What should I talk about in my show? 

With so many possibilities out there, you might be wondering what to talk about. What is the right subject for you? 

Well, let’s work this out.

What are you interested in? In life? In your work? In your hobbies? What do you find yourself talking about to your friends? What topic keeps you up at night instead of falling asleep?

When you first start podcasting, those initial shows can seem tough. 

The reality is, at the beginning, no one will have heard of you yet, and your audience numbers will be low… or even zero. But don’t let that put you off. You’re actually making content for your future audience for when they do find you. Podcasts don’t disappear. In a year’s time, your audience will be going back to listen to this first episode.

Even so, it can be disheartening at first. What carries successful podcasters through is being genuinely passionate about their topic. If you have that burning desire to share what you know with others, you’ll have no problem waiting for them to find you. You’ll keep sharing great content because you know, when they find you, they’ll love it. 

So ask yourself, what do you really love to talk about? 

If you have an idea already, check-in with yourself: am I that person who talks about it all the time, or do I just think I would like to like it? Be honest with yourself. It’s much easier to change your mind now. 

Take a moment, right now, to go into your social media feeds and look for groups, social media channels, pages, podcasts, videos, or anywhere else that people are interested in this topic area. We’ll wait right here for you (don’t forget to come back).

Welcome back! Did you find anything? If you did, then great!

At first, you might think, “Oh no! Someone else is doing this!” but it’s actually an important sign that other people are talking about your topic, because it proves there is a market for what you’re going to make. The reality is, there are very few truly original ideas. Focusing on the niches, the unique angles, and approaches is what makes some podcasters a real success. 

On the other hand, if there are no shows covering this topic (whatever you searched for), and no one’s talking about it, you have to ask yourself why? Podcasting is quite easy to do (as we’ll show you in this course), so almost any topic you can think of has now been covered by someone. So why didn’t they cover this topic? Is there actually a market for it? You might want to continue your research for a bit longer, and maybe look into similar or adjacent topics, before continuing.

Once you’ve found a topic you’re interested in that people are talking about, then read on. 

Let’s focus on you. 

Everyone is unique. We all have different life experiences. 

So, what makes you different? What’s unique about you in relation to this topic?

Maybe you have some expertise other shows or social groups don’t have? Have you been involved in this topic for a long time, or seen things in a different way than everyone else? If so, what is that way? Be specific about it, and write it down.

If you don’t have a particular expertise, are you a great learner who can absorb things fast and pass that on to others? There are plenty of podcasts where the host didn’t start as an expert, but became one by interviewing lots of great people. 

And putting all that aside, do you have a unique perspective on this topic? A different way of looking at it? Or challenging the way it’s been covered in the past?

Ask yourself what brought you to this topic. Did something happen in your life? What problem did you want to solve in your own life when you came across this? Why did you get passionate about it? What unique experiences have you had that give you a new perspective on this topic? 

Write down as many answers to these questions as you can think of.

Now let’s test this out by being grumpy!

I want you to listen to every podcast you can find in your topic area, put on your most unforgiving critical head and, as you listen, make a list of answers to the following questions:

• What are they doing wrong?
• What do you wish they did instead?
• What topics are they missing?
• What do you have that would allow you to do it much better than them?

There are a lot of podcasts out there. If you sound like all the others, why should people listen to you? The goal here is to get really clear on why you’re different and how you can serve this audience differently. 

As we said, we all have a unique perspective. If you can get in touch with what yours is and focus on that, you can make a show in any topic area and have no rivals.

Let’s talk about “value.”

We only listen to or watch anything if it gives us value. It could be an obvious thing, like a tutorial that helps us solve a clear problem, or it could be entertainment that distracts us from a hard day at work.

It’s very easy to get into the mindset that because you enjoy talking to a guest, everyone else will enjoy it. But listening to a conversation and being in a conversation can be two very different experiences. 

To ensure you give value, you need to think purposefully about what you are going to offer.