Podcasting has become a very saturated market over the last couple of years. It seems like anybody and everybody has a podcast these days, and the industry looks set to keep on growing. This can be good and bad for podcasters – it’s good because more interest means more potential listeners of your pod. It’s bad because it means there’s more competition for you to deal with.
This takes us to the age-old question: what can you do to stand out from the crowd. No doubt you’ve already researched this and come up with many ideas. Nevertheless, it helps to look at some of the best podcasts of all time and see what lessons you can take from them.
Film the podcast and create clips
YouTube has been a massive thing for podcasts as it’s transformed the way you get your episodes out there. Hit podcasts – like The Joe Rogan Experience – spearheaded the podcast scene on YouTube. This particular podcast did two things that you should pick up and apply to yours: filming the show, creating short clips.
While podcasts are an audio thing, some people like to watch the people they’re listening to. Having a video version of the pod gives your audience more ways of enjoying your content. But, the short clips are the main thing – this lets you split a long episode into bite-size chunks, showing people the best bits. It allows for more engagement, and it can also draw in new listeners. People watch a clip, find it interesting, and search for the full podcast – simple!
Animate your podcast
This is taken straight out of Ricky Gervais’ book, with his podcast (The Ricky Gervais Show) being animated for TV. At the time, this was one of the few podcasts in the mainstream, and the animated video changed the way it was consumed. You don’t have to animate the entire pod, but get a video agency to make a few animated shorts from some clips. This way, you can provide a story behind what you’re speaking about. Instead of seeing a clip of you sat a table, the audience can watch an animated version of what you’re saying.
This works well when you’re telling funny stories as it gives more life to what you’re saying. However, it’s also perfect if you’re explaining something on your podcast, providing a nice animated visual for people to watch and gain more context from. Hardly anyone does this these days, so it’s a brilliant way to stand out.
Don’t be afraid to express your opinion
All of the best podcasts are popular because the hosts have good personalities. People tune in because they want to hear what the host has to say, and they know they’re getting some interesting views. The worst mistake is to spout a lot of nonsense thinking it’s what people want to hear. Don’t be afraid to express yourself and give your own opinions on things – even if they’re contentious. As long as you don’t drift into the realms of extremism and conspiracy theories, you should be fine. If you try to copy what everyone else says or thinks, you’ll never stand out!
I would say these are the ultimate lessons for ambitious podcasters to learn. After all, you’re picking up things that successful podcasts have already employed, so you know they’ll work.