How to Continuously Create Engaging and Compelling Content for Your Podcast

Are you looking to take your podcast to the next level? One key factor can make all the difference: creating compelling, engaging content. With a focus on this aspect of your show, you can attract new listeners and keep them coming back for more. And the best part? It’s completely free to implement! In this blog post, Jason Cercone shares tips and strategies for maximizing the impact of your podcast content!

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We all want our podcasts to grow. Whenever a new episode comes out, we want as many eyes and ears as possible on our podcast. For podcast hosts, this growth means a world of new opportunities for them and their brand. For podcast guests, each new listener is another chance for their message to be heard.

While many factors can contribute to podcast growth, and every podcaster has their reasons why they want to grow, today we’re going to talk about one aspect that needs to be at the top of your priority list every time you sit down to produce a new podcast episode.

And that is the art of digging deeper, going beyond superficial questions and answers, and creating compelling, engaging podcast content that captivates your listeners and keeps them in their seats forever. If you really want to grow your podcast, your content needs to give your audience a reason to tune back in every week.

Read on to find out how you can make that happen.

Why Your Podcast Content Has To Be Compelling

What do you look for when you want to watch a new movie or TV series on Netflix? You’re probably looking for engaging content that excites you. You want a good story. You want action, adventure, and romance. Whatever is advertised needs to deliver.

 If the content isn’t compelling or doesn’t deliver what it promises, why would you stay loyal to it? You have no reasons to tell your family or friends about it. “Hey, go watch this movie or binge on this TV show.”

The same applies to podcasts. If you want to grow your audience, your content has to be recommendable. And your content is only recommendable if it delivers in engagement and is compelling enough for someone to say, “Wow, that’s really good. I’m going to come back next week and listen to the next episode.”

 Or, “I’m going to go back to the archives and catch up on some episodes I missed.” If your podcast content does that, you’re in a much better position to get people to tune in and stick around.

That’s the last thing you want someone saying about your podcast, “Don’t waste your time. It’s not worth it.”

Now that we’ve covered why it’s so important to create compelling and engaging content for your podcast let’s get to the how.

How To Make Engaging Content For Your Podcast

It’s all about going beneath the surface. For example, if you run an interview-style podcast, you have to go into every interview with the attitude, “I’m going to give this guest the best conversation they’ve ever had.”

Read: How To Host Captivating Podcast Interviews 

If you’re the guest, you need to come to every podcast appearance with the mindset that you’re value-driven and ready to deliver the best, most engaging content you can. When this happens, there’s instant synergy between host and guest. We need to start looking at every single podcast episode we do as a collaborative effort.

Read: 10 Surefire Ways to Stand Out as a Podcast Guest

Everything you do is part of a synergistic process that aims not only to create a great experience for the host and the guest but also to impact the listeners. That’s how you grow a podcast. It’s a win-win situation. The host wins because they have a great conversation and great content to share with their audience. The guest wins because they have a valuable contribution, and listeners become curious and seek them out to learn more.

The audience wins because they came for a specific reason, and the content served its purpose.

Podcast Hosts

As a podcast host, you can’t ask the same canned surface-level questions that the guest has probably been asked hundreds of times. If you do, you’ll probably get the same superficial answer they have already given everywhere else. You need to push the envelope and go a little deeper. How do you do that?

 Let me share an example of something I do on my podcast. 

Suppose I have an author as a podcast guest; more than likely, they have talked about their book on various podcasts. If listeners follow the author to other podcasts and hear the same thing over and over, what reason do they have to stay tuned to your show? When I invite them to my show, I avoid asking them obvious questions like, “Tell me about how you wrote your book?” Instead, I ask them something like, “During the process of writing your book, when you were getting everything down, was there ever a point when you were so frustrated or had writer’s block that you just wanted to hit the delete key and start the whole project over again?”

This question goes a little deeper. Often authors have laughed and said, “Wow, no one has ever asked me that before. Let me tell you a story.” In the conversations I’ve had with authors about the creative process and there is a lot of frustration. If you’ve written your book, you probably know what I’m talking about.

This gives them the opportunity to open up and tell a story they may not have told before. This sets the table for a better conversation.

Podcast Guests

How can you help create compelling podcast content if you’re the guest?

This is where your One Sheet, media kits, and various online profiles you have for your podcast guest appearances can really work wonders. Most of them give hosts the opportunity to have suggested expert questions to ask you.

They can then use these questions to create a format that is tailored to your expertise. The more interesting and engaging these questions are, the better the conversation will be in your podcast interview.

I don’t think of these as suggested questions but rather as conversation starters. If a  host asks me one of the questions, I’ll give an answer that I hope will spark a good conversation. My goal is for the host to pick up on the cue and follow up with more questions.  

This creates good conversations and a compelling experience for any listener who tunes in. When they hear those great conversations, they’ll think to themselves, “That’s why I’m here. This is exactly what they advertised. I learned something, and I’ll be back for more. In fact, I’ll even look in the archives to see what I’ve missed.” 

Such listeners often go a step further and share the episode with their family, friends, and even co-workers.

Wrap Up

There are so many podcasts in the world today. If your show doesn’t stand out and have this type of compelling content, you’re giving your listeners a reason to listen to another podcast. So, seek to dig deeper and go beyond the surface level.

As a podcast host, you should ask questions that are going to elicit powerful responses. 

As a podcast guest, don’t waste the precious real estate on your One Sheet. Use this section to lay down questions that are awesome conversation starters.  During the interview, offer responses that will lead to an engaging conversation that listeners will enjoy and learn from.

Consistency, quality, and always being captivating. Keep these pillars in mind when creating your podcast content, whether you’re a host or a guest. That’s how you’ll get your audience to keep you in their weekly listening rotation.

About Jason Cercone

Jason Cercone is a podcast guesting strategist, author, and experienced podcaster. He helps value-driven coaches and consultants establish authority and become thought leaders in their niche via strategic, impactful podcast guest appearances. He is also The Voice of Evolution of Brand, a podcast featuring authentic entrepreneurs and professionals sharing brand-building strategies to help you succeed in your professional pursuits, as well as a contributing author to the best-selling PodMatch Guest Mastery book.

• Visit Jason Cercone’s Website
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