Focus on the sweet spot between interests, knowledge, and what people care about

David Binstead
Sep 7, 2018 · 5 min read
Making unique stuff — like hoar-frost. ©David Binstead 2018

Creating focused media to resonate: Audio Adventures #3

Isn’t the internet a great potential resource!? Pretty much the world’s assembled knowledge in one place. Here’s my perspective to help you cut-through the noise (excuse the pun), having evaluated and implemented advice from many ‘podcast experts’ in the last three years.


A short checklist to get you in the pod-zone:

Don’t ‘just get started’

How about just getting started small? ‘Just get started’ is truly a little white lie when building a podcast [anything?]. Having a robust plan BEFORE hitting record will reap so many dividends it’s not funny. The podcast pro’s deliberate here for ages, rightly knocking around ideas based on extensive prior experience in media creation that connects, resonates and changes hearts and minds.

What interests thee?

No, not the ‘wishterests’ at the end of a CV. Capture and share from within the wheelhouse of what you do know, and/or are intensely curious about.

See what else is already out there [globally and locally] on the topic, and consider what unique perspectives you might bring to the conversation, knowledge, and debate. You’re going to be talking about/covering this for quite a chunk of your time, so make sure the range of content and its focal point is sustainable.

Exercise:

  1. Write out what interests you in as long a list as you care[dare].
  2. Divide the list into two, firstly the interests you’d like to have, and the ones you’ve actually got right now.
  3. Take that second list and write out possible show summaries in a maximum of two sentences.
  4. The one/ones that are easiest to describe succinctly, clearly and relatively quickly will be worth investing some more time into, as they’ll form the focus for your show.

Navel gazing [introspection] knowledge and perspectives

What rattles between your lug holes (ears) that is all of relevant, interesting and valuable? [No, me neither]. More specifically, for a potential audience. While Auntie Bethel may feign interest in your prognostications around the barbecue, it‘d’ useful to check-in with people outside the direct and biased sphere of [giving the impression of] hanging on your every word.

Knowing stuff and opinions are importantly different from applying knowledge and bringing an independent, and perhaps even useful, perspective.


Research — do the stretch-reading

Your research has two goals:

  • Identifying good and less good elements from other shows.
  • Seeing whether your Eureka moment has already been identified and capitalised upon by others — looking at you tech podcasts.

Review podcasts on the basis of three quality measures: technical, content, and rapport.

Your favourite listens, and why?

What can a show look and feel like, and where are the gaps (you’d like to sidle into). Scour the extensive online opportunities for what already exists. The Apple Podcasts directory within iTunes always a good place to start, and Google, or your preferred search engine. Search for podcasts about the topic/niche you’re interested in, and use keywords from your summary description to surface some of the existing shows.

Critique!

Subscribe and listen to a few shows (like you are doing already, right?). Review podcasts on the basis of three quality measures: technical, content, and rapport.

Not pretty, but you can’t unsee it now, can you..

Taste-maker, double-down!

Collate what you’ve gleaned from your research of that niche. Qualitatively describe what you like about the positive and negative elements you’ve reviewed. Re-write your show description based on that info, which may take to you to…

The Sweet Spot.

What and where is the sweet spot overlapping your interests and knowledge, and what do people care about? In my limited experience of humans, they can be fickle (some might offer feckless) creatures, saying one thing yet acting in a contradictory way.

Find the sweet spot and you’ve found a (possible) niche to explore. Just as importantly, you’ve got some boundaries around what is peripheral to that focus.

No such thing as a new idea.

Relax, get over it/no such thing as an original idea…

  • Why not collaborate with an already established show close to your area of interest? A great way to learn more about the process, without the overhead. Whether it’s occasional or regular, you can gain a heap by giving a little.
  • Guest on a show/shows, whether in person or remotely. Here you’ll get the opportunity to practice all the things that will stand you in good stead for your own production.

Still wanting more?

Still wanting more control of the process, format and finished content than helping build someone else’s thang? That’s when you could join the swelling ranks of creators, making interesting stuff.

Your opinions will serve you well with building show/episode formats, the third digital audio fundamental, which I’ll cover next time.

Summary:

  • Just get started — small and carefully.
  • Curiosity and knowledge, applied.
  • Do the background research.
  • Maybe no need to build anew if it already exists.

Recommended links:


About:

#3 in a bite-sized Audio Adventures series to guide you meaningfully in creating quality digital audio stories. By David Binstead, who’s writing up audio learns here, for you to effortlessly jump the hurdles he crashed straight into. Video is a thing he does too, apparently.

The boxed set [in progress]:

  • #1: ‘Why Audio?’ covers achieving emotive cut-through, and some of the important digital radio trends travelling through your ears soon.
  • #2: Two fundamentals for great audio capture.
  • #3: Focus. Clarity in advance about your show’s niche/focus will reap dividends immediately, and save heartache down the line.
  • #4: Formats — what types of show, how long, how often.
  • #5: Hosting — where podcasts live on the internet.

Talks with innovators, creatives & enterprisers (acronym/show title: twice) is ninety five episodes of learns in digital audio, published fortnightly (or more often) 2015–2018. Capturing and sharing the stories of people making positive impact in society, from Aotearoa New Zealand. 🎧 via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts.


Thanks BizDojo, and their rad community of fellow humans, for support. I’m not paid to promote or advertise the BizDojo cowork communities, and you’d do well to check them out when passing through Aotearoa New Zealand.

David Binstead

Written by

Making and breaking stuff, being useful, sharing (sometimes hard) learns. Focused contributor, creator, & sailor. On a #sustainability journey | @david_binstead

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