Out of the Box: Becoming an Unconventionally Strategic Podcaster

Two things can be true at once:

1. Let your message find your people
2. That message still has to be strategic.

Confession: I stole that first point from Daniel Whittington during a session at the Wizard Academy in Austin. (The second point is pretty obvious. Didn’t have to steal that one.)

It's the balance of knowing your audience while also knowing you can’t possibly reach everybody. That’s a truth for your radio show. It’s even more true for your podcast.

It boils down to being unconventional, yet strategic.

In 2018, a co-worker and I started The Rivalry Podcast under the umbrella of River Radio Ministries.

The Rivalry is a weekly podcast focused on Michigan and Ohio State college football. We provide game-by-game analysis and hot takes, all with an eye to the last Saturday in November. As far as I know, we’re the only college football podcast connected with a Christian radio station.

That’s pretty unconventional.

But we’re also located in the heart of Columbus, where the Buckeyes are more than a team. They’re a cultural phenomenon. The Rivalry provides an avenue to reaching a massive group of people who aren’t our audience yet in addition to our core listeners who culturally value those poisonous nuts.

That’s purposefully strategic.

What “unlikely partner” or theme might your tribe connect with?
Where can you push boundaries into the unconventional when it comes to podcasting strategy?

I’d suggest getting your creatives together and having a no-holds-barred brainstorming session.
Use it to find out where their passions lie. Use it to check the pulse of your city and community.

And where those lines intersect?
You’ve got yourself a podcast.