You can’t log onto the Internet without running into a podcast.
Podcasts have gone from niche channel to mainstream powerhouse. The Joe Rogan Experience is one of the most influential pieces of media in the world, and hundreds of other smaller podcasts still garner massive audiences every week. There are 464.7 million podcast listeners around the world, and Apple Podcasts has 2.5 million people downloading podcast episodes every week. It’s a saturated market.
Are there too many voices for you to stand out if you start now?
No. Here’s why you should still pick up the mic and start a podcast.
The New Channel Lifecycle
Every emerging channel follows a similar pattern:
- New with very few brands engaging, so early adopters get great returns.
- After a while, the amount of content vs. the number of eyeballs equalizes. There’s an audience to be reached and returns on investment are decent, but not explosive.
- The channel becomes well-known and popular, and anyone “smart” is using it. Brands have no choice but to use it — but it’s hard to stand out just for being “new” …
This model gets repeated over and over again. You can see it in MySpace, Facebook, podcasting, content marketing … anything that’s been a hot area for marketing in the last 10-15 years. Let’s take a more detailed look.
The Early Adopters
When an interesting new channel shows up, new people join faster than marketers and content creators can keep up. That leads to a lot of eyeballs on your content fast; there’s no competition. And if your work is actually good, you’ll build an audience even faster. Smart early adopter brands jump on board at this point and see explosive growth — think of the early days of blogging or today’s darling, TikTok.
The Masses Join
Once a few marketers see other’s successes, more flock to the channel. Early adopter brands are examples and evangelists, bringing new people in.
Attention becomes harder to get because more people are chasing it, and that makes once-cheap advertising more expensive. Average quality of content goes up and it becomes harder to stand out. TikTok is starting to get to this point.
The Channel Matures
At this point, all the low-hanging fruit is gone. If you’re not creating good-quality content with a defined audience, you stand no chance of success. Cable television, satellite radio and social media have all seen the impact of poor quality content — don’t fall prey to the same shortcomings.
When you use a mature medium, you’re not catching anyone off guard anymore — engagement in this format is expected now, not a “nice to have.” This is where podcasts are today.
Engaging on a Mature Medium
At this point, a podcast is now an expected part of your content strategy, not an extra.
I’m a fan of tabletop role playing games, particularly Shadowrun (a less popular option than the market-leading Dungeons and Dragons). When I was just getting into Shadowrun about 10 years ago, I looked up “actual play” podcasts online. Most were very, very bad. The audio was scratchy and the play sessions didn’t work in podcast form. Now there are multiple good options — I would never listen to those original podcasts now.
Once a medium has matured, you can no longer stand out unless you have great content. If you’re competing against established brands, you’ll find yourself at a disadvantage — you can’t do the same thing but just as well, you have to be better. Otherwise you run the risk of your audience rolling their eyes when you say you’re starting a podcast. “Really, another one? Do we need one more show about this?” they might say.
That being said, you’re not too late. You just have to find the right lane.
Direct Mail’s Example: Focus on the Niches
Direct mail is a great example of how marketers can still find success in a saturated field. It’s a very mature medium — but response rates are still good, and despite the fact that digital has exploded, direct mail volume actually grew 1% in 2022 after a pandemic-related drop. Most direct mail pieces don’t look like they used to, though. Gone are the days of shotgunning out a catalog. Instead, the brands that find success in direct mail are creating unique, niche, dynamically printed, personalized or geographically-limited pieces.
The same thinking should be applied to podcasts. Podcasts have fantastic reach, and they’re critical for reaching the ever-growing mobile audience. They make very good long-form content pieces.
You can build a successful podcast. You just have to recalibrate your expectations. Focus on the niches and concentrate on content that fits your audience; don’t try to be the next The Joe Rogan Experience or This American Life.
How to Build a Podcast that Succeeds
There are three steps to take when you establish your podcast.
1: Figure out what you’re good at.
What’s your niche?
Take a pen and a piece of paper and start writing, and don’t try to narrow down yet.
Name some fields that you have ability in — you personally or your company. Maybe your firm is good at accounting or social media. Maybe you’re great at Italian cuisine. Maybe your skill is more abstract — you’re good at finding and highlighting people who are skilled in a niche or have interesting things to say. Write down a bunch of these areas of expertise, then pick the top 3 or 4 to explore further.
2: Look for under-served, interesting niches your audience wants.
What is your audience looking for?
Take a look at your list and find topics of interest for both you and your intended audience. Then sit down and look through the podcasts in those niches. Look at what’s getting traction — then look at what’s not there. Those are the spaces where you can find opportunity.
I’m an NBA fan, and one of the best examples of this in that space is the Dunc’d On podcast, which specifically focuses on trades, transactions and the salary cap. That’s a small subset of the NBA audience, but before that podcast (and a handful of others), no one was serving them. Hosts Nate Duncan and Danny Leroux saw an opportunity where their expertise and an audience need lined up and took advantage.
3: Find a unique angle.
You need an angle people can connect with. Consider: are you an insider or an outsider?
Insiders position themselves as authorities in a particular field. They’re often celebrities or experts that others in the field recognize, though they don’t have to be. They sell you on their knowledge of the nitty-gritty details and the behind-the-scenes.
Are you considered an authority in your field? And if you’re not considered an authority, do you have the experience or connections to become one? If the answer to either of these questions is “yes,” you should angle yourself as an insider. Look at former (and current) athletes and wrestlers for examples, like Pull Up with CJ McCollum or The Steve Austin Show.
Outsiders don’t pretend to know what happens behind the scenes. They don’t lean on authority to establish their value for the audience, but something else — humor, connections, other people’s authority (interview shows, for example).
Some lean on irreverent humor (the now-defunct Bodega Boys podcast did this well). Others take an investigative angle — you’re following along with this person as they learn about a subject. Serial is probably the best example of this approach. And some interview shows have an outsider angle too, as the host is learning about their guest at the same time you are — The Joe Rogan Experience or Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend.
Lines can blur, particularly with interview shows. But broadly speaking, you can break shows down into either insider or outsider models.
Look at your experience, connections and reputation and decide which of these angles makes the most sense for your podcast. If you’re an expert, use that authority. If you’re not, don’t pretend you are — embrace outsider status and bring your audience along with you on the journey of discovery.
It’s Not Too Late to Podcast
There is a lot of podcast competition. But don’t let that put you off starting your own show. You can still find success in a crowded market, and it starts with differentiating yourself.
Find what you’re good at, look for the under-served niches and figure out your angle. Then get started. And if you need a hand with anything related to your content marketing, we’re here to help. Just drop us a line, anytime.
Best Regards,
David Brandon
Copywriter
Rainmaker Digital Services