What topic should you choose for your podcast?

Here are ideas for finding new themes and subject matter for your next podcast:

Think about your expertise:

If you're currently getting paid for your time and expertise, that's a good sign that you have something interesting to say on the topic.

Ask yourself:

• How do I currently make a living?

• What kind of customers do I serve at work?

• What communities do I belong to?

• What do I do better than anyone else?

For example, Christopher Schmitt is a web designer, so he talks about design on his show:

Read your blog posts!

If you're already blogging on a particular topic, you can create a podcast where you read your blog posts. This is exactly what Ashley Baxter is doing for her Bootstrapped Digest podcast.

See what's hot:

Using tools like TopPodcast, Podbay Top Charts, Cast.Market, Stitcher Charts, you can browse the different iTunes podcast categories, and see which ones are topping the charts.

Also: look at when some popular shows were last updated. If it’s been months (or years!) you might be able to create a new show to fill that space.

Remix your existing content:

One of the best ways to create new shows is to remix your existing long-form content.

For example:

• You have a 1-hour interview show that gets 1,000 downloads per episode.

• Take the best moments from that show, and create a 5-minute highlight show. This might get 2,000 downloads per episode.

• Next, take 4 of your best highlight episodes, and turn it into a narrative 30-minute episode.

Now, you're giving listeners the choice: do they want a 1-hour interview show, a 30-minute "commuter" show, or a 5-minute highlight show? You're remixing the content so it appeals to different types of listeners!