Wish to begin speaking about one other matter in your podcast? Must you simply combine them collectively?
My basic suggestion isn’t any, you should not. However this performs out in just a few alternative ways, and I do have a suggestion for what to do as a substitute. Like most issues, although, I do not need you to only comply with my recommendation. I need you to weigh these concerns for your self and make the proper choice to your personal podcast and your personal viewers.
1. The podcast versus its episodes
Once I say “podcast,” I am speaking concerning the total present that accommodates many episodes. The podcast isn’t a single episode. It is the umbrella, and the episodes are the person releases underneath it.
So when you consider mixing matters, there are two approaches. You possibly can combine matters inside an episode, or you’ll be able to combine them throughout your podcast the place every episode is its personal matter. For instance, episode 50 covers matter A, episode 51 covers matter B, episode 52 goes again to matter A, and so forth.
I am a fan of single-topic episodes, and you may see that in how I run The Audacity to Podcast. Every episode normally focuses on one matter (and typically I unfold one matter throughout a number of episodes when I’ve so much to say). Single-topic episodes set clear expectations, they’re simpler to title, and so they’re simpler to advertise. I can merely say, “That is the episode you want for this matter, and that is all you may get from it.” I haven’t got to inform you to skip to a sure chapter.
That mentioned, for those who do have multi-topic episodes, that is an ideal motive to make use of chapters so you’ll be able to level folks proper to the half they need. And if you are going to do chapters, you realize what to do. Use PodChapters to transcribe and chapter your podcast in seconds. No joke, it takes me about 30 to 60 seconds to do what used to take me about half an hour throughout 5 completely different apps.
In case you’re undecided how one can title an episode that genuinely covers multiple factor, I cowl that in 5 Methods to Deal with Multi-Subject Episode Titles.
One vital clarification: I am not speaking about protecting completely different sides of the identical matter. The Audacity to Podcast is all about podcasting. Sure, I cowl many subtopics, however all of them reside underneath podcasting. I do not do episodes about do-it-yourself pizza or ice cream flavors. The difficulty begins when every episode is a few genuinely separate matter.
And to be clear, it’s advantageous to have a multi-topic present. You do not have to area of interest down in your matter. The subject is just one form of area of interest. You would possibly cowl a number of matters however be the area of interest your self due to your perspective, your viewers, or your method. I dig into that in 4 Kinds of Podcast Niches—It is Not Simply Your Subject.
2. What viewers and expectations have you ever constructed?
I separate these two issues on goal. Take Star Wars and Star Trek. In case you begin a podcast about Star Wars, you are going to construct an viewers of Star Wars followers. A few of them may additionally like Star Trek, however what introduced them to you and what unifies them is Star Wars. So that is what they count on you to speak about.
In case you begin mixing in frequent Star Trek episodes, you threat a bait and swap. I do not imply the occasional reference. When my cohost and I did a podcast about As soon as Upon a Time, we typically referenced Misplaced as a result of As soon as Upon a Time referenced Misplaced (plenty of the identical folks labored on each). However we weren’t protecting Misplaced. We would clarify a reference right here and there (like why “815” was at all times vital) as a result of a lot of our listeners had by no means even seen Misplaced. We constructed an viewers of As soon as Upon a Time followers, not Misplaced followers.
So ask your self: what viewers have you ever constructed, and what are they anticipating due to the way you attracted them? Do not usher in all of the Star Wars followers after which out of the blue announce you are a Trekkie now and it is a Star Trek present. Take into consideration why your viewers is absolutely there. That is the content material you need to preserve serving them.
3. What would you like your podcast identified for?
This builds on the viewers and expectations you’ve got created. When somebody recommends your present, what would you like them to say? “You’ve got gotta take heed to this podcast, it is about matter A and matter B. Oh, and matter C. And typically D and E. And infrequently they convey in somebody for matter F.” See what’s taking place? It waters down the reply to “Why ought to I pay attention?”
That is what attracted me to podcasts within the first place, nearly precisely 21 years in the past when iTunes 4.9 launched on the finish of June 2005. I had a protracted commute, I might burned out on native radio, I might run by way of my audiobooks and my very own music, after which I discovered podcasts. What hooked me was that I may discover reveals about precisely the matters I needed, and so they have been solely about these matters. One in every of my first was This Week in Tech, which was solely about tech from this week. Later I discovered Grammar Woman, all about grammar and writing. I knew what every one was for, so I may inform mates, “If you wish to learn about grammar, that is the podcast.”
Sure, your present would possibly cowl a number of matters, and that goes again to the several types of niches. What your podcast is understood for won’t be the subject. It may be you, your model, or the particular viewers you serve. But it surely’s so much simpler to construct an viewers, and to get your current viewers to advertise you, when your podcast may be identified for one clear factor. So resolve: do you need to be identified for a protracted listing of matters, or for one robust factor folks can simply advocate?
4. Contemplate your podcast search engine optimisation
Now for the extra technical aspect. Name it search engine optimisation, or AEO, or AIO (synthetic intelligence engine optimization), or no matter acronym you want. The query is identical: how are folks discovering your podcast by way of no matter device they’re utilizing? It is a lot simpler to construct findability when your podcast focuses on a single matter.
I realized this the arduous manner years in the past with Noodle Combine Community, which I’ve since retired. I put all of the reveals on one web site as a result of I might seen This Week in Tech try this. What I missed was that each one of their reveals have been about tech: Home windows Weekly, MacBreak Weekly, Safety Now, and the remainder. Completely different niches, similar matter umbrella. So one web site made sense for them.
Noodle Combine, alternatively, was a literal combine: clear comedy, TV present fan podcasts, productiveness, expertise, and Christian podcasts. That is why the tagline was “podcasts that can assist you assume, chortle, and succeed.” However on one area, I used to be attempting to construct authority and findability for utterly separate matters without delay. I additionally needed The Audacity to Podcast pages to appear and feel like The Audacity to Podcast, and the comedy podcast pages to appear to be the comedy podcast, with sidebars and hyperlinks centered on every. That is actually arduous to do nicely on a single web site.
You run into the identical drawback if you mix unrelated matters on one podcast. It is robust to rank for “podcasting” and “cake-baking recipes” on the similar time. One will overpower the opposite. And if somebody landed on The Audacity to Podcast looking for a cake recipe, they’d be confused by a web site that is clearly about podcasting. These aren’t long-tail variations of 1 matter. They’re fully completely different matters, and that splits your authority.
Here is a fast instance. I truly do provide a do-it-yourself eggnog recipe annually for no matter folks really feel like paying (somebody as soon as paid me about $250). However I’d by no means attempt to rank The Audacity to Podcast for “eggnog.” If I often did entire episodes about eggnog, the various search engines, the AIs, and the LLMs would begin to see that my present is not solely about podcasting, and that will damage my potential to rank for the issues that matter most.
Talking of which, I simply launched a brand new characteristic inside Podgagement that helps you observe your podcast search engine optimisation. You enter the search phrases you need to be discovered for, and Podgagement tracks the place you rank in Apple Podcasts (with extra platforms coming quickly). It tracks all 175 Apple Podcasts international locations, so you’ll be able to see the way you rank in Canada or globally, not simply in the USA.
It additionally splits out the outcomes the best way Apple Podcasts truly reveals them: the highest outcomes (a mixture of reveals and episodes), the podcast outcomes, and the episode outcomes. Meaning you’ll be able to observe particular person episode rankings in addition to your present’s total rankings, all the way down to hourly element. I attempted a bit of experiment with the time period “how one can podcast,” made a change, and watched the motion within the charts inside hours, with out refreshing Apple Podcasts myself.
That is a part of the Constellation tier, which additionally consists of charts and rankings, podcast networking to seek out crossover audiences, written and voicemail suggestions assortment, additional touchdown pages, and world rankings and critiques monitoring. If it is your first time, there is a free trial. Enter your search phrases, then experiment. You possibly can even launch an episode with a goal time period within the title and watch the way it impacts your rankings. That is throughout at Podgagement.
If you would like your podcast discovered for a sure factor, deal with that factor. The second you cowl a number of unrelated matters, you are attempting to optimize for a number of issues without delay, and that is a a lot tougher job.
5. What prevents you from beginning a separate present?
So with all of that in thoughts, here is my actual query. In case you nonetheless actually need to discuss different matters, what’s stopping you from beginning a separate podcast for them?
Years in the past, the reply might need been value. A second present meant a second internet hosting account and paying double. That is not the way it works in all places anymore. The host I like to recommend for many podcasters is Captivate. (That is my affiliate hyperlink, and I do earn a fee, however I genuinely love Captivate. I was on their advisory board due to their actual innovation in an area that had gone stale.)
One factor I like about Captivate, and another hosts now do that too, is that you just’re not charged by the variety of reveals. You are charged by downloads. So you’ll be able to host a number of separate reveals about separate matters with out paying additional, so long as your whole downloads keep underneath your plan’s restrict. Once you develop previous that restrict, you merely improve. You are not hit with one other $20 a month only for beginning a present that has no viewers but. By the point you do must improve, you are normally ready to deal with it by way of sponsorships, viewers assist, or different earnings.
And here is why a separate present makes all the pieces else on this listing simpler:
- Viewers and expectations. Your Star Wars present retains serving Star Wars followers, and your new Star Trek present builds an viewers of Trekkies. Every viewers will get precisely what it expects.
- What you are identified for. Every podcast is understood for its personal factor, cleanly.
- search engine optimisation. Every present ranks for its personal matters as a substitute of preventing itself.
- Cross-promotion. That is the enjoyable half. You won’t entice Trekkies to your Star Wars present, however your Star Trek listeners would possibly love Star Wars and by no means thought to search for a present about it. Once you inform them, “By the best way, I even have a Star Wars podcast,” you get that crossover. I noticed this with As soon as Upon a Time and our clear comedy podcast. Some folks began watching the present due to our podcast, and a few comedy listeners came visiting as a result of they loved our personalities. That gateway impact is a lot simpler when you’ve gotten separate reveals.
Separate reveals additionally shield you for those who ever need to swap focus. In case you cease protecting Star Wars to cowl Star Trek throughout the similar feed, that is a bait and swap. However for those who spin Star Trek into its personal present, your Star Wars podcast can preserve dwelling and attracting followers even if you’re not actively producing it. I nonetheless get emails from folks discovering my previous As soon as Upon a Time podcast for the primary time, years after the present went off the air and we stopped recording, as a result of it exists as its personal model with its personal search engine optimisation and its personal viewers.
You possibly can even use a dormant present to launch a brand new one. Massive networks do that. If I began a brand new TV present podcast, I may drop a trailer into the previous As soon as Upon a Time feed: “In case you preferred my tackle As soon as Upon a Time, you would possibly get pleasure from this new present a few completely different sequence. Nonetheless me, possibly a few of the similar cohosts.” That brings a part of one viewers over to seed the subsequent.
Actually, the frustration that impressed this entire matter comes from YouTube. There are channels I comply with particularly due to the subject they constructed their viewers round, and it bugs me once they begin posting entire movies about an unrelated matter, typically utilizing the identical thumbnail model so I click on anticipating one factor and get one other. I might moderately wait longer between movies concerning the matter I truly comply with them for than wade by way of unrelated content material in between. Whether or not it is a YouTube channel or a podcast, splitting issues out serves each you and your viewers higher. You get to develop separate audiences, and your listeners get to comply with precisely the content material they need, till they resolve they love your voice a lot they will comply with you wherever.
In case you love The Audacity to Podcast and worth the podcasting inspiration and schooling I present, would you please contemplate giving again what it is price to you?
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Disclosure
This submit might include hyperlinks to services or products with which I’ve an affiliate relationship. I’ll obtain compensation out of your actions by way of such hyperlinks. Nonetheless, I do not let that corrupt my perspective and I do not advocate solely associates.
