Let me first say that I’m a HUGE fan of the ecosystem of scale model podcasts. I truly appreciate the time and effort and energy all y’all podcasters are expending to bring us such fun, fulfilling content. In the last few years, I’ve gone from listening to a few modeling podcast episodes here and there to listening to at least some amount of modeling podcasts every couple of days. I’ve even had the distinct pleasure of being invited to be a guest on a number of shows.

And as amazing as this podcasting experience has been, after a few years I find myself craving variety and innovation. I was thinking about some of my ideas and feedback points and captured a quick list.

The Ideas

Before I share any ideas, please know that I’m not necessarily saying anything that any podcaster hasn’t already thought about. And this entire post will hopefully be taken in the positive spirit it was intended.

  • Connections between episodes – e.g bringing points from previous episodes together as a cohesive “season” long narrative arc. We hear some podcasters talking about “seasons”, like a TV show. But TV show seasons have overarching narratives that build to conclusions.
  • Excellent interviewing skills – this is truly a talent and over time becomes more important as comfort sets in. I’ve been interviewing people in my job for many, many years and I find it’s easy to get complacent or even bored with the sound of my own voice. It’s also easy to skim the surface rather than looking for tiny points of friction, interest, delight that I can dive in on.
  • Fun twists – One of my favorite things of late was being interviewed for an AI (work) podcast and the host asking me to answer a question from his previous guest but also to leave one for his next guest. It was a great sense of community.
  • You’re part of an ecosystem– If one podcast has a thing covered really well, do something else. The podcasts exist in an ecosystem of engagement and content. Podcasts, FB groups, content, etc. all make up this ecosystem. I think about this with new kit info… something that was for a while covered by multiple podcasts in much the same way. The Moosearoo Cup has been a fantastic example of this shared, but distinct content.
  • Learn from other podcasts outside the modelsphere – tons of really interesting content is happening around the Web and across all kinds of podcasts. There’s many techniques out there to learn from and apply. Here’s an example: I’ve enjoyed podcasts that are both really long form but also ones that are only a few minutes for each episode.
  • Figure out how to keep it fresh for YOU too – when you do a think for a while, any particular thing, repetition can lead to boredom. The more you’re enjoying the ride, the more the audience will too. Don’t get too stuck on existing formats. Have fun!
  • Ask ChatGPT for ideas – seriously! ChatGPT (and the other AI tools) can really create some fun ideas if you ask it! Here’s a couple fun ones it gave me just now:
    • “Choose Your Fighter”: Give a silly multiple-choice about who or what you’d want with you in a hypothetical scenario—usually totally unrelated to the topic. (“If your email inbox came to life and fought you… what weapon would you use?”)
    • “Your Turn to Teach Me Something”: Listeners send in short voice notes or DMs explaining something obscure (e.g., “How to parallel park a hearse”). You react live.
    • “One-Minute Rant”: You or a guest get 60 seconds to unload about anything—from AI hype nonsense to why peanut butter should never be crunchy. Bonus: listeners can submit rant topics.
    • “Micro-Confession Booth”: You confess a small, mildly embarrassing belief, habit, or hot take. “I still use Netscape as my default browser. I know. I know.”

The Interview

I reached out to a buddy of mine I’ve known for years, Jason Falls. He’s a long time marketer, podcaster, and all around great dude. He was kind enough to shoot me some thoughts on how to keep things growing and fresh. Here we go!

When podcasters find themselves several years in, how do you suggest they assess whether to evolve or maintain? Both have pros/cons!

The first thing I recommend is look at your analytics and know what’s working. Are there topics or guests that seem to drive more downloads? Social shares? Conversation online after the show? Go back to what feeds you most. Similarly, move away from topics or guests that might perform poorly. That’s both evolving and maintaining.

But think beyond the content and look at the content mechanisms, too. Are you doing video? Could you add it? Will that open up more channels like YouTube or TikTok for you? Probably so. If you are doing video, are you repurposing it well on social channels, your website, email newsletters? Constantly look for more ways to remind your audience what’s there for the taking, and promote the content to new audiences. I have yet to find a podcast that is doing everything super well. You can always add a new channel or tweak your approach to an existing one to get better results.

How do view podcast formats.. hard structures (Listerners signed up for a specific thing! We want more of that!) or malleable evolution (I like hearing different approaches every episode)?

I go back to what’s working. If something different shakes it up and gets people engaged (even if some of the engagement is they don’t like it), but standard operating procedure doesn’t get them engaged, I’d lean on the different. You’ll most likely instinctively know when too far is reached. Push them to engage and share.

What would you consider the most successful “core” podcast formats? Any that are unique/non-traditional that you’re excited about?

Narrative storytelling, even when scripted and over-produced, is always more compelling to the listener. The podcasts like Serial or other episodic documentaries are popular because they’re built like radio dramas. You can engage in the storyline while driving, working, etc. But they’re also the most difficult and sometimes costly to produce. You need to be able to write a narrative story for the audio medium, complete with teases, hooks, foreshadowing, etc.

Interview formats are probably the next most popular, but the ones that work are the ones that have a degree of writing, preparation and broadcast polish to them. While I personally love stand up comedy, I loathe comedy podcasts because most are 3-4 comedians sitting around shooting the shit with no apparent point to the conversation. I’d rather listen to Yoko Ono albums. You have to have a reason to interview the person, a point or theme you’re exploring, and a compelling reason for the listener to stay through and listen to the whole thing.

The hybrid of those two is the most interesting to me. Telling a story while interspersing clips from interviews (kind of like NPR feature pieces or Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History) to make the narrative more factual and compelling with different voices moving the narrative along, rather than one host reading a script? Now that’s a compelling listen in most cases.

Any interesting small things that can be woven into existing formats (e.g. current guest leaves an audio question for the next guest)? 

I’ve always considered these gimmicky, but they can work. Some podcasts I’ve listened to start off with a question of the day that they have their guests or even previous guests answer. Sometimes there’s a trivia question you have to stick around through the show to learn the answer to. I’ve heard various versions of “What are your top 3 favorite X” for guests. Occasionally, a host will read and answer listener questions on the air. I’m even familiar with one podcast in the business space that brings in 2-3 minute clips from other podcasters and experts in little reporting segments to make sure the important topics of the day are covered in the show by qualified voices.

None of these techniques are bad. But you need to make sure they fit your show, style, tone and audience.

When it comes to content design to keep things interesting, any suggestions? (E.g. getting non-masters involved for the Everyman perspective, inviting guests from adjacent/related hobbies rather than the known cast of characters)

I’ve often found bringing in adjacent topic experts or enthusiasts to bring a different perspective to a show is interesting. Even if they come in and play the noobie and ask you, the host, questions. It’s a backhanded way of showing off your expertise without being condescending. In my music podcast, I often interview artists/singers/songwriters. But I’ve also had music journalists, industry influencers and even other podcasters on to just share their experiences and thoughts on the best shows, bands, albums, etc.

For scale modeling, I would think people who might use scale models in their work would be interesting to talk about the field: Architects, engineers, aviation or automotive enthusiasts, etc.

Getting very tactical: what are you core tips for conducting great interviews?

Preparation, preparation, preparation. I feel like I need to know everything about the person I’m interviewing. I even prefer to plant some seeds or even have a pre-interview with them where I say, “Do you have any funny stories I can prompt you to share?” Or “Think about a memory of X when you were a kid. I want to dig into something deep that you aren’t asked about.”

I’ve asked people about their grandparents, school teachers, parents, siblings … anything to get at the core of what makes them tick. I can’t do that if I’m not prepared for the answers. So watch or read every interview you can find on them. Study their bio, social channels, etc. The goal (in my opinion) is to surprise your audience with insights about the interviewee that you aren’t surprised by. That’s gold.

What did I miss that I should have asked to help the scale model podcasters to keep creating great content and staying excited about it for the long term?

Just remember that a great show is a long-haul project. Anyone can spit out a few dozen episodes and quit. Find that question or idea you’re really curious about or passionate about that you can ask anyone in the business and just pursue that over and over. For me (with my music podcast), I’m trying to get the inside scoop on how to be more creative and to create awesome art. I don’t know how to do that. So I go in search of it with every interview.