We have discussed quite a bit in the last couple of episodes.
So if you are new to the show, then I would recommend that you listen to the previous episodes. You can do that by listening to it on Hubhopper.
In the last episode we spoke about niching down, finding a niche and how India has a unique advantage when it comes to podcasting niches.
There’s a huge market waiting out there to be harnessed – the vernacular market and if you have a topic of mass interest, that you wish to broadcast in any local or, regional languages then you have a winning idea.
Let’s talk and I can help you launch your podcast. Contact me here.
In this episode we are going to talk about deciding on the format of your podcast.
And you will surprised to see how this connects to the purpose of your podcast that we discussed in the first episode.
Podcast Formats
The format of your podcast, to a great extent will depend upon the purpose of your podcast as well, though it might not be completely governed by it.
But before we look at what format fits you and your podcast, let us first take a look at the different formats that podcasters follow –
Interviews
Interviews are the most common format in podcasting. You will see quite a lot of successful podcasters using this format and it is very popular too.
Even some of the earliest podcasters followed this format of podcasting.
In this format, you will basically be interviewing experts on a specific topic. This topic will depend upon the niche your have picked for your podcast.
For eg: if you niche is blogging, you will be talking to bloggers who have done well in blogging. These bloggers come onto the show and talk about how they started off and what were the things that they did on their way to succeeding at blogging.
Foodbloggerpro is one such podcast. They have a slightly tighter niche – which is food blogging but they are not confined to only food bloggers. They talk to bloggers from the other niche as well, because strategies in blogging are pretty much the same irrespective of the niche you are in.
SECRET TIP – If you notice, as in the case of foodbloggerpro, picking a niche doesn’t mean that you are tied down to that specific topic and niche.
Nobody stops you from diversifying and talking about other related topics. Just that you need to maintain that line – that specific topic.
Similarly you have a wide variety of podcasts in the broad category of Business and marketing, talking about different topics –
- The smartpassiveincome podcast which talks about starting a business that can generate passive income,
- Online marketing made easy by Amy porterfield and
- The blogging millionaire podcast both of which talk about online marketing, email marketing etc.,
Then there is the motivation and inspiration niche. This again is a broad niche and people further niche down into motivation at work, motivation in business, motivation at home etc.
- Melyssa Griffin’s “Pursuit with Purpose” podcast is about getting the best out of your life which again is a slightly boarder niche but with less competition.
- Whereas Michael Hyatt’s “Lead to win” is about leadership and coaching.
Again, you will notice in this podcast that Michael does not limit himself to only leadership and coaching but he also talks about productivity, motivation, side hustles etc.
From an Indian Podcasters’ perspective again, you have a lot of examples in this format of podcasting.
The Inspiring talk by Bijay Gautam is one such example where he interviews people who have turned challenging situations in life into success. This is the inspiration niche and again there are a lot of sub-niches in it.
Another podcast hosted by Naga Subramanyam, the “passion people podcast” is again a similar podcast in the inspiration niche catering to a different sub-niche.
There are multiple other niches and one such unique niche is the travel niche and “The Musafir Stories” hosted by Saif and Faiza, our good friends is an example of an interview format of podcasting.
SECRET TIP – Do notice how we discussed about different niches and sub-niches above which can all the prospective ideas for your podcast.
Monologues
The second format is that of a monologue.
This is one of the easiest formats to start your podcasting journey, primarily because you don’t have to be dependent upon anybody else.
This is a podcast hosted and run by you, yourself as a SOLO show.
You don’t have to depend upon your guests and their availability and can record and run your show as per your convenience.
The only downside to this is that sometimes this format can become a little monotonous and since there is no external commitment to create an episode and hence no accountability, there is a tendency for you to procrastinate and postpone your schedules.
Often this format of podcasting is what tends to die-off.
But then there are a lot of successful podcasts in this format as well. And most of these are hobby podcasts. The shero-shayari podcasts that we spoke about in the first episode falls into this specific format.
Story-telling is another such broad niche in this format and there are multiple sub-niches in this.
One such successful podcast in this format and in the story-telling niche is the “Baalgatha” podcast run by Amar and his Wife. The narration is done by different people though, all as part of Baalgatha.
Indian Noir, is another such successful podcast by the award winning author Nikesh Murali. He narrates the stories that he has self-written. The niche is the Horror niche.
SECRET TIP – The horror niche is a very interesting niche and has a tendency to quickly gain followers and listeners.
Paranormal Reality is a podcast in this same format, that deals with Paranormal stories or, experiences that are shared by Jay Alani, a paranormal investigator.
Another very successful podcast in this format is “The Habit Coach” in the motivation and inspiration niche and which basically is about creating simple habits in life.
Dialogue or, Discussion Format
This is a variant of the conversational style format where there are 2 hosts who discuss about specific topics or, topic.
It is in the form of a dialogue and both the hosts contribute their own thoughts about the topic in discussion.
The topic can range from social awareness, informational topics and even current affairs.
There are a lot of podcasts these days on current affairs and most of these are run by media houses.
SECRET TIP – This format is again cost-effective and doesn’t depend upon external resources. If the two or, three hosts in the podcast are ready, the show can be recorded.
And because of the conversational style, there is less monotony for the hosts as well as the listeners. Also there is some amount of accountability involved with each of the hosts pushing the other to record the show.
Our podcast The Tastes of India, hosted by my wife Puja, who is a food blogger falls into this format. Though she is the main host in the show and the show is about food and recipes, there is a conversation that the two of us do and we primarily talk about social awareness related topics.
Two things to note in this is that while we picked the food niche and specifically vegetarian Indian recipes for our show, we also touch upon day-to-day aspects in the life of an Indian, including but not limited to social issues.
Then there is another such podcast I really love listening to. That is “the writer and geek” show. This is a very unique show where two brothers talk about stuff that you and me have always wondered but never had time to Google about.
Now this niche – “the Geeks”, is a very tight one and the audience is also very limited. But the best thing about this niche is that anyone who has an interest for this topic will never miss the show. That way you have a very dedicated and loyal audience for your show.
The Theatre Format
Now this is a format that I haven’t seen a lot in my earlier days with podcasting.
This in fact is a relatively new style in podcasting.
If you know anything about radios and the shows that they hosted back in the early 80s, you would be able to connect to this style of podcasting.
In those days, there were shows where a complete movie was played out in the form of audio with every character enacting their role.
In fact there were even plays that were enacted out in some of the shows.
This format has become quite a rage in Podcasting these days. There are multiple shows in this format and most of them are run by Media houses.
Why media houses?
Because this format requires quite a lot of resources.
You will need multiple voice actors, a story in the form of a series, recording studios that can record multiple voices together, background scores and so on.
While this is a very engaging format, I would recommend this format to normal podcasters like you and me, excepting you being a story writer or, author who wants your story to be broadcasted.
One very popular niche in this format is again, horror. You would see multiple such shows like Karma is a witch, Kya Woh Sach tha etc.
We will look at bringing one such host on our show at some point later so that you get a hang of how this format works.
Another one such popular podcast is the narration of “The Mahabharata” created by HT Smartcast.
What is the best format for Your Show?
Now that we have spoken about all formats, its time to decide on the format for your show.
So, what’s my suggestion.
If you are a newbie, without a budget then the best format for you to start off with is the Monologue format.
But keep in mind that it requires a lot of commitment and self-accountability to continue producing your shows. It is here that the activity that I spoke to you about in the first episode, the sticky note in front of you.. that will come in handy..
It will keep pushing you to produce your shows.
If you can get a friend, whose frequency matches that of yours and who would like to work along with you, then the best format to start off with is the dialogue or, conversational format.
This again is a low cost format with little to no budget.
In fact if the two of you are at separate locations, even then this format can work and we will discuss about how to go about that.
If your niche is something like that of Inspiration or, motivation where you can get that impact only by bringing in guests, then the interview format is what is good for you.
As of now, I wouldn’t recommend the theatre style format unless you have a big budget and can hire a media house to produce your shows.
Now an obvious question.
This also came up in one of the my first interaction with a podcasting enthusiast, this last week was – is there is a restriction of following a specific format?
Absolutely not.
For eg: this podcast – the podcasting university is a combo format – a monologue combined with an interview style.
There are lot of podcast out there who do something similar.
Most of the shows that I mentioned in the interview format like smart passive income, online marketing made easy etc. all follow that combination of a monologue with an interview and dialogue.
But, when you are starting off, I would recommend that you follow a specific format to ensure continuity and consistency.
Okay.. now that we have decided on the format, we are ready to launch your show.. Right?
Not exactly though..
A few more things in terms of the preparation for the show.
So stay tuned to our next episode where we will be discussing about preparing for the launch of your show and one of the first topics on launching a podcast – the host.
And all this before we bring in the first guest to our show.
That’s it for this episode.
But before I leave the activity for this episode. Depending upon the niche you picked in the last episode, decide on the format of your show. Then comment below and tell me about the format that you have decided for your show and why.
Keep in mind, that if you follow along with me and do each of the activities that we ask you to do at the end of the show, then you will find that you have taken the plunge in podcasting without even you knowing about it. Else you will keep procrastinating..
And like what Gary Vee says, “go out there and do it. just do it”..
If you would like to talk to me about your podcasting idea, then just hit me up by using the contact button here.
Do download the Hubhopper app to get the the easiest and best podcast listening experience.
0 comments