Every Episode Should Pose a Question

The possibilities in podcasting are endless—game shows, history deep dives, true crime mysteries, comedy, talk shows, and so much more. But what truly sets great podcasts apart? No matter the niche, two key elements make a show stand out:

First, the hosts present a clear, thought-provoking question that sparks curiosity.Second, they stay focused—delivering answers within their niche without unnecessary tangents or distractions. When you combine these elements, every episode becomes sharper, more engaging, and ultimately more memorable for your audience.

Learn how to refine your niche, structure your content, and ensure every episode delivers on your show's promises to its listeners.

• Start every episode with a focused question—this keeps you and your audience on track.
• Know your niche—a clear focus makes it easier to grow your audience and market your show.
• Structure matters—each episode should explore a specific subtopic to keep content valuable and engaging.

Before you hit record, ask yourself: "What's the one question I'm answering today?" Tune in now for actionable insights to improve your podcast!

Questions? Email [e-mail]. See you next week!
Listen to CEO Ryan Tillotson break it all down on Podcasting Tips Weekly!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
Hello, and welcome back to another episode of Podcasting Tips Weekly.
I'm Ryan Tillotson. Today we're diving into one of the
most important aspects of podcasting video content, staying focused the key.
Every episode should start with a focused question. In this episode,

(00:29):
we're going to cover the power of a focus question,
why every episode should start with one, and knowing your
niche or niche either works, and how to define your
podcast's focus. Let's get into it, Okay, the power of
a focused question. So every great podcast or video should
begin with a clear question why, because it keeps you

(00:53):
and your audience on track. If you don't have a
specific direction, you risk losing your audience it's attention by
rambling or covering too many ideas at once. Your main
content should answer one main question per episode. When whenever
we start a new podcast with a new client, I
basically like to say to them, every episode should pose

(01:13):
a question and deliver a promise. If you can really
do that within your niche of your show, which we
kind of are going to get into a little bit later,
you're on a solid track because people are first of
all tuning in because of the niche of your show,
and then second know what this episode is going to cover.
They know what they're going to get out of it

(01:34):
because of the question that you're posing at the beginning.
It's probably even the title of the episode. But if
you think about it, when you listen to a podcast,
you're committing your time, whether you're on a walk, doing chores,
or working out. Listeners want to know what they're getting into.
A focused question helps you structure your content, keeps your
audience engaged, and ensures that they walk away with something valuable. Okay,

(01:56):
And the second thing, like I was saying before, knowing
your niche. Every podcast needs a clear niche. If you
don't have one, it's time to refine your focus. I
think we are so far removed now and podcasting has
changed so much that you can't just create a show
and just it's gonna be about anything. It's gonna be

(02:18):
about everything, it's gonna be about anyone. You can't really
do that anymore. You need to have a focus. You're
gonna have a much easier time finding an audience if
you do this. I mean, I would say the exception
is a huge celebrity that already has millions and millions
of people following them on whatever platform. They make a

(02:38):
post on that platform, they're gonna immediately get quite a
few people intrigued in the podcast just because of who
they are. But I'm assuming that you are not that person,
and you want to grow a podcast and you want
to grow an audience, So you need to find your niche.
What is it that you're gonna try to be talking
about in all episodes? Ask yourself, who am I making

(03:01):
this content for? Ask yourself what problem am I solving
with this podcast, Not specifically this episode, but with this
podcast as a whole. And once you have your niche,
each episode should explore a subtopic, like we said, within
that niche. For example, if your podcast is about fitness,
your episode question might be how do you build muscle

(03:22):
without a gym? Or you can get even more specific,
you know, it's like, how do you build this specific
muscle the best tools for building that one muscle, and
then from going even further from that, you know, another
episode could be like each specific tool. You can do
a whole episode on each specific tool that you use

(03:43):
to then build that muscle that you spoke about in
the last episode. Or if you have a podcast about
personal finance, your episode could focus on is it better
to save or invest? Right now? These are just some examples,
but anyway, having a niche ensures that your content is consistent, targeted, valuable.
If your podcast doesn't have a clear niche, I really

(04:03):
consider reworking it because something that you should be considering
while you're developing your podcast is how are you marketing it?
Who are you going to target? And if you don't
know your niche, it's really hard to find those people. Okay,
so before you hit record, ask yourself, what's the one
question I'm answering today. That's the key to keeping your

(04:26):
content focused, engaging, and worthwhile. And that is your tip
for today. Thank you so much for listening to pod
Tips weekly. If you found this episode helpful, subscribe wherever
you're listening to right now. It means the world. And
if you're interested, we do a weekly newsletter. It's at
the bottom of strawhutmedia dot com. Get in there, subscribe.

(04:48):
That would be so fun to have you part of it.
And if you have any questions or have a tip
that you want to share with me, please email me
at tips at strawhutmedia dot com and see you next week.
The Defendant and the Atman, the bison