Finding Your Podcast's Niche

Photo by Juja Han on Unsplash

Welcome to the blog! I'll be sharing my thoughts and experiences as a podcast producer and host as well as behind-the-scenes insight into the making of CultureKlatsch. I thought I'd start with one of the most fundamental questions when starting a podcast: what will be your focus or niche?

With countless podcasts out there covering every topic imaginable, from parenting podcasts to a podcast dedicated to pinball machine repair, it can be a little overwhelming and hard to see where your podcast will fit in. But whatever topic you're interested in discussing, there's someone out there ready to listen. The first step in your podcasting journey is figuring out what your focus will be.

You may have a lot of different interests, but what sets a podcast apart is its singular focus or angle. My Favorite Murder is popular because they have a unique blend of true crime and comedy. Joe Rogen is known for his personal interviewing style, making his podcast one of the top in the country. What's the topic you're passionate about that will make your podcast stand out?

For me, there was only one thing my podcast could be about: contemporary media. Ever since I was five and my parents got cable television, I've loved TV and movies. When Netflix began instant streaming, it was like a dream I never knew I had coming true -- I could watch all day and never run out of options to choose from. And I'm not just watching, but also deconstructing and analyzing and trying to figure out what the filmmakers or showrunners are trying to do. 

Naturally, when choosing texts to analyze and theorize about in grad school, I gravitated to what I knew -- unmistakably millennial TV shows, independent horror films… Those things that might not be considered particularly literary, I wanted to write about. My work in grad school taught me how to read texts more deeply and how to bring my favorite shows and movies into academic discussions. 

When it came time to start a podcast, I had years of binge-watching experience to draw from, and I had the tools of literary analysis to help me navigate the tricky labyrinth of popular culture. Who knew all those hours spent in front of the television were preparing me for a future in podcasting? 

There are a lot of podcasts out there that review films, television shows, and books, and there are a few academic podcasts, but there was a gap in between for these in-depth conversations about media. So that's my niche. Podcasting about contemporary media feels natural to me because it's a topic I'm genuinely passionate about and can bring my knowledge and experiences to. I'm always excited about each new episode because I know it's going to be about something I love. Podcasting is time-consuming, and if you're going to spend a lot of time on a project, it should be something you would want to listen to. 

Especially as a new podcaster, it's hard to build an audience on personality alone. What will draw your listeners in and keep them coming back is a common interest in whatever your niche is. Pick a topic that you’re going to want to talk about again and again and that is focused enough to find a dedicated audience. And don’t worry about getting too specific -- remember those guys who spent a whole year talking about the movie Grown Ups 2?

If you have a podcast idea or are already podcasting, tell us about your niche in the comments! If you haven't checked out CultureKlatsh yet, head over to Spotify or iTunes to listen.

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