Make A Business Podcast That Stands Out
How Do You Make a Business Podcast That Stands Out?
Podcasting continues to be a growing medium. Every day, new shows are launched. And as of this recording, there are now well over 2,000,000 podcasts available in Apple Podcasts.
The motivations and ambitions of those who get into podcasting vary from person to person. But for those who put the time and work in, the rewards can be huge.
Business and industry podcasting is where you'll find many who are reaping the benefits of their content. This ranges from individuals working on side ventures outside of their day job, the side hustles, to multinational companies.
As more businesses move towards podcasting, people are looking at ways to stand out. To do something a bit more differently.
So, if you want to make a show for your own company or brand, what sorts of things should you do to avoid becoming just another one of the pack?
Let\u2019s go over some ideas and suggestions that will help you make a business podcast that stands out, and attract your current and potential clients or customers to listen.
Let\u2019s take a look at the most common business podcast format
- Intro music
- The host introduces show
- Interview
- Host summarizes and closes show, adds call(s) to action
- Outro music
There's absolutely nothing wrong with this format. In fact, this is the perfect structure for a majority of podcasters. Listeners are very used to it, it's practical. And it doesn't require a big investment of time or money with additional production elements.
But if you really want to stand out, it's going to be very hard to do that following this format. It's very common.
What's the alternative? Let\u2019s go over an idea.
Are you the authority, or your guest?
There are many benefits of running an interview show. The big downside is that you're never the true authority on your own show \u2013 your guests are. An interview-style podcast, at its core, is a networking tool for you and your business.
You don\u2019t need to stop having guests in order to stand out. But make sure it's a conscious decision rather than something you've been led to believe is a necessity. Understand what this style podcast is going to accomplish for you and your guest.
How about...
Reworking the ConversationsIf you will be having guests on your show, consider throwing out the common intro, interview, outro cadence approach.
Let\u2019s say you do want to make a business podcast, and you\u2019re going to start with a season of 15 episodes.
And, you\u2019ll be lining up 15 guests.
The \u201cconventional\u201d way of doing this is that each episode will be an interview with 1 of these 15 guests.
The conversation takes the usual approach. You ask them how they got started in what they do, what problems they overcame, how they became successful, and what advice they have for others. The typical flow of this interview format.
But, this doesn't really stand out. Especially if your guests are often interviewed on other podcasts. Where they\u2019ll probably cover exactly the same ground, talking about their latest book, or their latest TED Talk.
Let\u2019s consider an alternative.
A Season of Topics, Not GuestsCome up with 15 topics.
Each topic is basically a question, or themed set of questions. These will be similar to the questions asked in that common interview style, so you've got things like \u201cproblems you overcame,\u201d and \u201cadvice for others.\u201d
Then you can throw in things that are a bit different from the norm.
\u201cWhich talent would you most like to have?\u201d, and \u201cWhat technology do you wish existed?\u201d, for two examples.
In each interview, you ask the 15 guests your 15 questions, along with any follow-up questions.
Then,