How to Select Topics for Your Talk Radio Show

Congratulations! You’ve just set up your Airtime Pro account and have begun to upload your favourite music. You’ve switched on your stream, told your friends to listen, and even carved out space in your schedule to flip the feed to “Live” on occasion. 

And then …static. Where do you go from here? 

The first thing you need to decide is whether your station will play just music or if you will host radio shows. In this post, we will offer some ideas for radio show topics so that you always have interesting topics to discuss on air. But first, a few more general pointers.

Think about your listeners

Before deciding on the format, think about who you want your listeners to be. Ideally, you will share similar interests and know what topics that they find interesting. 

Understanding your ideal listener is essential for creating a long-term fanbase and for the success of your station. Once someone tunes in you need to capture their attention and create a relationship with your station. So, if you aim to start a radio station from scratch, think of your ideal listener and write down whatever comes to your mind in terms of consumer behaviours and demographics. What’s their genre? Where do they live? How old are they? What music do they like? What are their hobbies? What topics do they like to discuss? Knowing how to answer these questions will help you dive deeper into their preferences, highlighting trending themes and perspectives that you can later touch upon on your show. For inspiration, check out this cool Ted talk about getting to know your audience.

If you already have an internet radio station, you can analyse the current demographics of your listenership statistics. Airtime Pro provides easy access to built-in audience stats, such as  location, ​​number of listeners, and most popular shows. Google Analytics is another powerful tool that provides additional data. Finally, create social media accounts for your show, where you can engage listeners by asking them questions,  create polls, or share ideas. 

Choosing Interesting Talk Radio Topics

Once you have identified your ideal audience, or surveyed your current listeners, it’s time to choose the most interesting and creative talk show ideas to base your show on. Here are a few suggestions: 

#1. Music

Music was made for radio. But more than good vibes, music makes for interesting and engaging content for on air discussion, covering all age groups and having a lot of angles one can consider. For example, your show could cover the release of a new song by a popular artist, the comeback of an old artist, or even a mere discussion over a new viral song. Any of these shows are bound to bring about some heated discussion and opinions.

#2. Hobbies

Almost everyone has a hobby and the passion to support it, which is why they make great topics for radio. Every hobby – from gardening to coin collecting – has a fanbase. Tapping into these networks will help draw attention to your show and even inspire others to join the bandwagon. 

#3. Health

This is the age of fitness, or as some call it, personal and environmental “sustainability.” Tap into these discussions and start an engaging radio show with conversations related to managing one’s health and maintaining a healthy routine.

#4. Travel

Every now and then, it is important to bring a little excitement and adventure into the radio segment. Travelling is a fun radio topic, paving the way for discussions on travel  experiences, tips,  or even guests from different parts of the world to shed light on their culture and tourism in their own slice of heaven. 

#5. Education

If your audience includes students, education is a great radio topic.  To make this oft-vilified topic interesting, however, your show could  dive deeper into new languages, cultures, or even into the basics of time management. We all procrastinate and definitely need  to be educated on how to avoid it. 

#6. Lifestyle

Tips on how to manage life’s daily activities – from picking a wardrobe to exercising – never go out of fashion. Listeners everywhere are hungry for ideas on every day living, making lifestyle an interesting late-night radio topic for all ages. 

#7. Trending Events

Everyone has an opinion, but what drives engagement on the radio is bringing  those opinions into  a public forum for debate or discussion. Making people feel involved and accepted will create a more engaged audience. 

#8. Entertainment

Entertainment is a vast field that inspires many interesting radio show topics. For instance, films and TV Shows never lose their popularity. As a host you could review popular shows, personally reflect on the latest trends, or invite guests to comment on what everyone is watching.

How to make it engaging?

The topic itself is not what makes a radio show worth listening to. Listeners want to be engaged, informed, and entertained. That’s where your personality, style, and preparedness comes in. 

Do your homework. If you are discussing a song, research the artist. Be prepared to offer interesting insights that will pull the debate forward. Another good tactic is to introduce comedy into your segments, breaking up the serious stuff with some levity.

A few other radio content ideas:

1. Talk about specialist topics with niche audiences, like extraterrestrials. After all, conspiracy theories are very entertaining. 
2. Give relationship or lifestyle advice through live call-ins. But remember: be kind!
3. Bring in top-tier guests to discuss trending topics. Comb through your network to find guests with large social-media followings, who can then amplify your content by sharing it on their networks. 
4. Hosting a question and answer session, during which live callers can interact with each other (but have that mute button ready!). 
5. A radio show based on humorous stories and topics can also be a big hit. Think of funny radio talk show topics to discuss on your show.

Creative Names for Talk Shows

Now that you have an idea of the topics to talk about on your radio show and a few tips to make your shows interesting, it’s time to come up with a creative name.  Here are  few steps to help: 

1. Brainstorm 

Depending on the nature of your talk show, identify a few words or phrases that are often associated with the topic. 

2. Shortlist

After forming an extensive list of names, reflect over each name in terms of recall, meaning, significance, and uniqueness. This will help you filter out a few creative names for your show.

3. Feedback

Filter your shortlisted names more by asking for feedback from peers and family.

4. Availability

After you have selected the name, make sure to check whether it’s available. Google the names to see if they are already in use. And if it is, start over!

Need more tips on how to make the most of your Airtime Pro station? Be sure to check out our blog.