TPU153 – How to Come Up with Countless Podcast Episode Ideas – 5 Practical Tips!

Standard Post
Dilip

0 comments

How do you come up with Podcast Episode ideas?

One of the things that I hated as a beginner podcaster was that moment when I was staring at a blank screen unable to decide on the topic for my next episode!

Ever faced that situation?

I am sure you would because that’s a situation that a lot of us beginner content creators find ourselves in.

There’s a simple way you can get rid of it.

And that’s what we will be discussing in today’s episode.

Creator’s block – That’s a term that has been in existence for long. In fact, when I first started blogging back in 2002, one of the first terms that I read about was “creator’s block”.

A creator’s block is a point in the life of a creator where he/she is unable to create the next piece of work. You get stuck because you lack motivation or, are facing a dearth of ideas on what to create next.

This is something we face in Podcasting too.

How to come up with Podcast Episode Ideas?

There are a lot of times in podcasting when you are stuck, and unsure about the topic for your next episode.

You spend hours clicking over from one browser tab to the other or, scrolling through the Instagram feed. Yet you are unable to come up with an idea for your episode.

Most of us beginner podcasters go through this situation.

So there is nothing unusual about it.

But then, what is important is finding a solution to this problem and coming out of this situation.

And that is what I will help you with today.

So let us get started with the episode where I will share a few simple tips on how to come up with podcast topics for your next episode.

Brain Dumping

One of the things that has helped me a lot in ensuring that I have a running list of ideas is, keeping a small notebook with me.

Whenever an idea strikes me, I just note it down in this notebook. This helps me retain the idea for when I want to work on it.

Another method I use is to jot down the ideas in a brain dump page I have created on Notion. This page is a simple page where I just dump all the ideas that come to my mind.

In fact. I also transfer all of the ideas I have jotted down in my notebook onto this page.

In situations where I am unable to jot it down in the notebook or, in Notion, I use the voice recorder on my phone and record a line or, two about that particular idea.

Follow whatever you are comfortable with. But ensure that you aren’t letting go of any idea that comes to your mind.

You can later elaborate on these and develop them into a full-fledged episode.

Social Media Listening

I am on almost all the social media channels. But I am not as active on them as I might be on some others.

If so, why am I on these channels? You may ask!

Social media listening is something that has helped me find a lot of topic ideas for my podcast. There is a lot of discussion that happens on channels like Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.

One of the biggest mistakes that people make is to consider these social channels as a medium of self-promotion.

No!

They can also be a good source of learning and listening for ideas.

Follow the conversations that happen there and read through the comments. You will find a lot of people asking a variety of questions, talking about a lot of things and even posting their thoughts. These are all episode inspirations.

Note these down in your Notion page and expand on these ideas when it is time to work on your episodes.

Don’t use social media only to post and promote. Use it to learn and listen as well.

Repurposing Old Content

Some of these tips that I am sharing here are unconventional. It might appear a little difficult but these pay off well.

And these are all low hanging fruits that can easily be tapped into.

One of them is to revisit your older content pieces.

I often listen to my older episodes as part of my self-evaluation procedure.

And when I do that, I also take notes on the things that I might have missed in that particular episode.

These are inspiration for my future content.

This helps me in two ways – first is by helping me with content ideas and the second is to plug the gaps that my existing content would have.

Why should I give that opportunity to others?

Wouldn’t it be better if I plug those content gaps and ensure that my content is complete is all respects.

Researching existing Content

One of the secrets to succeeding with content creation is by enjoying the process of content creation.

And when you enjoy doing something, you spend time to learn more about your niche, the topics you are covering and the market.

At the same time you will also spend time on researching and you will enjoy doing it as well.

Researching not only helps you learn more about your market but it also helps you get content inspiration.

I always ensure that I am doing a gap analysis whenever I am researching my niche.

I subscribe to other podcasts in my niche and regularly listen to them. While I am listening to these episodes, I ensure that I take notes and keep evaluating on the things that they missed out on.

These form inspiration for my future episodes.

In fact, gap analysis is what gave me the idea for almost 50+ episodes in my show.

I also subscribe to a lot of blogs and do the same thing I do with podcasts. There’s a lot of content ideas that you will get by merely reading through blog posts or, listening to other podcasts.

Following trends and News

Things on the internet change multiple times in a day. Information changes, gets updated and even becomes obsolete in a matter of hours.

So irrespective of what niche you are in, it is important to stay updated with whatever is happening.

But then the question is how do you do that?

My way of doing it is by subscribing to the relevant newsletters and publications.

I use a service called as Feedly which helps me aggregate all of these publications from around the internet.

Once a week, I skim through the feed to see what’s the latest.

Following these trends and news also gives me ideas for my episodes.

Whenever I find something relevant and which I can use to create an episode on, I jot them down on my Notion page and link to the relevant articles so that I can revisit it at a later point of time, in case I need to.

You too, can follow this same method or, any other method that you are comfortable with.

But whatever you do, stay updated with the latest trends and news. They will give you a lot of content ideas.

Bonus Tips

Here are a few simple but effective bonus tips to generate podcast episode ideas –

  1. Whenever you interview a guest or, listen to an interview look for topics that you can use for your solo episodes. These ideas can later be elaborated into a complete episode.
  2. You can even ask your listeners to send in topics that they would like to learn more about. You can use a service like Speakpipe, using which your listeners can record the question and send it over. Or, you can use a simple contact form on your website to do that.

Conclusion

In content creation, it is important to always have a running list of topic ideas. If you get stuck at this point, then your entire content planning will go for a toss.

So, whenever you are not doing anything, keep thinking about potential topic ideas.

Keep your eyes and ears open for anything that you may find around you that could serve as an inspiration.

Be aware and use the above tips on how to brainstorm podcast topics and you will never find yourself short of content ideas.

I hope you enjoyed this episode.

Show Notes:

Here’s what we discussed in the episode on how to come up with podcast episode ideas –

  1. 5 simple Methods to generate podcast episode ideas
  2. 2 bonus tips on how to come up with podcast topics

This episode is sponsored by Zencastr. Use my special link here to save 30% off your first month of any Zencastr paid plan. 

Thank You for Joining

Thank you all for joining me on the show today.

If you enjoyed this episode then I am sure you will love some of the previous episodes as well. Pick your favorite ones and give them a listen.

The podcasting university is available on all podcasting platforms. You can pick your favorite one to listen to the show there. The links to some of the prominent ones are mentioned below.

CASTBOX: https://thepodcastinguniversity.com/castbox
STITCHER: https://thepodcastinguniversity.com/stitcher
TUNEIN: https://thepodcastinguniversity.com/tunein
GOOGLE PODCASTS: https://thepodcastinguniversity.com/googlepodcasts
APPLE PODCASTS: https://thepodcastinguniversity.com/itunes
PLAYER.FM: https://thepodcastinguniversity.com/playerfm
SPOTIFY: https://thepodcastinguniversity.com/spotify
HUBHOPPER: https://thepodcastinguniversity.com/hubhopper
AMAZON PRIME: https://thepodcastinguniversity.com/prime

Recommended Resources for Podcasting

Here are some of the recommended resources for Podcasting. These are the ones that I personally use and am satisfied with and hence am recommending them.

  • Acast Podcast hosting – Acast is my favorite podcast hosting company. They have excellent customer support, have a pocket-friendly plan, and even have a free option with no limits.
  • Behringer Audio Interface – You will need an audio interface if you are using an XLR microphone. This is my recommended audio interface.
  • Zencastr – Zencastr is the easiest option to record interviews, both audio-only and audio+video. This is a must for an interview podcast. Go to zencastr.com/pricing and use my code “thepodu” You’ll get 30 percent off your first three months of Zencastr professional.
  • Audacity – This is the best and the most feature-rich free audio editing software. It gives you a lot of options while editing your interviews.
  • Blue Yeti USB Microphone – My recommended microphone
  • Tidycal – My recommended calendar and booking solutions
  • Fusebox – Embeddable Podcast Player
  • Descript – Audio Editing, Transcription and Video editing software

AMAZON DISCLOSURE: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. The Podcasting University is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

MICROPHONES –

  1. ATR-2100x
  2. MAONO AU-HD300T : https://geni.us/ro48q
  3. Maono AU-WDM01 : https://geni.us/PhZ3V2v
  4. Samson Q2U – https://geni.us/k9cuk
  5. Audio Technica AT 2035 – https://geni.us/g2URDI
  6. Rode NT USB – https://geni.us/O6b65K
  7. Shure MV7X – https://geni.us/w7rZ4

LAVELIER MICROPHONES

  1. Boya ByM1 Auxillary Lavelier Microphone – https://geni.us/boyabym1lav
  2. Boya ByM1 Pro Lavelier Microphones – https://geni.us/boyabym1prolav
  3. Digitek Wireless Microphone – https://geni.us/R3cGd
  4. Boya – BYXM6 Wireless Microphone – https://geni.us/OS6gq
  5. Vook Dual Channel Wireless Microphone – https://geni.us/V9YBO1i

PORTABLE RECORDERS –

  1. Zoom H5 Portable Recorder – https://geni.us/rVTAIAV
  2. Zoom H1N Portable Recorder – https://geni.us/dOaDg

AUDIO INTERFACE –

  1. Behringer U-PHORIA UM2 – https://geni.us/gBCjm
  2. M-Audio M-Track Solo – https://geni.us/RnhHr
  3. HAYDEN HY-229 – https://geni.us/c80KbWB

MIXERS –

  1. HAYDEN 4 Channels – https://geni.us/cXQ0
  2. Behringer Q502USB

MONITORING HEADPHONES –

  1. Oneodio Studio Pro-10 : https://geni.us/IQI88Se
  2. Maono AU-MH501 : https://geni.us/AbNrU
  3. Audio-Technica ATH-M20X : https://geni.us/eEUf9

POP-FILTER –

  1. JEYANG Metal Pop Filter – https://geni.us/JMfuY
  2. Wright WP 101 – https://geni.us/OcOAzj

DESK-STAND/BOOM ARM –

  1. MY-STANDS MC 18 : https://geni.us/Lwnb
  2. Bulfyss Professional Recording Microphone Stand: https://geni.us/mV4S

If you are on Pinterest, do pin the below image there.

podcast episode ideas

About the Author - Dilip

Podcaster, Blogger and Affiliate Marketer, I love the internet for the many opportunities that it offers.
I started my first podcast way back in 2009. Till now I have released more than 600 episodes including my own podcasts and some episodes that I did for my clients.
I share all of those simple, practical and implementable podcasting tips in my show, "The Podcasting University".

Author Box 03

Follow me

Share 0
Share 0
Share your thoughts

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked

{"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}

Want to Start your own Podcast without the Overwhelm?

Join the FREE 10-day eCourse - "How to Start a Podcast in 10 days!"

Click the button below to get started!

JOIN NOW!