Finding Your Podcasting Niche
We all have our preferences and when it comes to podcasting our preferences determine what we discuss and how we discuss it, such as focusing on true crime, health, finance, etc. These preferences put us in a category of podcasters called a niche. By leaning into a niche that aligns with your interests, expertise, and audience preferences you can attract more listeners and retain those you already have by appealing to those who subscribe to others in your podcasting niche.
That being said, if everyone wrote, spoke, and created the same content we would only need to listen to one person. So how do you differentiate yourself from those already within your niche?
Reflect on Your Passions and Interests
Stand out from those in your podcasting niche by being unique and personable. Start by reflecting on your passions, hobbies, and/or areas of expertise. This will be important for longevity, as discussing topics that genuinely interest and excite you will help you create engaging content while staying excited and motivated to continue doing so. When reflecting ask yourself:
What unique perspective, training, or expertise do you have?
What do you care most about and can sustain discussing for lengths of time?
Who is the audience you want to serve?
learn about building an audience on our blog
Research Market Trends and Audience Needs
Now that you have reflected on what you enjoy discussing and can sustain as your podcasting niche it is vital to make sure that there is an appetite for what you want to discuss. To get an understanding if your desired podcasting niche is worthwhile, and to continue to stay up to date, you should research market trends. Market trends are a good initial (and continued) way to get a notion of your podcast’s potential success at a glance. Grand View Research has a wide-view market research report.
In addition to market research, you want to pay attention to audience demographics in tandem with listener preferences. This is how you ultimately build success within your podcasting niche as you create a unique podcast by listening to your patrons’ feedback and adjusting accordingly. Explore podcast directories, industry reports, and social media platforms to identify popular and emerging niche topics
By taking all of these things, market research and demographics, in combination with researching other podcasters in your niche you can identify gaps in the market and really pivot your show to be a unique podcast within your niche. For example, do other true crime podcasts tell the story from the perpetrator’s point of view? Is this something that the audience is craving?
If you answered yes to the above questions, we know that true crime is a popular topic, you have a unique ability to share stories from unexpected perspectives, and your target audience craves your expertise. You have now identified a gap in the market and validated your niche ideas based on your audience's needs.
Define Your Unique Value Proposition
You’ve begun to explore your unique perspective, voice, and storytelling style as a podcaster now is the time to dive in and define your unique value proposition, a pledge/statement that clearly states why your podcast is the one they should be listening to, and what sets your podcast apart from others in your niche.
You can do this, not only by setting your podcasting niche apart by exploring a topic not yet (or often) explored but also by differentiating content format, tone, or audience engagement strategies.
Content Format:
fictional
documentary
Scripted or non-scripted,
monologue
panel
interview
etc
Tone: the way you express your personality, attitude, and emotions through your voice.
Is the podcast uplifting and light or serious?
Audience Engagement: how are you keeping your audience engaged? Is there a call to action or ways for your audience to interact to keep them interested?
Thinking about each of these aspects will help you find your podcasting niche.
Validate Your Niche Idea
We’ve talked about the steps up to creating your podcast within your podcasting niche but just like everything we need to confirm that it is worth our time and money. We need to validate our niche idea before launching. To do so we go back to our market research. Except this time you know what you want your podcasting niche to be. Take your topic, audience, content format, tone, etc., and re-conduct your market research, audience surveys, and pilot episodes to test niche viability and audience interest.
Gather feedback from friends and family, join podcasting groups (e.g. Facebook), and ask for feedback, and of course, if you have an audience ask for their feedback. Be sure that those giving you feedback are tracking with your niche concept. If not you may need to be clearer or narrow down your niche and refine your podcasting strategy based on validation results.
Plan Your Content Strategy
Planning a content strategy that aligns with your niche focus and audience preferences will further accentuate your presence in your niche and differentiate you from your ‘competitors’. Explore content formats, episode themes, and storytelling approaches that resonate with your target audience.
Create an editorial calendar: when will you post episodes?
1 or 2 times a week/month etc.
in the am/pm
Brainstorm episode ideas: get ahead of burnout and plan episodes ahead of time
you can use this planning to batch content but also to give “what’s next” highlights in the prior episodes to entice your audience to return
Maintain consistency in podcast content
stay within the niche you’ve chosen - flipping between niches may discourage listeners from returning as they don’t know what to expect from you
Embrace Flexibility and Evolution
While you find your podcasting niche and lean into planning it’s important to embrace flexibility and evolution in your podcasting journey. As you learn and grow there is always potential for niche pivots, experimentation, and adaptation based on audience feedback and market dynamics. Stay consistent with reviewing market research regularly and adapting based on feedback and the way the market is leaning.
Stay open-minded, curious, and adaptable as you navigate your podcasting niche!
Conclusion
When finding your podcasting niche remember to self-reflect and explore your passions, do your market research, tap into your desired audience’s feedback, and define your unique value proposition. Remember what will set you apart and help your podcast flourish is authenticity, passion, and continuous learning.
As always reach out for help any time and be kind to yourself!
Hav
