Podcast Formats and Storytelling Tips to Hooks Listeners
You’re diving into creating your own show and now you have a million decisions to make about your podcast’s format and storytelling structure.
How do you start each episode?
Should you read the guest’s bio or just let them introduce themselves?
Do you jump into the middle of the story to create a hook, or do you spend the time building context?
You know you want your show to be good and successful. It has the potential to be as popular as any other top pod out there… But how do you set it up for the success you know it's capable of?
When you structure your podcast’s storytelling around a solid format, what you’re actually creating is magic. Listeners won’t consciously think of the structural elements, but they will feel a sense of familiarity with each listen.
Let’s explore the different podcast formats and unlock the storytelling commonalities between podcast shows that grow and flourish.
Elements of podcasts that hook listeners
Here’s a simplified take on what successful podcasts seem to achieve intuitively - but are actually carefully crafted, intentional storytelling structures and strategies.
Successful podcasts:
Have a predictable format and feel. Just like a restaurant that wants to franchise and has to ensure every restaurant maintains the same taste, we have to ensure that each episode offers listeners a familiar storytelling format.
Provide access to interesting guests, perspectives, or stories that aren’t readily available elsewhere.
Follow a story arc with trouble and resolution: All interesting stories have an issue that gets addressed or overcome, and that’s what drives a listener to keep listening. They’re either curious as to how it all resolves, and/or feel a sense of connection to the problem at hand and want it solved for themselves.
Quality audio: While there is a place for low quality audio where it won’t feel jarring for listeners (e.g. call in shows, or remote recording for hard to get guests etc), most listeners expect that they are listening to a professionally recorded interview without background noise distractions.
Podcast Structure Development Worksheet
Copy and paste the below questions and answer areas into a document. Work your way through to hone in on your show’s audience, value proposition (i.e. how your show will impact your audience in a unique way) and the structure that audiences can expect.
[Start Copying here]
1. Fill in the blank with demographic, psychographic, and or problem-based qualities that define your podcast audience.
This is a podcast for (people who) ___________.
Example: The Motherdaze is a podcast for people who are living in the mayhem, magic and madness of raising a family.
2. Fill in the blank with what the podcast aims to provide the audience (your goal):
So that you/they can/are/feel, etc. ______________________.
Example: Together, your hosts Sara Wright Olsen and Theresa Palmer are on a mission to make you feel seen, supported, and inspired on your own motherhood journey.
3. By (describe how your audience will experience the show):
Hearing from/listening to/experiencing the vulnerability of/etc______________________________.
Example: In their raw, unfiltered solo episodes, they’ll bring together the best, hilarious, and most-heartwarming stories from their shared motherhood experience. Plus, you’ll also learn and be inspired by regular guest experts in entrepreneurship, entertainment, spirituality, women’s health and beyond.
4. Option: You can also use metaphor or draw similarities between other show formats to describe what listeners can expect.
This show is like a (dose of/combination of) (this)______________ and (this)____________________.
Example: The Goal Digger Podcast is like chatting with a galpal mixed in with business school.
Other podcast positioning considerations:
What is in it for your audience when they give you their time and attention? Will you solve problems (which ones)? Will you help them escape, be entertained, laugh?
How will you do the above in a way that is different or unique from the alternatives? Will you distill complex information down into easy to understand, short episodes? Will you go deep on issues that people normally gloss over? Will you bring personality and perspective in a way that an industry is not used to (e.g. you’re an honest but blunt straight shooter talking about subjects that people normally dance around)?
What else is important for potential listeners to know about your show?
[End copying]
Popular Podcast Show Formats
You may start to recognize some familiar transitions as you read through the scripting variations for the various show formats below.
While there is no one and only formula for podcast success, there is definitely trends in structuring different shows.
Here we look at format variations that can differ by the number of guests featured (from one or two to multiple), as well as how a segmented show flows differently from an interview-based format.
Interview Podcast Format with ‘Live’ Introduction
Theme music
Podcast intro: “You’re listening to [Show name]…”
Host intros the guest: “Ian Smith knows a thing or two about how to eat to gain muscle. The two time world record holding body builder has a reputation for consuming more protein than anyone on Earth…today we’re going to uncover his secret to building a formidable body, and dive into how seafood plays an unexpected role”
Host welcomes guest.. “Welcome to the show..”
Guest (Ian)..“Thanks for having me…”
Leave on a story hook to break to ads
Host: “So all of this hard work that you just described - it wasn’t always part of your life. Back in 2020, you actually almost died from the health effects of leading a very different lifestyle…”
Break (ads): Ready to turn your health around? Get your FREE guide to building muscle mass from MusclesRUS.
Interview continues
Host: “So tell us about what happened to you back then, in 2020…”
Wrap up + join us next time…
Host: “Thank you to our guest, Ian Smith, who joined us from the floor of his world record breaking fitness competition…”
Next week, we’re excited to be bringing you into the world of fasting, when we talk to fasting guru Hasan Mori, who has gone for over 40 days without food. You’ll hear his amazing tales of transformation, and learn how he coaches over 2000 people on their journey to a better life.
Until then, if you enjoyed this episode, we’d love to know about it. Leave us a review. This small act of generosity makes a big impact for us, and helps others like you to find our show too.
Outro/Credits: This podcast is produced by Jesse Frank and edited by Morris Underoo… with special thanks to our partners at…
Interview-Format Podcast with Immediate Story Hook
Drop in to interview clip
“It was at that moment that I realized that everything that we knew about the affect of protein on the body was wrong…”
Theme music
Podcast intro: You’re listening to [Show name] the podcast where we dive into…
Guest intro: Ian Smith grew up in a small, isolated community off the coast of Cape Breton. It was there, in a town built around the fishing industry, that he learned how jobs in manual labour, combined with a culture of toxic masculinity, could lead to early mortality.
Ian’s stories aren’t those that you hear in the mainstream media, but here he joins us to tell us how etc etc…
Interview begins
Host “Ian Smith, thank you for joining us..”
Guest: (Ian) “Thanks for having me..”
Host “I’m going to start off with something that most of us don’t understand about the impact of the traditional, meat-heavy male diet that has permeated our culture for so long… You’re quoted as saying X. Is it true that X?
Leave on a story hook to break to ads
Host: “So all of this hard work that you just described - it wasn’t always part of your life. Back in 2020, you actually almost died from the health effects of leading a very different lifestyle…”
Break (ads): Ready to turn your health around? Get your FREE guide to building muscle mass from MusclesRUS.
Interview continues…
“Etc etc etc…”
Wrap up + join us next time…
Same as above
Outro/Credits
Same as above
Segmented Podcast Show Format
Theme music
Podcast intro: Host introduction to X topic and why it matters + hook to pique interest on coming segments
“Today’s show is all about X Topic."
People wonder about X, and have a hard time doing Y. But there’s a secret to achieving what you need to.
So today we’re talking to two experts who unlock this secret."
Expert 1, and Expert two.
They explain why you’ve never heard these secrets before, but how they can change your life.
And speaking of changing your life… You’ll want to stick around until the end where we walk you through a new social awareness campaign that is taking the internet by storm..”
Guest intro
Host: “First up we have Expert 1.
Expert 1 just released her first book, and already it’s gaining critical acclaim..(introduction of Expert 1)”
Interview of Expert 1
Host: “Expert 1 - thank you for joining us!”
Expert 1: “I’m so happy to be here.”
Host: “We’re so grateful you took the time… I hear you have an incredible secret that’s going to help our listeners..”
Segue
Host: “Next up, we’re speaking to Expert 2.
Expert 2 spent years perfecting their technique… (introduction of Expert 2)”
Interview of Expert 2
Host: “We’ve been speaking to people about how you can achieve Y… but I’ve never heard anyone approach it like you do. Can you explain your approach?”
Segue by host: And there you have it. Two amazing secrets that could change the course of your life forever… But the life changing magic isn’t done quite yet - because next up, we’re diving into the Ice Bucket Bounce: new social awareness campaign that is taking the internet by storm - raising billions for charity, and changing health outcomes for supporters too.
Trend Segment Begins
Host gives the trend description and what listeners need to know.
Wrap up + join us next time…
Alright, that’s a wrap.
Don’t forget to hit subscribe so that you don’t miss what’s coming out next week - I’m incredibly excited to say we’ll be speaking to EXPERT 3 about X topic ….
Outro/Credits
[Podcast name] is brought to you by [sponsor/network, etc]
Produced by…
Edited by…
With special thanks to…