Media Formats : For First Time Creators Who Are Confused

Media format is simply a well-defined piece of media like a newsletter, podcast, essay, book, blog, vlog, tweet threads, and countless other formats.

In the last 10 years as a creator, I have worked on all of the above types. And it all depends on what is possible for you at the moment.

Why Should You Find Your “Creator-Format Fit”?

1. You apply constraints on the things that are possible to do within the boundaries of the format you have chosen
2. These constraints force you to focus more on mastering the medium
3. The time you take to master that medium with shorten drastically
4. You will focus more on your messaging than distracting yourself with learning new skills for different media types
5. You can quickly judge if the format is working or not and move on to next one in a more predictable way

Test to find yours.

There is a perfect format out there that is waiting to be discovered by the right creator. I call this the “creator-format fit”. But how do you find it? Tried to visualize this simple concept in Google Slides.

Whenever I get confused while initiating a project, I use this framework to help me make it easy to choose a format.

STEP 1: Choose A Channel Where Your Audience Hangs Out.

(Twitter, IndieHackers, Instagram, Reddit etc.)

STEP 2: Choose the “Media Type” You’re Comfortable With,

• Text
• Audio
• Video
• Design & Illustrations
• Images
• Combination of Above

STEP 3: Choose A Media Format At The Intersection Of These Two.

Podcasts (Audio + Spotify) Newsletter (Text + Substack + Twitter) Vlogs (Video + YouTube) Visualizations (Design & Illustrations) Memes (Image + Instagram) Tweet Threads (Text + Twitter) Comics (Illustrations + Text + Relevant Social Platform) & Countless Other Formats

Once you choose a high-level format, you can start digging deeper to find the treatment that works well for you.

For example, let’s say you choose Podcasts.

1. Are you comfortable with having a conversation on the mic?

• Do interviews

2. Do you like to record your voice talking about a certain topic?

• Record solo

You get the drift. I hope this helps.

At Recast Studio we are building a podcast repurposing tool to help media companies and indie creators extract maximum value from their existing content.