What is a podcast?

A beginner’s guide to podcasts

The easiest way to describe what a podcast is, especially to the older generation, is radio on demand. 

Some podcasts are indeed radio on demand, but many others are made by people who are passionate about a particular genre and want to share that passion with the world.

The word podcast encompasses the channel, as well as the individual episode (though some also refer to the episode as a pod).

There are many places online where you can access podcasts. 

The most common is the podcast app that is on your phone. I have an iPhone and the podcasts app is simply called Podcasts.

Other apps include the Spotify app, iheartradio app and others. 

You can also listen to podcasts on a web browser, such as Spotify, iheartradio and places like BBCSounds.

"Podcast" is a portmanteau of "iPod" and "broadcast", though it has also been suggested that pod is an acronym for Play On Demand.

There are millions of podcasts around these days, with some 75 million episodes online. Too many for one person to get through in their lifetime!

Podcasts can be serialised, or have a running theme.

A serialised podcast is something like Podlander Drunkcast (highly recommend if you’re into Outlander), where the hosts go through each episode of the TV series Outlander. For each season of the TV show there is a season of podcasts. 

Some people like to put their podcasts into seasons so they have a natural break and can theme each season. Someone who does this is Tanya Dalton.

Then there are others that are episodic, like mine, or Tracy Harris’ Mums With Hustle, which come out on the same day. New Turn Up Your Volume episodes are published each Tuesday.

And finally you have podcasts that have no rhyme or reason to when they publish episodes.

The content of a podcast is also so varied but most have their own template that they follow.

I listen to a couple of podcasts related to parkrun. They follow the same format each week, which involves news, listener emails, recap of their previous parkrunday and user generated content.

Another podcast I listen to has an intro, which includes an update on what the host has been up to, an interview and then feedback at the end. 

I mentioned how podcasts are like radio on demand and radio stations are now using the podcast format to enable listeners to listen when they want to. Other media outlets have also turned to podcasts to reach new customers.

But the vast majority of podcasts are done by ordinary people like me.

People who are looking for great content, show after show. 

This is where you come in. 

The podcasts that are guest-oriented are always needing guests that they know their audience will enjoy listening to.

If podcasts haven’t been part of your marketing plan before then it’s time you added them in.

Podcasts are an accessible and affordable means of entertainment and education, which means you can reach a wide audience.

Want to get on a podcast?

You can get my free podcast pitch recipe here.