Podcast Formats: How to Choose the Right Style for You

Choosing a presentation style shouldn’t have to be a difficult part of starting your podcast. You’ll just need to understand the different advantages and disadvantages of each format.

We’ll take you through some of the popular podcast formats and help you decide on the best one for you!

What Different Types of Podcasts Are There?

If you’ve already been listening to podcasts, you might have noticed that there’s a variety of formats available. Each one of these styles has unique advantages and disadvantages you should consider before choosing one.

Here are some of the best formats for podcast shows:

The Interview Podcast

The interview podcast is one of the most popular formats. It is a conversation between the podcast host and a guest—usually a famous person or someone with a compelling life story.

Here is a summary of the benefits of this podcast style:

• It allows you to showcase various opinions and points of view.

• It is also a low-budget option that only requires an extra microphone for your guest. However, it can be difficult to attract people to be a guest on a new podcast with a small audience.

• There’s no limit to the number of guests and hosts that can appear in each episode. As long as you make it clear who is speaking, you can make a podcast featuring multiple people talking about different topics.

The interview podcast style is not difficult to prepare, but it typically requires a lot of research. You need to know your guests so that you can ask the best questions.

The Solo Podcast

The solo podcast is another popular option because it doesn’t require other people or a big budget. All you need to do is talk for the duration of each episode about the topic or theme of your choosing.

These are some advantages of the solo podcast style:

• It can be perfect for hosts with experience on a specific topic.

• It allows you to share your opinion and point of view on the topic you’ve chosen. For example, this format is ideal for political commentators.

• You can use it to promote your skills and knowledge about the topic or theme. That way, you make your personal brand grow even more.

The main disadvantage of this style is that it requires you to be an expert on the topic. If you are an amateur, it will probably be difficult to draw an audience to your podcast.

The Co-Host Podcast

The panel discussion podcast is a type of conversational podcast that requires at least two hosts. In each episode, the hosts discuss a wide variety of topics as if it was a conversation between friends or colleagues.

These are some key benefits of the co-host podcast:

• If there’s chemistry between the hosts, you don’t need to make as much effort. People will tune in just to hear both presenters talk about any topic.

• Having two hosts decreases the pressure of talking alone about a specific topic. It also makes scripting a lot easier, as the hosts can take the conversation in interesting directions.

There’s two important drawbacks to this format. If there’s no chemistry between the hosts, there’s almost no way the podcast will work, and you are always coordinating recordings around the schedule of both hosts.

The Roundtable Podcast

The roundtable podcast can be three or more people discussing a topic in an orderly fashion.

These are some advantages of the roundtable podcast format:

• It takes the pressure away from one or two people. Instead, it spreads the attention equally among all the team members.

• If there’s chemistry between the hosts, you won’t need to focus on scripting as much.

• You can alternate between different hosts or keep them consistent. The order doesn’t matter as long as the chemistry works.

The main difficulty of this podcast style is that it requires a lot of production. You’ll need a proper microphone for each host, among other needs.

Fiction Storytelling Podcast

The fiction podcast can be one of the most challenging formats to produce because it is time-consuming. This style works by telling a story or part of a story in each podcast episode, making it necessary for you to script every word you’ll be saying.

These are some upsides of the fictional stories podcast format:

• Depending on your budget and preference, it can be a single voice or multiple hosts narrating the story.

• It can be extremely immersive, thanks to its non-fiction and entertaining nature.

• You can create your own story or tell a real-life event through your point of view. Many storytelling podcasts delve into true crime stories or historical events.

The main drawbacks of this podcast style is that you need to excel at entertaining your audience rather than informing them, and this can require substantial budgets and resources.

Repurposed Content Podcast

Repurposed content podcasts are relatively easy to produce, as you’ll be reusing content from a video blog, or some other media format. They also have these benefits:

• If you have a show, you can take the audio and repurpose it as a podcast for people who prefer audio content.

• The same goes for a blog. If you have an article talking about a topic, you can repurpose that information and turn it into a podcast episode.

• It is an excellent option if you already have content created for other media platforms. However, you’ll still need to edit and record the episode and make sure it still has relevance and context for new listeners.

Hybrid Podcast

The hybrid podcast is a combination of two or more formats. When working with this style, you should try to be creative. Being creative lets you show off your research and entertainment skills.

For example, you could do a monologue about a true story for one part of the episode. Then, you could interview someone famous, and, finally, discuss the episode with another host. It is your choice, as long as you put in the effort.

Create a Successful Podcast with DCP Entertainment

Are you starting a new podcast and don’t know where to begin? DCP Entertainment can help. Our expertise will guide you in every step to create a successful and popular podcast. Take our podcasting course or sign up for our consultation sessions today!