“Why need a niche?” you might say. Keeping it general to attract a bigger number of people might look like the sensible thing to do but it’s not. In a sea of already highly successful podcasts, it’s very difficult to attract attention with a general theme as a newcomer. Focusing on a narrower subject can attract more people with the same specific interest and set you apart. People of your target audience are also more likely to come back for more and become loyal followers of yours!
So here are 5 steps to choosing your niche:
1. Choose something you love
Considering the amount of time and energy you’ll spend on this project, you should choose a subject you really enjoy, something that’ll keep you motivated and ever-bursting with new ideas. Besides, when you’re passionate about something, you’re naturally more convincing through your felt-through honesty: emotion can be felt in your voice, especially if you are the one speaking!
Extra tip: if you have a co-host you should go through this process with him/her. Make sure to agree on the niche you’ll tackle, and compromise when needed. You’ll have to both enjoy this project if you want to keep the partnership in the long run.
2. Choose something you master
Ask yourself what are your strengths, and list them. You should choose subjects that you can talk extensively about, without having to Google them. Try to list at least 50 episodes’ topics that can fall into one broader (but still narrower) topic. If you can do that then you’re certainly on the good track.
Now go through the first list and see what matches with your interests/passions.
Here starts the research part.
3. Choose something that people like (finding your target audience)
Now, after going through what you like and are good at, you should also check some statistics concerning what are the topics that are most successful in the world of podcasts. Your niche shouldn’t be something that is such a rare interest that only a handful of people would listen to it! Balance is the key to success! So, go see what people want to know more about and what’s relevant in the world, and then think about what you could add to it! Your podcast niche should find its target audience aka listeners whose topic is exactly what they were looking for!
4. Check the competition
You now have a better idea about the most popular podcasts and their themes, but if you haven’t listened to them first hand I suggest you do. Sample what seems to be the best podcasts around in the category you’re aiming for. It will take some time, but I promise you it’ll be worth it! After that, you’ll be in your target audience’s shoes and it’ll give you plenty of information on what they’re looking for.
Think about what you felt some podcasts lacked, what they could have done better, and if there is something in a certain category that would be worth in-depth exploring in a dedicated podcast. Where there is a need, there can be a market, just like in any other business. You should exploit that and take the chance to set yourself apart and target your specific audience.
Your education, work, or life experience could help you give some unique content, or give a new perspective. Offer something different, tackle the given topic from a new angle, or even use your local dialect to get viral! There are still plenty of people who don’t speak English. You should make your podcast worth choosing over all the others.
This should make you both narrow down your niche and avoid the most competitive niches where you’d get overshadowed by celebrities and other famous people who dominate in the category.
5. Choose a “long-run subject”
“Niching down” is important, but it would be wise to also “leave some space” for the future. That is, consider how you could broaden your topic if need be. The ideal niche should have the potential to evolve and be further developed in the future. Once you’ve established a consistent base of followers, you could even ask your listeners what they would like you to talk about.
Finally, I wish you happy podcasting!
By Malika Aimouri
