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The podcast industry is booming. According to our own data. over 3 million podcasts stream on the most popular platforms. Moreover, over 62% of U.S. consumers listen to podcasts. These impressive numbers mean one thing – there’s no better time to start a podcast than now.
But like any business venture, research and due diligence is necessary to ensure success. One of the very first things you need to get out the way is to identify a topic for your podcast. Luckily, we have a guide that covers 40 podcast topic ideas. With our ideas, you’ll turn your passion into a revenue-generating channel. So, let’s get started.
Choosing the right podcast topic is crucial for creating a successful and engaging show. Here are some actionable tips to help you pick the perfect topic:
Choose a topic you are passionate about and knowledgeable in. Your enthusiasm will shine through and keep your audience engaged. Reflect on your interests and consider what you could talk about for hours without getting bored.
Explore existing podcasts in your chosen niche. Identify what they are doing well and where there might be opportunities for you to offer something unique. Avoid oversaturated topics unless you have a fresh perspective or unique angle.
For example, if you’re thinking about launching a sports podcast, research the best of the best. For example, Pardon My Take from Barstool Sports talk about stuff going on in all sports, while The Athletic FC Podcast focuses exclusively on football (soccer). So unless you want your podcast to cover a broad range of sports, The Athletic FC Podcast might be a better option to research and benchmark against.
Determine what sets your podcast apart from others in the same niche. Your USP could be your personal experience, a unique format, or exclusive insights. Clearly define this before starting to ensure your podcast stands out.
One of the very best podcasts out there, The Joe Rogan Experience’s unique selling point is its long-form, unfiltered conversations with a diverse range of guests. Joe regularly digs deep into a wide array of topics from science and politics to comedy and pop culture. Essentially, the podcast’s unique selling point is Joe Rogan himself, hence why so many guests are eager to jump on at a moment’s notice.
Source: JRE Podcast
Begin with a broad area of interest and then narrow it down to a specific niche. This makes it easier to find a dedicated audience and produce focused content. Like a previous example, instead of “sports,” you could focus on “youth soccer coaching tips.”
Before committing to a topic, test your ideas by creating a few sample episodes or blog posts. Share them with friends, family, or a small audience to gather feedback. This will help you gauge interest and refine your approach.
Outline a content calendar with potential episode topics before launching. This will give you a clear roadmap and ensure you have a steady stream of ideas. Planning ahead helps avoid burnout and keeps your podcast on track.
Tap into the heart of your community by sharing local news events. This type of podcast can be your listeners’ go-to source for a balanced news roundup. The key is to strike a balance between important local issues and exciting happenings. Keep it engaging to maintain a loyal audience.
Popular Local News Podcasts:
Expand your horizons by covering international news headlines and offering insightful political commentary. One of the top-earning creators on Patreon, Chapo Trap House, is an American political podcast. To reach similar heights, however, you’ll need a unique angle and stand out.
Popular Global News and Politics Podcasts:
Creating a product review is one of the top ideas for blog posts and can just as easily be turned into a regular segment on your podcast.. Help your audience make informed purchasing decisions by creating engaging product reviews. Focus on the latest releases and compare them to older products to provide valuable insights. Enhance your podcast with occasional unboxing videos shared on social media.
Popular Product Review Podcasts:
Everyone loves a good listicle! Create top 10 lists on various topics to keep your listeners hooked. The countdown format adds suspense and keeps them listening till the end. Whether it’s football goals or inspirational quotes, the possibilities are endless.
Popular Listicle-Format Podcasts:
Dive into the fascinating world of true crime. With its gripping stories, this genre has a dedicated following. Take inspiration from popular true crime podcasts and add your unique twist to captivate your audience. For example, another top Patreon creator is the True Crime Obsessed podcast, a pod that looks at true crime documentaries.
Popular True Crime Podcasts:
Share your passion for music by exploring various artists and genres. Discuss new discoveries, review albums, and interview emerging musicians. Your enthusiasm for music can resonate with fellow fans and create a vibrant community.
Popular Music Podcasts:
For book lovers, a podcast dedicated to literature can be a treasure trove. Review popular books, share curated reading lists, or focus on a beloved series. Book clubs are popular for a reason, and your podcast can offer that same sense of community.
Popular Book Podcasts:
If movies are your passion, share reviews and analyses of the latest releases. Include spoiler alerts to keep your audience happy. You can also explore specific directors, actors, or genres to add depth to your discussions.
Popular Movie Podcasts:
Instead of focusing only on books, music, or movies, you can make your main focus pop culture. This way, you can explore a bit of everything. However, this category is competitive and so you’ll need to find ways that you can set yourself apart from similar active podcasts.
Popular Pop Culture Podcasts:
From branding to PR, there are many potential topics that you can explore. The secret is to ensure that you share many nuggets of practical tips that your listeners will be able to implement.
You can look at the latest news and digital marketing trends, interview experts, or review tools. It’s virtually impossible to run out of different ideas for your episodes. You can specifically target influencers and business owners by offering to help them with building their brands.
Popular Digital Marketing Podcasts:
If you’re an event planner, one way that you can indirectly promote your services is by starting a podcast. You can structure it like a course and over the span of a season you can guide your loyal listeners to the steps involved in planning an event. In addition to sharing tips, you can also include info about do’s and don’ts like how to deal with uninvited guests, how to serve alcohol, etc.
Popular Event Planning Podcasts:
If you have some experience with starting a small business or side hustle, you can also create a podcast to share your knowledge and help others. You can, for instance, share stories based on your own personal experience. Though, remember to keep it valuable by including actionable strategies too.
Popular Entrepreneurship Podcasts:
The Great Resignation (aka the Big Quit) is currently trending headlines. Yet, switching from full-time employment to freelancing is a big leap (of faith), even more so if you don’t have the faintest idea where to start. To help those interested in exploring this route, why not start a podcast that shares actionable advice? Perhaps invite freelancers who’ve been going solo for some time already to your show?
Popular Freelance Life Podcasts:
If you’re interested in financials, you can help your listeners take stock of the stock market by providing daily updates. You’ll need to keep your finger on the pulse, but it can be very rewarding in more ways than one to you and your subscribers.
Popular Stock Market Podcasts:
Are there specific problems that your audience faces? If you have the answer, can you perhaps turn it into a tutorial?
The best tutorials are informative, yet fun. So, be sure to keep it entertaining. You can also invite experts onto your podcast who can help you to find the answers to your listeners’ pain points. If the topic is quite elaborate, you can always turn it into a series of how-to podcasts.
Popular Tutorial Podcasts:
Most people eat at least three times a day. So, cooking is a hot topic for a reason. In addition to teaching your listeners how to cook, you can also interview local chefs or give your take on dishes at popular restaurants. For this to work, though, you’ll need to be willing to part with some of grandma’s secret recipes.
Popular Cooking Podcasts:
Instead of picking a more specific niche like cooking, you can focus on general hacks that your potential listeners can use to navigate everyday life. From buying furniture to saving money to household hacks, there are many handy hacks that you can share. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, simple solutions are just what your audience is after.
Popular Hacks Podcasts:
Emerging technology like 3D printing can make for an interesting show. From product reviews to different techniques to practical uses, there are loads that you can cover. Be sure to keep your pulse on industry news so that you can be one of the first podcasters to reveal important developments. You can also answer questions sent by your subscribers to keep your content relevant and listeners engaged.
Popular 3D Printing Podcasts:
While 3D printing is currently a trending topic, you can choose to focus on a broader area like manufacturing or design or simply tech in general. To mix it up, you can cover a bit of everything: the latest tech news updates, gadget reviews, future predictions, etc.
Popular Technology Podcasts:
According to gaming statistics, it’s expected that the industry will reach over $268 billion by 2025. While you won’t be able to livestream your games, you can create a podcast that reviews the most popular games and shares insider tactics.
Popular Gaming Podcasts:
Most pet owners need help with basic pet care. From one fellow animal lover to another, you can help your listeners to understand their pets’ cues or simply share funny stories about the secret life of pets.
Popular Pet Podcasts:
When sports fans aren’t watching the actual game, they’re watching a show about the game. Whether it’s a prematch buildup or postmatch interview, there are hours of content available to keep fans entertained. So, if you want to create a podcast that focuses on sport, you have a captive crowd. In addition to summarizing the highlights of the most recent match, you can also include interviews with coaches and professional sportsmen. You also don’t necessarily need to stick to just one sport.
Popular Sports Podcasts:
You only need to look on Instagram to see that travel is a trending topic all-year round. Each episode can be dedicated to a specific town or region. To differentiate your travel podcast from similar shows, you can try to interview locals who can share some of their favorite attractions and activities that will guarantee a real authentic experience. If you regularly travel, you can also share some of your personal adventures.
Popular Travel Podcasts:
One of the appeals of camping is the long list of gadgets and gear that you can buy to take your camping experience to the next level or possibly turn it into glamping instead. Needless to say, the packing and prepping is an adventure on its own. So, you have loads of topics that you can cover. The industry is also huge. More than half of millennials are campers.
Popular Camping Podcasts:
With the growing concern over global warming, more people are interested in sustainability and reinvestigating their living arrangements. Tiny homes are currently huge! Increasingly more people want to go completely off the grid, but need some help.
Another related topic that’s becoming popular is urban farming. What equipment do you need? What types of vegetables are the easiest to plant? By exploring topics like these, you can help your listeners to live more sustainably when they’re not quite ready to go off the grid.
Popular Alternative Housing Podcasts:
If you’re thinking about starting a fashion podcast, make sure that you target a specific age group or style. Will your content appeal more to millennials or stay-at-home moms? There’s a big difference.
Popular Fashion Podcasts:
Starting a podcast can offer you a great platform to grow your online presence. In addition to using the medium to grow your number of followers, you can also use it to create more exposure for your work. For instance, if you’re a writer, you can read your short stories or poems or excerpts from your novel to your audience. Think of it as a type of open mic evening.
If you don’t want to share your own writing with the world, you can simply offer writing tips. Many people feel insecure about their writing skills and would be interested in a show that can help them develop in this area.
Popular Creative Writing Podcasts:
If you have a background in science, you can create a podcast so that you can explain complex topics in a way that’s easy to understand. Over recent years, there have been many creators (like Mark Rober and the guys at Mythbusters) who have found ways to make science interesting. The benefit of using podcasting as a medium is that you don’t actually have to go blow up stuff.
Popular Science Podcasts:
It doesn’t have to be anything intricate or overly complex. There are many everyday objects like the modest paperclip that have interesting origins. Ever wondered how they get jelly beans to taste like butter popcorn? You’re probably not the only one.
Popular How Stuff’s Made Podcasts:
There are many psychology-related topics that you can explore without the need to go too deep into the details (or the subconscious for that matter). You can, for example, discuss different life stages and personality types. You can also possibly let your podcast take the form of a self-help course as you help your listeners to create positive changes for their lives.
When going this route, just remember to make it clear that you’re not a licensed therapist and that your podcast shouldn’t be seen as a substitute for professional help.
Popular Psychology Podcasts:
Whether it’s to inspire or help your listeners prepare for bedtime (in which case it’s probably a good thing if they fall asleep while listening to your voice), there are many types of meditations that you can offer in podcast format. You can, for instance, help your subscribers with negative thinking, mental focus, or stress. Though, be sure to keep it short (most meditations are only 10 minutes long).
Popular Guided Meditation Podcasts:
Motivational stories and quotes remain firm favorites and appeal to all age groups. Each week you can cover new inspirational stories from successful people. Positive thinking attracts positive things and positive podcasts are bound to attract subscribers.
Popular Inspirational Stories Podcasts:
Exercising the body is as important as exercising the mind. Whether it’s running, cycling, or swimming, you can include tips and let trainers weigh in on how to get the best results. Perhaps you can share your own fitness journey on your fitness podcast?
Popular Fitness Podcasts:
While you become a parent in a second, it takes a lifetime to learn how to be a good one. As the proverb goes, it takes a village to raise a child. Whether it’s a village or a podcast community, there are countless new parents who will be only too grateful for practical tips. It doesn’t necessarily just have to be actionable insight, sharing your own authentic experiences can let other parents know that they’re not alone.
Popular Parenting Advice Podcasts:
Parents often turn to the TV or iPad to keep their kids entertained. Though, these mediums are visual and can be at the expense of developing their auditive skills. A gap in the market is to read a children’s book that’s in the public domain out loud. Depending on the storyline, you can even involve a bigger cast.
If you prefer to target slightly older kids, you can include other forms of entertainment like puzzles, jokes, or fun facts too. Many people prefer to listen to podcasts while they’re commuting and, after all, adults aren’t the only ones who spend hours on the road. A podcast for kids can be a huge aid during the school run.
Popular Children’s Stories Podcasts:
You don’t necessarily have to share the life stories of well-known figures. There are many everyday heroes walking among us who have interesting stories and anecdotes to share.
Popular Biography Podcasts:
History doesn’t need to be boring. You can keep it interesting by focusing on events that haven’t been covered a lot. Another idea is to select a theme, like famous painters, and create a season around that.
Popular History Podcasts:
Whether it’s the history of art or painting techniques, art can make fascinating topics, even if you can’t get practical. Perhaps turn it into a Q&A podcast? This type of format is a great way to get your audience involved and boost listener engagement.
Popular Art Podcasts:
While behind-the-scenes content works really well if you have a channel on YouTube, you can also dedicate a podcast episode or two to what goes on behind the mic. It might be more challenging to take on this type of project without a camera, but it can be done and it can be quite interesting. You can, for example, invite different guests onto your show and ask them to share what their typical day looks like.
Do they have a specific morning routine? What systems do they have in place to ensure smooth sailing? Is there an office mascot that supervises their work?
Alternatively, you can simply look at a day in the life of someone that your target audience will find interesting (perhaps a few celebrity interviews). What does their typical day look like? If the response is great, you could possibly use this format for your whole podcast and in each episode just take a look at a day in the life of another interesting character.
Popular Behind the Scenes Podcasts:
One of the secrets to hosting a successful podcast is to keep it interesting. For that, you’ll need interesting content. There’s an infinite list of random facts that will keep your listeners engaged. You don’t need to look far.
Popular Random Facts Podcasts:
Choosing the right format for your podcast can significantly impact its appeal and effectiveness. Here are ten popular podcast format options, along with explanations and examples for each:
In this format, the host interviews different guests in each episode. Guests can be experts, celebrities, or ordinary people with interesting stories.
A single host runs the entire show, sharing their thoughts, experiences, and expertise on various topics. This format is great for building a personal connection with the audience.
Two or more hosts lead the show, discussing topics, sharing opinions, and sometimes interviewing guests. The dynamic between hosts can add a layer of entertainment and relatability.
A group of hosts or experts discuss a specific topic, often with a moderator guiding the conversation. This format offers multiple perspectives on a subject.
Tells true stories using a combination of narration, interviews, and sound design. This format often feels like an audio documentary.
Creates fictional stories, often with serialized episodes. These podcasts use voice actors, sound effects, and music to bring the story to life.
Combines elements of different formats, such as interviews and solo segments or narrative storytelling with expert commentary.
Focuses on teaching the audience about a specific topic or skill. The content is informative and often structured like a lecture or tutorial.
Similar to a panel podcast, but typically more informal. A group of people (often friends or colleagues) discusses a topic in a casual, conversational manner.
Features live or pre-recorded calls from listeners who ask questions or share their stories, often with the host providing advice or commentary.
Each format offers unique advantages and can cater to different audiences and content types. Choose the one that best fits your strengths and the interests of your target listeners.
The podcast industry is thriving, with millions of shows available across various platforms and a significant portion of the population tuning in regularly. This creates a prime opportunity for you to launch your own podcast.
By carefully selecting a topic that aligns with your passion and expertise, and choosing a format that suits your strengths and audience’s preferences, you can create engaging and successful content. Whether you aim to inform, entertain, or inspire, there’s a podcast format and topic out there for you. Start planning, test your ideas, and dive into the exciting world of podcasting.
Good topics for a new podcast include local news, global news and politics, product reviews, true crime, music, books, movies, pop culture, digital marketing, and entrepreneurship. Choose a topic that aligns with your passion and expertise.
To come up with podcast ideas, start by identifying your interests and expertise. Research what your target audience is interested in, and explore gaps in existing podcasts. Consider your unique perspective or experience that you can bring to a topic.
Trending podcast topics include true crime, personal finance, mental health, technology, fitness, self-improvement, pop culture, news and politics, and storytelling. Keeping up with current events and emerging trends can help you stay relevant.
Structure your podcast content with a clear introduction, main content segments, and a conclusion. Include engaging elements like interviews, storytelling, and Q&A sessions. Plan episodes in advance and maintain a consistent format to build a loyal audience.
Niche topics that could attract a specific audience include sustainable living, urban farming, creative writing, guided meditations, alternative housing ideas, 3D printing, gaming strategies, pet care, and children’s stories. Focusing on a specialized area can help you build a dedicated listener base.
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