Creating a Compelling Podcast - Part 1: The Concept
Having attended Akimbo’s Podcasting Workshop twice and single-handedly produced three podcast series, I thought it could be helpful to compile what I have learned in this three-part series for anyone else who wants to create a podcast by themselves.
Your Guiding Principle
As of June 2021, podcastinghost.org has found that there are over 48 million episodes of over 2,000,000 podcasts that exist, and counting! You will have to think carefully and creatively to make something that does not get lost in the noise.
The general wisdom is to ‘know your audience’ by being extremely clear on the niche you will fill. However, I would go one step further and say know yourself and only create something that you will thoroughly enjoy.
Making a podcast is easy but making a good podcast requires an incredible amount of hard work and dedication (or a lot of money to throw at someone who knows what they are doing). Throughout this process, you must ask yourself what it takes for you to enjoy a podcast and make decisions based on what appeals to you.
Then, of course, you can expand it out to your like-minded audience and make sure you are catering to them as well.
Designing the Basics
Here are the conceptual decisions that you must commit to set the foundation of a solid podcast series:
- The world/reality of the podcast: Is it fiction or non-fiction? If it is fiction, what are the rules of the world in which it exists? How will that be communicated? If it is non-fiction, what community/societal/cultural norms does it assume? Who are you representing in your broadcasts? Who are you choosing to not represent in your broadcasts?
- Format: What is the maximum length of the podcast? What sections or segments will each episode have? How heavily will your script lean into a narrative structure? (Note how I did not provide the option to not have a script or narrative structure. You need both regardless of the format you choose – even when you are doing an interview or have invited a guest!)
- Long-term plan: Will this be an ongoing project or a mini-series? What will the posting schedule be like? How will you source content to match that plan? How do you think you, your guests and/or your characters and your listeners will grow from when you have started listening to several weeks/months/years later? What are 3-5 story arcs that you plan to cover?
- Starting to Plan the Listener Experience: Where is your listener base coming from? Will they be able to start at any episode or do they need to start from the beginning?
- Title and Log Line: Are they memorable? Does it make sense and capture the spirit of the show? Has someone else already used them? What comes up when you currently google them?
- Show Description / Promo Script: Is it intriguing? Concise? Well-written? Does it capture all the details about the show you would want to tell a friend?
These questions are certainly not easy and require time, meditation, and discussion with friends, colleagues and potential audience members to find the right answers for you. However, once you have these answers, write them down! Organize it nicely on a document and then, voilà! You have your show bible that will keep you on track as you script and record your episodes – which we will cover next month in Part 2!
In the meantime, if you have any questions for me, comment below or send me a note!
