E679 - Thoughts on Niching Down, Narrowing Your Focus and How to do this - Podcasting Tips

Summary

Podcast Summary: The How To Podcast Series – E679

Episode Title: Thoughts on Niching Down, Narrowing Your Focus and How to do this – Podcasting Tips
Host: Dave Campbell
Date: May 7, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, host Dave Campbell revisits the essential topic of “niching down” in podcasting, discussing why narrowing your podcast’s focus is crucial, how to do it effectively, and debunking misconceptions that plague new and veteran podcasters alike. Drawing from listener questions and his own experiences coaching and running multiple podcasts, Dave provides actionable advice and real-world inspiration. Special listener question from Jen Mack steers the conversation towards practical methods for identifying and serving your ideal audience.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Importance of Niching Down (00:00–04:57)

• Rebroadcast Justification:
  Dave opens by explaining the repetition of this topic due to its ongoing relevance:

  “This keeps coming up...I keep having this conversation with podcasters as I coach... Let's bring back the hits, right?” (00:19, Dave)

• Niching Spectrum:
  Avoid making your show too broad or excessively narrow:

  • Too narrow: “A podcast for people who collect stamps from Canada from 1972 and they’re blue... you might have three people...” (01:00)
  • Aim for “comfortably narrow” and adjust based on feedback.

• Feedback and Flexibility:

  • “You’re not going to get that information if you never record an episode... You’re not going to get feedback until you actually take the step. And niching down is a way for you to identify your audience and serve them well.” (02:10)
  • Real-world example: His podcast “Dad Space” targets dads, but surprisingly, about 60% of the audience are women:

    “Maybe I need to not change the name... I can’t do a mom podcast. I’m really good at being a dad, not so good at being a mom.” (02:45)

• Why Narrowing Your Focus Matters:

  • “Your podcast isn’t for everybody... having a podcast that’s specific, targeted to an audience and narrowing your audience to the point where you can serve that audience really well with the best content that they’re looking for...” (03:40)
  • General shows will get replaced by AI/general web search.

• Canadian vs. American Pronunciation Fun:

  • “And you notice I didn’t say ‘niche’ because I’m in Canada, we say ‘niche’. ...there’s riches in the niches. We smile...” (04:30)

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Practical Strategies for Niching & Listener Interaction (04:58–14:21)

Listener Question from Jen Mack
(05:00)

• Jen’s Question: “What are your thoughts on niching your listener and what ways to niche them, meaning the person they are or the problem they have?”

Dave’s Response:

• Connect the Dots for Listeners

  • Stay focused: “If we talk in vague, large, grandiose topics with very little depth, we’re not going to be able to connect the same way that we can when we go a little deeper and a little more focused.” (06:00)

• Find Your ‘Why’

  • Return to basics: “We really need to have a clear picture of why we’re doing this and who we’re doing this for, the big idea behind our podcast.” (06:45)

• Finding Your Audience/Niche:

  • “Surveys, community, finding Facebook groups in our area... Join in the conversation...get in and meet people face-to-face.” (07:30)
  • Use conventions, meetups, books, TV shows—immerse yourself and ask questions.

• Person vs. Problem:

  • “Are we looking at the person they are or the problem that they have? I would say it’s a combination of both...” (08:30)

  • Recommendation: Use Google autocomplete to discover what your audience is searching for:

    “Go to Google, type in the topic ... in the form of a question and let Google autofill the results.” (08:55)

    • Live Example on Air:
      Dave searches “how to podcast” and lists suggestions:

      “How to podcast for free. How to podcast with someone in a different location. How to podcast from phone to TV. How to podcast on Spotify...” (09:18, Dave reading Google autofill)

• Using Search Terms for Episode Titles:

  • “The beauty of having these search results as the title of your episode is that when somebody types this in, there’s the potential that someone’s going to land on your podcast...” (09:50)

• Focus on Both the Person and Their Problem:

  • “Focus on the person and focus on why they’re here and why they need your show.” (10:20)

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Listener Interaction and Community-Building (10:45–14:21)

• Continue to Refine with Feedback:

  • “As you start the ball rolling and you put episodes out and get feedback... this is where you get interaction with your audience and this is where you can develop and hone in and be even more specific.” (10:45–11:20)
  • “Answering questions one at a time” grows your show organically.

• Show’s Focus:

  • “You’ll notice that the How To Podcast Series is not primarily focused on making money with your podcast. It’s not primarily focused on what type of microphone you use. That’s boring, by the way. I’m really bored with those.” (11:40–11:57, Dave)

• Jen’s Participation and Call to Action:

  • “Jen, make sure you leave me a message with your podcast so that I can promote it here on the show as well.” (12:23)
  • Listener challenge: Respond via howtopodcast.ca to share your answers and podcast links.
  • Thought-provoking listener question:

    “If you had one call to action, one thing at the end of your episode that you could say—and only one—what would it be and why?” (13:12)

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Closing Advice and Additional Tips (14:21–20:30)

• Coaching Philosophy and Invitation:

  • If other podcast “gurus” haven’t served you, Dave offers a free call for guidance and troubleshooting:

    “If you are stuck and you’ve tried other podcast gurus and you’re not happy with the results...then maybe, just maybe, you and I were meant to work together. Maybe, just maybe, we can be friends.” (14:23)

  • “You and I need to chat, like, soon. So reach out. Let’s talk.” (15:30)

• On Merch for Podcasters: Practical and Humorous Input (17:31–20:30):

  • Dave shares his experience with print-on-demand merch (primarily TeePublic).
  • Emphasizes that it’s mostly for fun and brand-building, not serious revenue:

    “I think I’ve made less than $10 over a year. It’s not...a big thing. But I like to create my own shirts for myself...at least I’m getting a shirt at a discount.” (19:00)

  • Encourages listeners to start their own store, or reach out if they want a one-off custom item.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the true value of niching:

  “Having a podcast that’s specific, targeted to an audience and narrowing your audience to the point where you can serve that audience really well with the best content that they’re looking for, hungry for and frustrated that they can’t find—that’s what you need to do with your show.” (03:40)

• Humor around 'niche' vs 'nitch':

  “Let’s get Nishi, everybody. And you notice I didn’t say niche because I’m in Canada, we say ‘niche’. So there you go.” (04:18)

• Foundational advice:

  “We really need to have a clear picture of why we’re doing this and who we’re doing this for, the big idea behind our podcast.” (06:45)

• Google as niche-finding tool:

  “The beauty of having these search results as the title of your episode is that... you’re embracing the search terms your target audience is typing into a search engine.” (09:35)

• Community encouragement:

  “This is where you get interaction with your audience and this is where you can develop and hone in and be even more specific on who you’re talking to.” (10:50)

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• 00:00–04:57: Introduction, explaining the episode’s focus on niching down
• 04:58–14:21: Listener question response, practical tips on narrowing focus, using Google for topic ideas, community interactions
• 14:21–15:30: Invitation to personal podcast coaching/community involvement
• 17:31–20:30: Bonus: Discussion of print-on-demand podcast merch

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Summary Takeaways (Actionable!)

• Start as narrow as you feel comfortable, then test, measure, and adjust based on real listener response.
• Use both demographic (who they are) and psychographic (what problem they have) dimensions to define your niche.
• Leverage online communities and Google’s autocomplete to understand common questions and tailor episode topics.
• Actively invite listener feedback and questions to continually refine and deepen your niche.
• Merch and monetization are extras; focus comes first on content and audience service.

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Final Call to Action:
If you need help finding or refining your podcast’s niche, or want feedback and a supportive community, visit howtopodcast.ca. Dave welcomes voice messages and will promote your show if you participate!

“Get out there and niche down your audience, everybody. Get down to the point where you know who you’re talking to and why. But if you need help, reach out.” (13:55, Dave)

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Transcript

[A]

Hey, welcome back to the how to Podcast series. It's Dave with you. Hope you're doing well. We're bringing back. Yes, we're doing it again. Come on. We're bringing back a former episode of the show buried in the, the depths of the Internet. Bringing it back because the conversation's so important. And I keep having this conversation with podcasters as I coach, as I meet with podcasters talking about their show. This keeps coming up. And I'll say to them, have you listened to that episode? And they're like, no. So that tells me that maybe we should reintroduce this content again one more time. Let's bring back the hits, right? So the idea, when you create your podcast, we need to niche our podcast down. Now you're going to hear people say, well, that's not as important. And that maybe people swing the pendulum way too far to one side. And you have a podcast for people who collect stamps from Canada from 1972 and they're blue. Like, that's a really niche down audience. You might have three people that might want to listen to that show. Instead of a podcast about stamps, well, you have a Canadian stamps, American stamps, global stamps, whatever, right? You can go down levels and levels and levels and levels to make your audience as narrow as possible. And you can actually get too narrow. Actually, I like the idea of getting as comfortably narrow with your audience as possible and then put out some episodes and see the results, measure, ask questions, get feedback, and then play with your audience a little bit and understand that, you know, your audience might not be who you anticipated them to be. For me, dad Space, it's a podcast for dads by dads, one of my nine podcasts. Dad Space is a podcast for men. Not just men in general, but for dads specifically. But yet 60ish percent of my audience are female. They're not dads. This is my target focus for my show. Be it. Be people are finding it. Which makes me go, huh, interesting. Maybe I need to not change the name of the show to Parents Space or something, or Mom Space because it's not a mom podcast. I can't do a mom podcast. I'm. I'm really good at being a dad, not so good at being a mom. So I'm not going to change the format and the focus of my audience. But understanding who shows up to a show that you envisioned to be one group of people but ends up being somebody else, that's information. And you're not going to get that information if you never record an episode and if you never make it live, you're never going to get that feedback because there's nobody knows about your show. It's an idea stuck in your head, on your laptop, in your phone, in your notes, on a piece of paper, on a to do list. It's not a podcast because you've never recorded or released it. You're not going to get feedback until you actually take the step. And niching down is a way for you to identify your audience and serve them well. Your podcast isn't for everybody. There's very few podcasts that have a general topic for a broad audience in a world of AI. AI is going to replace a lot of those shows because people will just go to their favorite AI model and have a conversation with the AI. They don't really need a general show about everything. That's called the Internet and it does it really well. So if you want to, you want to fight in a world of people trying to pull everybody's attention in a million different ways, having a podcast that's specific, targeted to an audience and narrowing your audience to the point where you can serve that audience really well with the best content that they're looking for, hungry for and frustrated that they can't find, that's what you need to do with your show. So if you think you're, you're really niche down already, you and I could get together and chat. I think you could go a level Nichier. Let's get Nishi, everybody. And you notice I didn't say niche because I'm in Canada, we say niche. So there you go. But to my American friends, which is like 80 of my audience for this show, we love you, but it's niche, not niche. So that whole, there's riches in the niches. We, we smile, we smile when you say that because it's not really a thing. So we need to come up with our own version of that. I don't know what it is, but anyhow, that's what's going on and I'm glad you're here. Here's a replay from the past, I think younger, less gray haired version of Dave on the how to podcast series. Let's get Nishi. Here we go.

[B]

Welcome back to the Daily Dave. Yeah, we're here and I wanted to jump on and respond to a question from Jen Mack. Hi, Jen Mack. I hope you're doing well. Jen Mac, thank you for checking out the podcast. Thank you for leaving a message. That's incredible. I just want to say hi, Jen, thank you for Listening. It's so great when any type of message comes in. It just came in a couple days ago. I wanted to get in here and record this, get it out to you, Jen. Jen's question was what are your thoughts on niching your listener and what ways to niche them, meaning the person they are or the problem they have? Excellent question, Jen. Mac, thank you. So great to have you a part of the how to Podcast family. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. My thoughts on niching your listener. I think it's great if you can focus in to a level where your content makes sense to the target audience for your show. If we talk in vague, large, grandiose topics with very little depth, we're not going to be able to connect the same way that we can when we go a little deeper and a little more focused. So use your podcast in a way that is hyper focused on who you want to reach. And I think niching down is a great idea for all of our listening audience. To that end, we go back to episode one of the how to Podcast series where we talked about our why we really need to have a clear picture of why we're doing this and who we're doing this for, the big idea behind our podcast. So that's my challenge for you. Just go back to episode one. If you haven't heard it, listen to that again because it's going to help you set the basics for your podcast journey. But Jen, the ways that we can niche them, I think we can do that through surveys, we can do that through community, we can do that through finding Facebook groups in our area of expertise that our podcast will be built around. Join in the conversation. If you are doing a potential new podcast around a topic that has conventions and meetups and books and TV shows about or any type of content around what you're already thinking about doing, then get into the world there, get in and and meet people face to face and ask the questions and listen for the answers and find your community. That's a great starting point as far as how to find and narrowing on your niche. And by doing that, you're going to learn so much about your topic which you can bring to the microphone and share with your audience. And as far as our niche, are we looking at the person they are or the problem that they have? I would say it's a combination of both. Meaning that we really need to know who these people are, what are they, why are they coming to your podcast, why are they searching? What are they searching? Super great way to Find a narrower niche is just go to Google, type in the topic of what you're thinking of doing a podcast on or an episode on. But type it in the form of a question and let Google auto fill the results. So how do I podcast and see what Google says?

[A]

I'm gonna do it right now. What we're doing this. There we go. I have to jump over to Google. I'm gonna go to Google. I'm gonna go how to podcast and. Oh, there we go.

[B]

How to podcast for free. How to podcast with someone in a different location. How to podcast with from phone to TV. How to podcast on Spotify, how to podcast on YouTube. So look at what Google feeds you. These are popular search results. And the beauty of having these search results as the title of your episode is that when somebody types this in, there's the potential that someone's going to land on your podcast because you're embracing the search terms your target audience is typing into a search engine. So you might as well meet your audience where they are on any search engine, on YouTube, wherever they're searching for the answer to a question that your podcast can answer as a podcast in general or in a certain episode, use the autofill feature in Google. That drop down list gives you some great insight on what you should be talking about in your show and how you can focus in on your niche. That's a great way to do that. The other part, should we focus on the problem that they have? Yeah, it's still part of that as well. Focus on the person and focus on why they're here and why they need your show.

[A]

Super important.

[B]

Jen, I think as you work on your podcast and as you develop the ideas around your show, I think you're gonna see as you start the ball rolling and you put episodes out and get feedback like when Jen Mack leaves me a message on on the podcast, this is where you get interaction with your audience and this is where you can develop and hone in and be even more specific on who you're talking to. And then by doing that, you get to know your audience and you get to grow your by answering questions one at a time.

[A]

And that's what the how to Podcast

[B]

series is all about. Jen Mac, that's why I'm here for you. I want to answer these questions and I want to be part of the solution.

[A]

You proved it to me, Jen Mac,

[B]

by submitting this question. That niche are important. You'll notice that the how to Podcast series is not primarily focused on making money with your podcast. It's not primarily focused on what type of microphone you use.

[A]

That's boring, by the way. I'm really bored with those.

[B]

It's not about those things. This is about how to podcast, how to start your show and how to go from zero to hero. That's what it's all about. And Jen Mac, I thank you again for your questions. Jen, make sure you leave me a message with your podcast so that I can promote it here on the show as well. And tell everybody to come and hear

[A]

your show when it's ready.

[B]

Would love to do that as well. Do you have any questions for me and the HowTo Podcast community? You can always respond to us through our website howtopodcast ca. There's a microphone. I'd love to hear your amazing podcaster voice filling up my inbox with questions, comments and thoughts from your perspective. And you can help me answer this question. What do you think about niching your listener? What do you think about the idea of are we niching a person or are we niching to a problem that they have? Help me answer Jen's question through the website howtopodcast CA and hit that little Speak pipe icon and leave me a 90 second convert answer to that and tell me about your show as well, please. And remember, we're having right now. The question out there for you to answer is if you had one call to Action, one thing at the end of your episode that you could say on only one, what would it be and why? And also while you're there, tell us about your show over at HowToPodcast. Cat hit the Speak bite. Leave us a message, leave us an answer to that question. Tell us about your show, tell us where we can find you, your website and what is your one call to action. Why, if you only had one, what would it be and why at how to Podcast. Chen Mac, thank you for leaving a message. Get out there and niche down your audience, everybody. Get down to the point where you know who you're talking to and why. But if you need help, reach out. Thanks for being here on the how to Podcast series the Daily Dave, answering questions from people who want to know. Thanks Genmac.

[A]

So there you go. Based on listener requests and questions. I love helping people with your podcast. If you are stuck and you've tried other podcast gurus and you're not happy with the results that you were given, they tried to squeeze you into their mold and make you sound like them and act like them and do what they do and you're like, it didn't Work for me, then maybe, just maybe, you and I were meant to work together. Maybe, just maybe, we can be friends. Maybe. And howtopodcast CA is the one way to determine if that's true or not. So go there, grab my calendar invite, let's chat. I love talking podcasting. I love meeting podcasters and supporting podcasters. What I do, it's what I do, I think really well. And the feedback I'm getting from people in my world is they, they're getting the results that they need. They're. They're taking what they hear on the show here for free. No, no paywall here. They take what they learn here on the show. They put it into practice and of works. And then we meet, we go deeper, we talk about stuff that's not even been covered on the show yet. That all happens at howtopodcast ca. So if I can help you, I will. If I can't, I'll find you somebody who can. I won't leave you hanging. And you can always meet with me for free. HowToPodcast CA Calendar Links right there. You and I need to chat, like, soon. So reach out. Let's talk. Thanks for being here. See you tomorrow. So I get asked quite often, usually at the end of a podcast, like right now, Dave, how can we help you? Like, how can we, as a listener, like, support the show? Can we come rake your leaves? Can we cut the grass? Shovel the snow? Watch your dog help you move? What can we do? Clean your dishes? Oh, that'd be interesting. Well, if you don't, if you can't do that because, you know, you're in Poland, maybe you can help us by supporting us with our Buy me a coffee. It's right there on our website. And you know, it just will help us to a stay fueled because, you know, we drink a lot of coffee around here and it helps the show. So if you want to help us, it's out of the goodness of your heart. I can tell you that listening to the podcast to this point, you've already helped us so much. But I do have people saying, dave, I'd love to give back something small, even just to the show. Buy me a coffee link is on our website, howtopodcast cat. And you can support the show that way. It would mean a lot to have you on our team supporting what we do here. If you find value in the show, then that's great. Share the show, tell somebody about it. And when somebody says, dave, I want to start a podcast, who should I check out?

[B]

Oh, you should go check out the

[A]

how to podcast series because of all the great co hosts and all the things that happen here, the meetups and everything. And I would appreciate that. And then fill her a cup once in a while if you can. But again, thank you so much for being here and supporting the how to Podcast series. Take care. Talk soon. You're still here. Awesome. Okay, so I had a question from a podcaster. Been doing podcasting for a long time and they wanted to add merch to what they do as a podcaster and they're asking me what I do now. I've tried a bunch of different print on demand type places. The beauty of these is, as the name infers, you are printing on demand. So they don't print a bunch of stuff. And you have boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes of stuff sitting in your living room that's for sale. And you got like 1500 medium shirts and no small. Right. And so you're like dealing with this and then shipping and handling and oh, no, you live over here. And there's tax and there's. Oh, it's just exhausting. So I use print on demand and I've tried a bunch. Some of them are great. Some of them are like, yeah, they're okay. One of them I use is Teepublic. Teepublic have a link for you in the show Notes Teepublic to my store. I create podcast shirts and things for my show and I've created things for other people because they don't want to run their own tea public store and they just want one shirt. Then, hey, I can do it for you. I'd love to do that for you. Let me know. And anyway, so I have this store and I think I've made less than $10 over a year. It's not, it's not a big. Not a big thing. But I do like to create my own shirts for myself. And even if I'm the only person who buys the shirt, then at least I'm getting a shirt at a discount because I actually make money off my own purchase from my own shirt. It's kind of how it works. So if you want to have your own shirts, you want to have your own merch. They have other things, cups and hats and everything. Underwear, maybe then you can use my tea public. And if, like you said, if you. Like I said, if you don't want to do this and. But you still want your own shirt for your show, maybe you got an event coming up. You got to give me some time because it takes time for shipping. So don't give it to me the day before the event, because that's not going to happen. If you're going to be at an event, then reach out to me. I have. I can create the shirt for you and put it up there and you can buy it yourself and then you have what you need. Or you can send the link to your shirt out to your audience and they can buy the shirt.

[B]

Great.

[A]

We can work out how that works behind the scenes, but happy to do that for you. If you want though, you could just set up your own. It's free, doesn't cost you anything. Basically, for Teepublic, what you're doing is you're creating artwork. You're not really making a lot of money off the individual sale of a shirt, but it is a way to have merch and you don't have to worry about it. Everything's handled by them. They do all the shipping, they set the prices. It's not really up to you. So if you want that, I suggest Teepublic as a starting point. There are a plethora of other places, but that's the one I've been using the most. So if you want merch, there you go. But is it going to pay your house payment? Unless you got some really funky merch that everybody wants, it's probably not, but at least it's there it is. One more thing, one more fishing line in the lake to catch that fish and make some money with your show is having merch. Need any help with that? How to podcast ca and if not, just go check out my shirts links in the show notes. Love to get your feedback. Love to help. Talk soon. Yeah,