Thinking of starting your own podcast? Here at Dear Media, we think you should go for it! But, there are plenty of things that should happen before you launch your podcast. Proper planning can help you focus on creating compelling episodes and makes recording those episodes so much easier. Yet, somehow, content planning is often a neglected step. Planning your podcast content in advance is beneficial for many reasons. The most important being that it can save you time, money, energy, and effort later. It can also help give your podcast a more solid structure and a better chance of success. So, in light of this, we’re sharing some practical and actionable tips you can use to plan your podcast content before you get too deep into your process. This way, your podcast episodes will come out compelling and engaging each and every time! Let’s dive right in!
How To Plan Podcast Content
Think about your passions.
First things first, what are you passionate about? What is your main purpose for creating a podcast? When it comes to creating a good podcast, any insincerity or lack of passion you might have about a specific podcast topic will always show through to your audience. This is why it’s important to only choose topics that you are very interested in and passionate about. Plus, the more passionate you are about a subject, the more topics and content you will be able to create in your niche.
Decide on a podcast theme.
Most podcasts have a distinct theme or themes. Then, each episode dives into a particular topic within that theme. For example, the general theme of Raising Good Humans is parenting. And the general themes of Model Citizen are beauty, lifestyle, and current events. The general theme of your podcast should be something that you’re extremely passionate about and something that has plenty of depth. This could be animals, culture, current events, reality TV, food, and so on. When it comes to choosing a theme, the options are actually endless. So, what is the theme of your podcast?
Determine your target audience.
Take some time to think about who your target podcast audience is and then do some research. Ask yourself these important questions: Who is your ideal listener? What is your audience interested in? Are there any current events in this niche you should mention? What special guest(s) would your listeners like to hear from? By answering these questions, you can curate the type of content your audience wants to hear.
Brainstorm topics.
Once you’ve determined your theme and your audience, here comes the fun part: brainstorming! First, take 15 minutes to just think about what you’d like to talk about and write down all your ideas. There’s no telling how many topics you may come up with in just this short period of time. Then, if you’re still struggling to come up with topics, try the following…
Think about all the obvious topics that fit within your theme. Then, think about all the not so obvious topics within your niche. Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone! You can also research people and current events surrounding your niche, read a relevant book, or browse some relevant blog posts. Better yet, you can ask your listeners what they want to hear!
Set clear objectives.
Before recording each episode, determine your objectives. Your objectives are what you want to accomplish with your podcast. Do you want to share a specific message? Do you want to help your listeners solve a problem? Or, do you want to simply entertain your audience? The choice is yours!
As you formulate your objectives, there are a few tips to keep in mind. First, always write or type out your objectives so that you can go back and change/review them. Second, be sure to use only clear and concise language. And third, always be sure to share these objectives with your listeners either in the actual episode or in the show notes. This way, your listeners know what to expect from your episodes.
Learn about your competitors.
When you finally decide on a few particular topics, take some time to research these topics and see what’s already out there. As a content creator, it’s important to craft content that is unique and original. So, if the topic you chose is overdone, try to change it up a bit. If you don’t see much content on your chosen topic – good – run with it!
Other things you can learn from your competitors include the type of listeners they garner, the social media networks that best support your chosen niche, and the general outline your competitors use. Also be sure to take note which of your competitors’ episodes garner the most or the least views. This information will help you determine what type of content your listeners enjoy or don’t enjoy and thus, help you better curate your own content.
Create your episode outlines.
Now it’s time to create your episode outlines. As your planning content, not every single detail must be included. But, it’s important to remember that the more information you can include now will only assist you in recording later. Aspects to incorporate into your outline should include your episode title, your intended podcast intro, a breakdown of the main content, and your unique outro.
Write your script.
Ready to get down to the nitty gritty? Now that you’ve got a comprehensive outline, you can start writing your script. Start jotting down your important points, get your wording right, make sure your listeners will get the main points, and then get your sequence right. Before jumping straight into recording, be sure to read your script out loud a few times to see how it will sound to your listeners.
If there are any parts of your script that you are unsure of, feel free to perform a trial recording of that particular section. This will help you determine if any edits are required now and thus, reduce your editing time later. For more on creating your script, check out this article.
Invite unique guests.
If there’s one thing listeners love, it’s listening to a compelling and intriguing interview. Hosting a podcast interview is a great way to garner listener interest, make your podcast more unique, and increase your podcast’s credibility.
Wondering where to start? We’ve got you covered. Check out our blog on How to Get Guests for Your Podcast to learn about how to choose and invite awesome guests. Then, when you’ve landed an interview, we recommend browsing these 15 Best Questions to Ask in a Podcast Interview and reading our blogs on How to Prepare for a Podcast Interview and How to Conduct a Good Podcast Interview.
Listen to your listeners.
As you release podcasts, remember to listen to your listeners. But, what does this mean? This means taking time to review any and all feedback from your listeners. Feedback can come in the form of podcast reviews and comments on your website or social media. If you’re just starting out, start by asking friends and family to review your episodes.
Listening to your listeners is important for many reasons. Reviewing your feedback will not only teach you what content your listeners liked and what content they didn’t, but it will also give you ideas for future content. This is especially true if you ask your listeners to provide feedback, which you should do either at the beginning or end of each of your episodes. And lastly, listening to your listeners will help you better connect with your audience and thus, garner more repeat listeners.
With the right method and some helpful tips, creating your podcast content will be a breeze.
Creating podcast content can sometimes be overwhelming. But, with the right method and some helpful tips, it totally doesn’t have to be. Content creation can and should be a fun and enjoyable process. This is why we’ve created this list of tips for content creators like you to follow. Here at Dear Media, we hope you can use this information to craft quality content that keeps your listens coming back for more! For more blogs like this one, head on over to the Dear Media Blog. And, as always, feel free to drop us any questions or comments you might have below!
