If you want to start a podcast but you have a wide variety of skills and interests, choosing a niche is a good idea. This can help you create more focused content that’s aimed at a specific type of listener. However, you might not know how to narrow it down to a specific podcast niche.
Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to identify the right podcast niche for your show. For example, you can consider your passions and expertise, define your target listener, and think about monetization potential. Choosing a specific niche would help you stand out in the growing world of podcasting. With millions of shows available, having a unique show or a show in a smaller niche may help you get real traction.
In this post, we’ll take a closer look at why you need a podcast niche to be successful. Then, we’ll discuss five ways to help you choose the right podcast niche. Let’s jump right in!
What Is a Podcast Niche? (And Why You Need One)
When you decide to start a podcast, you’ll need to think of a topic to base your episodes around. It can be a good idea to narrow the scope of this topic, so that it resonates with a more specific audience. This is a podcast niche.
A good podcast niche can help differentiate your show from others, which is especially useful in more saturated industries.
What’s more, general interest podcasts only tend to work for established creators that have an existing following. If you’re starting a podcast from scratch, a podcast niche can help you attract the right audience.
Additionally, while a highly specific podcast niche serves a smaller audience, it can help you build a more loyal following. This enables you to establish meaningful connections, which can aid your monetization efforts later on.
How to Choose a Podcast Niche (5 Tips)
Now that you know a bit more about podcast niches, here are five tips to help you choose one.
1. Consider Your Passions and Expertise
The easiest way to select a podcast niche is to consider your existing passions and expertise. You can reflect on your previous career(s) and identify any potential to educate, inform, or entertain others.
For instance, if you’ve worked in accounting and investing, you might want to start a podcast that gives advice on personal finance. Meanwhile, as an entrepreneur, you can share the highs and lows of pursuing a business venture.
Alternatively, you can consider any hobbies that you’re passionate about. For instance, if you’re interested in rock climbing, you might start a podcast where you encourage fellow climbers to share stories about their adventures.
2. Identify What Makes You Unique
After you’ve put together a list of potential avenues, you’ll be ready to identify a unique angle to make your show stand out. This is especially useful if you plan on creating a podcast within a very popular industry, like health and fitness or comedy.
One way to differentiate your podcast is to discuss your own personal experiences. Or, you might aim to fill a gap in the market. For example, there are tons of film and TV podcasts, but the Deck The Hallmark podcast focuses on a very specific type of of the industry.
3. Define Your Target Listener
As we mentioned, a podcast niche serves a specific type of listener. Therefore, one of the ways that you can choose a podcast niche is to define your target audience.
This way, you can find out whether an audience actually exists for your content. Plus, this can guide your promotional activities further down the line.
To get started, it’s important to conduct some market research. As an example, you might think about the leading podcast genres to help you decide whether your idea is viable.
Then, you can consider the specific demographics that interest you. For instance, if you want to cater to a specific region or age group, you should try and find out if that’s realistic.
In addition to conducting traditional research online, you may also reach out to community groups on social sites like Facebook and LinkedIn to gauge interest. Or, you can join forums on Reddit and Quora to post quick questions or entire surveys.
4. Compare Your Idea Against Competitors
To make sure that you’re offering something totally unique, it’s a good idea to compare your podcast idea against existing shows within your niche. Once you’ve identified the major players in your category, consider what it is that makes these shows so popular.
Do they offer expert opinions? Are they entertaining? Do they regularly feature podcast guests? Do they share personal stories?
Next, take a look at the previous episodes that the show has produced. This can help you generate podcast topics (although it’s important to make sure your content is original).
You might want to use a similar structure when creating a podcast outline for your own show. And while you’ll want to avoid saturated markets, some competition within your niche is a sign that there’s enough interest and potential for your podcast.
5. Think About Monetization
Although you’re currently in the beginning stages of your podcast, once your show grows, it’s natural to consider monetization options. Therefore, this is another way that you can identify a podcast niche.
Creators tend to rely on a handful of options to make money from podcasts. These methods include podcasts advertisements, sponsorship deals, online courses, merchandise, and donations.
With this in mind, there are certain niches that lend themselves well to monetization. For example, if your podcast is about investing, you might create a digital course that listeners can download for a fee:
Additionally, you can create a blog where your followers can access useful resources. Then, you can paywall protect your best pieces of content behind membership plans.
For a majority of these monetization models, it makes sense to create a podcast website. You can use a website builder like Podcastpage, which comes with a range of stunning templates for your web pages:
You’ll also get access to useful podcasting features like automatic episode imports and a customizable audio player.
Conclusion
If you want to tap into a dedicated audience and improve your monetization potential, it’s a good idea to choose a podcast niche. When you create content around a specific idea, it’s easier to establish loyalty and differentiate your show from competitors.
To recap, here are five tips for choosing a podcast niche:
- Consider your passions and expertise.
- Identify what makes you unique.
- Define your target listener.
- Compare your idea against competitors.
- Think about monetization.
With Podcastpage, you can easily create a beautiful podcast website. You’ll get access to a range of professional templates, a customizable audio player, and automatic episode imports. This can help improve the user experience for your loyal listeners – no matter your niche. Get started with Podcastpage today!
