Motivational speeches and speakers are things most people are aware of. For years they have been a central part of corporate culture, often called into offices or corporate events to inspire employees, boost morale, and set everybody – both company and employee – on the same path to success.
It is no small feat producing and delivering a great motivational speech. They have an obvious value and that, in the end, is why company after company will pay through the nose for a motivational speaker of any quality.
But what about motivational podcasts? These are perhaps less well-known, if only because they have not been around as long. Of course, a motivational podcast is simply a podcast which people listen to specifically for motivational speaking, in order to inspire them to achieve either their professional or personal goals.
There is a massive market for these too, as the list of motivational podcasts out there attests. However, there is a bit more to it than that, especially if you are thinking about starting a motivational podcast yourself.
It’s About the Audience
One especially important thing to understand is that motivational podcasts are rarely for everybody. In fact, it’s one of the rules of podcasting success that making your content too general is a sure-fire way to get lost among the millions of podcasts out there, and to attract few listeners as a result.
One of the golden rules of podcasts is that they need to have a clear niche. The internet has democratized and revolutionized audio entertainment and has allowed anybody with a microphone to do the job that, in the past, would have been restricted to those on the radio. Nevertheless, podcasts come with none of the prestige that a top radio slot offers – they actually have to be good and stand out.
One of the ways motivational podcasts can stand out is by working with the audience they have. Already established companies have an advantage here. A company that already has a customer base can turn that customer base into a listenership. The niche is already determined by the products or services offered by that company and the podcast niche follows for that.
For example, Plurawl – a company specializing in products for the Hispanic community such as hoodies in Spanish – host a motivational podcast on their site. Their listenership and customer base are clearly defined, and so is their niche. Podcasts like this have a good chance of motivating.
Starting From Scratch
Nonetheless, what about podcasts that are not tethered to some company or organization that already has interest. For such podcasts, the niche can be less obvious, and it might take a while to develop.
The key to success is to not only produce great motivational content, but content that motivates towards the goals of a specific niche. Accordingly, the age-old question “who would actually listen to this?” needs to be combined with some others – “What are the goals of this group of people?” and “What type of motivational content will help them achieve that?”
The most important thing is trust in the speaker, and one of the best ways to ensure this is to be knowledgeable about the topic. Therefore, starting a motivational podcast might well begin with a consideration of what the podcast creators know about – the people that would be interested in that thing then constitute the niche.
That’s what a motivational podcast needs to be if it’s going to be successful. And after that has been assured, a whole new challenge of reaching that niche and promoting the podcast begins.
Be knowledgeable in one area, find the people particularly interested in that topic, and success awaits.
