What Makes a Good Podcast? 10 Elements You Should Know

• Diana Aghumyan
• January 12, 2023
• 10 min read

More people than ever are listening to podcasts nowadays. According to the latest study, there are currently 424.2 million podcast listeners worldwide. Being just good won’t cut it anymore because there are thousands of new podcast episodes broadcast every day. There are a ton of high-quality podcasts available.

Your podcast episodes must stand out in this amazing world of podcasting if you want to succeed. Furthermore, it is far simpler to say than to do, especially when there is no universal recipe for creating compelling material every time you pick up the microphone.

The good news is that a good episode can become exceptional with the help of a few fundamental elements and get featured in one of the famous streaming platforms, such as Apple Podcasts. Additionally, you may significantly improve your chances of becoming a well-regarded podcaster by including these characteristics in each of your episodes.

Let’s now discuss what characteristics a podcast episode should have. We’ll go over the basic elements that each of your podcast episodes ought to include. These suggestions are sure to be helpful whether you’re trying to launch a podcast or want to advance your current one.

What Makes a Good Podcast? 10 Pro Tips For Success

Before we get started, it is important to identify what we mean by saying a good podcast.

The notion that any given piece of information is good is ultimately a matter of taste; what you find interesting and genuine, another person may find cliche and boring. Despite this, people frequently come together to elevate some works as well-liked and give them prominence due to the sheer number of distinct voices that agree on their worth. Despite this, people frequently band together to promote particular works as well-liked and important due to the sheer volume of distinct voices that concur on their qualities.

So, what’s the secret recipe to creating a good podcast?

Keep reading to find out how to make a good podcast.

1. Unique Idea

Your listeners want to know what makes a podcast unique. Why should they tune in?

Your podcast needs to stand out from the crowd to get off to the greatest possible start. Additionally, it must provide viewers with something that other shows do not. In a sea of competition, having a distinctive idea will help you stand out. A good podcast will focus on just one central theme or concept and stick to it. There is no need to please everyone.

Whether you are going to share your viewpoint or knowledge about a certain topic, you need to define why your podcast should exist.

If you want to create a podcast about healthy recipes but spend a huge part of your recording discussing beauty products, you will make your listeners go elsewhere and look for healthy eating content. So, make sure you are not deviating from your main subject and disappointing your audience, who was looking for some insightful information in your podcasts.

2. Structuring Podcasts

Listening to a new podcast can be tricky sometimes. It might be hard to tell if the episode is going to discuss points your audience expects. When you have an explicit structure for your content, your listeners will know what to expect, and they will stay engaged with the information you want to cover.

Consider creating a clear episode. You can make a list with bullet points. In this way, you can decide what content to prioritize and what details to leave out. Besides, if you forget what you need to discuss, you can refer to this list and keep on recording.

3. Value is What Makes a Good Podcast

Podcasts that typically provide listeners with value are the greatest ones, regardless of whether they aim to educate, inform, or entertain. What do you hope viewers will learn from your show? What are people looking for when they come to you? You are more likely to win them over if you can best meet their needs.

As the host, try to be as engaging and educational as you can. Try not to overwhelm the audience with too much information. Keep the balance between interactive and informative. In this way, you both entertain and teach something useful to your listeners.

Providing listeners with helpful advice in a fun way keeps them interested. Make sure to direct listeners to free resources, showcase real-world examples, and provide them with other useful sources. Make sure to include links to any helpful resources you suggest to your audience.

4. Sound Quality

The quality of your audio matters. Bad sound quality (for instance, hissing, vocal pops, and so on) might greatly disappoint your audience. It affects not only a person’s listening experience but also your brand’s credibility.

It does not matter how interesting, informative, and engaging your content is. You need good sound quality to keep listeners on board.

The best podcast recordings have three primary qualities that elevate them from basic and unprofessional to polished and professional։

• Stable volume levels
• All speakers can be clearly heard
• There’s little or no background noise

Perfect sound quality is what makes a good podcast and keeps your listeners coming back to consume more of your content.

5. Good Podcast Host

If you wonder what makes a good podcast, you need to know that it is a good podcast host. He/she can take your podcast to the next level. After all, the host is the reason your listeners continue to tune in.

But what makes a good podcast host?

A good podcast host should have a distinct and genuine point of view in addition to being intriguing and engaging, just like the host of a well-known TV program. A dull or uninteresting personality won’t attract devoted listeners.

A good podcast host should be

• Knowledgeable and passionate about the topic
• Eager to find the right guests
• Driven to do research about each guest
• Make guests and audience feel comfortable
• Manage debates effectively
• Be able to stay honest and true to self

You’ll be a fantastic podcast host if you can demonstrate the bulk of the qualities mentioned above.

6. Relevant Guests

Every industry has a number of experts that enjoy traveling the “podcast circuit” and appearing on various shows each week. Because they are well-known to your listeners, these experts make excellent guests. However, it does not mean you cannot seek out less well-known visitors. The most important thing you should consider before inviting any guests is to make sure they are professionals in their field and can share some insightful information during the show.

Before you record, find out about the subject so that you may prepare thoughtful questions rather than attempting to think of intriguing things to say during the show. In order to avoid having your interview sound like every other one they’ve given, your questions should force your guest to think of original responses.

Choose speakers who accurately reflect the integrity and quality of your podcast. You might need to spend more time pitching, and you’re likely to get turned down quite a bit. However, it is normal, especially if you are just getting started. So, do not get discouraged. Stay patient, and you will be able to find relevant speakers for your podcasts.

7. Consistency

Even though it might seem painfully obvious, this is one of the most significant things. Every good podcast follows a regular release schedule.

Consumers of podcasts have demands of content producers. After all, you are performing a show! Similar to television shows, keeping engagement and boosting visibility on your work depends on having a release schedule that your audience can rely on.

If you want your audience to continue listening to your podcast, they need to be aware of when and where they can find your show. An editorial calendar is useful in this situation. Many specialists in the field of podcasting choose a specific day to release new episodes. A consistent schedule makes it easier for people to stay updated about each new episode.

Choose a publishing schedule for your podcast. You can prepare weekly, biweekly, or even monthly releases. Make sure you give yourself enough time in between episodes to do interviews, record, edit, and promote your podcasts. You should also have some spare time for yourself.

Make sure your publishing schedule is visible on your website or wherever your audience can find your podcast, and mention it in the episode if possible. Remember, consistency is what makes a good podcast.

8. Good Podcast SEO

A podcast that has a strong SEO presence will do considerably better than one that doesn’t. The drawback of podcasts is that it can be tough for listeners to discover your program in the first place. If you’re lucky enough to get your show in front of people, it takes a lot to trigger their curiosity enough to press play.

Podcast SEO is able to aid with this. It all comes down to ranking your podcast for keywords related to your subject in Google’s search results pages. You can find new listeners for your program if you can get it in front of people who are actively looking for information in that particular category.

Google has recently started displaying podcast episodes on its search results pages. If your podcast comes up in search results, people can click play straight away without having to go through a podcast app first.

So, remember that good is also what makes a good podcast. Do your keyword research, optimize your podcast titles, write detailed descriptions of your podcasts, and repurpose your podcasts by turning them into blogs, for instance. In this way, you will appear on the first page of Google.

9. Clear CTAs

A successful podcast relies on clear, straightforward call-to-actions (CTAs) that are incorporated throughout the episodes. This can highly impact the development of your show. Do you have a particular request for the listeners? It could be subscribing to your email, joining your community, or following you on social media.

Whatever it is, you need to state it clearly in your episodes. You can include CTAs in the introduction or at the end of your episode. However, be careful not to annoy your audience with a podcast full of CTAs. After all, it is not a sales pitch.

Below you can find some useful tips on how to write strong CTAs.

• Use action words
• Concentrate on value
• Trigger curiosity and anticipation
• Test your CTAs
• Improve your call to action

If you follow the above-mentioned tactics, you will be able to develop solid CTAs and make your listeners take immediate action. So, keep in mind that a good CTA is also what makes a good podcast.

10. Storytelling

The use of stories to engage an audience is a powerful strategy. Storytelling via podcasts is used by many businesses in order to increase brand awareness. Our brains have neurological reactions when hearing stories, which improve our ability to concentrate and empathize with the storyteller. Besides, people tend to recall stories more easily than other types of information.

The foundation of a good podcast is a good story. Good stories are the lifeblood of a good podcast. That is all there is to it. By good stories, we mean those that are actually engaging to hear because of the manner they are presented. A compelling story will hold the interest of the audience and encourage them to return for more.

The audience will always connect better with fun, exciting information than with dull, uninteresting material. Additionally, social media users are much more prone to share content that provokes laughter or discussion. Therefore, when recording, always strive to come up with methods to add humor and life to subjects that would otherwise be viewed as tedious or boring.

Conclusion

A podcast can be advanced in so many ways. If you are willing to adapt your podcasts to the demands of your listeners, you can take your podcasts to the next level. It takes hard work to start and run a successful podcast. It requires intense focus and ongoing contributions. Keep assessing the content you are producing, the audio quality of your podcast, and the feedback you are receiving from listeners. The combination of all these elements is what makes a podcast unique. This will allow you to get rid of the pain points and improve your podcast to reach the best possible quality.

Now that you know how to make a good podcast, it is high time to get started.

Good luck, and happy podcasting!

SEO Content Writer

Diana Aghumyan

Diana is an experienced creative SEO content writer at SayNine. She is passionate about writing and giving value to people with her articles. Her blogs revolve around advertising, digital marketing, and other similar topics.