How to Start Your Own Podcast

Posted on June 5, 2020 by resourcefulman

For many of us, podcasts are a favorite way to keep up with the news or keep ourselves entertained while we exercise, commute to work, or do housework. Chances are, you have a favorite (or seven) that you follow regularly.

While every armchair TV presenter with a voice recording app strives to take part in the game, creating a professional-sounding podcast is not easy. This guide will show you how to create, record and publish your own basic podcast, and get people to listen.

Before you begin, be prepared to commit

Before you rush into things, it’s important to remember that podcasts take a lot of effort to get started. It’s easy to assume they’re easy to produce because most are audio only, but don’t be fooled. It can take a long time to create them, especially when you are just starting out.

Plus, podcasts work best when they are released regularly. If you are interested in developing any listener base, you should be prepared to release episodes on a regular basis. Podcasting can be an interesting job, but it’s still a job and should be treated accordingly.

Don’t expect to get rich off podcasting. It is possible to generate income from podcasting, but this usually requires ads, sponsorships and patrons – all of which you can only get after you create an audience large enough to benefit advertisers.

If you’re not interested in creating a podcast for fun or just for your voice to be heard, you might not get much out of it if you don’t already have an impatient audience.

The equipment you need to start podcasting

You can’t start a podcast without equipment, and good equipment will go a long way. Here’s what you need:

Microphone (s): Any microphone will work for recording a podcast, but listeners can usually tell the difference between low-quality microphones and high-quality ones. (I am using four analog Audio-Technica AT2020s for my podcast). As you shop, you also need to decide if you want to use a USB or analog (XLR) microphone. USB microphones convert analog audio to digital, so you can plug a USB microphone directly into any computer and start recording without much hassle, but you could potentially get lower audio quality than analog audio. Considering you don’t need any additional USB microphone recording tools or devices, they might be a little cheaper in the long run. Analog microphones use XLR connectors, which means you need a different device to send audio to your computer, but you can get higher sound quality and use them with other audio equipment (if you have a PA system or want to play live music, for example). Of course, if you have a gaming headset or other basic microphone, you can easily use it for podcasts as well, if the quality is decent. This won’t work if you’re a shared host or plan on frequent guests, as you’ll need multiple microphones to capture everyone.
Portable XLR Recorder (Optional) : If you plan on using analog microphones for your podcast, you’ll need something that captures the analog audio and converts it to digital. Portable XLR recorders can capture multiple mic channels and allow basic audio level adjustments and on-the-fly mute. Your audio files are automatically organized and saved on a memory card, which you can insert into a card reader or slot on your computer. These are awesome tools, but they can be expensive. You can find them for between $ 100 and $ 500, depending on how many channels and options you need. (I use a Zoom H6 Handy Recorder with four available analog channels, which costs $ 300-350.)
Audio interface (optional) : If you want to record directly to your computer using analog microphones, you will need an audio interface. These devices allow you to connect one or more analog microphones and convert analog audio to digital. Most audio interfaces connect to your computer via USB or USB-C. Audio interfaces can cost anywhere from $ 30 to $ 300, depending on what you need.
Computer: Any Windows or Mac computer should work fine to record, edit, and download podcasts. Fortunately, audio editing does not require a lot of processing power. In addition, depending on whether you choose to record directly to your computer or to a dedicated recording device, your computer will also need the correct ports. For example, USB microphones will obviously need an open USB port. If you are using analog microphones with a portable XLR recorder or audio interface device, you will need a 3.5mm audio input, a USB / USB-C port, or, in some cases, a FireWire port. Before spending money on hardware, make sure you have a computer that supports it.
Audio editing software: You will need a digital sound workstation (or DAW) to actually record and edit. There are many good options , but most of them are licensed. Professional-grade DAWs like Reason cost between $ 99 and $ 599 depending on the features you need, while Pro Tools cost between $ 29 and $ 79 per year. Hindenburg offers audio editing software licenses ranging from $ 95 to $ 500, Reaper is a fully downloaded audio production app that will set you back $ 60, and Adobe’sAudition CC audio editing software is available with a monthly subscription of $ 20.99. dollars. software as a beginner. Because of this, most people will recommend free open source software like Audacity when you are just starting out, which is what we will be using as an example in this tutorial.
Pop Filters (optional): The clearer the sound, the better. Pop filters, while not required, are fairly cheap and can keep your explosives from getting unpleasant sound on your recording. If you don’t want to buy anything, it’s easy to make your own .

You might think that all this equipment is quite expensive, and you are not mistaken. Keep in mind, though, that decent audio gear will last forever if you take good care of it. It can be expensive in the beginning, but after the initial purchase, you’re done.

Narrow down the topic and find your niche

There are a ton of podcasts out there , which means you can probably find a podcast about everything under the sun already. Dont be upset! While almost all broad topics have already been covered, you just have to find your solution to make an old idea something new.

For example, if you want to create a podcast about music, ask yourself if there is an audience for what you want to talk about. Maybe you can narrow your idea down from music in general to bluegrass in particular. Now your lighting is specific: music, people, and bluegrass culture.

Once your topic is narrowed down, it will help add a twist to it. Maybe you’re talking about bluegrass music and culture while sipping moonshine with co-hosts. It is true that everything has been done before, but not everything has been done the way you would have done it. Find an interesting and engaging angle – the more your passion shows up on your podcast, the more people are likely to listen to it.

Download, install and configure Audacity

As mentioned earlier, Audacity is a great DAW for aspiring podcasters. It’s open source, free to use as much as you want, and is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Before you can start recording, there are a few tricks to get it all set up correctly:

Download and install Audacity 2.4.1 .
Plug in your microphone and open Audacity.
See if your Audacity microphone is recognized by checking the drop-down menu next to the small microphone icon. If you see your microphone, select it.
In the upper left corner, you should see the pause, play, stop, skip back, skip forward and record buttons. Press the record button and speak into the microphone to make sure it is working properly.
Stop recording and play back what you just recorded to make sure everything sounds fine.

Note that you previously needed to download the LAME MP3 encoder to export the file as MP3. LAME is now built into Audacity for Windows and Mac. If you are using Linux, follow these installation instructions .

Record and edit your podcast with Audacity

Recording in Audacity is pretty straightforward, but there are a few things you should do before you start your first show:

Plug in your microphone and quickly record just like before to check your audio levels.
You can adjust the recording volume using the slider just above the drop-down menu in which you selected your recording device.
When you find a good level, remove the test recording by clicking the small X in the upper left corner of the track. You don’t need it anymore.
Make sure your recording location is quiet and record about 5 seconds of “silence”. This is called room tone and you can use it to hide background noise when recording real sound. For now, you can mute this track by clicking the mute switch on the left side of the track. You can also collapse it by clicking the arrow in the lower left corner of the track.
Go to File> Save Project> Save Project As and choose a name for your project. Keep in mind that this does not export audio, it just saves your progress.

You are now ready to record the main body of the podcast. Click the record button and Audacity will start recording audio to a new track. When you’re done recording, press the stop button. It is so simple. Be sure to save your work before proceeding.

How to add intro and end music

Writing and recording your own theme song is incredibly difficult if you don’t know what you are doing (and it probably won’t sound very good). Leave that to the pros and find free tunes on any site that offers music under an International Attribution License or Non-Commercial Attribution License , such as the Free Music Archive :

Browse music by genre or search.
Find a track you like and click the down arrow to download it.

It can take a while to find exactly what you want, but when you do, all you have to do is list the creator in the podcast description.

It’s time to add music and make the necessary edits:

Go to File> Import> Audio . Find any music you want to use in your podcast and click Open. The music will be placed in Audacity as a separate track.
Find the Selection tool in the Audacity toolbar. (It looks like a cursor for typing.)
Drag the selection tool onto the music section that you want to use for your intro and outro music.
With this piece of music selected, find the Cut Audio button in the Audacity toolbar and click it. You should only have the music section you selected.
While that section of music is still selected, find the Copy button in the toolbar and click it (you can also use CTRL + C or Command + C ).
On the same music track, click anywhere to the right of that music section. Then find the Insert button in the toolbar and click it (or CTRL + V or Command + V ). You now have your opening and closing music, but it’s not quite ready yet.
Use the Selection Tool to select one of the music copies. Then go to Effect at the top and select Fade Out . Do the same for the other copy of the music, but choose Fade In instead. Your intro and outro music is now ready to go.

How to edit specific portions of audio in a podcast recording

If you need to cut something out of your podcast – like swearing if you’re trying to keep it clean, or information that shouldn’t be published – it’s easy to fix:

Find the part of the audio you want to cut.
Use the Selection tool and select the entire section you want to delete.
Find the “Cut” button on the toolbar and click. Boom, he’s gone. (Alternatively, you can also use the Mute button.)
Remember the room sound you recorded earlier? You can copy some of this and overlap with the cut out so you have less annoying silence.

With your music ready to go and making the necessary adjustments, you can now align everything with the Time Shift Tool (two arrows connected by a thin line). Just move each piece of sound to its corresponding track until you are happy with how all the sounds line up. You may need to play around with it a bit to find a middle ground.

What if my podcast sounds bad?

If you feel like the sound doesn’t sound as good as you would like, there are a few things you can tweak. For example, you can use Audacity’s compression and EQ options to bring the sound closer to radio quality. The best ways to use the compression and EQ settings may be in separate articles, butthis video from Podstart gives a quick overview of how to use them in Audacity.

Optional: recording from multiple microphones or Skype

Why would you need to record with multiple microphones? First, it makes it much easier to fix someone’s sound either on the spot by adjusting the level of their microphone, or later if you have multiple audio tracks recording at the same time.

However, even with multiple USB microphones, Audacity can only recognize one audio input for recording at a time. The Audacity team offers several ways to work around this limitation:

Windows: To use multiple USB microphones on Windows, you can combine them all into one recording device using software such as Voice Meeter (free) or Virtual Audio Cable . (The trial version supports up to three devices.) Sound from each microphone can be picked up normally, but all level adjustments must be made using software. In Audacity, you will still only see one track for editing.
macOS: With macOS 10.7 and later, you can configure aggregate devices without any additional software. Check out Apple’s official instructions for pairing devices here .

If you are using multiple analog microphones , there are two ways to do this:

Use an audio interface device or mixer that connects to your computer.
Record everything on a portable XLR recorder and download the files to your computer.

You will need one of these devices to use your analog microphones anyway, so if you have a device that supports multiple microphones you’re good to go.

What about Skype, Google Hangouts or other Internet telephony services?

Audacity doesn’t support Skype recording directly, but the Audacity team has a couple of ways you can get around this for both Windows and macOS .

Otherwise, you will have to use additional software like MP3 Skype Recorder or Pamela and import the call sound into Audacity the same way you add music or other audio files. When it’s in Audacity, you can tweak the levels and make sure everything sounds fine. As powerful as Audacity is, especially being free, it definitely has its limitations, so if you really enjoy podcasting it might be worth investing in improving your DAW in the future.

Tag and Export MP3 File in Audacity

Exporting a podcast to an MP3 file should be easy because you set up the export to MP3 before you start recording. However, there are some important things to keep in mind when exporting.

First, you’ll want to edit the file’s metadata (also known as “tags”). Metadata is information that is displayed regardless of the filename and includes things like title, track number, album, and artist name.

Fortunately, Audacity allows you to do this when exporting MP3 audio:

Go to File> Export> Export as MP3 .
From the Save as type drop-down menu, select MP3 Files. Then name the file (for example, your podcast title and episode number). Click Save.
You will now see the Edit Metadata Tags window. Enter all the required information (we’ll cover this shortly). You can also add and remove sections as you see fit.
Go down to the Template section and click Save. Save this template for future releases so you don’t have to fill out most of this information again.
Click OK. Your MP3 should be exported and ready to download.

If you’re unsure how to populate a metadata template, Daniel J. Lewis of The Audacity to Podcast offers a few suggestions :

Track: your episode number . This will help you sort the episodes in chronological order if the player does not read the publication or revision dates.

Title: The number and title of your episode, as in your blog. For example, “AYJW027: Courageous (2011)”.

Artist: The name (s) of the episode host (s) or the name of your network.

Album: The title of your podcast (remember, this is your entire show, not a single episode).

Year: year of issue.

Genre: Choose the one that suits you best or Podcast.

Commentary: A summary of your series. This can be the same as a WordPress snippet, or just the web address of your show notes.

Copyright: Copyright information. I recommend writing it like this: “© 2011 D.Joseph Design” – note that “before” is optional and the symbol must always precede the year. Not all tagging programs have this.

URL: your displayed web address. Not all tagging programs have this.

Cover / Image / Album Cover : The cover of your podcast …

Metadata is important if you later want to catalog your podcast, so make sure you have as much information as possible.

Optional: add podcast chapters

Podcast chapters are a great way to give users more control over their listening experience. For example, your podcast might cover a wide variety of topics, or you might want to provide listeners with easy access to your different segments. It’s not a requirement, and very few podcasts use this feature, but podcast chapters certainly help if you’re trying to present a better work.

Podcast chapters work like chapters in a book and let you “skip” segments of an episode, such as an introduction, or skip past segments that aren’t interesting to you. You can even add images to podcast sections by linking an image to a discussion or using it to provide even more information on a topic. Unfortunately, adding them manually can be difficult and time consuming. To save you the hassle, use chapter adding software:

Windows : The freeChapter and Verse app lets you add podcast chapters as well as other metadata elements such as images and chapter notes.

The $ 24.45 Podreel app does the same job but uses a cleaner interface. You can use the trial version, which allows you to add up to 5 chapter markers to the podcast, but adds a promotional message at the end of the file.

macOS: The Chapters on Mac app ($ 19.99) makes it easy to add chapters on your Mac. You can save podcast presets if you’re working on more than one podcast, adjust the playback speed to find segment markers faster, and add images.

Choose a strong name and create a cover

When it comes to people who find your podcast, it’s important to choose a title for it. John Lee Dumas, host of the Entrepreneur on Fire podcast, invites you to choose a name that will accurately convey to your audience what your podcast is about.

If we go back to the bluegrass and moonshine example, it could be something straightforward, like Bluegrass and Moonshine, or something less obvious but still understandable, like Sippin ‘and Singin’: The Bluegrass Podcast. The title gives you an idea of the content of the show, but more importantly, your show is more likely to appear in someone’s search for bluegrass music podcasts.

You will also need an image for your podcast. This is the first thing people will see when they see your show, so it should look good. An image is also required to host your podcast in directories like iTunes , Stitcher, and BluBrry , and to manage podcasts like Pocket Casts and DoggCatcher .

The cover can be a photograph or a piece of art, depending on how you want to present your show. If the show is about you, you can even use a good photo of yourself. You can use a simple logo if you like, if it has something to do with what you are talking about in the podcast. You need to make sure that your image best captures the essence of your show.

Whatever you choose to use for your cover, make sure the show’s title is in the image. If you’re uncomfortable creating the image yourself, don’t be afraid to hire a designer to do it for you from service-oriented websites like Fiverr or 99designs .

Podcast images also need to be of a certain size, otherwise your artwork won’t look as good when it’s scaled down. In fact, some directories won’t even accept podcast feeds if your artwork isn’t sized properly. Here’s what you need:

The image must be at least 1400 x 1400 pixels.
The image must be in .jpg or .png format (preferably .jpg).
The image should look good – and readable – at 300 x 300 pixels.

A good rule of thumb is to optimize your image to 150 x 150 pixels. If it’s so small, then you know you won’t run into any problems. Daniel J. Lewis of The Audacity to Podcast also recommends treating certain types of images differently so that they always look their best:

For artwork based on photographs / images, purchase the largest possible version and design within its dimensions.
For color-based artwork or illustration, design in a vector editor (such as Adobe Illustrator) to create images that can be scaled to any size without loss of quality.

You can easily edit images in Photoshop or alternative programs like GIMP and Pixelmator . Once you have a good name and decent art to represent your show, you are almost ready to start recording.

Find a place to host your podcast

When you’re done adding tags and exporting your podcast, it’s time to find a place to put your MP3 file. Hosting your podcast is very important so you can start distributing your show across podcast directories and apps. Here are some of the best options for newbies:

SoundCloud : SoundCloud offers free podcast hosting (in addition to the two competitive paid options for when you get a little more serious) and lets you distribute your podcast via RSS. Your podcasts will be instantly published to SoundCloud itself, making it very easy to share your podcast on social media, blogs, and other websites .
Podbean : Podbean provides multiple hosting tiers, including a free option (although free hosting is pretty limited). The service has its own iOS and Android listening app and analytics tools, though you’ll need to pay to get most of their best features.
Podomatic : Podomatic is very easy to use. It offers free hosting with ample bandwidth and storage for beginner podcasts. There is also a professional option that allows you to increase your bandwidth if you like it.
Libsyn : Libsyn is one of the oldest podcast hosting sites considered to be one of the best. Their cheapest plan is $ 5 a month with unlimited bandwidth – unfortunately there is no free option.
Amazon S3 : Amazon hosting service offers a free plan but limits your storage (among other things). The paid service only charges you for the storage and bandwidth actually used, which means the cost can rise as your podcast grows in popularity.
Fireside : A newer podcast hosting platform from the creator of the 5by5 podcast network, Fireside offers unlimited storage, downloads, episodes, analytics, and site for your podcast (with custom domain support) for $ 19 a month. Each additional podcast costs an additional $ 8 per month. You can easily import your old podcasts from any valid podcast RSS feed in addition to other hosting sites including Soundcloud, Squarespace, and Libsyn. It also makes fine details such as chapter markers and metadata more accessible. If you have multiple episodes under your belt and want to improve the experience for both yourself and your audience, give them a try.

If you’re new to podcasting or internet media hosting in general, try the free services to see if you like their work. When you find one you like, it’s worth paying for hosting if you’re serious about continuing with your podcast. Each host listed here will provide you with simple instructions on how to download a podcast audio file, but there are a few basic steps to follow no matter which service you choose:

When subscribing to the service, use the name of your podcast (or the one closest to it).
Upload a cover image that is at least 1400 x 1400 pixels in size.
Complete all sections of your profile, especially your show description.
Upload your MP3 file. Most hosting services allow you to listen to the podcast directly on the site, so listen to it to make sure it sounds good.
The file metadata you created earlier should contain a lot of necessary information. However, if something is wrong, there is now a chance to make changes and fix it before submitting the RSS feed to any directories.

Once you’re happy with how things look, you’re ready to check out your feed and submit it to podcast directories.

Join Apple Podcasts

There are many podcast directories you can submit to, including Stitcher , Blubrry, and Miro . However, most podcasters will tell you that if there is only one directory you should get into, it is Apple Podcasts because it is the most popular and has the largest reach. Here’s how to get into the Apple Podcast directory:

Check the title, author, description, and cover art associated with the podcast audio file on your hosting. Apple Podcasts uses these fields for searches. For more information and tips, check out the official Apple Podcast specs here .
Find the url of the podcast’s rss feed and copy it.
Make sure your podcast’s RSS feed is valid. Some hosts have a built-in validator that will tell you if your channel is valid. Otherwise, paste the feed URL into the Cast Feed Validator and see what podcasting apps and directories see. Make changes on the hosting site if necessary.
Sign in to podcasts Connect with your Apple ID. First, you need to test and validate your podcast by adding your RSS feed (click the “+” sign to add and click “Test”).
Review your podcast and fix any mistakes.
Once your RSS feed has been reviewed, you can submit it for review for publication. Track your podcast status in the Podcasts Connect dashboard.

It should work! If you don’t see pop-ups in Apple Podcasts right away, don’t worry. Adding a podcast can take anywhere from 24 hours to two weeks as your podcast must first be reviewed by a group of people. Luckily, the process for listing in other podcast directories isn’t that different, so once you get your head around Apple podcasts, there is no limit.

Finally, as fun as it is to submit your podcast to the public, consider waiting to submit your first episode until you already have a few of them. Submitting just one episode may leave a lot to be desired for those who stumble upon your show. It is also less likely that you will be introduced or promoted as something new and noteworthy. So record three or four episodes before you start trying to expand your audience.

This story was originally published in June 2015 and was updated in August 2017, June 2019, and again on June 4, 2020 by Emily Long. Our updates included the following: revised instructions for Audacity and Apple Podcasts, new screenshots, a new introduction, and changes to reflect the current style.

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