Different podcasting formats

There are many, many, many, many (think that’s enough to symbolise) podcasts out there, and 99% of them you may encounter are three guys around an iPhone talking about films or football…. And why not, whatever floats your boat.

However, with a podcast tailored to a niche or for a purpose; it is always best to decide on the format you are going to base around. There are a few different types of podcasts:

1.) Interview based — A host interviewing a guest or series of guests either to tell a story, learn experiences or study expertise.

2.) Storytelling / human interest — Stories are the new way to market, we remember them and we relate to them. If you can tell a story either through interview, anecdote or a great tale… you can really win over an audience.

3.) Scripted fiction — These have become more popular lately as bigger companies have moved into podcasting. They require a lot more levels of production, more voices and wayyyy more editing, but some of the best podcasts are done in this format. Some companies have even used this format as a branded podcast, only revealing the brand in the final episode.

4.) Live — As it says on the tin, a recording of a comedy show, interview panel or table read for example.

5.) Information based (I call these info nuggets) — Often used in between interview shows as a quick update or a nice piece of information that helps the audience to be more inspired or learn a piece of news that helps them develop.

6.) Chat Show — Probably the most common type of podcast. Discussion between hosts about various topics from the walking dead, through to gardening tips. These range from highly produced comedy chat shows to two blokes talking about their dogs that they recorded for the family to hear.

Have a look at our “What we are listening to blogs” to see some working examples of these blog formats: http://branded.abruptaudio.com/blog

Originally published at Abrupt Audio.