It’s incredibly crucial to choose the right style for your podcast before you start. There are many different styles to consider. Here are the most common:
- Monolog/Single personality – This is where one person, and only one person does each and every episode without any guests of any kind. There are many radio shows and podcasts like this out there today, but this style requires a very strong personality, someone who is very comfortable speaking to an audience, and someone who can keep their thoughts organized and progressing in a sensible way throughout each episode. This is considered to be one of the more difficult styles, but if this sounds easy to you, then this might be your path. The outcome is that you become a celebrity or enhance your celebrity status and all of the focus is on you 100% of the time.
- Monolog/Single personality with an assistant – Think Howard Stern. Howard Stern is the main personality on his show, but Robin, his assistant personality, has been on every episode of the show since the beginning and adds a second voice to the show. Robin’s involvement is about 10% that of Howards. This is an easier version of the single personality model because you have someone else to keep you on track and make small comments that can have a big impact. That second person can reserve their air time for only their best thoughts that are accumulated while listening the other 90% of the time. In many cases, the second personality can have 30% of the impact while only having 10% of the air time because they have the time to formulate their best thoughts before vocalizing them.
- Dialogue/Dual personality – This is where you have two people on every episode of the podcast and both personalities are equal, or close to equal, in their time on air. Examples are the Bob and Tom show, or if you’re from the Michigan area, the Drew and Mike show. If your business has two equal founders or partners, this style may be a great way to keep both people in the limelight.
- Self-Interview – This can be done two different ways. The first is where you interview yourself. That is very similar to a single personality style, but it’s done in an interview form. You come up with a list of questions for yourself, and then you ask and answer them. The second method is where you have someone else interviewing you. This could be the same person or different people on each episode. This is similar to a single personality style or a single personality with an assistance style, but it’s mostly in interview form.
- Interview – The interview style is where one or two hosts interview someone different on each episode. This is a popular format for podcasts because they tend to flow well and don’t always require a lot of preparation. Preparation generally includes researching your interviewee and coming up with a short list of questions to ask. Coming up with lots of questions up front isn’t usually necessary because these types of conversations can take on a life of their own (the best ones do). Every episode is different and depending on who you’re calling, most people will be glad to be a guest on your podcast for free because it’s good exposure.
- Hybrid – A hybrid podcast includes a combination of different styles. It’s generally still a good idea for one or two people to always be the point people on the podcast – the personality that the listener can always expect, but maybe sometimes it’s a single personality style, another episode is a self-interview style, and then another episode it’s an interview style with a guest. Another example of a hybrid would be where a portion of an individual episode is a single personality or a self-interview, and the second half is an interview with someone else. Many late night talk shows have a similar format.
There are lots of styles to consider as you put together the plan for your podcast and my suggestion is that you go with the style that feels the most comfortable to you and fits the best with your business and audience.
One thing is for sure, and that is if you are talking about the things that people care about and want to learn more about, you can be successful with just about any podcast style.
Need help starting your podcast to market your business? Artonic can help! Contact us for a free consultation to discuss how we can help get your podcast off the ground and attract a solid base of listeners.