In this article, we\u2019ll dissect a podcast, see which forms of it are relevant now, why so many people fancy it, and if there\u2019s any sense in starting it today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Definition of Podcasting: Has It Changed?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nA few years back, the whole podcasting scene was represented by audio-only shows being distributed through RSS feeds, and listened to on the likes of Apple Podcasts or Spotify. But by the time we hit 2026, the whole definition of what a podcast is has changed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, when we talk about podcasting as seriously as when one is going to start a channel<\/a> in general, we’re looking at a whole new generation of media products that bring together different formats: long forms, live streams, interaction with the community, and much more. People’s viewing\/listening habits have changed, and they’re increasingly looking for content that they can not only watch but also listen to \u2014 and vice versa. Platforms like YouTube have helped drive this change in behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\nOne thing that’s clear is that a lot of podcast creators are now experimenting with combining a load of different formats at once. According to what the YouTube Official Blog<\/a> and Spotify for Creators<\/a> tell us, podcast listening is still at the top globally, and video podcast formats are one of the fastest-growing content categories.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNearly half of listeners trust podcast hosts as much as their own friends, and 81% of listeners<\/a> took action after hearing a host-read ad.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPodcast Type<\/strong><\/td>Description<\/strong><\/td>Best For<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>Interview<\/strong><\/td>One general niche + guest is interviewed by a host<\/td> (Expert) content building, networking<\/td><\/tr> Solo<\/strong><\/td>A creator shares opinions, knowledge, insights, or discoveries<\/td> Recognition\/personal brand, education<\/td><\/tr> Co-hosted<\/strong><\/td>Conversation between two hosts<\/td> Educational content, entertainment, gaming<\/td><\/tr> Narrative\/storytelling<\/strong><\/td>Edited, structured stories<\/td> True crime or journalism, history, entertainment<\/td><\/tr> Educational<\/strong><\/td>Deep dive and explanation of topics deeper than regular level in specific fields or topics<\/td> Educators, coaches, teachers, SaaS founders, experts<\/td><\/tr> Livestream<\/strong><\/td>Recorded live with interaction with the audience<\/td> Gaming, media brands, communities (e.g. fandoms)<\/td><\/tr> Video<\/strong><\/td>The key thing is to be visually present, to show faces of hosts and guests<\/td> Focusing on enhancing discoverability and recognition<\/td><\/tr> Branded<\/strong><\/td>Produced by a brand or a company<\/td> Marketing and business teams<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\nUnlike short-form content, podcasts allow creators to develop much deeper connections with their subscribers. Someone who gives you 40 minutes of their time is more invested in what you have to say than some random person who catches a 15-second clip and then forgets about it forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019ve noticed several key factors that are behind the growth of podcasts in 2026:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Long-form content is seeing a real revival after a few years where ultra-short-form dominated the floor. Now, people are coming back to longer formats<\/strong> for everything from education to entertainment to real in-depth discussions. You can especially see this in areas like business content, podcasts about the creator economy, and AI\/tech discussions, etc.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- YouTube basically inverted podcast discovery by introducing search functionality and algorithm-driven recommendations<\/strong>. All of a sudden, the traditional podcast apps that relied on you either having to subscribe or get promoted through other channels aren’t as relevant.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
How to Start a Podcast and Make Money: Step-by-Step <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"How](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mediacube.io\/en-US\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2-1.jpg?resize=640%2C272&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nLaunching a podcast in 2026 is a whole lot easier these days, and, of course, it still takes some serious strategy to start growing. That means thinking beyond just recording ad-free episodes and more about where you want the final thing to end up, how people are going to find it, how you can reuse bits of the content for other purposes, and how you can make money from it<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nStep 1 \u2014 Pick a Niche and Area You’re a Total Expert in<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What matters for every successful podcast is a niche that’s a balance between what your listeners are after, what you are interested in, and what will still be around in a year’s time. One of the biggest newbie mistakes is picking too broad or too niche topics that you can’t keep coming back to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Compare these examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- “A business YouTube podcast” is just way too general;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- “AI tools for content creators” is a bit more specific and easier to find;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- “YouTube podcast monetization tricks and tips” gives you an instant audience to target;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- “Gaming industry news and updates” has an audience coming back every week.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Creators pick the best podcast niches when their expertise, passion, and curiosity all come together. When picking a niche<\/a>, ask yourself:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n- Can you genuinely see yourself creating 50+ episodes on this topic?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Is there an audience who are searching for this stuff?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Can this niche support some decent revenue streams later down the line?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Is this a topic that plays nicely in both long and short form formats?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
If we look at the top-performing podcast categories today, we\u2019ll see: the creator economy<\/em>, AI and tech, entrepreneurship, gaming and streaming, finance and investing, pop culture commentary, and health and wellness. What’s interesting is that niche podcasts tend to outperform the broad entertainment shows when it comes to advertising revenue because advertisers love targeting specific audiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\nStep 2 \u2014 Pick a Format to Fit In<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Once the niche is defined, you’ll want to start thinking about a format for your content. Different formats have different uses. Some are great for beginners, while others are better suited for the pros of YouTube.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, a solo podcast is suitable for those who are confident in front of the camera, while interviews or co-hosted podcasts require structure and dialogue coordination. Or when you do a narrative format, you should know that it\u2019s time-consuming in terms of editing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For YouTube growth specifically, we tend to see conversational and educational formats doing the best job as they tend to generate search-friendly topics, keep people hooked to the end, and the content is good for repurposing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to Find Guests for Your Podcast<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Getting guests who are going to help your podcast grow is one of the fastest ways to get started. Good guests bring value in the form of expertise, audience and engagement with it, ideas and themes, and credibility to your show. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of the best ways to find a guest that’ll make sense for your podcast are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Try reaching out to people you’ve connected with on LinkedIn or X;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Asking the people creating stuff outside your niche;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Using online communities of creators;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Inviting the people you’ve worked with in the past;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Teaming up with smaller creators before going for the big names.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
A pretty common mistake is trying to get big celebrities right away. Smaller niche creators are often more accessible and can still bring in an engaged audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Step 3 \u2014 Getting Your Podcast Equipment Right<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
One thing that’s clear is that a lot of podcast creators are now experimenting with combining a load of different formats at once. According to what the YouTube Official Blog<\/a> and Spotify for Creators<\/a> tell us, podcast listening is still at the top globally, and video podcast formats are one of the fastest-growing content categories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nearly half of listeners trust podcast hosts as much as their own friends, and 81% of listeners<\/a> took action after hearing a host-read ad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unlike short-form content, podcasts allow creators to develop much deeper connections with their subscribers. Someone who gives you 40 minutes of their time is more invested in what you have to say than some random person who catches a 15-second clip and then forgets about it forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ve noticed several key factors that are behind the growth of podcasts in 2026:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Launching a podcast in 2026 is a whole lot easier these days, and, of course, it still takes some serious strategy to start growing. That means thinking beyond just recording ad-free episodes and more about where you want the final thing to end up, how people are going to find it, how you can reuse bits of the content for other purposes, and how you can make money from it<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What matters for every successful podcast is a niche that’s a balance between what your listeners are after, what you are interested in, and what will still be around in a year’s time. One of the biggest newbie mistakes is picking too broad or too niche topics that you can’t keep coming back to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Compare these examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Creators pick the best podcast niches when their expertise, passion, and curiosity all come together. When picking a niche<\/a>, ask yourself:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If we look at the top-performing podcast categories today, we\u2019ll see: the creator economy<\/em>, AI and tech, entrepreneurship, gaming and streaming, finance and investing, pop culture commentary, and health and wellness. What’s interesting is that niche podcasts tend to outperform the broad entertainment shows when it comes to advertising revenue because advertisers love targeting specific audiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once the niche is defined, you’ll want to start thinking about a format for your content. Different formats have different uses. Some are great for beginners, while others are better suited for the pros of YouTube.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, a solo podcast is suitable for those who are confident in front of the camera, while interviews or co-hosted podcasts require structure and dialogue coordination. Or when you do a narrative format, you should know that it\u2019s time-consuming in terms of editing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For YouTube growth specifically, we tend to see conversational and educational formats doing the best job as they tend to generate search-friendly topics, keep people hooked to the end, and the content is good for repurposing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Getting guests who are going to help your podcast grow is one of the fastest ways to get started. Good guests bring value in the form of expertise, audience and engagement with it, ideas and themes, and credibility to your show. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of the best ways to find a guest that’ll make sense for your podcast are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n A pretty common mistake is trying to get big celebrities right away. Smaller niche creators are often more accessible and can still bring in an engaged audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPodcast Type<\/strong><\/td> Description<\/strong><\/td> Best For<\/strong><\/td><\/tr> Interview<\/strong><\/td> One general niche + guest is interviewed by a host<\/td> (Expert) content building, networking<\/td><\/tr> Solo<\/strong><\/td> A creator shares opinions, knowledge, insights, or discoveries<\/td> Recognition\/personal brand, education<\/td><\/tr> Co-hosted<\/strong><\/td> Conversation between two hosts<\/td> Educational content, entertainment, gaming<\/td><\/tr> Narrative\/storytelling<\/strong><\/td> Edited, structured stories<\/td> True crime or journalism, history, entertainment<\/td><\/tr> Educational<\/strong><\/td> Deep dive and explanation of topics deeper than regular level in specific fields or topics<\/td> Educators, coaches, teachers, SaaS founders, experts<\/td><\/tr> Livestream<\/strong><\/td> Recorded live with interaction with the audience<\/td> Gaming, media brands, communities (e.g. fandoms)<\/td><\/tr> Video<\/strong><\/td> The key thing is to be visually present, to show faces of hosts and guests<\/td> Focusing on enhancing discoverability and recognition<\/td><\/tr> Branded<\/strong><\/td> Produced by a brand or a company<\/td> Marketing and business teams<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n \n
How to Start a Podcast and Make Money: Step-by-Step <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nStep 1 \u2014 Pick a Niche and Area You’re a Total Expert in<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
Step 2 \u2014 Pick a Format to Fit In<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How to Find Guests for Your Podcast<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n
Step 3 \u2014 Getting Your Podcast Equipment Right<\/h3>\n\n\n\n