You've probably heard the podcasting advice that you must choose a niche, or even “niche down.” But your topic isn't the only kind of niche your podcast could have!
In podcasting, we love our buzzwords: passion, content, audience, avatar (often misused), and of course, niche. Niche down. Pick an unpopulated niche. Niche audience, niche topic, niche this, niche that. Snitch, snitch, snitch. It almost starts to sound like we're talking about snitches. And snitches get stitches. So let's focus on the niche instead.
Yes, a niche is important. But there are multiple ways to have one, and you can have more than one at the same time. Some people think niching down means limiting yourself or restraining your podcast's potential. In some ways, sure, you're narrowing your potential audience. But picking the right niche, and even rethinking what a niche is, can actually be more freeing than limiting.
What is a “niche podcast”?
In America, we say “nitch” (as in, “the riches are in the niches”). In British English, it's “neesh” (and “niches have no leashes,” which turns out to be true). I'm an American, so you'll hear me say “nitch.”
Merriam-Webster offers a few definitions of niche, and two of them are especially relevant to podcasting:
2 a : a place, employment, status, or activity for which a person or thing is best fitted
d : a specialized market
Here's how I define that for podcasting:
A podcast niche is content and experience specialized to best fit a particular audience.
Notice what's not in that definition: it doesn't say the niche has to be a specific topic. It's about specialization, of content and of experience, for a particular audience. So when you “niche down,” you're narrowing the content, narrowing the experience, further specializing, or making it an even better fit for a smaller, more defined audience.
With that in mind, here are the four types of podcast niches.
1. Topic
This is the one everyone talks about: “You need a niche topic so your podcast can be known for something.” That's not bad advice. It's good for your podcast to be known for something, and sometimes that thing is your topic.
This very podcast is an example. I talk about podcasting. That's my topic niche.
Try filling in the blank: “I talk about ______.”
If you can't fit a clear answer in that blank, your topic probably isn't your niche. And that's okay. Plenty of hugely successful podcasts don't have a niche topic. The Joe Rogan Experience is the obvious example. He's all over the place with subjects and guests. We can't say he's successful because he doesn't have a niche topic, and we can't say he'd be more successful if he did. We just know he's successful without one.
So don't try to be Joe Rogan. Just talking about whatever crosses your mind isn't going to make you famous. But a good niche still might, and that niche doesn't have to be the topic.
When I had a fan podcast about the TV show Once Upon a Time, my topic niche was easy to state: “I talk about the TV show Once Upon a Time.” We weren't covering other shows or movies (unless they were directly relevant). That was a clear topic niche.
If you can fill in that blank cleanly, great. If you can't, keep reading.
2. Audience
Now let's build on the sentence: “I talk about ______ for ______.”
Who is your podcast for?
Say you have a cake-baking podcast. That's a topic niche. But how do you stand out from all the other cake-baking podcasts? Is yours for people with dietary restrictions? People starting a cake-baking side business? Hobby bakers? Cake decorators competing on Instagram?
Your audience, the specific group you're designing the show to reach, can be your niche even when your topic is broad or undefined.
In my previous episode, I mentioned The NewsWorthy from Erica Mandy. She doesn't have a niche topic. She literally doesn't know what the next episode is about until she starts preparing it, because the show covers whatever happened in the world. But she has a clear audience niche: people who want balanced news, short and daily.
So you can be “all over the place” on subject matter and still have a tight niche, as long as you're making it for a specific, defined audience.
3. Style/approach
Now the sentence grows: “I talk about ______ for ______ by ______.” Fill that third blank with an active verb describing how you do it.
Your niche could be your approach: how you tackle the subject and how you serve the audience.
Back to my Once Upon a Time podcast. Other podcasters were covering the same show. Our audiences were nearly identical: fans watching the series. We started to niche down by going deeper than most. But what really set us apart was our approach, and a lot fits under that umbrella:
- Depth. We dug into Easter eggs, theories, and connections to Lost (some of the same creators worked on both shows).
- Family-friendly. Even though the TV show had some adult content, we kept our podcast clean so any family could listen.
- Schedule. We released two episodes per TV episode: an “initial reactions” right after it aired, and a “full discussion” later in the week, after we'd rewatched and gathered listener feedback.
- Audience integration. Listener feedback was baked into the format.
- Production touches. Screenshots, sound clips, and research in every full discussion.
Other Once Upon a Time podcasts took totally different approaches. One I really liked: every host brought five things they wanted to talk about. That was it. Short, easy to follow, and you always knew what you were getting. Others just pulled one idea from the episode. Others were entirely about fan reactions.
Your approach is how you make the show different from everyone else making a show about the same thing for the same people. Some listeners will prefer your approach. Others will listen to you and your “competitors” because they value both. That's not a bad thing.
So your active-verb approach could be “by digging deep into the theories and Easter eggs,” or “by sharing quick snippets and listener feedback,” or “by giving you just what you need for the conversation around the water cooler.”
4. Voice
And the final version of the sentence: “I talk about ______ for ______ by ______ from my unique ______.”
Your voice isn't just your literal voice (though that's part of it). It's everything that makes you you and gives you a perspective in the space.
When I was first thinking about starting The Audacity to Podcast, I felt I had something to say that wasn't being said, even though the two podcasts about podcasting I was listening to felt like enough competition. Then I learned about a third. Then more. The space was more saturated than I realized. But what set me apart was my voice: my perspective, my experience, my thought process.
You have a unique voice too. Unique experience. Unique perspective. Unique thoughts and feelings, because you're a unique person. (Just like everyone else. But it's still true.) Don't hide that in your podcast. Let it come through. That uniqueness can be your niche.
I have a listener named David. He's not a podcaster and has no interest in starting one. He listens because he knows me and enjoys hearing me talk about something I'm passionate about. I've heard similar stories from many podcasters. People who say, “I don't really care what you talk about, I just love hearing your perspective.”
This is also why so many people listen to celebrity podcasts: the celebrity's voice is the draw, regardless of subject. And it's why a lot of celebrity podcasts fail. They lean on the celebrity name but neglect the unique voice. They don't cover a unique topic, don't aim at a unique audience, don't take a unique approach, and don't bring their unique perspective. Listeners show up excited, then leave because there's nothing there beyond the name.
A great counter-example: Office Ladies. They cover The Office, a show that has been off the air for a long time, for fans of The Office. Not unique. They go scene by scene, similar to other rewatch podcasts. Also not unique. But their voice absolutely is: they were actresses on the show. They bring real on-set experience, plus fun personalities that they let shine. That's their niche.
So if you look at your podcast and think, “It's not really a niche topic,” that's fine. The niche doesn't have to be the topic. Or the audience. Or the approach. It might simply be you.
Part of my voice on The Audacity to Podcast is right there in the name: the audacity. The guts. The boldness. That's what podcasting felt like to me when I started. I felt like I had something to add. I also had a unique approach, shaped by my background in public speaking and a very analytical way of looking at tools and techniques. I test things. I weigh options. I give comparisons. A lot of the time, I let you make the call, while still recommending what I trust most.
That's why I rarely say there's one best podcast host, or one best microphone. It depends on your needs and budget. Same with websites and tools. Even my own tools, like Podgagement and PodChapters, aren't for everyone. If you don't care about engaging your audience or where you rank in Apple Podcasts and Spotify charts, Podgagement isn't for you. If you're fine letting various podcast apps generate their own (different) chapters and transcripts for your show instead of providing your own as the standard, PodChapters isn't for you. But I'd love for you to try them anyway.
Those are niche products for niche podcasters.
What are your niches?
Yes, you should have a niche. But your niche could be your topic, your audience, your approach, or your voice. Or any combination.
Here's the full fill-in-the-blank:
I talk about [topic] for [audience] by [active-verb approach] from my unique [voice/perspective/identity].
Here's mine:
I talk about podcasting for mostly independent podcasters by digging deep and providing thorough options and ideas they can apply to both technology and concepts, from my unique perspective as a public speaker with a technical production background who loves the podcasting industry.
That's my niche. That's what sets The Audacity to Podcast apart from other great podcasts about podcasting, like my good friend Dave Jackson's School of Podcasting. Dave does things on his show I wouldn't do on mine, and that's not a criticism. We both cover podcasting. We both target independent podcasters. But our approaches diverge, and our voices are very different. There's room for both of us, and there's room for you too.
If you love The Audacity to Podcast and value the podcasting inspiration and education I provide, would you please consider giving back what it's worth to you?
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This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship. I may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.
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