We cover planning, equipment, recording, editing, hosting, distribution, and growth – plus our own PATH and SCALE frameworks that you won’t find anywhere else. Let’s go…

How to start a podcast: the 10 steps

Click any step to jump straight there.

What does it cost to start a podcast?

This is likely one of the very first questions you have, and that’s totally fair. There are some one-off startup costs for equipment, and then ongoing monthly fees for the software needed to record, edit, and publish your show.

Step 1: Plan your podcast with the PATH framework

Right, let’s create this show! First is the idea behind it, and the strategy. What does it look (sound…?) like?

I’ve developed a framework called PATH. It’s a podcast plan built for compelling content and consistent growth:

• Purpose: why am I doing it?
• Audience: who am I talking to?
• Topic: what am I talking about?
• Hallmark: why should they listen?

Purpose: Why are you making this podcast?

There are two layers here.

Your functional purpose is what you want to achieve: marketing and brand-building, creative expression, community, education, or pure entertainment.

Your personal purpose is deeper. It’s why you need to create this. The reason you’ll still be doing it in 5 years when downloads are slow, and life gets busy. Maybe you survived something hard and want to help others through it. Maybe you’re obsessed with a topic and can’t not share it. The functional purpose is the goal. The personal purpose is why it’s worthwhile, whether you hit that goal or not.

Audience: Who is your podcast for?

You need an ideal listener, but most people stop too early. They describe their listener and move on. The magic is in going deeper.

Your audience has surface-level interests. But underneath? There’s always a deeper pain, fear, or desire.

Surface: “I want to learn marketing”
Deep: “I’m paralysed by contradictory advice. Just tell me what to focus on.”

Surface: “I want commute entertainment”
Deep: “Everything feels heavy. I need someone to make me laugh.”

Surface: “I want to grow my business”
Deep: “I’m working myself to death and have nothing to show for it.”

Find that deep pain, and everything gets clearer: your topic, your content, your growth strategy. Every episode, every title, every social post should speak directly to it.

Topic: What transformation do you deliver?

Your topic is the solution to that deep problem. Not “a marketing podcast” but “no-BS prioritisation for overwhelmed founders.” Not “entertainment” but “your daily dose of joy when everything feels heavy.”

Every podcast delivers a transformation:

• Educational → “I can now confidently do X”
• Entertainment → “I feel lighter and part of something”
• News → “I understand what matters and why”
• Interview → “I see new possibilities”

That transformation might happen in 20 minutes or over 20 episodes. But it’s real, and it’s what keeps people coming back.

Hallmark: Why should they listen to your show specifically?

When you’ve done the work above, your hallmark often emerges naturally. But let’s make it explicit. What makes your delivery unmistakably yours?

• Tight niche: the more specific the problem, the more specific the solution
• Personal angle: your background or perspective nobody else has
• Unique format: structure, length, segments, interactive elements
• Production quality: sound design and polish that sets you apart
• Distinct outcome: the specific feeling listeners walk away with every time

Nail this, and you’ll always know exactly why someone should listen, and why they’ll come back and bring friends.

PATH framework examples: health & fitness, pop culture

Let’s lay out a couple of examples of a nicely defined PATH, so we can see how it works.

The Health & Fitness Show

Purpose: Growing a personal training business, driven by years of hating his own body and believing he was too far gone to change. Nobody should feel that hopeless.

Audience: People in their 30s-40s who are significantly overweight and have failed multiple diets.

• Surface: “I want to lose weight and get fit”
• Deep: “I’ve failed so many times I feel broken. I’m embarrassed to even try. I need someone who gets it.”

Topic: Realistic fitness transformation for people who think they’re too far gone. From “it’s hopeless” to “small actions are actually working.”

Hallmark: A personal trainer who was once 80 pounds overweight. Real talk, not motivational BS. Every episode includes a short HIIT workout (under 10 minutes) with modifications for people starting from zero.

The Pop Culture Podcast

Purpose: A creative outlet for a zombie film obsessive who always felt like the “old guy” in online communities. He wants a space where older fans feel at home.

Audience: Zombie fiction fans in their 40s-60s.

• Surface: “I love zombie films and want to talk about them”
• Deep: “Everything online is aimed at 20-somethings who only know The Walking Dead. I want to geek out about the classics with people who remember them.”

Topic: Zombie film analysis that honours the classics and connects generations of fans. From “I’m too old for this fandom” to “there’s a whole community of us, and our perspective matters.”

Hallmark: Strictly zombie films (not all horror, not all post-apocalyptic). Bridges Romero-era classics with modern takes. Every episode features a guest from a different generation to spark that intergenerational conversation.

Notice how in both cases, the deep problem led naturally to a specific solution, which made the hallmark obvious? That’s PATH working as it should. Know your why, your who, and your transformation, and the how takes care of itself.

Step 2: Choose your show format and episode structure 

Now that we know what kind of show we’re creating, it’s time to figure out how it looks! (or sounds…?). So, when looking at how to start a podcast, what are the most common questions about how it’s delivered?

Solo, co-hosted, or interview: which format is right for you?

The format you choose is really personal and depends on who’s involved. It’s totally up to you!

So, what are the common types of podcast show formats?

The Solo Podcast

Also known as the monologue. You record (sing along!) “all-by-my-seeeeelfff!”

Pros

• Don’t rely on anyone else
• No scheduling conflicts
• Building a reputation individually as the authority
• You call the shots on sponsorship and monetisation
• No need to split the profits with anyone.

Cons

• Intimidating to record alone for the beginner podcaster
• Takes practice to avoid a monotone sound
• Can be less engaging than a conversation

The Co-Hosted Podcast

Presenting alongside a friend or colleague.

Pros

• Avoids the ‘mic fright’ of recording alone
• Good co-hosts create great chemistry and engaging content
• Builds long-term loyalty with two or more hosts
• Can set up a regular recording time to reduce scheduling admin

Cons

• Needs careful agreement over ownership and responsibility
• Need to split earnings
• Have to manage two people’s schedules

The Interview Podcast

‘Borrowing’ the expertise or entertainment value of others.

Pros

• Talk to your heroes, or other really interesting people
• Bring in different points of view & varied expertise
• Grow your network
• Some growth benefits if they share the episode

Cons

• Interviewing is a real skill: it’s hard to do a great interview
• Need to constantly find and approach potential guests
• Booking logistics, and scheduling interviews
• Builds less loyalty since it’s a new person every week
• And less spotlight on building your brand

How long should podcast episodes be?

This always depends on your content, but here are some stats on average podcast episode length:

Don’t worry too much about these figures, though. Ultimately, your episode lengths should be decided by two things.

1. Your content
2. Your audience

If you have 50 minutes of valuable, relevant content, why chop it down to 20? Or likewise, if you’ve said everything you have to say in 10 minutes, why pad it out to 30? If you do go super-long on an interview, just cut it down into two episodes!

Finally, length can actually be a ‘unique’ factor, as I mentioned earlier. Short and snappy 4-minute episodes could suit a certain type of listener, or huge 3-hour in-depth interviews might suit another. Think about whether length might be a deliberate, unique choice for you.

How often should you release new episodes?

So, how often should you podcast? Here’s the answer:

So, if you can only manage once a month, that’s fine. If you can manage every two weeks, even better. If you can manage weekly, that’s great.

You can still have a big impact with a fortnightly or monthly show, but people often plan their lives around what day of the week their favourite shows drop.

That said, sticking to a deadline just for the sake of it is pointless. You’ll have a bigger impact if you put out one excellent episode a month instead of a very average episode every week.

Should you start a video podcast?

It’s funny; in the early days, it was solely about audio podcasts, but these days, it all kind of blends together.

It’s possible to record a video podcast in great quality, using a lot of the call recording platforms you’ll read about in Step 5. But it does introduce a whole lot of extra factors that can make things more difficult.

Here’s my take:

1. Don’t believe the hype; you don’t NEED to do a video podcast. Audio podcasts are still vastly more popular, and extremely powerful. There’s also more time available in the day for folks to listen than there is to watch.
2. Video (good video, at least) can be harder to create and edit. It can also make people more self-conscious, reducing the quality of the content.

So, normally, I’d recommend starting with audio-only and adding video podcasting at a later date if your audience shows a desire for it, or if it just feels like the next natural step.

How to write great podcast episode titles

This is the final thing around formatting, and a really important one to be found in search. Choosing good descriptive episode titles is vital!

Here are two mistakes I see all the time!

Episode numbers or unknown names just get in the way of the ‘hook’. Because the goal of your title is one thing, and one thing only: give them a reason to listen that they just can’t ignore!

• What’s the real meat of the episode?
• If there’s one key takeaway or solution here, what is it?

Some examples of great podcast episode titles are:

• Why You’re Always Tired, & What to Do About It
• How to Launch an Online Business with No Money
• Get Fit in 30 Days With These Simple Strategies

Step 3: Build your podcast brand (name, music, artwork) 

In the world of podcasting, your brand is in all three realms:

Let’s get that sorted before we get into making the thing!

How do I choose a podcast name?

No “how to start a podcast” guide is complete without answering this most common of questions: What the flip do I call the thing?

There are three main camps for choosing a podcast title and naming your show.

• The Clever Name – A catchy or creative title that stands out, but pair it with a descriptive tagline so listeners can actually find it when searching.
• The Descriptive Name – Simply name your show what your audience is already searching for. Less flashy, but great for discoverability. You can still add a little personality to keep it from feeling flat.
• Your Own Name – Best avoided unless you’re already well-known. If you want to use it, add a descriptive element (e.g. Rock Climbing with Mike Smith) so people know what they’re getting.

Finding music for your podcast

There’s no rule to say your show must have music, but many podcasters include a theme to add a bit of polish.

With podcast music, less is more. Keep any intro shorter than 10 seconds, and fade into your voice from there. If you go beyond 10 to 15 seconds, you’ll just train your audience to hit the skip button.

Two great options for finding podcast-safe music are Shutterstock and Epidemic. You can pay monthly to use all of their music and SFX.

How to create podcast cover art

First impressions matter. Your cover art needs to stand out among thousands of shows in Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

• The basics: Go for 3000x3000px (jpeg or png), keep text short and large, and make the overall design bold and simple so it pops as a small thumbnail.
• Creating it: Canva is a great free option with ready-made podcast templates, or hire a freelancer if you’d prefer a professional touch.

Think of your artwork like your podcast name: it needs to balance descriptiveness, personality, and clarity, all in a single image that still works on a tiny phone screen.

Step 4: Set up your podcast equipment 

Once you’ve done the groundwork and planned out your show, it’s time to get to work recording your first episode.

This is where it’s really, really easy to overcomplicate things. Instead, let’s keep it simple, because the bare minimum you need to podcast is a recording device and the internet!

Smartphone recordings can actually be just fine to start out (hold it to your face like you’re doing a call, and hit record!). But, using an external USB microphone is a wise, low-cost upgrade that won’t complicate things.

The best podcast microphone for beginners (our top pick: Samson Q2U)

What is the best podcast microphone for aspiring and early-stage creators? The Blue Yeti might be the most popular, but it’s the Samson Q2U I always recommend to new podcasters. It’s cheaper, sounds better, and you can use it in both USB and XLR form!

The Shure MV7+ is a great mic, too. It’s more expensive than the other two, but it sits in the “high-end” bracket. I’d only recommend buying one if you’ve been podcasting for a while and have a decent budget behind you.

Can I start a podcast with just my phone? 

Yes! Smartphones are powerful little devices, and there’s nothing to stop you running your entire podcast on yours. Recording on your phone is a great, low-barrier, no-cost way to test out whether you like podcasting, too.

If you plan to use your phone beyond a few experimental episodes, add a wireless lavalier kit like the Rode Wireless Micro or BOYA Mini. These will drastically improve your audio and are especially handy if you want to record video, too.

Recommended setups by budget: beginner, standard, pro 

Here are three recommended podcast equipment and setup tiers:

Other useful accessories (boom arm, headphones, recorders)

Mounting your mic on a boom arm doesn’t just make you look and feel like a pro; it drastically improves your presentation, too. Now, you have complete flexibility with your mic positioning, no more hunching over a desk stand, and you can even stand up to record, if you’d prefer.

My favourite boom arm is the Rode PSA1+ ($110), whilst Matthew swears by the IXTech Lizard ($60). You can even mount a Blue Yeti on a boom arm, even though it famously comes with a desk stand built in.

On the podcast headphones front, there’s a chance you might get a pair of over-ear Samson “cans” in a Q2U bundle, and I actually really like those. If you’re looking for something high-end that won’t break the bank, you’ll get a pair of Audio Technica ATH-M20Xs for about $60.

Finally, if you want to run your Q2U in XLR form, or, run any other XLR mic, for that matter, you’ll need an interface or digital recorder. I use the Rode Rodecaster II in the studio, though that’s overkill for most podcasters. Matthew uses the Focusrite Vocaster 2 as a USB audio interface, and you can get those for as little as $60.

If you don’t want to run a USB device into your computer, opt for a Zoom recorder. We’ve used those regularly over the past decade and a half, and our favourites include the Zoom H5, Zoom H6, and Zoom PodTrak P4.

Step 5: Choose your recording and editing software 

Nice work, you’ve plugged in your USB microphone or your audio interface! But how do you capture a podcast recording? How do you edit the audio file? Including audio recording, removing mistakes and background noise reduction, it’s time to pick your podcast software.

The good news is that there are plenty of great packages that do both recording AND editing. Let’s take a look.

Audacity: the best free option

Audacity is the most popular recording and editing software in podcasting. It’s totally free, which makes it an obvious option for many, but it’s also a powerful and flexible platform.

Audacity always felt functional but clunky, though improvements in recent years have totally streamlined it.

With that said, it’ll still be intimidating to complete beginners and could take a bit of time to learn. Audacity also isn’t a call recording platform, so if you want to include remote guests or co-hosts, then you could combine it with Zoom for a free setup, or you might want to look elsewhere.

Alitu: the all-in-one option

Alitu started as a way to make podcast editing as quick and easy as possible. It still offers those benefits today, but has everything else you need to podcast built in, making it an all-in-one podcasting tool.

You can record solo or remotely and in audio or video. Alitu automates all the noise reduction, EQ, compression, and volume levelling for you automatically, and you can remove umhs, ahs, and long pauses at the click of a button. You can also edit video and audio by deleting text from Alitu’s automatically generated transcripts.

Alitu also has podcast hosting, so you can publish and distribute your episodes to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all the other apps without needing a separate login or subscription.

You can give Alitu a trial run, free for seven days, and test it all out for yourself!

Remote recording: what to use if you have guests 

I’ve already mentioned Alitu, which has everything you need to record remotely. There are many other top-quality remote recording platforms out there, too, from Riverside and Zencastr to Descript and Iris.fm. Honestly, there isn’t much to split these tools nowadays.

Other podcast software options

Beyond remote recording, you also have a bounty of choices when it comes to podcast editing software. Again, you can use Alitu or Audacity for all of your editing and production needs, but platforms like Reaper, Hindenburg, and Adobe Audition are popular among podcasters, too.

Step 6: Record your first podcast episode 

Time to get this thing down on tape. Or… the 21st-century equivalent, anyway! Let’s cover presentation skills and recording that audio.

How to script (or outline) your episode

Finally, we’re ready to hit ‘Record’! But what will you say? That’s where podcast scripting comes in. Here are two tips:

Word-for-word scripts give you confidence & cover the details, but they’re time-consuming to write & hard to read naturally.
Create a bullet-point outline to guide you, but one that keeps you flexible and conversational when recording.

The intimate nature of podcasting is far more suited to a conversation rather than a sermon. Feel free to use more detailed scripts in the early days, but try to work towards more flexible, natural outlines over time.

Mic technique: how to sound great on your first recording

Before trying to optimise your technique, you need to get used to being behind the mic and talking into it – especially if you’re recording a solo show.

This is hard when you start out, no question. Here’s some advice:

• Put a photo or teddy (?!) on a chair behind the mic, to have a ‘person’ to talk to.
• Imagine your audience avatar in your head: speak to them.
• Take confidence in the fact that you have a message to share, and there are people who want to hear it!

Feeling comfortable and confident behind the mic will take time and practice, or “reps” as they call it in the training world.

This isn’t an overnight process, and I know some very experienced and accomplished presenters who openly admit that they still get butterflies when they sit down to record.

The first few minutes are usually the trickiest, and then you’ll find your groove.

Of course, we also need to think about mic technique to help you sound your best.

A large part of this is simply the distance between your mouth and the microphone.

The optimal distance varies from person to person, because our voices vary, as do the default volumes we each seem to speak at.

But, a great starting point here is to stretch out your pinkie and thumb so their tips are the furthest away they can be from one another. Try that distance, then adjust accordingly.

If you find yourself up pretty close to it, you might also want to talk slightly to the side of the mic, rather than straight down its barrel. This will go a long way towards preventing annoying plosives.

If the room you’re recording in is quite echoey and reverberous, then I’d recommend getting up close to your mic – that can prevent a lot of the reflective sounds from spoiling your vocals.

Of course, it’s better if you record in a decent environment whenever possible, which brings us nicely to our next section…

How to treat your recording space (without spending money)

If you don’t want your podcast to sound like it’s been recorded down a well or inside a cave, then choose a room in your home with the most soft furnishings and surfaces.

Typically, this will be a bedroom. Some podcasters literally record in their closets or in front of open wardrobes, as all of those hanging clothes absorb sound waves, rather than reflect them.

One of my favourite tricks is to pop your mic inside a cat bed or cat house, which creates a mini “studio” around it. Sound treatment doesn’t need to extend to the entire room – only the area around the mic.

Video podcast hype has made life harder for aspiring and early-stage creators because it puts pressure on them to shoot video from day one. This means you aren’t just trying to get good sound, you’re trying to make it visually appealing, too – and often, the two are at odds with one another.

So learn how to make great audio before you try to crack video. Especially if you’re recording at home with a “use what you have” approach.

What to do when you make a mistake mid-recording

There are two ways to approach “mistakes” during your recording sessions.

The first is the ‘recover and move on’ route. This is when you get slightly tongue-tied or trip over a word. These are completely natural occurrences in human speech and, honestly, I’d just recover and get on with it.

The second is if you’ve properly botched something. Maybe you’ve misread an important fact, or you realise that you’re waffling and over-explaining something and would prefer another stab at it.

For the second instance, I’ve always recommended the three-click or three-clap approach. Pause for a few seconds, then click your fingers (or clap) three times in front of the mic, take a breath, and take that section from the top.

This means that, when it comes to editing, you’ll see those edit points immediately in your waveform, which makes cutting out those mistakes a quick and easy process!

Step 7: Edit your podcast episode

Gear: check!

Software: check!

Irrational hatred of your own recorded voice: check!

But you’ve recorded it anyway. Strong move. Now, how do we polish it up nice, so it can be catapulted out into the world?

This is where you take your podcast recording, edit out mistakes, stitch together audio clips, add music or FX, and make sure it all sounds great with EQ, levelling, compression, and more. Let’s look at how it all works.

How much editing do you actually need to do?

From awkward pauses to uhms and ahs, there is no shortage of things you could edit out in the post-production phase. But it’s unlikely you’re starting a podcast to spend hours selecting and deleting sections of waveforms.

Let’s be straight – most podcasters don’t enjoy editing, it’s just a necessary part of the process if you want to make something good. So how do we get through it as quickly and painlessly as possible?

I’ve included a few of my video tutorials here because editing is such a visual thing. It’ll be much easier for you to quickly watch what I do, rather than read me trying to explain it!

The essential edits: top-and-tail, mistakes, and audio cleanup

If you’re using a tool like Alitu, you can edit by deleting text from the auto-generated transcript, and you can remove all the ums and ahs automatically at the touch of a button.

I wouldn’t recommend removing filler words manually if you’re using a DAW such as Audacity, though. It’ll just grind, become unsustainable, and make you want to quit.

In Audacity, I’d simply top and tail the file, then remove any obvious disruptions like phones ringing, doors knocking, or coughing fits.

Now and then, there might also be sections of the conversation that you will want to prune, too. But don’t over-edit, in the main. And if your crutch words bother you, use them as fuel to improve your presentation skills rather than leaning on editing as a crutch.

How to set your audio levels

Editing out mistakes is only one aspect of post-production. Cleaning up and levelling out the audio is an essential step, and can really hurt your sound if done poorly.

In podcasting, we have a loudness standard measured in what’s known as “LUFS”. This stands for “Loudness Units relative to Full Scale”.

The above video shows you how to make your episode “loud enough” in Audacity by setting mono episodes to -19LUFS and stereo episodes to -16LUFS. I’d always recommend working in mono, unless you’re making something like an audio drama or fully soundscaped documentary-style show.

Then, the video below shows you how to clean up any annoying background hiss from your audio using Audacity.

Audacity is a great podcasting editing package, but everything is very manual, and it can take a wee bit of time to learn.

If you’re using Alitu, on the other hand, then all the noise reduction, EQ, compression, and volume levelling is handled for you automatically, so you don’t need to worry about any of this.

Alitu’s noise reduction capabilities are pretty incredible, and it can rebuild your voice and bring it on-mic if you mess up your recording, too. Check out the following sound samples, and you’ll hear what I mean:

Here’s an example of Alitu’s incredible automatic noise reduction in action.

And here’s how Alitu automatically sharpens up a recording to eliminate reverb and bring your voice ‘on mic’.

Remember, this is all handled for you – in Alitu, you don’t need to learn how it works, or ever hear the term “Loudness Units relative to Full Scale” again in your life

Adding your intro, outro, and music

The video below shows you how to edit your entire episode in minutes, using Alitu.

A big part of this is piecing together segments like your intro, main conversation or interview, along with any ads or CTAs. Then, any intro or outro music can be faded in and out at the beginning and end of the episode.

With your music, you don’t really want any more than about seven seconds at the start, before you come in with your intro. You might love your fancy new theme tune, but your listeners are here to listen to you – so don’t make them feel like they’re on hold to a call centre!

If you’re using Audacity, then the video below shows you how to add your music and piece together your segments in the multitrack editor.

Again, Audacity isn’t complicated; it’s just a lot less streamlined and a lot more hands-on. Maybe you prefer the granular control, it’s totally down to whatever works best for you!

How to export your episode, ready for publishing

Alright then, now that your episode is as ready as it’ll ever be, how do we gift wrap it for the world to hear? You need to turn that editing session into a single audio file.

That’s (shock of shocks!), really easy to do in Alitu as you simply hit the “build episode” button, as shown in my video above.

In Audacity, there are a few more steps and options, but nothing too complicated if you’ve come this far.

In your Audacity project, go to File > Export Audio. A wee window will pop up.

My recommended settings are:

• MP3 file
• Mono
• Sample rate of 44100Hz
• Constant Bit Rate Mode
• Bit Rate Quality of 96 kbps

And export the entire project.

A quick word on bit rates, I opt for 96 kbps on spoken-word mono audio. This balances decent quality with a modest file size. If I’m making an audio drama or highly-produced piece with music beds, transitions, etc, I’d go with stereo at 128 kbps.

So now that we have that audio file, what on earth do we do with it? That’s where podcast hosting comes in…

Step 8: Choose a podcast hosting platform

When it comes to getting your podcast out there for everyone to hear, you’ll need a podcast hosting platform, sometimes called a media host.

What does a podcast host actually do? 

This is one of the great things about podcasting – you don’t need to upload your episode everywhere. You create one single account to publish your show, and it handles the distribution for you.

That means you set up your podcast inside your hosting account. You enter the name, the description, choose a category, upload its cover art, and this is the place you’ll upload all your episodes, too.

Our recommended podcast hosts: Alitu, RSS.com, Captivate, Castos

I use a few different podcast hosting providers, and you can read what I think of them in that dedicated roundup. But here’s the TLDR;

• Alitu: Hosting tied in with call recording, audio editing & audio cleanup, plus podcast analytics, transcriptions, podcast distribution and more.
• RSS.com: Superb value-for-money service, fully localised in three languages (English, Spanish, and Italian), which includes customer support.
• Captivate: Growth-focused podcast hosting, with tools like media kit generation, dynamic ad insertion, multiple podcasts, podcast distribution and excellent podcast analytics.
• Castos: a host focused on private podcasting & linked with a strong production service.
• Transistor: another top-quality long-running podcast host with brilliant people behind it.

Can I host a podcast for free?

Yes, you can host a podcast for free on a few different hosting platforms, including Spotify. Though, in my opinion, RSS.com have the best free tier offer out there right now.

If you’re just testing out podcasting to see if it might be a fun hobby, then this will be more than good enough. However, if you start to take your show more seriously and want to grow and monetize, then I’d upgrade to their paid tier, which is superb value at less than $12 a month!

Step 9: Submit your podcast to Apple, Spotify, and other directories

Once you’ve created your show inside your podcast host of choice, you can then link them up to all the listening apps and directories out there. The many places where listeners can discover, subscribe to, and download your show.

How to submit to Apple Podcasts

Apple Podcasts accounts for 36.5% of all podcast consumption from the 114,000+ shows hosted on Buzzsprout. It’s the most popular podcast listening platform, and you’ll definitely want to add your show there.

Most hosting providers have a simple one-click ‘submit to Apple’ button in their interface. Here’s a screenshot from inside Alitu.

However, I’d still recommend submitting to Apple manually, because you’ll get access to some brilliant analytics in Apple Podcasts Connect. In the future, this will enable you to calculate a total ‘listen time’ metric that comes in handy if you want to work with podcast sponsors.

Submitting to Apple manually isn’t hard; you just need to go to podcastsconnect.apple.com and have an active Apple account to sign in with.

You’ll also need to have your show set up in your hosting account with at least one published episode (even a 30-second trailer will do). Grab your RSS link from your hosting provider, paste it into Apple Podcasts Connect, and it’s all straightforward. The following video walks you through it.

One of the best things about being in Apple Podcasts is that it automatically puts your show in almost all the other apps and directories. Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, CastBox, Overcast… they all use the Apple Podcasts API, making mass distribution so much easier for you.

How to submit to Spotify

Buzzsprout shows Spotify a comfortable second behind Apple Podcasts with 27% of consumption share. This is another no-brainer place to submit if you want to maximise your podcast’s reach.

The process is quite similar to Apple’s. Go to creators.spotify.com and log in or create an account.

Click on the user icon in the very top-right corner, then ‘Add a new show’. Then choose ‘Find an existing show’ > ‘Somewhere else’, and paste in your RSS link.

Again, all straightforward, but if you want to be walked through it visually, then start at about 4:09 on the video tutorial below.

One good thing about being in Spotify is that you can get episode comments, run polls, and team up with other podcasters to recommend one another. And they offer some really good analytics, too, including listen time data, audience demographics, and the music tastes of your listeners!

Other key directories: Amazon Music and more

If Apple Podcasts and Spotify account for 63.5% of consumption, and that’s before you consider the many other places you get into via Apple’s API, then you’re pretty well set at this stage.

You’ve maybe heard of Google Podcasts and Stitcher, but these have both gone to that big podcast directory party in the sky and are no longer active.

That leaves a few notable places worth submitting to, but most are clever enough to find your show and list it automatically, especially if you’ve been publishing for a few weeks or months.

• If you’re not in Amazon Music/Audible, head over to podcasters.amazon.com and click “Add or Claim Your Podcast”.
• For iHeartRadio, here’s where you can check the directory, and if it isn’t there, here’s where to submit.
• If you’re not in The Podcast Index, email them at info@podcastindex.org
• If you’re not in Pandora, you can submit it through Simplecast Creator Connect.
• If you’re not in Deezer, you can submit your RSS feed directly through Deezer Podcasters.
• If you’re not in TuneIn, use the ‘Add a Podcast’ option in their Broadcaster Portal

Anywhere we’ve not covered? What, like, a place starting with Y and ending in Tube…?

Where to upload your video podcast: YouTube, Spotify Video, and Apple Podcasts

I’ll start off by saying that you can (and should) get your show on YouTube even if you don’t record video. In fact, there’s evidence to suggest that many YouTube podcast consumers listen away from the screen anyway.

Many hosting providers offer an easy “publish to YouTube” option, where they’ll post your new episodes to your YouTube channel as “videos” which simply show your cover art and play the audio. And if they don’t offer this, you can submit your RSS feed to YouTube, and it’ll work in the same way.

The second thing to mention here is that, if you were amazed at how streamlined and synchronous audio podcast distribution is, you’ll be brought right back down to earth by video podcast distribution.

In this fragmented landscape, a video podcaster needs to upload their episodes separately to Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts (via your hosting provider).

Video Podcasts on YouTube

Go to the YouTube Studio section and click the ‘create’ button in the top right corner. Then, select ‘New Podcast’.

You’ll see three options:

• Create a new podcast
• Set an existing playlist as a podcast
• Submit RSS feed

Submitting your RSS feed is the most “hands-off”. It’ll add your new episodes automatically, though they will be audio-only static image “videos”. If you record actual video episodes, you’ll need to upload them manually and mark them as podcast episodes.

Video Podcasts on Spotify

In Spotify for Creators, go to your episode list, click the three dots beside an episode, and upload a full video version. The video plays exclusively on Spotify and won’t affect how the episode appears in other podcast apps.

It’s worth mentioning that Spotify now pulls the audio directly from the video file, even for listeners who only tune in for audio. This also means dynamic ad insertion is disabled for that episode. Something to factor in if sponsorship revenue is part of your model!

Video Podcasts on Apple Podcasts

To further complicate matters, Apple’s new way of supporting video podcasts does things differently, too.

To be fair to them, this is handled in your media host, rather than having to upload directly to Apple. But, rather than being tied to your RSS feed, this is a technology known as HLS.

Podcast hosting providers that support HLS video include Captivate, Buzzsprout, Transistor, RSS.com, Blubrry, and Libsyn, and that list is growing all the time.

You might have to upgrade your hosting subscription to access HLS video distribution, and, as I’ve said already, you should probably launch with audio-only until you find your feet and your voice. Video can always come later!

Launch with a trailer or episode zero first

You need to have at least one published episode in your feed before you start submitting it. A quick and easy way to do this is to create a podcast trailer, or episode zero. This way, you can ensure you’re listed on all popular platforms in time for you dropping your first “proper” episode.

A podcast trailer should be between 30-60 seconds long and offer a succinct hook for potential listeners – what’s it about, who’s it for, what will they get out of it, and where can they find it?

Five to seven minutes is a decent length for an Episode Zero, giving you a little more room to lay out your plans. Just keep in mind that this shouldn’t be a brainstorming session – come to the mic armed with a confident plan rather than some half-formed thoughts and a lot of “might”s.

Step 10: Launch your podcast and get your first 100 listeners 

Once you’ve set up your podcast launch, that’s when you’ll move on to thinking about podcast promotion, building your listener base, and maybe even earning a crust from your show.

Your launch week plan: what to do before and on day one

I know… this is a huge article, but there are a lot of steps to this whole process!

Here’s a handy podcast launch checklist for you now, focusing on the lead-up to your launch, and your show’s first week.

The SCALE framework: how to grow your audience 

When it comes to podcast promotion, growth and visibility, I work with the SCALE Framework:

SCALE is a practical framework for sustainable podcast growth. It’s not about gaming algorithms or chasing viral moments. It’s about doing the right things, consistently, in the right order.

Here’s what each letter stands for:

S – Syndication

Be everywhere your audience listens and searches. Submit your show to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and YouTube as a minimum. The beauty of podcasting is that once your RSS feed is live, you can reach listeners on platforms you’ve never even heard of. Don’t limit your show’s reach by only showing up in one or two places.

C – Communities and Collaboration

Grow through people, not just platforms. That means building relationships with other podcasters in your niche, collaborating on episodes, swapping trailers, and guesting on each other’s shows. It also means nurturing the audience you already have – running listener surveys, responding to feedback, and building the kind of fan culture that makes people recommend your show without being asked.

A – Advertising

Strategic spend can accelerate growth at the right moment. Podcast listening apps like Overcast are often more effective than social ads for reaching new listeners, because you’re already in front of people who actively listen to podcasts. That said, a creative guerrilla marketing campaign can be just as effective for those without a budget.

L – Live and In-Person

Don’t underestimate the offline world. Events, conferences, panels, and even vox pops out in the street can all put your show in front of people who’d never find it through a search. Real-world connections build a different kind of loyalty than online ones.

E – Email and Engagement

Your email list is your most reliable channel. Unlike social media, it doesn’t rely on an algorithm deciding whether your audience sees what you share. Use it to send show notes, promote episodes, and build a direct relationship with your listeners. Pair it with strong calls to action at the end of each episode – not just asking for reviews, but asking listeners to share the show with one specific person they think would love it.

Try at least a few of these methods in the first few months, and you’ve every chance of reaching far more of your target audience!

What are good podcast download numbers?

Podcast hosting services offer download stats, which help you gauge how your show is doing. You can also get some platform-specific data from the likes of Spotify, Apple Podcasts Connect, and YouTube.

Download stats can become an obsession, especially when comparing yourself to any popular podcast. But there are so many variables when it comes to what are “good” download numbers. You might be surprised to learn that many successful podcasters thrive with “only” a few hundred downloads per episode.

For reference, here’s a handy breakdown of the average downloads of the 114,000+ shows on the Buzzsprout podcast hosting platform.

These numbers are based on the performance of new episodes within the first week of their release:

• Top 1% – 4,611
• Top 5% – 1,012
• Top 10% – 413
• Top 25% – 101
• Top 50% – 28

So if you can get more than 28 downloads per episode, that essentially puts you in the top 50% of all podcasts – a very realistic early goal for any podcaster, no matter their topic or genre.

But ultimately, try not to compare yourself with others. Just try to improve every week, look after those who are already listening, and your show will start to gather momentum!

Can you make money from a podcast?

It’s totally possible to earn money from your podcast, and many do. It goes without saying that you need to put the work in to deliver quality content consistently over a long period of time. But, of course, this How to Start a Podcast guide has helped you lay the groundwork on that front

Once you’ve built an audience – even a “numerically small” one – there are loads of podcast monetization doors open to you. Here are a few you can try in the early days:

Affiliate links

If you ever mention any products or services they use, you could use affiliate marketing to earn commissions from your recommendations. Amazon has an affiliate program, which can be a good place to start.

Donations

A simple tip jar option for your fans is a low-hanging fruit. Sign up to Ko-Fi or Buy Me a Coffee and make it part of your end-of-episode Call to Action.

Sponsorship or ads

If your topic is quite niche, you could potentially negotiate a sponsorship with a business from episode one. I’ll not pretend this is simple, but if you find the right fit, it can be hugely beneficial to both parties.

Premium & exclusive content

You can use a platform like Patreon and encourage listeners to become paid subscribers. Bonus content is a good incentive – just record an extra 15 minutes each episode and put that section behind a paywall.

Podcast merch

Selling podcast merchandise is arguably more of a marketing tool than a monetization scheme. But setting up a Teepublic, Teespring, or PodSwag store can bring in a small amount of passive income over the years.

Frequently asked questions about starting a podcast

Here are the common questions we get asked about launching podcasts.

How much does it cost to start a podcast?

It doesn’t need to cost anything other than time. You can record for free on your phone or laptop, edit in Audacity or GarageBand, and publish for free using RSS.com or Spotify.

But if you plan to level up, a great mic like the Samson Q2U will cost about $80. You can also get all your recording, editing, and hosting tools under one roof with Alitu for $38/month.

Do I need a website for my podcast?

You can run a podcast without one, but there are benefits to running a website alongside your show – especially if you choose to sell products or services.

Fortunately, you don’t need to be a web designer to get a decent website. Most hosting providers provide one by default, and you can level up even more without any technical knowledge by using a service like Podpage.

How many episodes should I launch with?

You’ll need at least a trailer or Episode Zero live in your feed before you can submit to Apple, Spotify, and the rest. If we’re talking “proper” episodes, three is good for giving new listeners more time with you, but launching with one is absolutely fine.

How long does it take to start a podcast?

The planning stage could be months of thinking, or an afternoon with a coffee and a notepad. The nuts and bolts of recording, publishing, and distributing can all be done in about a week, amongst work and family life.

What is the best podcast hosting platform?

Honestly, there’s no single “best”, just a lot of great options. Check out Cativate, Transistor, Buzzsprout, RSS.com, Castos, or there’s Alitu if you want your recording and editing tools included.

Is it too late to start a podcast in 2026?

For perspective, there are an estimated 1.43 billion websites on the web. At the time of writing, The Podcast Index shows that there are fewer than 4,700,000 podcasts. Many of the biggest podcast hits of 2027 haven’t even launched yet. If you don’t launch, yours certainly won’t be one of them!

Ready to start your podcast?

We’ve covered a lot in this guide so that you’re armed with everything you need to launch. But the good news is, you don’t need to know or do it all at once.

Starting, running, and growing a podcast is a big project when you look at it from afar. But like any big project, it won’t feel overwhelming if you break each step down to simple “what’s next?” bite-sized chunks.

I’m not going to say that nothing about this is hard. Creating a show that people love… growing an audience… that takes work. It’s not easy – but it’s the fun type of work.

And the challenging work should always be in the topic, the content, and the messaging. Tools, gear, and tech should never stand in your way. They’re the means to get your voice out there, and they should do nothing other than enable you.

So I’ll give one final shout-out for Alitu, an all-in-one place to record, edit, and publish your podcast. Even if you’re a complete beginner in the non-techy camp, you’ll be amazed at how simple it all is. Try it free for seven days, and I’m certain you’ll agree!

In this article, we’re going to find out how to do just that. First up, though…

Podcast Description Vs Podcast Episode Description: What’s the Difference?

Let’s clear up any potential confusion surrounding the term.

Some folks refer to single podcast episodes as “podcasts”, but “a podcast” is really the show as a whole.

So a “podcast description” wouldn’t be the text that accompanies one single episode – that’s what’s known as “show notes“.

And now that we’re definitely on the same page, let’s move on to where to write that description.

How to Write a Podcast Description: Where Does It Go?

Your podcast description is written inside your podcast hosting account – the place your show essentially “lives”.

That’ll be done when a podcaster creates their show before submitting it to the listening directories – those apps and platforms where people will find and follow it.

Unfortunately, many (and I’ve done this too!) write their podcast description as an afterthought. They stumble across a big empty text box and need to stick something in there. However, tasks like uploading their artwork and the first episode seem to be the biggest priority.

Overlook podcast descriptions at your peril, though. It’s a mistake to just quickly type something in and leave it at that.

That said, the good news is that you can edit your show summary at any time. When you update any detail inside your podcast hosting account, the changes will usually appear in all podcast directories within a few hours.

Why Is Your Podcast Description So Important?

In our 2024 Podcast Discovery Survey, we asked listeners, “When considering a new show, how important to you is…”, followed by various front-facing aspects of a podcast.

They were then asked to grade each one out of five, with five being really important, and zero being not important at all.

As you’ll see from the data in the graph, the podcast description came out on top, above even things like episode titles and frequency of new episodes.

What’s more, we ran a similar survey in 2019 and ‘podcast description’ came out on top in this question, too. So it’s beyond doubt that this is something worth paying attention to!

Is Your Podcast Description Important for Search?

It certainly can be. SEO, AEO, GEO, LLMO or whatever new term we’re using today isn’t reason alone to write a good podcast description. But it’s only going to improve your chances of showing up in any search for content on your topic.

As for apps and listening platforms, many still only search podcast names and episode titles. This will undoubtedly evolve as AI search becomes easier to integrate. But for now, your podcast description does its job once the potential listener has already found your show, but before they hit play.

6 Podcast Description Tips: How to Write a Podcast Summary

Now that we know why podcast descriptions are important and how they work, how do you write a good one? Here are our top podcast description tips.

1. What Goes In?

Again, start by thinking of it as the text on the back of a book you’ve picked up and are thinking about buying.

Or, if you’re not much of a reader, the text on the back of a video game box. Or the summary of a show on Netflix.

In fact, it’ll be helpful to look at some of these and pick through the way they’re written. Are there common themes, structures, or tones?

Try reading some descriptions in your podcast listening app, too – though this can be more hit or miss because most podcasts don’t go through a publishing process in the way books, TV shows, and video games do.

Alright, how about the things you might want to consider putting in your own podcast summary?

2. Who Is It For?

Who’s your target audience? Speak directly to them in your podcast description. Let them know that this is the podcast for them.

To do this, you need to tell them who they are. This sounds strange, but it works.

“You’re desperate to learn Spanish but only have 10 minutes daily to practice”.

Those who can relate to this statement already feel like you’ve created this show just for them. And for those who disagree, well, they’re not your potential audience…

3. What Will They Get From It?

Are you going to teach them something? Help them solve a problem or struggle? Will you be motivating, encouraging or inspiring them? Or maybe you’ll be offering to entertain them and make them laugh? Whatever they’re going to get from your podcast, tell them about it upfront.

4. Who Are You?

You don’t need to be famous or well-known to run a successful podcast. In fact, our discovery survey data shows that most listeners don’t care if they’ve never heard of you.

That said, you still want to let listeners know who they’ll be listening to. So, write a bit about yourself. If you’re a qualified expert on your topic, then great. If not, let them know you’re on a learning journey, just like they are. In this case, the show’s aim will be for the presenter and the listener to learn together.

5. What Can They Expect?

Will it be interviews? Will you be talking with a co-host? Or flying solo?

Do you release new episodes on the same day every week, or do you podcast in seasons?

Some info here will help set expectations with your potential listeners.

6. How Long Should My Podcast Description Be?

This is a bit like the question, “How long should my podcast episodes be?” – there’s no ideal length. Your show summary should be as long as it needs to be to get the message across.

But you should aim to be succinct without leaving out any good stuff.

Our media hosting pals at Captivate have a 4000-character limit in this field. Honestly, you’d need to have a very good reason to go anywhere near that. Just because you write a huge summary for your show doesn’t mean anyone will read it.

Here are some excellent examples of podcast descriptions by a few successful shows. The longest one is under 680 characters and still manages to say a lot.

7. DON’T Let AI Write It For You

AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude offer a way to generate text in seconds. There’s no doubt that AI tools can help support podcasters and do some of the heavy lifting or less enjoyable tasks for them. But writing your podcast description is an important one-off step, rather than an arduous long-term commitment.

If you plan to invest time into launching and growing a podcast, but feel you’ve no time or no creative spark to even write your description, then it could be time to rethink whether a podcast is a good fit for you right now.

Writing your description is more than just text generation. It helps you solidify your goals, commitments, and value offerings. In my opinion, it’s an essential creative exercise in the podcast planning process.

By all means, info dump everything into an LLM and get a few draft examples to help you structure your thoughts. But I’d still encourage you to write it in your own words afterwards.

When you’re behind the mic, having an in-depth conversation, AI won’t be there to help you. So keep that grey matter fit and think of writing as a gym session for your brain.

Great Podcast Description Examples

I’ve used screenshots from these podcasts inside Apple Podcasts, Podchaser, Spotify, Overcast, and Podcast Addict. Here, you’ll get an idea of how they actually look – as well as read.

Dan Harris is a fidgety, skeptical ABC newsman who had a panic attack live on Good Morning America, which led him to something he always thought was ridiculous: meditation. He wrote the bestselling book, “10% Happier,” started an app — “10% Happier: Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics” — and now, in this podcast, Dan talks with smart people about whether there’s anything beyond 10%. Basically, here’s what this podcast is obsessed with: Can you be an ambitious person and still strive for enlightenment (whatever that means)? New episodes every Wednesday morning.

Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world’s best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.

The longest running (and most popular) podcast for non-venture track startups, this show follow the stories of founders as they start, acquire, and grow SaaS companies. Hear when they fail, struggle, succeed, and take you with them through the tumultuous life of an entrepreneur. If you like Mixergy, This Week in Startups, or SaaStr, you’ll enjoy Startup for the Rest of Us.

Tim Ferriss is a self-experimenter and bestselling author, best known for The 4-Hour Workweek, which has been translated into 40+ languages. Newsweek calls him “the world’s best human guinea pig,” and The New York Times calls him “a cross between Jack Welch and a Buddhist monk.” In this show, he deconstructs world-class performers from eclectic areas (investing, chess, pro sports, etc.), digging deep to find the tools, tactics, and tricks that listeners can use.

Podcraft is your weekly, no-nonsense guide to honing the art of podcasting, hosted by veteran creators Colin and Matthew. With over 30 years of combined experience, they cover everything from choosing the right mic to growing your audience and making money from your show. Some episodes dive deep into one topic, like titling episodes or using live events to build your brand, while others feature real-life case studies from podcasters who’ve been there and done it. Whether you’re just starting out or levelling up an existing show, Podcraft gives you the practical advice and honest insights you need to make it work.

You’ll notice that hyperlinks are rare in podcast descriptions. Most listening apps don’t even seem to support them.

Your show summary isn’t the place for links, in any case. It’s the job of this text to tempt people into hitting play. If you want to get them back to your website, then use that as your in-episode Call to Action and add them to your individual episode show notes.

There’s also a separate ‘Website’ field in your media host’s show settings where you can enter a URL. Some listening apps will show this when displaying your podcast. But again, you’re better off keeping listeners on the app so they’ll actually listen!

What Next?

You can only write a great podcast description if you’ve nailed down WHY you’re podcasting, and WHO you’re podcasting for.

For more on this, here are some handy resources.

• How to Start a Podcast: Step-by-Step
• Choosing a Podcast Topic
• Defining Your Podcast Audience
• What Makes Your Podcast Unique?

And if you’re looking for an all-in-one podcast-maker tool to save you time, money, and tech stress, then look no further than Alitu.

Alitu brings everything you need to record, edit, and publish your podcast into one place.

It automatically cleans up your audio and balances levels, offers instant filler-word removal, and allows you to edit audio or video simply by editing the transcript text.

Sound like a fit? Try it free for seven days and see how it works for you.

And with well over two and a half million shows in Apple Podcasts, you have to give people a reason to listen.

So, how do you make YOUR podcast unique?

• What You Think Is Unique Might Not Be
• How-to #1: The Format Unique features, length, frequency and hosts
• How-to #2: The Topic Personal angle, niche, and more
• How-to #3: The Outcome Case studies: Today, Explained and Podcraft
• How-to #4: Production Quality Editing, atmosphere, and raising the bar for quality
• How-to #5: YOU! Personality, psychographics, and the comparison trap

Taking on a new podcast, as a listener, is a commitment. Don’t underestimate that. It’s giving up 20 minutes of your time, at a minimum, to find out: is this any good? Is this going to make my life better?

Dramatic? Yea. But true? Undoubtedly.

They want a problem solved. Anything from the deep three – health, wealth and happiness – to the surface one – fighting boredom.

They pick their problem, and they search for a topic based on that. So, when they find your category, the question becomes: “Why should I listen to this particular show, and not one of the other squillion shows on video games?”

That’s where your uniqueness comes in.

It’s what makes you stand out from the crowd. It’s what attracts listeners to you like a moth to the flame.

But do you know what your uniqueness is? Or your unique selling proposition, as some call it? That’s what we’re here for.

How to Make Your Podcast Unique

What follows is a breakdown of all the ways that I’ve seen people find their uniqueness.

Some are unique to podcasting, while others apply to the broader aspects of content creation or marketing a business.

Either way, if you can find one or two elements here that you can apply to your podcast, you’re well on your way to having a great answer to the question.

Our goal today is that, next time someone asks, “Ooh, why should I listen to your show?” – you’ll be able to say, with confidence, “Now, let me tell you!”

First, What You Think is Unique Might NOT Be Unique!

There’s one trap that a lot of podcasters fall into.

They pick a uniqueness that is anything but. Sounds silly, yeah? But you see it all the time on the high street.

• “We’re the bank that gives great customer service.”
• “We’re the window cleaners that make your windows shine!”
• “We’re the restaurant that gives you great value.”

Good aspirations, sure. But not unique. Every competitor out there will claim the same thing.

Name me a bank that will say, “Nah, we don’t bother with good customer service.”

Show me a window cleaner who WON’T claim to give you shiny windows.

Find a restaurant that doesn’t claim to offer good value. Even top-of-range establishments will say their food… the experience… is worth it.

Here’s the test: can you think of a competitor who would say this? “Nope, we don’t do that.”

Your USP can rarely be quality, value, or entertainment. They’re a given in most environments.

You need something else. Something that not everyone wants to do.

For example:

• The bank that offers live chat customer service
• The window cleaner who ALSO makes your car windows shine
• The restaurant that offers the lowest prices in town on Graham Cracker Mozzarella Sticks.

How to Make Your Podcast Unique #1 – The Format

Podcast format is the most functional way to be unique. Find a format others haven’t tried, and you start generating interest immediately.

What does that mean? It means NOT following everyone else’s example, running a stock-standard interview show where you “chat about life with an expert” for 30 minutes every week.

There are a few ways to do this.

Break it Up With Unique Features

Andrew and Pete’s podcast is a great example of this. They do things differently in so many ways, but one is in the repeating features they run every week, many of which are really unique.

For example, on their last series, they ran a feature called ‘Tool Don’t Drool’. The idea is that the guest has to share one of their favourite tools. Same old, same old, you think. At first… Then you realise that the guest has to do it with a mouthful of water

Kinda crazy, and definitely not for everyone, but it suits Andrew and Pete’s style perfectly. And most importantly, it’s really unique. It teaches the listener something – the tool – while also providing a bit of a laugh, and something really memorable.

So, standard interview, to begin, but a segment format, and unique approaches to each segment to turn that into something different.

Of course, it’s possible to go too far with this and turn yourself into a show of gimmicks, but even simple features can work really well.

For example, a listener call-in section can be enough to stand out if you make it a regular feature, or a “weekly tool tip” without the water, but with your own particular take on it.

Your listeners will remember you because of the useful, memorable features you run, and they’ll come back for more.

Length

This is a simple one, but it works! Try a different length.

So many shows are 20 to 30 minutes long, and even more hover close to the hour mark. Do you know why? It’s for the same reason meetings are always 30 or 60 minutes long… That’s the way our tech works!

Book a calendar slot, and it shows up 30 or 60 minutes by default! It’s not because that’s a good length for a show – it’s just a default.

Many shows are doing really well right now by exploring the ‘short form’. Daily news podcasts, or ‘short, sharp tips’. It stands out because people can get a quick hit of info or entertainment.

Super long shows stand out for the same reason – they’re a bit different.

People listen to Dan Carlin on Hardcore History because he goes in-depth for hours. Tim Ferriss, too – one of his biggest unique hooks is going into the most minute detail on his show, delving into a person’s approach to life – again, for hours.

If most folks in your niche are doing 30-minute interviews, try 10-minute tidbits. You’ll be unique.

Frequency

Episode release frequency is a hard one to stand out on alone.

There are only so many different release schedules you can follow, and there are already plenty of daily, bi-weekly, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, and on…

But… it has worked in the past, it’ll work again, and it can be a strong combining factor with another USP.

For example, do a short-length daily show covering one quick tip on your topic. Or, do a monthly show that goes four hours with a group of experts and comes out with a series of actions you can take over four weeks to make a change in your life.

Frequency might not be as powerful a USP as it once was, but it can be a multiplier when combined with other unique factors.

Hosts

This can make a big difference because so many shows today run with the same host every week, talking to a different guest.

Instead, try two hosts and one guest. It brings in a whole new dynamic. Look at 3 Marketers Walk Into a Podcast. Rob and Kennedy bring the banter and feed off each other while getting the most from the guests.

If you can get both hosts in the same location, recording locally, that can be another unique element. The dynamic shifts massively when you’re in a room together, rather than on an online call.

Finally, go bigger!

Get three or more people on. It requires a lot more management, and it needs a good lead host to facilitate. But a group conversation can bring in so much value and be so much more entertaining.

One of my earliest podcast loves, Movies You Should See, nailed this. They had five or six regular hosts, running three or four of them on any given episode, and all recording in the same room.

The chemistry was amazing and entirely different from every other movie show out there featuring a couple of people stuttering their way through a bad Skype call.

How to Make Your Podcast Unique #2 – The Topic

Next, we’ve got your topic. Get the topic right, and it can be enough, on its own, to propel a podcast to success.

The biggest mistake people make is going too broad. I’m afraid that a general ‘health and fitness’ show is going to be a pretty hard sell. Instead, you need to speak to a much smaller audience.

Don’t worry, there’s nothing to stop you from broadening out later – seasons-based podcasting is ideal for that. But you’ll grow your first few thousand listeners much, much easier if you target them specifically, so they know, at first sight, the show speaks directly to them.

There are two aspects to this.

Personal Angle

You can go broad in topic, but narrow your audience by the angle you take on it. An ‘angle’ is a particular viewpoint that you take on a topic, how you think about it or how you relate to it.

It’s important to know exactly who your ideal listener is before thinking this through. It’s their situation, their way of thinking, and their problems that all power the angle you should take. We go deeper into this in our guide to creating your podcast avatar.

So, what kind of angle could we put on Health and Fitness, for example?

Well, say you’re a new parent, and you figured out how to keep going to the gym, and how to stay healthy during that crazy first year. Your angle is your situation: being a new parent. Health and Fitness for new parents. Or even more specific: health and fitness for new mums.

Taking an angle on a topic means that you can still cover the whole subject – you just relate it to a particular situation.

The possibilities to make your podcast unique are endless here:

• Politics for Schoolkids
• Mountain Biking for Retirees
• Comedy for Buddhists

Choose your wide topic, and think about what angle you can put on it. There’s your uniqueness.

Niche

Whereas an angle lets you talk about a whole topic from a particular point of view, a niche instead narrows down what parts of the topic you cover.

This just means going deeper and deeper, more and more specific, until you have a really tight niche that a very specific audience group (that ideal listener or avatar I mentioned earlier) strongly identifies with.

It tends to be that the tighter the niche, the smaller the audience, but the easier it is to persuade them to listen because it’s so clear how relevant the topic is to them.

Taking health and fitness again, a niche of that might be CrossFit. It’s a segment of health and fitness, all on its own, and there’s an army of CrossFit fanatics that wouldn’t give two hoots about a general health and fitness show but would run a 500m, 50kg farmer’s carry to listen to your CrossFit podcast.

Again, some examples related to the ones above:

• Welsh Socialist Politics – choosing a country and a segment of politics only
• The Mountain Biking Gear Review Show – talking about just one aspect of biking: equipment
• The Clean Startup Comedy Show – funny stories about startups you can listen to with your kids in the car

“But I Don’t Want to Limit My Audience!”

I know, I know, but don’t worry. I would argue it’s almost impossible to go too niche. With a worldwide audience, you’ll always find a decent group of people who love the same specific subject you do.

Remember, again, that it’s possible to branch out later, once you’ve got that initial audience. Once you have their trust, they’ll follow you to related topics, and you’ll be able to attract a new group of listeners in the process.

Seasons are your friend here. Do season one on “Nintendo Video Games from the 90s”. That’ll attract a really particular audience. But then season two could be “Sega Games in the 90s.”

Those original listeners will still be interested, even if it’s not their platform, and you’ll attract a whole new hardcore Sega audience too.

In the end, 200 episodes in, you might be running a show about general video games with a million listeners, but it starts with those hardcore, specific listeners who grow to know you, like you, trust you, and follow you on the journey.

How to Make Your Podcast Unique #3 – The Outcome

For me, the outcome of your show is a great place to stand out and differentiate. And it’s one which is rarely used.

The outcome is what your listeners get from the show. It’s the change in your listener as a result of listening.

In some cases, this falls into the ‘NOT unique’ category we talked about earlier. For example, in a comedy show, the outcome is less boredom and more fun. But you won’t find many comedy shows that DON’T claim that.

A unique outcome, though, is very possible.

Case Study: Today, Explained

Take Today Explained, as an example.

Today Explained is a news show, so it’s in a busy, busy niche. But its USP is the outcome – it’ll help you understand just one thing in today’s news.

For some news shows, the outcome is that you’ll be up to date on the headlines. You’ll know a little bit about a LOT of news.

But, for Today Explained, the outcome is that they’ll explain, to the complete novice, just one thing.

They’ll go from first principles, assuming no prior knowledge, and they’ll explain it all.

The outcome is that geopolitically challenged people like me can talk about current affairs without looking like a complete idiot.

Notice there’s a niche here, too – a niche audience of news novices. Another show might aim at news experts, going super deep on one topic but starting at a much higher level and covering more detail. That’s how USP elements can combine to create a really unique show.

Case Study: Podcraft

Effective outcome USPs can often include actions.

On Podcraft, I see outcome as one of our USPs. Each season, we cover one topic in-depth, and the outcome is that you’ll understand that topic and be told the exact next steps to take to put it all into action. The ‘next steps’ are the key outcome – you’ll have solid, concrete actions to DO.

For example, Season 2: Podcast Equipment. At the end of episode one, you’ll know exactly what microphone to buy. In episode two, you’ll know whether to get a mixer or not. And at the end of the season, the outcome is that you have a shopping list and setup instructions for your podcasting gear.

To create a good outcome USP, paint a really strong picture of how your listener will change as a result of listening and how you’ll get them there.

This needs specifics and might well tie into another of the categories here. It can be really powerful if you can pull it off. People are often looking for transformation!

How to Make Your Podcast Unique #4 – Production Quality

This is an area where time spent and skills learned can make a big difference.

The majority of podcasts have always been relatively low-production hobby shows. It makes sense – the medium grew up around the ‘friends in their basement’ conversations, which are great to listen to, entertaining as hell, but low on quality control and high on ramble.

Same with the rise of the interview show – 45 minutes to an hour is the standard, a dodgy remote call is the default, and the average approach is to fire out the interview unedited, mainly because… well, who has time to edit!?

So, if you put the time in and raise the quality, you can create something a league above the average.

My favourite example here is How I Built This with Guy Raz. On the face of it, it’s just an interview show, but two of the many ways it stands out fall right into the production quality category.

Take Time to Edit

Firstly, these interviews are edited down to the highlights, and Guy provides a voice-over narrative to bridge those entertaining bits and move things along briskly. There’s no fat, no rambling. It’s all quality because their team selects what makes it into the show.

I don’t know the numbers, but I’d wager Guy spends at least twice as long talking to his guests as the eventual show length, and it wouldn’t surprise me to hear it’s even more!

One simple approach is to take an interview, pull out three or four of the strongest sections, and cut them into a highlight reel of five to 10 minutes each. You can add a short intro to link them together if you like, but it is not essential.

Often, trimming an interview in half will double its impact, and that can be your USP.

If audio editing feels intimidating or you just want to save time, be sure to check out Alitu. Our Podcast Maker tool makes it simple to record, edit, and publish your show, with features like auto-generated transcripts, text-based editing, automatic cleanup, volume levelling, filler word removal, and direct publishing to Apple, Spotify, and other major apps.

You can test it out for free and see for yourself how much it’ll streamline your workflow!

Add Some Atmosphere

While you’re weighing up the production side of things, why not add a little music? Some effects. Just a little atmosphere. It’s not a huge job to select a bit of royalty-free music, drop it into your session, and swell it up underneath a particularly dramatic or thought-provoking part of the interview.

Music adds drama, highlights a part of the story, and brings a whole bunch of polish to your show, as well as a uniqueness in your niche.

Raise the Quality Bar

A final place How I Built This stands out is in recording quality.

Whether they are or not, Guy and his guest sound like they’re in the same great-sounding room, on top-quality recording equipment. This means the audio is flawless in the first place.

It also means that the conversation just flows, like any natural chat. You’ve all heard the stuttering remote call exchange of doom, where a 1-second lag means the chat never quite gets into the groove. They’re talking over each other, stopping, starting; it’s just not great. It’s standard, but still not great.

So, if you can get in a room with someone and bring some decent mics, you’re unique in a significant way. And people will listen and return for that polish.

That said, you don’t need to be in the same room to record great-sounding podcasts these days. Check out our roundup of the best remote recording tools to make you and your guest sound like you’re in the studio together – even if you’re thousands of miles apart.

How to Make Your Podcast Unique #5 – YOU!

I just want to say something quickly about YOU.

Yes, YOU are unique, and your own personality is a big part of the show. But it’s dangerous to think of this as the only USP you have.

There are a lot of people in the world who are funny, quirky, entertaining, educational, inspiring, motivational, and more.

For sure, you are the only YOU out there, and you’ll win listeners because of that. But it’s hard to engineer it, and it’s also really hard to put that across in a description or the show concept.

A big part of your USP is convincing someone in just a few sentences why they should listen to your show amongst the thousands of others out there.

Your background and experience might be a factor in that – that’s what makes your angle, above. But it’s hard to do that initial convincing through personality alone. The listener has to… well…. listen, before they get it!

Cement the “YOU” through Psychographics

One way to put some meat on the bones of “personality”, though, is by thinking Psychographics rather than demographics.

This is delving into how your audience thinks, rather than what they are. That can tie back into your ‘angle’, above, or it can turn your own personality into a USP in certain cases.

For more info, take a look at that article and see if you can nail down your perfect listener’s thought process!

In many cases, though, it’s a good idea to save your personality for retention – bringing people back again and again. If you have an easy-to-describe USP made up from some of the other elements we’ve talked about here, then the personality is all about keeping them around.

But… Joe Rogan is Popular & He Talks About Anything

After all this, I know what you’re thinking – Joe Rogan does unedited interviews with ANYONE about ANYTHING! He basically breaks every rule here.

But, the thing is, there are always breakout shows that don’t fit the mould.

Often it’s just the personality, or the following they had before they started podcasting.

And the trouble is, that’s horribly hard to replicate. Try releasing your own show of the type Rogan does, and let me know how that goes for you.

Instead, if you put the work into figuring out a USP, combining a few of the elements above, then you’ll have such a strong pitch for your show.

Whenever someone asks, “What’s your podcast about?” you’ll know exactly what to say. And afterwards, they’ll know exactly why they should listen.

That then goes into your title, your description and your promotions all around the web.

With that behind you, you stand a much better chance of growing your audience. From there, you can move on to the next step in ‘selling’ your show: your podcast value proposition.

Ready to Test Your Podcast USP?

Now that you’ve got a decent idea of how to make your podcast unique, let’s put it to the test.

The Alitu Showplanner is a free tool that’ll generate your podcast launch kit in minutes. Just answer some questions on what you’d like to podcast about, and it’ll fire out suggestions for descriptions, episode titles, formats, and audience profiles. It’ll even generate a draft podcast trailer script for you, too.

And one great way to make your uniqueness shine is to avoid the trap of spending most of your time wrangling with tech. That’s where an all-in-one tool like Alitu can help.

Alitu brings everything you need to record, edit, and publish your podcast into one place.

It automatically cleans up your audio and balances levels, offers instant filler-word removal, and allows you to edit audio or video simply by editing the transcript text.

Sound like a fit? Try it free for seven days and see how it works for you.

Figuring out exactly WHO you’re speaking to is one of the most important tasks in podcasting. If you don’t know the listener on the other end of those earbuds, then it’s likely your content will languish in a land of ‘meh…’, forever. Simply put:

Un-targeted, un-personal content, made for everyone = un-ispiring, un-engaging content for anyone.

So, who is this real person lending you their eardrums for a short, but significant part of their life? Sometimes we call them your ideal listener, sometimes they’re an avatar, and sometimes they’re a listener persona. Whatever you call them, they’re a real person, and it comes down to knowing what type of real person you want to reach. This is a crucial part of your podcast growth strategy.

We’ve written more generally about finding your listener avatar before, so pop over there for the full picture. But here, I want to get into a really specific tool for doing that, called psychographics. And, that includes the confusion over psychographics vs. demographics.

If you’ve struggled with this in the past, thinking:

“But my audience is so varied! They’re all so different! How do I choose just one?!”

Then psychographics might be the perfect approach for your marketing strategy. Let’s take a look!

Demographics vs. Psychographics

When you start thinking about your ideal listener, in most cases, you’ll go straight to the demographics. That means grouping people by:

• Age
• Gender
• Job
• Location

It’s generally an objective, physical attribute – something the person is, or something they do.

It’s a normal thing to do – we’re used to grouping people by something obvious, something we can measure.

But, there’s another way to group people, which is far less obvious.

This time, it’s how they think. That’s where psychographic data comes in.

Psychographics are more about psychology than tangible attributes. So it’s down to a listener’s values, principles, and personality. Psychographics are harder to pin down, but if you get it right, they can create a really deep connection with your listener.

When to Use Demographics

In a lot of cases, demographics can work a treat. Such as:

1. a local news podcast for people who live in Edinburgh
2. an educational show for dentists
3. a comedy show targeted to Christians over the age of 50

In all cases, you know exactly what to cover, every single week.

Is this news interesting to a person living in Edinburgh? Yes? Stick it in. Is this something that would help a dentist do their job better? Yep? Script it! Is this a joke that would make an older person of a certain religion laugh, and not offend them? Yep! Make the funny!

But, in some cases, you might find that demographics just don’t create that connection or that personalisation that you’re looking for.

Just because someone lives in Edinburgh doesn’t mean they’re interested in every type of news. If you’re a dentist, it doesn’t mean you have the same aims as every other dentist. Being a 55-year-old Christian doesn’t mean you have the same sense of humour as every other 55-year-old Christian.

When to Use (or Add!) Psychographics

So, to really personalise, add a dash of psychographics. Let’s redo those topics above using psychographic data:

1. a local news podcast for people in Edinburgh who are interested in local politics and are left-leaning
2. an educational show for dentists who want to maximise the profit they make from their practice and grow their business
3. a comedy show targeted at Christians over age 50 who prefer puns

You might say that Psychographics add the why to the what. Instead of just giving them the thing, you ask them why they like the thing and give them that angle on it.

It adds the personality and the values to the content, and makes it connect much more deeply with your listener. They’ll be more likely to recommend your podcast to friends who share their values and interests. That’s a marketing strategy that makes your life easier.

Psychographics and Uniqueness

Don’t think about targeting your podcast as a question of “demographics versus psychographics,” a one-or-the-other proposition. Let them work together. This approach can really help you nail down why your podcast is unique. And that’s one of the most valuable things you can do.

In a sea of podcasts, if you show the listener that you know how they think and you share their values, then you’re the one who’ll stand out.

For even more on this, read a big piece I wrote on how to make your podcast more unique.

Can Psychographics Work on Their Own?

In many cases, it’s worthwhile to combine both demographics and psychographics in your marketing strategy. That’ll give you some tangible and intangible targeting. The former attracts people immediately, and the latter encourages them to stay.

But, in other cases, psychographics alone are the best fit. What motivates people has much more to do with their desires and values than their hair colour or shoe size. Psychographic data has to do with what they want, and that motivates them to keep listening and recommend your show to others like them.

An Example of Unbalanced Demographics vs. Psychographics

This example came from a recent subscriber to our email newsletter. During one of the early emails, I ask everyone, “Who is your podcast for?” Here’s what he wrote back:

You’ve just asked me the HARDEST question! I’ve been a professional musician since 2011 and have been trying to answer this question since then, without success. Now here it is again!

Thing is, I have a superfan who is a Polish data-analyst living in London. I also have one who is a grandmother in her 70’s. I also have one who is a 16 year old girl in central USA.

They are all SO DIFFERENT. My audience spans all age-groups and all sexes, all career types and all income brackets.

So, how do I define my ideal listener!?

Guess how I responded?

“You’re thinking about demographics there. Have you ever considered psychographics?”

For his area in particular – entertainment – it’s much more often about the psychographic data.

A classic example would be the mindset that’s common to a musical genre.

Are you a punk kid or an old rocker? Do you get hyped up by R&B or techno? Are you moved by jazz, or inspired by classical music?

You might identify really strongly with a musical ‘tribe’: the attitude, the clothes, the ethos – how they really think.

But again, that’s tying yourself into a bucket, and a lot of entertainers can’t do that very easily.

So, I wonder… the granny he mentions above. That data analyst, that girl. What’s the psychographic data here? What attitude do they have in common? What values do they have in common? What’s their mindset that you can appeal to? Your audience could be made up of people from varied places who grew up in different decades. But their desires can be similar.

The aim here is to put together a short message or pitch for your show that instantly chimes with them. Something they identify with right away. It’s not their age or what they do. It’s how they think.

The balance between demographics and psychographics not only helps you create better content more easily, but it’s also a great way of adding real uniqueness to your show. To see a real example of this, continuing our musical friend’s question above, read more on how to nail down your podcast value proposition.

Can You Add some Psychographics to your Ideal Listener?

Here’s what to do now. Think about your current ideal listener in relation to psychographics and demographics. Apply some psychographic data, like:

• Are there any values that they really hold dear?
• What motivates them? What are their aims related to your topic?
• What’s their mindset? What makes the way they think different from most?

Next, put these details into the Alitu Showplanner. Even if you’ve already launched your podcast, this AI-driven tool will generate some fresh perspectives, angles, and ideas for you.

And if you’re looking beyond the planning stages towards the nuts and bolts stuff, be sure to check out Alitu.

Alitu brings everything you need to record, edit, and publish your podcast into one place.

It automatically cleans up your audio and balances levels, offers instant filler-word removal, and allows you to edit audio or video simply by editing the transcript text.

Sound like a fit? Try it free for seven days and see how it works for you.

You’ve got great ideas and a microphone, but who exactly are you talking to? Many podcasters say their show is for “everyone.” But vague-casting doesn’t make your show universally attractive. Understanding your ideal audience makes it easier to connect with them and build a meaningful relationship.

Here’s how to define your podcast avatar or ideal listener, what to do with that profile, and how that avatar can help your podcast thrive.

What’s a Podcast Avatar? 

The word may evoke images of blue, elfin creatures, but the word “avatar” comes from Hindi and means the incarnation of a deity in human form. It’s come to mean a personification of an abstract idea. What we mean when we say “audience avatar” is your podcast’s ideal listener. 

Why does this imaginary friend matter? Any podcaster can benefit from imagining their ideal listener as a real person. However, this avatar idea is most helpful for solo podcasters who feel put off by “talking to themselves” behind the mic.

Name your podcast avatar to make the image more concrete. Now, you can think of yourself talking directly to “Bob”, “Helen”, or “Count Chuckles of Chortleton”.

If I asked you to imagine the ideal audience for a “kids and family podcast,” you’d probably picture two kids in the back seat of a car while an adult driver picks out a podcast.

Or, if I say “True Crime podcast,” you might visualize a woman in loungewear examining documents with a magnifying glass.

On the most basic level, that’s an audience avatar. 

When you understand your podcast avatar, you can determine how to reach them and what they can do for you. 

Case Study: The True Crime Audience Podcast Avatar 

Let’s use True Crime podcasts as an example, since many studies have consistently found that they attract a specific audience. I’ll show you the data, and how to make it work for you. 

Who Listens to True Crime?

Sounds Profitable’s Safe & Sound study showed that 38% of women respondents ranked True Crime as their favorite podcast category.  The Pew Research Center found that True Crime podcasts were most popular among women. So, it’s safe to say that the audience avatar for True Crime is likelier to be women (though not universally: my husband can’t get enough True Crime).

How Does This Audience Find and Consume Podcasts?

Now that we know women listen to True Crime, we can examine data about how women find and consume podcasts. For example,  the Women’s Audio Report: Women & Podcasts released by Edison Research and Sirius XM reports that: 

• 40% of respondents ranked True Crime first out of twenty-four categories (verifying what we learned from Sounds Profitable and The Pew Research Center)
• 74% of respondents find out about new podcasts from social media, and 73% find out about new shows via word of mouth 
• The majority of respondents listen to find connection, knowledge, and representation, and are highly responsive to calls to action. 

This is a superficial layer of information. I don’t want to keep you here all day. Now that we know that True Crime listeners tend to be:

• women
• finding their next podcast via social media or word of mouth
• seeking community, education, and representation
• are likely to act on podcast CTAs

What do we do with these data points about our True Crime podcast avatar?  

What Methods Are Appealing?

Our ideal listener is more likely to discover her next podcast listening experience through a social media post or word of mouth, so we know that social media posts will be more effective than purchasing a print ad, for example.

Successful promotion will focus on relationship-building rather than general advertising. Cross-marketing tactics, such as trailer swaps, feed swaps, and guest appearances on other podcasts, can fit into calls to action (i.e., “if you enjoyed this show, then check out that show.”). 

This podcast avatar prefers word-of-mouth recommendations, so empower your audience to be your word-of-mouth PR team. Incentivize participation by thanking people on the air when they reach out or review. 

And, this ideal listener wants positive representation. If you don’t already have women on your True Crime show, bring them on board immediately. Get expert consultants, who happen to be women, to explain a court case or investigation. Bring in lady guests, or when you need an extra voice, choose a female-identified voice artist. 

When you know what kind of people are most likely to listen to your True Crime show, and what motivates their podcast choices, you can tailor your content and PR strategies accordingly. 

A Real-World Example

Crime Junkie’s website is chock-full of relationship-building opportunities. In the “Extras” category, information about avoiding scams, a portal to suggest a case, and a free cross-stitch pattern are just the beginning of their relationship-building paths.

How to Research Your Ideal Listener and Apply That Information to Your Podcast

Not all information about the relationship between podcasts and their audiences is as clear-cut as that of the True Crime audience. Gathering statistics about your audience can involve researching outside the podcasting realm and then analyzing how podcast listeners engage with your show’s content. 

Instead of Researching Podcast Audiences, Research What Your Audience Wants

Let’s shift from True Crime to gardening, for a moment. Home and Garden is an undervalued podcast category. You may imagine the ideal listener as an elderly lady wearing large gloves and hats, trimming rose bushes. Instead of looking up, “Who listens to garden podcasts?” look up gardeners. These are the people you want to reach. Look up industries that depend on the same information in your podcast. 

Who Else is Interested in Your Audience, and Can They Help?

Companies that manufacture and sell garden products conduct extensive research, as do universities and publications with an interest in the environment. Gardening Statistics in 2024 includes many specific findings about gardeners that defy the Miss Marple stereotype. The number of millennial and Gen Z gardeners has increased significantly in the past five years. The primary reason for the increase in gardening among these groups was related to mental health.

How Can You Put Your Podcast In Front of Your Ideal Audience?

Now that you know many new gardeners are millennials and Gen Z, look up information about podcasting for these demographics. A lot of research exists about millennial and Gen Z podcast listeners, and don’t underestimate Gen Alpha. 

What Does Your Ideal Audience Want From Your Topic?

Since you know these gardeners are also interested in mental health, plan your topics accordingly. Interview a psychologist who specializes in horticultural therapy, or a graduate student who studies the effects of agrichemicals on wellness. Your audience can listen while they pull weeds, and you may be able to secure a sponsorship with a local garden center. 

No matter what your podcast’s topic or niche is, pursue the common interest (your podcast’s topic), gather data on how people consume it, and apply that to your podcast to strengthen your relationship with your ideal listener. 

Once You Know Who to Invite, How Do You Make Your Podcast Inviting?

Here’s where you need to give your show a handle for your ideal audience to grab. Make sure they can find your show easily, provide a show that caters to their interests, and use empathy.

Include the Audience In The Description and Introduction

This could seem obvious, but for some podcasters, this is new information. You may want to include the target audience for your show in the episode description and the introduction. For example, a golf podcast for Christians could have a name like “What Would Jesus Putt?” or ask in the podcast description, “Do you love golf, but have to make sure you can get a tee time after 1 pm on Sundays so you don’t miss church?”

You don’t have to follow SEO tactics dogmatically, but clarity helps.

What Would Your Audience Buy?

Your audience avatar’s education and income level help you plan monetization schemes. The podcast merchandise you sell can validate how your audience avatar views itself. A show for beer drinkers may be more interested in drinkware than t-shirts, but knowing your podcast avatar can tell you whether to sell crystal stout snifters or crocheted can cozies. 

How Does Your Audience Play?

When I first started podcasting, my friends who showed the most enthusiasm for my podcast were people who read a lot of graphic novels and played tabletop roleplaying games. I printed stickers with the podcast logo on them and dropped them off at comic book and game shops to give away to customers. I can’t track that PR campaign’s effectiveness, but it didn’t hurt, either. 

How Does Your Audience Work?

Put yourself in their shoes while planning your podcast format and structure. Busy real estate agents may prefer shorter episodes or segmented shows that they can pick up and put down between client meetings. Long-haul truckers might enjoy longer episodes.

Bring Your Podcast Avatar With You.

Take time to write down:  

• who your podcast is for, 
• what you know about that audience, and 
• how your podcast can meet your audience on their terms. 

Stick this piece of paper on your podcast workstation, and keep it visible while you record. When you have your ideal listener in mind while working on your podcast, you’re more likely to work in a way that strengthens your relationship with that audience. 

Podcast Avatar Sounds Alien, But Shouldn’t Be.

When I research information, I often second-guess my citations, which slows me down. One day, I decided that one of my ideal listeners is Gladys, a woman who cares so much about research accuracy that she will fight me to prove any argument I make. Now, when I second-guess myself, I think of Gladys (who looks an awful lot like my aunt Janet), and I thank her for her dedication. 

Count Chuckles of Chortleton doesn’t mind how tight my citations are. He listens to my podcast to fall asleep.

Ultimately, your audience avatar or ideal listener loves your podcast’s topic as much as you do. It may seem that you don’t have to define your ideal audience because they’re someone who’s just like you. But no two people are alike.

The more information you have about who your audience avatar is, the easier it is to reach, reward, and encourage them to share your show. The compassion you carry for your audience will show through in your podcast. 

Need some help fleshing out your podcast avatar? Try the Alitu Showplanner. It’s free to use, needs no login, and generates assets including a trailer script, episode ideas, and unique angles for your show.

But what about the hype-building “hit the ground running” advice we hear around launching a new podcast?

I’d argue that, at best, this is a distraction from what moves the needle when growing a show.

And at worst, it can actually cause new creators to quit before their content ever has a chance to make an impact.

Podcast Launch Misconceptions

It’s understandable why so much misleading advice exists around “the podcast launch”. After all, we’re used to the launch life cycles of products, films, albums, and books.

After a few days or weeks, it becomes pretty clear that a new game console or blockbuster movie has sunk or swam. But a podcast isn’t like that at all.

What Makes Podcasts Different?

Most successful podcasts didn’t explode overnight. They built audiences gradually over months or even years.

There are exceptions, of course. Folks who started podcasting with a pre-existing audience can often skip the “crickets” stage. But if you look at anyone who built a huge fanbase through their podcast, they will usually tell you the same thing:

In those first few episodes, nobody was listening.

I remember talking to Kc Wayland, creator of post-apocalyptic audio drama We’re Alive, about the show’s first steps. He said they were seeing 50-60 downloads a day, which was nuts, given the effort and quality of those early episodes.

Today, We’re Alive has amassed over 250,000,000 (two hundred and fifty million!) downloads. And whilst this isn’t a number most of us will ever get close to with our own content, it shows that podcasting is a long game.

All the launch hype in the world wouldn’t have come close to the impact publishing 90+ hours of Gold Standard audio theatre over a period of 16 years has had.

3 Podcast Launch Advice Myths

So, speaking of launch hype, what are new creators typically advised to focus on before they’ve even hit publish on that first episode?

Get 3+ Episodes in the Can

This advice lingers from the days when much onus was put on a show’s appearance in the Apple Podcasts’ New & Noteworthy section (an overrated accolade, if ever there was one).

The idea is that more episodes mean more downloads. That’s not untrue; however, this often leads to procrastination and perfectionism, which prevent new podcasters from ever releasing one, let alone three, episodes.

Sure, if you push three episodes out on day one, it’ll give new listeners a bit more time with you. It isn’t a bad strategy, so long as you hit publish.

The problem is, many don’t!

Get Ratings & Reviews

Another misleading piece of podcast launch advice is to get as many ratings and reviews as possible within the first week.

Again, this is mainly legacy advice centred around Apple Podcasts. Between its various charts, ‘featured’ sections, and the aforementioned New & Noteworthy, it can be seen as “make or break” for a podcast to appear in any of these places.

For starters, the volume of new podcast discovery in such categories is overblown. In our 2024 podcast discovery survey, only 2.5% of listeners reported browsing through charts or ‘featured’ sections when hunting for new content.

Then there’s the inner workings of how chart rankings actually work in Apple Podcasts, and it seems to have a lot more to do with your cumulative all-time number of followers than it does with ratings and reviews.

I’m not dismissing ratings and reviews altogether – they can be a great confidence booster and make brilliant “social proof” of your show’s quality. But they’re in no way some integral part of a podcast launch strategy, so don’t get distracted by chasing them.

Build Hype for “Launch Day”

Unless you have a preexisting audience, here’s a fact for you: Nobody cares about your new podcast.

Don’t see this as a negative. Instead, take it as a liberating truth. The pressure is off to learn the ropes, experiment, and develop your skills.

If you dedicate a lot of time to posting short-form, low-value “teaser” content on various platforms, you’re taking time away from learning your trade and creating the best possible first episode.

Of course, there’s no harm in promoting your first episode – but you need to publish it first.

And once you do, the best place to focus the bulk of your effort is on making a brilliant second or third episode.

As Lindsay wrote recently, your podcast won’t go viral – and that’s a good thing. A podcast is a metaphorical log fire compared to the torch paper of social media and short-form video. It takes time to get a good heat up, but once you do, it’ll keep on burning for ages.

Podcast Launch Strategies That ACTUALLY Work

Alright then, if it isn’t about hyping “the big day” or arbitrary episode numbers, what should a new podcaster focus on before, during, and after a podcast launch?

The L.A.U.N.C.H Framework

The L.A.U.N.C.H (I know, we love an acronym…) framework assumes you’ve…

• Laid the foundations of your topic, niche, or angle
• Identified your target audience
• Defined what “podcast success” looks like to you.

Once you have these in place, that’s where L.A.U.N.C.H comes in.

• L- Learn the Ropes
• A – Amplify Discoverability
• U – Understand Your Audience
• N – Next Episode First
• C – Catalogue Building
• H – Harness Collaboration

Learn the Ropes

From crutch words and structure to mic technique and production chops, are you focused on improving your skills as a podcaster with each episode you make? The early days are a time for learning and development, so lean into this opportunity.

Amplify Discoverability

Don’t underestimate the power of SEO. Even in its many new AI-based iterations, the principles remain the same; people search for the topics they are interested in.

So, do your podcast name and episode titles give you a good chance of appearing in those search results? Do you create content that answers the questions your target audience is seeking? And do you include transcripts and publish your podcast in every app and directory?

Understand Your Audience

Some fledgling podcasters see 30-40 downloads as a pittance. Others see a metaphorical room full of 30-40 like-minded people they can engage with, learn about, and get to know personally. That early core of listeners can become your biggest marketers, so look after them and give them your best.

Next Episode First

The number one thing you can do to give your podcast the best chance of success is prioritising a brilliant next episode. So, what do you have lined up for your listeners? And is it something they’ll want to talk about and share with others?

Catalogue Building

There’s nothing like a back catalogue of well-titled, high-quality episodes to set your podcast’s growth into autopilot. When new listeners find you and can spend 25-50 hours with you, they’ll become big fans of your show. Consistency leads to podcasting success, so build and grow that body of work!

Harness Collaboration

You won’t be the only person creating content about your topic. Don’t view these other shows or channels as your competition, though. Instead, see them as collaborators.

There are many tried-and-tested ways to collaborate with other creators to build both your audiences. This is one of the most effective ways to grow a podcast!

“I Need Results NOW”

I get it; not every new podcast is a solopreneur or hobbyist who can build this gradually.

If you work for a big company and have been given the job of creating a podcast, you’re unlikely to get away with telling the boss that it could take a year or two to gain traction.

In this scenario, leveraging any existing audience or customer base is a no-brainer. Most businesses have an email list and some social media accounts. With a good enough “hook”, you can win many existing followers over to giving the podcast a chance.

Unsurprisingly, you can fast-track podcast growth if you have a marketing budget, too. Advertising on podcast listening apps is an effective way to gain a bunch of new listeners overnight.

Of course, none of this changes the fact that your podcast needs to be well-planned, well-executed, and consistent. If it’s absolutely vital that you nail this first time, then hire a pro to help you. There’s no substitute for experience.

In Summary

I’m not saying you shouldn’t care about your launch period; it’s more a matter of caution around where you focus your time and energy.

Concentrate on creating the best content possible for that early core of listeners, and you won’t go far wrong.

A podcast launch process has no “boom or bust”; the only way a launch can “fail” is if you don’t publish any more episodes.

It’s what you do after the launch period that truly matters. So what’s your next episode about, and when can we hear it?

On a final note, one of the best ways to keep you moving forward is to eliminate as many of the tech and time barriers as possible.

Alitu can help with that. It’s an all-in-one platform for recording, editing, and publishing your podcast.

It handles all the cleanup and volume levelling automatically, has instant filler-word removal tools, and you can edit your audio or video by deleting text in its generated transcripts, too.

If that all sounds up your street, then try it free for seven days and see for yourself!

What Are the Best Podcast Formats?

1. Solo: flying on your own
2. Co-hosting: working with a partner
3. Interview Podcast: new guest every week
4. Roundtable: wider panel of guests
5. Documentary: highly produced content mix
6. Fiction: telling a story

How Do I Choose a Podcast Format?

Like many other decisions you make when starting a podcast, this can cause some decision paralysis. After all, what if you mess up and choose the wrong podcast format!?

But any podcast format is like a good coat. Over your podcasting life, you’ll try on every type. You’ll find one that fits like a glove, that just seems right, and you’ll wear it for a while. But then, as the seasons turn, you’ll find yourself hankering for another.

Your podcast format changes over time, and it should, depending on your listener feedback.

So, the secret is to experiment in the early days. Try a few different methods over your first 20 episodes. See which ones resonate, and which ones best fit your personality and schedule.

Even later in your show, feel free to mix it up a little from time to time. Experiment and ask your podcast listeners what they think. That’s the driver for change and innovation in your show, and that’s what keeps people interested. Alongside amazing content, of course!

Types of Podcasts by Format

So, what are your options? Let’s take a look at the most common podcast formats, along with some real-world examples and a few recording considerations.

1. The Solo Podcast Format

Just a podcaster and a microphone. With the solo format, you talk directly to your audience. This format means you only ever need to rely on yourself. But it can also be quite intimidating for the podcasting beginner.

That said, it’s the most popular podcast format amongst aspiring creators. According to data from the Independent Podcaster Report, 53% of aspiring creators said they plan to do it alone and take a single-host approach.

Recording Solo Podcasts

Solo podcasts are by far the easiest to record. A typical setup will be a podcaster recording with a USB mic into Audacity, which is free.

Some solo podcasters prefer to use their smartphones and will even record episodes while out walking. If you do this, it’s a good idea to add a wireless lavalier mic to improve your audio quality.

If you choose to do video, then OBS Studio is a popular free software option. You could also opt for a tool like Alitu, which is more podcast-specific and includes a suite of editing and publishing tools.

Solo Podcast Example: Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History

Dan’s Hardcore History podcast is loooooooong (3hrs+ per episode), in-depth and just him. No FX, no fanciness, just one bit of intro music and his voice. But somehow, he makes it really, really engaging. It’s the perfect example of amazing scripting.

2. The Co-Hosted Podcast Format

Enlisting a pal to be your ongoing co-host can really breathe life into your episodes. There are potential downsides, though, as always. You’ll now be reliant on someone else, which means scheduling recording times that suit both. With a co-hosted format, there also needs to be a conversation about the ownership of the podcast. How will any income be split if you’re fortunate enough to start making money, for example?

Co-Hosted Podcast Example: Boagworld

Boagworld is a web design show hosted by the two co-founders of an agency, Paul Boag and Marcus Lillington.

It shows how co-hosting can work really well to showcase personality and produce an engaging experience. The banter and back-and-forth between Paul and Marcus is hilarious to listen to, and the question-and-answer format adds to the show’s depth.

In terms of recording with a co-host, the same rules apply when working with interview guests, so we’ll get to that in the next section.

3. The Interview Podcast Format

If you’re passionate about a topic and have a thirst and curiosity for going deeper, why not interview folks in that space?

Interview podcasts are ultra-popular. When done well, they can create consistently fresh content and offer a diverse range of perspectives.

Again, though, this podcast format isn’t without its challenges. The interviewer might not be seen as “the expert” (if that’s your goal), and constant scheduling and finding guests become the order of the day. Interviewing is also a skill you’ll need to hone and prep. And, no matter how good you get, you’re still heavily reliant on your interviewee’s performance on the day.

Interview Podcast Example: Board Game Design Lab

The Board Game Design Lab does exactly what it says on the tin. Host Gabe Barrett speaks with game designers and industry folks of all backgrounds and levels, and expertly draws out the value from these conversations in a natural, chatty way. We were so impressed by Gabe’s podcast that we invited him to be part of our IndiePod Legends season on Podcraft.

Recording Podcasts With Guests or Co-Hosts

As mentioned, the setups are the same in principle whether the person recording with you is an ongoing co-host or a one-off guest.

There are two ways these podcast formats are recorded – in-person, or remotely online.

In-Person

This is where you’re in the same room together. Maybe you’re even on the same sofa. It isn’t always practical or possible, but if you can manage it, it can 10x the conversational dynamics and chemistry.

In this situation, participants should always have their own mics. A good-sounding, affordable setup would be something like two Samson Q2U mics running into a Focusrite Vocaster 2 USB audio interface.

On the software front, you could use Audacity if you’re purely focused on audio, or OBS if you want to record the video, too. Again, Alitu will give you much more podcast-specific tools and options on both fronts.

In-person chats can also work well with a smartphone lavalier setup, like the Rode Wireless Micro or BOYA Mini. This also frees you up to ditch the couch and head out on a walk together!

Remotely

Getting together in-person can simply be impossible in many cases. Your guest or co-host might be thousands of miles away. Fortunately, sophisticated remote recording tools can make it sound like you’re in the same room together.

In this situation, your equipment is pretty much the same as if you were recording solo. A USB mic or a microphone plugged in via a USB audio interface will do the trick at your end. Your guest or co-host will need a similar setup.

There are loads of brilliant remote recording software options out there these days. A tool like Alitu, for example, will record in video or audio in a ‘double-ender’ method that protects the quality from unstable WiFi connections, and it has everything you need to edit and produce the episode, too!

4. The Roundtable Podcast Format

A roundtable refers to the idea of getting a handful of folks together to discuss a set topic. Usually, there would be at least one regular host, if not two or three. Then the rest of the ‘table’ is made up of guests who are experts in the topic at hand.

The host or hosts will direct the roundtable, asking questions and steering the discussion so that everyone gets a turn and contributes to a great conversation.

Roundtables can be a great way to build authority in your niche, allowing you to invite prominent guests to the show and produce great content from their experience. Most of the logistics are very simple – editing, content planning, etc – but organising guests in the early days can be hard.

Roundtable Podcast Example: The Podcasters’ Roundtable

The Podcasters’ Roundtable has been inactive for a few years now, but the show, chaired by the legendary podcaster Ray Ortega, was a real masterclass in this podcast format. In a typical episode, Ray would be joined by 3-5 ongoing co-hosts and first-time guests, and they would dive deep into the chosen topic of the day.

Recording Roundtable Podcasts

It’s logistically unlikely you’d be recording a roundtable in-person, with participants gathered around a real table (even a round one!). But… if you’re lucky enough to pull it off, everyone will need their own mic, and I’d hook them up to a digital recorder like the Zoom H6, Zoom PodTrak P4, or Rode Rodecaster II.

If you’re running your roundtable remotely, then it’s just like speaking to a guest or co-host online, except there are more of them. A tool like Alitu, Riverside, or Zencastr will handle this seamlessly.

5. The Documentary Podcast Format

Often referred to as “BBC-style” or “NPR-style”, the documentary brings in multiple voices, musical elements, and actuality to add an extra layer of production and storytelling. The end product can sound great, but the time and work needed to put them together will increase drastically.

Documentary Podcast Example: The Startup Podcast

One of my favourite shows, the Startup Podcast, is a really transparent look behind the scenes of starting up a business. Season 1 followed the founding of Gimlet Media, the show’s producers, and they’ve moved on to other companies since.

This podcast format takes a lot more time to create and edit, but produces a much more engaging, high-quality product. Again, not for everyone, though. Especially if you’re brand new to podcasting.

Recording a Documentary Podcast

There are a lot of moving parts here, and documentary podcasts are recorded in increments, rather than in one single session. This will typically involve a blend of the formats we’ve covered so far.

Before you start recording, you should have a plan in place to determine the purpose, narrative, and hook. Making a documentary is a huge subject in its own right. Check out our guide for a range of tips, tactics, and tools. I would also thoroughly recommend a book called Out on the Wire by Jessica Abel. An audio storytelling masterclass by one of the best in the business!

6. The Fiction Podcast Format

They say everyone has at least one good book in them, but fiction podcasting is the new novel writing. Fiction podcasts come in many forms, from “audiobook style” to fully soundscaped audio drama where every footstep is accounted for. Here’s our best fiction podcasts roundup if this is a world you’d like to dive into.

Fiction Podcast Example: Campfire Radio Theater

Campfire Radio Theater is an immersive audio drama horror podcast. It’s an anthology series mixing dark myths and legends with original stories. The recurring theme is the outstanding production level, with music and sound effects that build an entire movie in your ears!

Recording a Fiction Podcast

If you’re writing and reading your fiction, then we can roll out that easy USB mic-Audacity combo. But if you want to bring in multiple voices, then you can use the tips from the roundtable section to help record your cast. Just like docupods, producing an audio drama is a huge subject in its own right, so check out the linked guide if you’d like a deeper dive.

Podcast Formats: FAQ

Okay, now that we’ve covered the six common podcast format options, you’ll hopefully have a clearer picture of which direction you’d like to take. But, there’s every chance you still have a few burning questions before you head off to plan that first episode. Here are a few of the most frequent podcast format questions we get asked.

Which Podcast Format Will Get Me the Biggest Audience?

There is no silver bullet podcast format for growth. If you took a bunch of successful podcasts, you’d find that they came in various formats, shapes, and sizes. Just like podcast topics and subject matter (where we’re often told that true crime podcasts have the best chance of success), this misses the point of what makes a show prosperous. A big part of that is your passion, enthusiasm, and reason for showing up consistently behind the mic.

And, speaking of consistency, we need to keep things as sustainable as possible, so…

Which Podcast Format Has the Least Editing & Production Time?

The more time you can spend on your content, the better. But that doesn’t necessarily mean hours in front of your podcast editing software. Bite off more than you can chew, and you’ll soon burn out and give up.

Unsurprisingly, solo podcasts are the most efficient when it comes to editing and production. On the flip side, fictional podcasts, documentaries, and roundtable or panel podcast formats can really start to eat up the hours.

With the right tools and planning, though, you can make any podcast format sustainable. Pair up the Podcast Planner Journal with podcast-maker tool Alitu to give you productivity superpowers.

Alitu has everything you need to record, edit, and publish your podcast, from call and solo recording and automatic production to slick, intuitive editing tools, and built-in hosting. That’s all under one login and subscription, too, so you save money as well as time!

Should Every Podcast Episode Follow the Same Format?

It’s your podcast, and you’re the boss. If you’ve been doing interviews but fancy testing out the solo podcast format, go for it. Whilst it’s arguably better that your listeners know what to expect, the most important thing is that you have the time and enthusiasm to keep publishing new episodes. So, if you take one thing away from this post, it’s don’t be afraid to mix things up!  

Summary: Choosing a Podcast Format

Aspiring podcasters can suffer from decision paralysis when choosing their podcast format. But this isn’t something you need to nail perfectly the first time.

Perhaps you’ll launch with a solo show, test out some interviews, and find that you really enjoy them. Maybe you’ll start with the interviews, but relish the freedom of flying solo.

Your podcast can change and adapt over time. Or, you might learn the ropes with your first show, then launch an entire podcast series on a new topic with the format you know works best for you.

Choosing a format is just one aspect of starting a podcast, so be sure to check out our pillar guide for deeper tips on nailing your topic and target listener, right through to growing your audience and monetising your show!

• Podcasting is long-form content. Don’t compare podcast download numbers with social media “likes” or follower counts.
• Potential audience sizes depend on show topics. There’s no single podcast download numbers gauge here.
• However, statistically, if you get over 28 downloads for a new episode in the first week of its release, you’re in the top 50% of all podcasters.
• Read on to find out more…

Download numbers are one of the most obvious metrics for measuring the success of your podcast.

Download stats are immediately accessible from the minute you launch your first episode. Watching the numbers climb can be rewarding – some might even say addictive!

But after the initial novelty wears off, it’s natural for podcasters to ask, “Are my average podcast downloads good?”

So, are your podcast download numbers “good”? Let’s take a look.

How Many Podcast Downloads Should I Be Getting?

In a world of YouTube views and social media followers, we’ve become accustomed to figures in the hundreds of thousands (and even millions!).

It’s important to realise, though, that these numbers are completely irrelevant to podcasting. The time and effort it takes to click ‘Follow’ on social or watch a few seconds of a YouTube video should never be compared to listening to podcast episodes.

Podcast listening is a commitment and an investment. It’s long-form content that isn’t immediately accessible via shiny sidebars and viral social media clickbait.

So, comparing your average podcast downloads to someone else’s Instagram followers is like comparing the number of rooms in your house to the number of trees in the Amazon. It’s completely irrelevant and utterly pointless.

Potential Audience Sizes

Whether your download numbers are “good” depends on your topic and how big an audience it can realistically reach.

Could a show about breeding Russian white dwarf hamsters expect to see the same average podcast downloads as a show about Game of Thrones? Absolutely not.

Does this mean that the podcast with more downloads is the more successful one? Again, absolutely not.

If you run a podcast about a topic that was only interesting to literally ten people in the world, and you were getting seven downloads an episode, statistically, you’d be running the most popular show in history.

The big factor is the size of your potential audience. Here are a couple of things to consider:

• Firstly, how many folks out there are interested enough in your topic to actually want to consume content about it?
• Secondly, how many of those people are current podcast listeners?

Think about it this way, and your download stats start to make a lot more sense. It also helps you set realistic goals without comparing yourself to viral videos, celebrity accounts, or massive shows like The Joe Rogan Experience.

Case Study – Board Game Design Lab

Gabe, who runs the Board Game Design Lab Podcast, shared some words of wisdom on a popular episode of Podcraft.

“The ceiling for board game design is pretty low. It’s not like Joe Rogan; it’s not like Tim Ferriss, where the whole world is kind of potential, right? And so, you have to be more intentional about not overspending. It’s like, how many people are there? How many people are in your industry and listen to podcasts and care about what you’re doing?”

Audience Quality & Engagement

An audience might seem numerically small. But with long-form content like podcasting, shows with smaller but more niche, hyper-targeted audiences are often considered more successful.

For example, if you ran a podcast about sustainable fashion, and your only listener was the head buyer at a major global retailer, would you consider that a successful show?

The point is that it’s always more about exactly who is listening rather than how many of them there are.

And, it’s about the engagement. This isn’t something that can be achieved overnight. But, if you’re creating good content, over time, you’ll begin to hear from your listeners.

This could be because you’ve asked them a question or recommended they check something out. Or it could be because you’ve talked about a subject that resonated with them so much that they felt compelled to reach out.

Measuring engagement requires a little more digging than simply staring at your download stats dashboard. But often, they can tell you a lot more about the impact your show is having.

If your podcast host provides this data, take a look at the geography of your podcast downloads. Are you suddenly getting a burst of downloads in a particular region or country? If so, you might want to check the news and find out what’s happening there. It’s all about measuring podcast engagement.

I Still Want a Gauge on Average Podcast Downloads per Episode

Buzzsprout is one of the biggest podcast-hosting platforms in the world, with well over 116,000 active shows publishing content there.

Hosting this many podcasts means Buzzsprout has plenty of useful data to analyse. This gives them an accurate picture of podcast downloads on an industry-wide level. The good news is that Buzzsprout makes its global data available to everyone on this Platform Stats page.

Here’s one of the key sections that’ll interest any podcaster.

How Many Podcast Downloads Is Good?

If your new episode gets, within seven days of its release:

• more than 28 downloads, you’re in the top 50% of podcasts.
• more than 104 downloads, you’re in the top 25% of podcasts.
• more than 428 downloads, you’re in the top 10% of podcasts.
• more than 1,050 downloads, you’re in the top 5% of podcasts.
• more than 4,763 downloads, you’re in the top 1% of podcasts.

[Updated March, 2026]

And here are some other interesting stats from this page, at the time of writing.

Podcast Downloads on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, & Google Podcasts

28% of listening takes place on Spotify, with 39% on Apple Podcasts.

Buzzsprout

Podcast Download Locations

48% of downloads come from the USA, with 6% from the UK, and 4.3% from Canada, and 4.3% from Australia. Germany are in fifth place with 3.5% of the share.

Buzzsprout

Podcast Download Devices

Mobile accounts for 86% of all podcast downloads, with 63.5% of those coming via the Apple iPhone.

Buzzsprout

Want More Podcast Statistics?

If you’re a fan of podcast stats, then be sure to check out our podcast industry trends post. We regularly update this article with all the latest data to help you keep your finger on the pulse. You’ll find everything, from podcast listenership stats (like the most popular podcast genre) to the latest Edison research.

What About Monthly Podcast Listeners & Downloads?

Some creators might say, “Oh, I get 10,000 downloads a month, ” but that doesn’t tell you anything about their average podcast download numbers. Instead, it suggests they’ve published a lot of episodes to date.

For example, we run a daily show called Pocket-Sized Podcasting, which has hundreds of published episodes. Subscribers get one quick ‘how-to podcast’ tip each day, from Monday through to Friday. When new listeners find the show, they tend to binge through the back catalogue. This means our total monthly downloads can get pretty high, even if the new episode downloads are in the “modest” range.

Podcast Download Stats Don’t Tell the Full Story

Just because someone (or several hundred!) people downloaded your episode, doesn’t guarantee they hit play.

Of course, you can safely assume most of them probably did. But even then, how long did they actually listen?

Download stats are one of the best podcast performance metrics that we have in our arsenal. But they’re not the best. That title goes to “listen lime”…

Unfortunately, you can’t get a complete listening time number across all the apps and places your show is consumed. There are just too many, and most of them don’t share data.

But, Apple Podcasts and Spotify do. And they make up about 70% of the overall podcast consumption pie. That gives us scope to gather up a pretty decent sample size.

In this video, you’ll learn how to quickly and easily grab your listen time data from both platforms, as well as ideas on what to do with it, and how to present it.

Combine this with your podcast download stats, and you’ll really start to build a robust picture of your show’s performance!

Podcasting Numbers: Downloads & Listens FAQ

We’ve been helping people podcast for well over 15 years. During that time, we’ve been asked a lot of questions about podcast downloads. Here are a few of the most frequent.

Do I need to share my download numbers with anyone?

Nope, not at all. Though you might be asked for them if you’re talking to potential sponsors about podcast ads, or, if you’re in discussions with any podcast networks. Some potential guests might even want a gauge of your numbers before agreeing to come on.

If this is the case, it’s best to create a media kit to present this data. Also, be sure to explain that audience engagement is just as (if not more) important than hard numbers. As we’ve said so many times in this guide, download numbers never tell the whole story.

Can I see how many downloads other podcasts are getting?

Not unless the podcast host makes their stats publicly available.

That said, it might be possible to find an approximate guide using a third-party analytics tool like Rephonic. You can search for the podcast in question and see if it’s listed in their directory. If it is, you may see some basic metrics, such as the number of downloads, subscribers, and podcast audience demographics. It’s worth taking any numbers you find with a pinch of salt, though, as they may not be wholly accurate.

Do multiple podcast reviews hint at high downloads?

Having lots of ratings and reviews on podcast apps can make a show seem like it has a big audience. Often, this is the case, and the show has reached a critical mass of listeners leaving reviews. It isn’t a rule without exception, though. Some shows have small but super-engaged audiences, whilst other podcasters may actively seek out reviews and end up with a disproportionate amount. Again, this approach can give you a hint, but it’ll never tell the whole story.

Do all successful podcasts have “big” download numbers?

Definitely not. Some of the most successful podcasts out there have numerically small audiences because the topic is extremely niche. Niche audiences are some of the most engaged and fanatical, though. There’s nothing to say that a podcaster in a certain niche might not work full-time on their show with an audience of “only” 100 people.

Can my hosting provider get me more downloads?

Podcast hosting platforms are not responsible for your show’s growth or download numbers. In our article on changing podcast host, we talk about how these services set you up with podcast feeds, give you the tools and report the facts, but the rest is up to you.

Podcast downloads vs listens: What’s the difference?

The end result is typically the same: the audience hears your content. However, there are some subtle differences between podcast listens and podcast downloads.

A download is when the episode is, funnily enough, downloaded onto a device such as a computer, tablet, or smartphone. From a listener’s point of view, this makes it more flexible to consume because you’re no longer reliant on an internet connection.

But from a podcaster, network, or advertiser’s point of view, it makes it harder to “prove” that a listen has happened. After all, someone might download an episode but never actually hear it.

A “listen” can be playing a previously downloaded episode, or it can be someone streaming an episode via the web or a podcast listening app. This can make it easier to see that listening has actually happened. That said, it’s a mistake to try and force your audience to stream rather than download. Let folks make up their own minds about how they prefer to consume your content.

If you need to demonstrate to sponsors or advertisers that your download numbers accurately reflect your listener numbers, you can show engagement via factors and strategies such as listen time, audience survey data, and your Calls to Action.  

Summary: Average Podcast Downloads Guide

Ultimately, asking “What’s a good number of downloads for a podcast?” is a lot like asking “How long is a piece of string?” Every show is different, and no two podcasts are alike.

By all means, track your downloads. But obsessing over them won’t grow your show.

Focus instead on the actions that actually move the needle. Our pillar guide to growing an audience lays out the foundation for a solid, effective podcast promotion plan:

Podcast Promotion: From 100 Listeners to Your Next 100K – Let’s SCALE

Read article called: Podcast Promotion: From 100 Listeners to Your Next 100K – Let’s SCALE

And finally, one of the best ways to grow your podcast is to create brilliant content that resonates with your target audience. Unfortunately, many podcasters spend too much time wrangling with tools and software to give this the attention it deserves.

When we built Alitu, the aim was to solve the problem of podcast editing. These days, it’s packed full of tech-simplifying and time-saving tools.

It doesn’t look or feel like an old-school DAW, and features like automatic filler word removal and text-based editing make podcast production accessible to everyone.

On top of that, Alitu is an all-in-one platform. You can record, edit, publish, and distribute your show all in one place. Try it free for seven days and see how it works for you!

That’s according to data from the 2025 Independent Podcaster Report.

Video is a good fit for some creators, but an uneccesary extra for others. If you’re still weighing up whether to add a visual component to your show, check out Should I Make a Video Podcast?

But if you’re already won over to the idea of doing a video podcast, or just want to learn more about how it all works, then you’ve come to the right place.

Here, I’ll show you what you need to record, edit, and publish your video podcast. We’ll run through software and gear options, as well as where you can actually upload your finished episodes.

A quick heads-up before we begin: we use some affiliate links to products and services we think you might find useful. If you choose to buy through any of these links, we’d earn a small commission, though never at any extra cost to you. Affiliates help support all of our free content, but rest assured, they never cloud our judgment or influence our recommendations.

Alright, with that all said, let’s start with video podcast software.

Best Software For Recording Your Video Podcast

Most video podcasts are remote interview-style conversations. If this is the type of show you’d like to make, then you’ll need software that can record you and your guest or co-host.

It helps if the recording software is “double-ended”, too. This means it’ll record each participant locally, and protect the audio and video from WiFi dropouts and ropey connections.

Alitu records this way, and its powerful editing and production tools, combined with hosting and distribution options, make it a fantastic all-in-one platform for podcasters.

Some other recording platforms I’ve used and rate highly are Riverside, Squadcast, Iris, and Zencastr. Riverside also includes editing and publishing, making it another great all-in-one option.

Your video podcast doesn’t need to be remote conversations to run on these platforms, either. You can record solo episodes or, with the right equipment, record local guests in your studio, too.

Best Software For Editing Your Video Podcast

Our podcast gear report found Audacity, Adobe Audition, and GarageBand to be the three most popular podcast editing software options. But none of those has video editing capabilities.

If you’d like to keep things simple, then recording and editing in the same software makes sense. You can do this with both Alitu and Riverside. Squadcast also integrates with Descript, so that’s another good option for video podcasters.

Zooming in on Alitu for a second, it was built specifically to solve the problem of podcast editing. For beginners, it was hard to learn, and even for experienced creators, it was taking way too long.

Alitu reinvented podcast editing from the ground up, and added a bunch of powerful automation tools along the way. Tricky processes like noise reduction, compression, EQ, and volume levelling are all handled for you under the hood.

You can also remove filler words and long pauses at the touch of a button, and text-based editing means you can make cuts to your video simply by deleting text in Alitu’s automatically generated transcripts.

Using an all-in-one platform flattens the learning curve and speeds up your process. But if you’d like to get more granular with your production, then check out our roundup of the best video editing software platforms, including tools like Veed, Filmora, Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro, and Camtasia.

Video Podcast Equipment List

We’ve covered video podcast software, but what about the hardware? You’re going to need some physical kit to help bring your show to life.

Camera

Almost all laptops come with cameras built in, so you can get started right away without waiting on external gear.

With the quality of smartphone video now, getting multiple cameras together to record should be easy, too. Many podcasts use a multi-camera setup for their video podcasts. It’s not necessary to use multiple cameras, but it can make your videos look much more dynamic.

If you’re looking to upgrade beyond built-in cameras, the Logitech C920 is a popular USB webcam option. The C920 offers HD 1080p recording, has built-in lighting adjustment, and costs around $70.

One of my favourite cameras right now is the YoloCam S3, whilst Colin has been really impressed with the Obsbot Tiny 3.

Tripod

You’ll need to be hands-free when recording your podcast, especially if you’re handling the recording process yourself. Most videographers recommend using a tripod.

You’ll typically find tripods that work as selfie sticks and come with Bluetooth controls. As it happens, your tripod can also act as your lighting, so I’ll offer an all-in-one recommendation in the next section.

Lighting

Think about your video podcast lighting in two stages: lighting yourself first, then lighting the background.

A soft light source for faces is best, a second light for the background to create depth, and a third source to fill the space. The third light can also accent hair, or create a ‘hot or cold’ sidelight for the face.

You can light your background with existing lighting in your home or office; it’ll just take some experimentation, as there are so many factors at play, from the colour of the walls to what time of day it is.

Colin uses Philips Hue lights for his backdrop. He admits that they’re not the cheapest option, “but the colour control is excellent, which is what I care about.”

If you’re looking for an affordable and portable lighting option that doubles up as a camera mount, check out this UBeesize LED Ring Light with 62” Tripod Stand and Magnetic Phone Holder.

Microphone & Audio

Audio has become a pitfall for many video podcasters. There’s a danger of spending so much time on how things look that you neglect how they sound.

Great audio quality doesn’t begin and end with mic choice. Technique plays a big role, as does the sound of your environment. These are entirely separate topics, but the short of it is:

• Get as close to the mic as you can without popping it, letting it hide your mouth, or curbing your presentation style.
• Fill your room (or use a room) with as many soft furnishings and absorbent surfaces as possible.

As for the mic you use, you don’t need to break the bank. My favourite all-rounder mic is the Samson Q2U, which you can often buy with a set of headphones for less than $100.

One criticism of the Q2U is that it isn’t the most aesthetically pleasing mic for video. If you feel that way, then you might be prepared to spend a little more on the Rode Procaster, Shure MV7+, or Samson Q9U instead.

With any of these mics, you’ll want to mount them on a boom arm. Boom arms don’t just look more professional on camera; they also help improve your presentation and delivery. Our favourites are the Rode PSA1+ and the IXTech Lizard.

Lavalier mics are also excellent options for video podcasters. These small, unobtrusive microphones clip onto your clothing, keeping your hands free and your face clear for the camera, without sacrificing audio quality.

Check out the Rode Wireless Micro and BOYA Mini for two excellent, affordable lav mic options.

Adding Video Podcast Thumbnails

Compelling cover art has always drawn listeners in. For video podcasts, your YouTube thumbnail offers an even stronger visual hook.

Podcast thumbnails are a whole science of their own, but here are some top-level tips:

• Bold, Clear Visuals: Use high-contrast colours and simple imagery so your thumbnail is recognisable even at small sizes.
• Readable Text: Keep titles short, around 3–5 words, with large, legible fonts that stand out against the background.
• Consistent Branding: Stick to a consistent colour palette, logo placement, or layout style to make your episodes instantly identifiable.

Many YouTube experts say that faces showing expressive emotions tend to perform best. Whether you want to pretend to be shocked or amazed every time you release an episode is entirely your call. Personally, I think that style of thumbnail has jumped the shark. When everyone’s doing it, it loses its punch.

But hey, I’m not the algorithm

If you’re looking for a free tool to make great custom thumbnails for your video podcasts, then check out Canva. There, you’ll find loads of different designs and templates!

Publishing Your Video Podcast

Uploading an audio episode is a simple one-time process in your podcast hosting account. Unfortunately, publishing video episodes isn’t just as straightforward.

Publishing Video Podcasts on YouTube

YouTube is likely the first place you think of when it comes to publishing video podcasts.

You’ll need to log in to YouTube and upload your videos each time you publish a new episode. Inside YouTube Studio, you can group these episodes into a playlist and mark it as a “podcast”.

Some hosting providers offer YouTube integration, but these take the audio episode and create a static image “video” on the platform. This is great if you don’t record video, but it falls short if you do.

Publishing Video Podcasts on Spotify

There are two ways to approach video podcasting on Spotify:

If Your Show is Hosted on Spotify

Upload your video episodes directly. The video will play on Spotify, but in other podcast apps such as Apple Podcasts or Overcast, the episode automatically converts to audio.

If You Host Your Show Elsewhere

You can still add video through Spotify for Creators. Go to your episode list, click the three dots next to an episode, and upload a full video version.

The video will only play on Spotify and will not change the episode in other podcast apps. A key detail is that Spotify now serves the audio from the video file. This applies even to listeners who only play audio, and the episode will stop dynamic ad insertion. One to keep in mind if you rely on sponsorship!

Publishing Video Podcasts on Apple Podcasts

Apply Podcasts has supported video via open RSS for years, but its execution has been a little clunky. In 2026, they announced improved video support via HLS.

Podnews offers an in-depth look at how this technology works. But one big takeaway is that video podcasts are managed in your hosting account – meaning you don’t have yet another place to upload a siloed video.

But, this is still at a very early stage, and Apple only currently partners with four hosting providers: Acast, ART19, Omny Studio and Simplecast.

This isn’t worth moving hosting providers for. It’ll take time for video to gain traction on Apple Podcasts, but it should gradually become more accessible. Focus on YouTube and Spotify for now, and check in with your hosting provider regularly for updates on Apple video podcasts.

Summary: Video Podcast Guide

If video aligns with your podcasting goals, then hopefully this guide has helped you choose your tools and plan a sustainable workflow.

Remember, video isn’t essential, so check out Should I Make a Video Podcast? if you’re still undecided.

And if you’re running a video podcast, make sure it doesn’t rely on visuals. The majority of podcast audiences listen away from the screen, so, to paraphrase James Cridland, it must work when the eyes are busy.

And, whether you run a video show or focus entirely on audio, be sure to check out podcast-maker tool Alitu. Its recording, editing, and publishing tools make podcasting easy for beginners and save time for experienced creators. Try it free for seven days and see how it works for you!

Podcast consistency advice helps if your podcast has a team and a well-funded support system. It doesn’t help podcasters who have a sick child or disruptive neighbors. 

The “consistency is key” framing stealthily drives churn. What folks seem to forget is that all of the longest-running podcasts have changed over time. Sustaining your podcast requires flexibility. Let me show you some ways to maintain a podcasting practice that holds steady when real life intervenes, based on my lived experience and that of other podcasters. 

Life Doesn’t Stop for Podcasts’ Content Calendars. 

Podcast advice often assumes that creators have stable health, predictable schedules, uninterrupted attention, and a never-ending supply of executive function. 

Meanwhile, real life includes illness, caregiving, and financial stress. Disruptive news cycles and collective trauma can abruptly shove focus and motivation to the sidelines.

Sometimes, your productivity just collapses.

I’ve experienced weekends where I’d blocked out podcasting time, only to have to rush a sick parent to the emergency room late at night. I’ve had severe weather kick out the electricity and destroy a file on which I’d forgotten to click “save.” You assuredly know what it’s like to have real life kick your plans to the curb. 

Why Stopping Your Podcast Doesn’t Mean Quitting

Katie wrote about Sounds Profitable’s Creator Survey, how 1 in 3 Podcast Creators Have Quit, the biggest obstacles they face, and strategies to work around them.

The word “quit” is emotionally loaded; it implies failure. But I’ve also quit jobs with hostile work environments or redundant workflow. Quitting was the first step toward the work I love. And, I got to keep the skills and goodwill that I gained.

If you stop podcasting for any length of time, the skills and rapport you’ve built with your audience remain valuable, as does your back catalog. If you return to it later, you’re not regressing. You’re using those assets to try something new. 

Think of it as a pause, not a full stop; sustainability is about rhythm, not a streak.

Design a Podcast Rhythm You Can Return To

We’ve all heard “it’s a marathon, not a sprint,” but nobody can run forever. And, like falling while running, if you lose momentum, it’s hard to regain it. But planning your podcast schedule to include breaks simplifies getting back on track. Breaks also help you refuel physically and adjust your perspective.

Your audience may enjoy experiencing your podcast regularly, but they take breaks too. Never think of yourself as lazy for planning breaks: you’re recharging.  Podcast consistency advice is no good if you’re burnt out.

Podcasting in seasons is my favorite way to go. I think of a season as eight to ten episodes. My husband’s podcast releases in groups of three or four. Seasons allow you to plan your episode ideas in advance and take advantage of batch processing.

And, you can plan breaks into your podcasting schedule.

During those breaks, cross-promote your show by exchanging episodes with other podcasters in your niche. These feed swaps introduce your podcast to new audiences while giving your audience something different to enjoy while you’re having a break.  

Most of the shows in the Fable & Folly podcast network swap feeds during breaks. They lead their episode titles with “A Show We Love,” so the audience knows this is a deliberate choice, aligned with their interests. 

When you plan your podcast’s schedule intentionally, your show leads the audience’s attention instead of chasing it. Most importantly, you avoid burnout. 

Planning your podcast to survive unpleasant surprises isn’t just about publishing frequency, though. It’s about building a podcast with enough margin to adapt when conditions shift.

Producing a Disruption-Proof Podcast

In practical terms, margin comes from how you design your format, build buffers, and communicate with your audience.

Format Considerations that Scale

When life gets unpredictable, your podcast format determines how much margin you have. Podcasts with co-host banter are popular, but solo podcasting means you don’t have to worry about scheduling recording sessions or time zones. I’ve learned the hard way how easily miscommunications about time zones can derail a recording.

The solo format could be more work, but it provides more flexibility. You get to choose episode ideas without compromising, communicate with your audience, and keep any revenue. Whether your podcast promotes a Fortune 500 business or you’re one person who likes to tell a good story, solo podcasting lets you be the companion to your audience’s daily routine. 

Recording Style

The way you record affects overall stability, too. Studio rental can be costly and include scheduling hurdles, and home recording can make it hard to find quiet time to record. When you record outdoors, though, the ambience provides context and additional interest for the audience. 

Your audience might be listening while walking or commuting: why not bring them along on your walk?  While walking my dog one morning, I tapped “play latest episode” on my podcast app, and 6 Reasons to Record Your Next Podcast Episode on a Walk greeted me. I’ve never gone for a walk with Matthew in real life, but now I feel like I have. 

Ever notice how many Instagrammers record in their car? If you have a vehicle and a safe place to park it, your car makes a great podcast studio. I’d stuff my coat or a cushion on the windshield to dampen reverb, but you can try it and learn what sounds best to you. 

No matter how your podcast grows, the best recording method is the one that helps you share your ideas clearly and comfortably. 

Communicate Pauses Without Oversharing

If something came up and you were going to miss an appointment, you’d call to let the other party know. Treat your audience with the same respect. When you plan to take a break, let the audience know in advance. If you can’t, mention it when you record next.

Tell the audience that you appreciate their patience and that you had to take care of something. You don’t have to apologize, and you don’t owe them an explanation. Clear communication with your audience outweighs podcast consistency advice.

When taking a planned break, let the audience know, and tell them if you have episodes planned to fill the space while you’re away. When you return, promote your fresh start.

Remember back in TV’s heyday, when television networks would promote their fall season lineup at the end of the summer? You can generate that kind of excitement for your podcast. 

Put Your Back Catalog to Work 

Speaking of planned breaks, another way to fill the time while you’re away is to re-purpose your back catalog. Podcasts from public radio networks re-publish episodes from their back catalog during the December and summer holidays so their staff can spend time with their families. You can do the same. 

Editing and publishing a montage episode can work wonders. Once you’ve found some common themes in your season’s dialogue, you can: 

• Ask your audience to contribute their opinions on a topic
• Revisit your previously published material 
• Keep a file of outtakes or dialogue you had to cut for time 

Edit it together by theme, and add an introduction, so the audience knows what they’re getting into. It’s like making a greatest hits album, complete with remixes. 

Also, don’t sleep on publishing episodes during holidays. Travelers need podcasts to accompany them while waiting in airports or on road trips. At times of year with heavy travel, if you publish accessible material, you may gain a whole new audience. 

Consistency Isn’t Bad Advice, But It’s Incomplete. 

Consistency is one part of a solid podcasting strategy. Quality, engagement, and preparation matter just as much.

My favorite meditation podcast publishes occasionally. When she does, I feel like I’ve found a $20 bill in my coat pocket. I will always download and block out time to listen.

If you can publish on a consistent basis, you can become a habit for your audience. But typical podcast consistency advice doesn’t fit all podcasters. If you can’t publish on a consistent basis, preparation, communication, and creativity make your podcast a treat for your audience to look forward to and savor. 

Design for Living, And Your Audience Will Fit Your Podcast Into Their Lives

Sustainable podcasting is flexible enough to allow for gaps. It doesn’t have to be consistent, provided your publishing cadence is predictable. 

When you set up your podcasting practice so that you can walk away from your podcast and return to it, you can refuel. The episodes you create when your mind and body are rested will always be better than the work you create under pressure. Your audience won’t mind the pause when you keep them informed. 

You’re not a machine. Your audience didn’t seek out your show because they expect you to vend content on a constant conveyor belt. People seek out podcasts because they want a human connection. When you set up your podcasting process for adaptability, audiences will give you the grace to continue sharing ideas long-term. 

Podcasting shouldn’t feel like a burden. When your workflow leaves room for rest and return, it’s easier to keep showing up as yourself. Alitu handles the behind-the-scenes audio work, like cleanup and levelling, so you can spend your time and attention where it matters most: on your ideas and your audience.