When It Comes to Podcast Format, Keep It Simple
Even if you had a massive marketing budget and could produce documentary-style podcasts that include interviews, news bites, narration, and dozens of music tracks, there’s no need. Keeping the podcast format simple and straightforward is a great way to highlight your (and/or your organization’s) expertise.
In fact, a podcast only needs five interview questions to spur a thoughtful and insightful conversation. You don’t need sound effects, or a splashy intro or closing sequence, and you don’t need to livestream or record video during your podcast recording (unless you want to).
For a corporate communications podcast, the entertainment factor is in the person’s expertise, not the bells and whistles.
The benefits of a simple podcast format
Preparing for the podcast is faster and easier
The most common podcast formats are interviews or roundtables for a reason: They are very effective at clearly communicating the topic or message in a conversational manner.
You may have some back and forth while brainstorming topics, but most clients settle on a handful of topics for upcoming episodes in one staff meeting. Coming to consensus on a bigger production may take weeks - or even months.
Straightforward podcasts are also less intimidating to produce. They are simply conversations among two to four people - no public speaking experience necessary! Guests are much more likely to arrive relaxed when they’re not presenting to a live audience.
Finally, booking time with one person for an interview is much easier than trying to lock down a bevy of guests with busy lives.
Podcast production is less expensive when the format is simple
Most of our clients’ podcast episodes are 20 - 40 minutes in length. A 30-minute interview requires about 10 hours of production work on our end.
A documentary-style podcast requires anywhere from five to 10 hours of preparation for the first episode, and 25 - 40 hours of production time for every episode. And that is just our time - not yours!
Compare one week’s worth of work to one day’s, and the math is obvious: simple is inexpensive.
You will avoid delays during the approval process
Our clients typically go through two rounds of approval. The first approval is for the transcript that we provide after the recording. The second is on the final audio before it is released.
Depending on how many people need to be involved and how busy they are, this could go quickly or involve a lot of back and forth and/or sending reminders.
Imagine giving three people a 40-page transcript to read! It will take much longer for them to wrap their head around it; they may need to read through it more than once. The delays could push back the episode’s release by weeks.
A simple format means you always know what to expect
If you start going down the rabbit hole of a long scripted documentary, you quickly realize it requires a ton of work and comes with many unknown variables.
A simple format is predictable and follows the same routine:
Brainstorm show ideas and topics
Coordinate schedules and book guests
Write your interview questions
Get approval on the transcript and final audio
This is a part-time job (at most) for you or someone on your team. But even better, everyone knows their job and what needs to happen when.
Simple, high quality podcast episodes are the way to go
Podcasting and podcast production don't have to be expensive or complicated. As your podcast producer, our team will work with you to create a process that is budget-friendly. Reach out today to learn more!