How to start a solo podcast

Solo shows are fully under your control: no schedules to match, no guests to book, your voice and your ideas. They are also more demanding: you carry all the energy, and nobody is there to react.

Solo works well for expert knowledge, personal reflection, daily tips, stories and commentary. See solo podcast ideas for formats.

Reading a full script word for word tends to sound flat. Talking with no plan tends to wander. The middle path is a bullet list: an opening line written out in full, three to five points, and a closing line.

Say your first sentence out loud before you press record. Knowing exactly how you start removes most of the nerves. See the solo podcast template for a structure.

The biggest change in a solo recording comes from imagining one specific listener, not an audience. Picture a friend who would benefit from the episode and talk to them.

It changes your language from "some of you may be wondering" to "you might be wondering", which is warmer and more natural. Some solo hosts put a photo of a friend near the microphone.

Stand up if you can. Smile on the lines that should sound friendly, because listeners can hear it. Record when your energy is highest, which for most people is not late at night.

Keep episodes short. Ten to twenty minutes is easier to sustain solo than an hour, and it respects the listener's time. See how long should a podcast episode be.

• The explainer: one question answered clearly in 10 to 15 minutes
• The daily or weekly tip: short, practical and easy to keep up
• The story: something that happened and what you learned
• The listener mailbag: answering questions sent in by listeners
• The commentary: your take on news in your field

Rotating between two or three of these keeps a solo show fresh without needing guests. A mailbag episode every few weeks also brings listeners into the show, which helps with the loneliness of recording alone.

Most solo hosts dislike hearing their own voice at first. It is normal, and it fades. See why do I hate my voice.

Cut restarts, long pauses and the tangent that went nowhere. Leave in natural pauses and the occasional um, because removing every one can sound robotic. See how to stop saying um.