Hello!

This week's episode of the Solo Podcasting Handbook is all about picking a format for a show.

If you have ever sat down to record a solo episode and found yourself staring blankly at the wall.. or worse, recording 20 minutes of audio only to realize you said absolutely nothing of value... this one is for you.

We tend to think of solo podcasting as the "easy" version of podcasting. Why? You don't have to coordinate schedules, you don't have to research a guest's backstory, and you don't have to worry about someone else's bad audio quality. Or being ghosted.

But the reality is that solo podcasting has a much higher failure rate for engagement because there is no one else there to save you. If you are boring, the show is boring.

This is where a show structure really helps.

In this week's episode, I cover the three primary architectures that successful solo podcasts use.

First, there is The Storyteller. This is where you are building a "theater of the mind" and put the listener in the middle of the action. Shows like Lore or Hardcore History do this really, really well (which is why they DO really really well!). They hook you with a narrative.

Second is The Teacher. This is likely where you fit if you are a consultant or a coach. The goal here is clarity and logic. You are transferring knowledge from your brain to the listener's brain.

Third is The Commentator. This is the Op-Ed style. It’s driven entirely by the host's unique perspective on the world. It’s high risk, you really gotta put yourself out there in this one, but high reward because it builds massive trust. If you have ever listened to Bill Burr ramble for an hour and loved it, you know this format relies heavily on the strength of the persona, too.

And in this episode, I cover one extra bonus option for a show's structure. But the overall idea here is to pick one of them, and even though it is a structure and has limits it actually makes being creative a lot easier.

To watch or listen to this episode, see this page.

Bye for now,

Jen