demographically and what will make them listen to your show can be vital to its success.
Whereas the likes of television (broadcast media) often focus on large-scale mass audiences. Podcasting allows drilling down into small, focused audiences who have very specific interests and tastes can be a strong starting point and lead you to pick your podcast niche!
Be as specific as you can as this will help you find your place in the market. Rather than creating (for example) a show for “Football Fans”, narrowing it down to “A show for fans of X team who love football nostalgia” can give your show a real focus and help find an audience.
What is My Podcast’s Niche?
A podcast niche is the specific topic or focus of your podcast. It may feature as part of a broader topic (i.e. handball) but will be tailored to be of interest to a particular segment of that audience.
What unique content are you planning to bring to the podcast market? Many shows are competing for the same ears and it’s important that you can differentiate your podcast from those that already exist.
It may be very rare that you can find a podcast topic, especially within sport, that is not being covered in some capacity but by considering what already exists in the podcast eco-system you can either identify pockets of audience that may not be being catered for or work out your unique angle that can add to the conversation.
Simply trying to replicate the content being created by an already successful show can make it tough to grow your audience.
What Time Shall I Dedicate to My Podcast?
Before you take the plunge into podcasting it’s important to understand the workload you are potentially taking on. That can be directly related to the topic, format and structure of your podcast.
The average “life” of a podcast is just seven episodes and this “pod-fade” is often attributed to creators not fully understanding the level of work that goes into creating a regular show.
If you plan to make an interview-based show do you have a contacts book full of great guests to book? If you plan to do deep sport analysis do you have time to crunch the data and conduct the relevant research?
Every format will have a level of time commitment involved so make sure you understand what is required before you pick your focus and format.
What are Other People Doing on Their Podcasts?
Whilst important, finding something unique in the podcast work can be a little challenging.
There are 2 million podcasts currently sitting on Apple Podcasts and there will still be other shows competing for the same ears as you.
Because of this, it’s important to understand what else is available and where you and your idea fit in. Look at what other people are doing in the space and the type of content that is already available. Tools like alsoasked.com can help you identify common search topics and areas of interest within specific genres that may be underserved.
It’s also worth considering which sports have large audiences but maybe don’t already have extensive coverage in the podcast world.