Solo podcasts are the way to go in 2026, for a lot of reasons. You control the full narrative. They are easier to produce. You can be authentic. And you can solve a very specific problem.
But lots of people are uncomfortable recording solo episodes. So here are 3 tips to help you do it better.
- Make editing as easy as possible with the right tools and approach
- Know what you're going to say by writing the question your answering, and 3 bullet points to answer that question
- Picture someone whom you feel is your ideal listener. Act like you're currently talking to them.
Do this, and you'll have great, helpful, focused solo episodes.
What do you think? Let me know at https://streamlinedfeedback.com.
Interested in starting your own podcast? Check out RSS.com: https://rss.com/?via=joe-newsletter
00:00:02 --> 00:00:05 In the last episode, which I didn't officially
00:00:05 --> 00:00:09 announce, but it is season seven of this podcast,
00:00:09 --> 00:00:14 I talked about how in 2026, your podcast should
00:00:14 --> 00:00:20 be a focused solo show that allows you to solve
00:00:20 --> 00:00:24 a problem, which coupled with being authentic
00:00:24 --> 00:00:27 and actually being able to and wanting to solve
00:00:27 --> 00:00:30 that problem is a pretty potent combination to
00:00:30 --> 00:00:34 help your podcast grow. In that same vein, my
00:00:34 --> 00:00:39 focus for the streamlined podcaster is around
00:00:39 --> 00:00:43 the systems and automations to help solo podcasters
00:00:43 --> 00:00:48 create space so that they can create good content.
00:00:49 --> 00:00:52 And one thing I often hear when I say, oh, you
00:00:52 --> 00:00:54 should do a solo show from my coaching clients
00:00:54 --> 00:00:59 is what am I going to talk about? Talking by
00:00:59 --> 00:01:01 myself is weird. It's uncomfortable. I don't
00:01:01 --> 00:01:05 like it. So today, I'm going to give you three
00:01:05 --> 00:01:09 tips for creating a great solo show. Hey, everybody.
00:01:09 --> 00:01:13 My name's Joe Casabona. I am a podcast systems
00:01:13 --> 00:01:21 coach and the evangelist at rss .com. So I have
00:01:21 --> 00:01:24 been doing solo episodes almost as long as I've
00:01:24 --> 00:01:27 been podcasting. I think I'm a pretty good talker.
00:01:28 --> 00:01:30 used to teach in the classroom, and that was
00:01:30 --> 00:01:33 almost like talking to yourself or by yourself.
00:01:34 --> 00:01:39 And I teach online courses. My podcast, Streamlined
00:01:39 --> 00:01:42 Solopreneur, started off as an interview show,
00:01:42 --> 00:01:48 but has slowly become more and more of a solo
00:01:48 --> 00:01:52 show. So it was, I would say, like 90 -10 interviews.
00:01:53 --> 00:01:56 A couple years ago, I wanted to make it 50 -50.
00:01:56 --> 00:02:00 Last year, it was probably like 70 -30 in favor
00:02:00 --> 00:02:03 of solo shows. And this year, it's probably going
00:02:03 --> 00:02:07 to move to 80 -20. Now, from a process standpoint,
00:02:08 --> 00:02:14 a solo show is a lot easier than an interview
00:02:14 --> 00:02:17 podcast. Because with interview podcasts, you
00:02:17 --> 00:02:20 have to coordinate with guests, do research.
00:02:21 --> 00:02:24 Don't just let AI do the research. actually do
00:02:24 --> 00:02:26 the research and tell the story that you're trying
00:02:26 --> 00:02:30 to tell with the guest. Then you have to, again,
00:02:30 --> 00:02:32 figure out a time, do a tech check with them,
00:02:33 --> 00:02:35 make sure everything looks and sounds good, make
00:02:35 --> 00:02:36 sure they're wearing headphones, make sure your
00:02:36 --> 00:02:38 guests wear headphones. Always wear headphones
00:02:38 --> 00:02:42 when you podcast. And then you have to edit.
00:02:43 --> 00:02:45 And one of my clients recently told me that they
00:02:45 --> 00:02:50 had a guest who went off book a lot and talked
00:02:50 --> 00:02:54 a long time. So then you have to make a decision.
00:02:54 --> 00:02:57 Are you going to let them ramble and take over
00:02:57 --> 00:03:01 the show and risk losing your listeners in the
00:03:01 --> 00:03:05 abyss of non sequiturs? Or are you going to spend
00:03:05 --> 00:03:07 a bunch of time editing? And I think you should
00:03:07 --> 00:03:09 spend a bunch of time editing. And this brings
00:03:09 --> 00:03:12 me to my first tip for creating a good solo show
00:03:12 --> 00:03:15 while also improving your process and making
00:03:15 --> 00:03:22 it faster. And that is how you record. So I don't.
00:03:22 --> 00:03:24 release video for this. I don't think it would
00:03:24 --> 00:03:28 be particularly helpful. And I record directly
00:03:28 --> 00:03:33 into Logic Pro. I use a couple of plugins. One
00:03:33 --> 00:03:39 is VEA from iZotope. It does some equalization
00:03:39 --> 00:03:43 and boosting. And then I use two from iZotope
00:03:43 --> 00:03:47 RX10, which is breath control and mouth de -clicking.
00:03:48 --> 00:03:52 I hate mouth sounds. And so I use these plugins
00:03:52 --> 00:03:58 to take away the heavy breathing, not all breathing,
00:03:58 --> 00:04:00 because that sounds weird and unnatural, like
00:04:00 --> 00:04:03 the heavier breaths I take and any of the mouth
00:04:03 --> 00:04:07 clicking that can be really distracting. And
00:04:07 --> 00:04:10 so by the time I'm done recording this, it will
00:04:10 --> 00:04:12 already be mastered because I'm recording it
00:04:12 --> 00:04:16 directly into Logic Pro. As far as editing for
00:04:16 --> 00:04:20 content. Again, I have a general idea of what
00:04:20 --> 00:04:23 I want to say. And when I go on a tangent, I
00:04:23 --> 00:04:25 usually stop recording, delete that tangent,
00:04:25 --> 00:04:32 and then do the take again. In episode 701, the
00:04:32 --> 00:04:37 last episode, I mentioned right at the beginning
00:04:37 --> 00:04:40 of that episode that this was take two of the
00:04:40 --> 00:04:45 episode. And so when you do a solo episode, keeping
00:04:45 --> 00:04:48 some of that stuff in mind is... is going to
00:04:48 --> 00:04:51 really improve the post -production process.
00:04:52 --> 00:04:54 And I can link to some of those resources. I
00:04:54 --> 00:04:57 think iZotope RX, it's like $200, but it is a
00:04:57 --> 00:05:01 very helpful set of plugins, and it means I don't
00:05:01 --> 00:05:05 have to send my solo episodes to my editor. Now,
00:05:05 --> 00:05:07 I'm likely going to do a separate episode on
00:05:07 --> 00:05:10 if you should have video and what that means,
00:05:10 --> 00:05:12 but that does complicate the process a little
00:05:12 --> 00:05:17 bit. You know, you need to record in video, edit,
00:05:18 --> 00:05:21 And I would still master it in Logic Pro to get
00:05:21 --> 00:05:24 that consistent sounding episode right across
00:05:24 --> 00:05:27 episodes. But talking about editing, it's kind
00:05:27 --> 00:05:28 of like putting the cart before the horse, right?
00:05:28 --> 00:05:32 So tip one was editing. Tip two is actually around
00:05:32 --> 00:05:35 content. And so how do you come up with good
00:05:35 --> 00:05:38 content for a solo episode that's not just you
00:05:38 --> 00:05:42 rambling? Well, I like to write down the problem
00:05:42 --> 00:05:44 I'm trying to solve with this solo episode and
00:05:44 --> 00:05:48 then write three bullet points. three tips I'm
00:05:48 --> 00:05:51 doing, three things I want to cover in, again,
00:05:52 --> 00:05:54 I try to do three minutes or less. I want these
00:05:54 --> 00:05:59 episodes to be about 10 minutes. So write down
00:05:59 --> 00:06:02 the three things you want to cover to help solve
00:06:02 --> 00:06:07 that problem. And that will help you stay on
00:06:07 --> 00:06:13 track and give you a general idea of how you're
00:06:13 --> 00:06:17 going to tackle this episode. It'll also give
00:06:17 --> 00:06:19 you some structure so that you're not just going,
00:06:19 --> 00:06:22 oh, what do I talk about next? I started with
00:06:22 --> 00:06:27 editing because that is a big process point,
00:06:27 --> 00:06:30 but knowing what to talk about is also super
00:06:30 --> 00:06:34 important. So tip one was how I edit. Tip two
00:06:34 --> 00:06:37 is write down the problem you're trying to solve
00:06:37 --> 00:06:39 for this episode and write down three bullet
00:06:39 --> 00:06:43 points for solving that problem. One way this
00:06:43 --> 00:06:46 could be really helpful or one way to help this,
00:06:46 --> 00:06:50 I should say, is if you have segments. I used
00:06:50 --> 00:06:55 to do a format where I had one big problem, one
00:06:55 --> 00:06:59 small fix, and then feedback from a previous
00:06:59 --> 00:07:03 episode. When if you look at like season four
00:07:03 --> 00:07:06 or five of this episode of this podcast, rather,
00:07:06 --> 00:07:13 I would do like three stories. from the podcasting
00:07:13 --> 00:07:18 world right so you can have segments and then
00:07:18 --> 00:07:21 that will always give you a loose outline of
00:07:21 --> 00:07:23 what you're going to cover in the show it makes
00:07:23 --> 00:07:27 it a little bit easier I think that having segments
00:07:27 --> 00:07:30 does fit a longer form right you can maybe do
00:07:30 --> 00:07:32 10 minutes on each segment if you want or five
00:07:32 --> 00:07:34 minutes on each segment but that's a really good
00:07:34 --> 00:07:37 way to always have like a loose outline and keep
00:07:37 --> 00:07:42 you on track Now, the third tip is a little bit
00:07:42 --> 00:07:46 woo woo, I would say, but I think it is helpful
00:07:46 --> 00:07:49 because you want to feel like you're talking
00:07:49 --> 00:07:52 to someone and just like looking straight at
00:07:52 --> 00:07:55 your camera or at Logic Pro or at your outline
00:07:55 --> 00:07:58 maybe doesn't feel like you're always talking
00:07:58 --> 00:08:03 to somebody. And so two ways that I have found
00:08:03 --> 00:08:05 are helpful for this, if you are uncomfortable
00:08:05 --> 00:08:11 just talking into the ether is. Picture someone
00:08:11 --> 00:08:13 in your mind. Picture a single person that you're
00:08:13 --> 00:08:17 talking to. This is like your ideal audience
00:08:17 --> 00:08:20 member. Maybe it's somebody you know. Maybe it's
00:08:20 --> 00:08:22 a coaching client. Maybe it's a friend who encouraged
00:08:22 --> 00:08:24 you to start this show. Just keep them in your
00:08:24 --> 00:08:27 mind and act like you're talking directly to
00:08:27 --> 00:08:32 them. Or something, maybe this is like narcissistic
00:08:32 --> 00:08:36 of me, but something else I have found is having
00:08:36 --> 00:08:39 my camera up. So I use Ecamm Live. And so my
00:08:39 --> 00:08:41 camera is kind of always on and I'll have it
00:08:41 --> 00:08:45 in front of me and I see myself talking. And
00:08:45 --> 00:08:50 for some reason that helps me. But I think for
00:08:50 --> 00:08:56 most people who aren't vain, maybe, is picture
00:08:56 --> 00:09:00 that one person you're talking to and like keep
00:09:00 --> 00:09:03 them in your mind because this will, it'll make
00:09:03 --> 00:09:05 it feel more like you're having a phone call.
00:09:05 --> 00:09:08 Instead of just kind of talking to nobody in
00:09:08 --> 00:09:12 an empty room. So those are the three tips for
00:09:12 --> 00:09:15 having a good solo show, right? The first is
00:09:15 --> 00:09:18 all about your process, how you're going to edit
00:09:18 --> 00:09:23 or the best way to edit. The second is around
00:09:23 --> 00:09:26 content, having good content and keeping you
00:09:26 --> 00:09:29 on track. And the third is a little mental trick
00:09:29 --> 00:09:33 to help you feel more comfortable and speak more
00:09:33 --> 00:09:35 naturally. when you're doing those solo shows.
00:09:36 --> 00:09:38 That's it for this episode of the Streamlined
00:09:38 --> 00:09:40 Podcaster. I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know
00:09:40 --> 00:09:43 what you think over at streamlinedfeedback .com.
00:09:43 --> 00:09:46 And until next time, I hope you find some space
00:09:46 --> 00:09:47 in your week.