Why Every Podcast Needs a Writer
When you think of a podcast, what comes to mind? Most folks might envision recording equipment, audio equipment, a host, and guests. In reality, the podcast production process is much more involved. One facet that may not immediately come to mind is the role of a writer. In the podcasting world, an experienced writer is a valuable resource. StudioPod founder TJ Bonaventura and Campfire’s Creative Director Mike Sholars talk about the role writers play in the podcast production process and the value they bring.
What do writers do in podcasting?
“The role of the writer,” explains Mike, “is whatever is there. It’s water. You fill the shape of your container.” Basically, a podcast writer writes whatever is necessary to get the podcast going. The work can vary from research on a specific topic to a script to summaries. It truly just depends on the needs of production.
Producing a podcast is a long, involved process. Once the initial housework is out of the way and it’s time to start recording, hosts might find themselves sitting in front of a mic, unsure of how to start. A writer can create a script outlining key talking points for the host, including opening and closing dialogue for a natural sounding flow. Behind the scenes, a writer can dive into research and provide notes, talking points, a script, and anything else that would help ensure the host delivers engaging dialogue.
Why you should work with a podcast writer
It’s understandable that hosts may feel like they can create a podcast on their own without the help of a writer. “Oh, I don’t need to do research, I’m just going to have an interview and I’m going to talk,” explains Mike when describing why people dismiss the need for a writer. “Can you convincingly talk for an hour and actually have anyone want to listen to that? The magic of a podcast is how you make it look like it’s just a conversation, but it’s the invisible aspects,” he says. From an outsider’s perspective, a podcast might sound like a person or persons have jumped in front of a mic and started talking about a subject they are familiar with. What audiences don’t see are all the pieces that had to come together for months prior to the launch of that episode, and writers play an important part in that development.
Writers can provide hosts with the condensed version of hours-long worth of fact-checked research. Through a script, they can ensure the conversation makes sense from beginning to end. Otherwise, it’s easy to go off-topic or bounce around from topic to topic. “The art of leveraging a writer in tandem with a production team is making a podcast sound authentic enough that you feel like it’s a natural conversation,” explains TJ. “ The podcasts out there that sound like they’re just a Clubhouse conversation getting pushed out, I can guarantee there’s no writer there.”
Quality podcast writing also provides you with some great content that you can leverage to create multiple marketing assets. “Leveraging the creativeness of a writer is really going to show and build the foundation or building blocks of an idea, and off of that, you can create different clips,” explains Mike. “You can maybe create a secondary season or aries. There's a lot of different things that come from it.” Well-thought out questions and topics in a podcast can provide audio and video clips to use for social media, email, or your website. You can also use podcast content to write a blog. Pull quotes from the conversation to enhance your blog. Use those quotes as social media copy. The possibilities are endless.
What to look for in a podcast writer
At first, it might feel a bit difficult looking for a podcast writer. The role is relatively new, so finding people with that specific experience can seem impossible. That’s why it’s important to consider the type of writer experience a writer has when looking for someone. A few examples of someone that could make a strong podcast writer include those that have:
Script writing experience
Written interview questions
Conducted interviews with subject-matter experts
Written blogs/articles requiring significant research
Experience fact-checking
Journalism experience
Creative collaboration skills
This is by no means an exhaustive list, and someone that has experience in many of those areas isn’t guaranteed to be the best fit for your team. However, those skills are generally a good way to gauge whether someone would be able to help provide structure for your podcast.
The production team at StudioPod includes experienced writers that work with B2B clients to understand their brand, voice, and goals. Clients are confident when it comes time to record thanks to the writers’ highly-personalized support. Learn how our producers can help get you started by dropping us a line.
Takeaways
What do writers bring
What role do writers play when it comes to podcasting? According to Campfire’s Creative Director Mike Sholars, “It’s water; you fill the shape of your container.” A writer brings:
Options
Perspectives
Skills
A writer can bring options. Their experiences help them understand individual voices and their nuances. They can take those voices and align them with your brand. This allows you to have more flexibility with your hosts and guests.
A writer can bring perspective. They can take your ideas and give them structure. Their story-telling capabilities can help ensure your podcast flows smoothly. A writer knows how to look at content through an audience’s lens, and can write for your podcast accordingly.
A writer can bring skills. Research and fact-checking topics is time consuming. A writer can do this for you and provide a condensed, bulleted summary. A writer can also develop scripts that guide the direction of every podcast episode. Their skills are versatile.
What writers do
Producing a podcast might seem pretty simple on the outside; you find a mic, get some recording equipment, and start talking. But if you take a look behind the scenes, you’ll realize that the podcast production process involves various moving parts. One of those parts is writing. A skilled writer is a valuable asset for a podcast production team. A few areas where you’ll need a writer include:
Script writing: Writing a script for a podcast is a bit complex because the dialogue needs to match the speaker’s personality while staying on brand. This ensures the host sounds natural while representing their organization.
Research: Thoroughly researching a topic and fact-checking takes time. The information needs to be transformed into digestible pieces, and that takes advanced critical analysis and writing abilities.
Storyline development: A podcast also requires story and arc development skills. An unstructured conversation may not engage your audiences.
How to write to different personalities
Podcasts often include more than one host and/or various guests. We spoke with Mike Sholars, Creative Director at Campfire Labs, who provided valuable insight for podcast writers tasked with the job of writing scripts for different personalities.
His advice to help writers accurately portray individual voices while staying aligned to a brand: “Get in a room with the people who will help you create that voice,” explains Mike. “Identify what the client’s creative preferences are and then weigh that against what [the podcast] is supposed to do for the client.”
Basically, spend time with the people that you’re writing for to learn their personalities and learn the brand. Collaboration is key—”Leave room for the creative collaboration element,” says Mike. “You can’t skip that part.” Include it in your timeline estimates from the get-go.