First thing’s first, there’s one thing to talk about before we talk about how you start a podcast. First of all, and more importantly, let’s start with WHY you start a podcast.
The “WHY” is simply. You have something to say, something to share, an idea to proclaim, a thought to pursue, and you think podcasting is a smart idea. And I completely agree with you. Podcasting is the easiest way to get your voice heard out in the world. A podcast is more than just an episode. Podcasting is a network of messaging. Either consumed by listening on Spotify, watching on Youtube, liking on Instagram and Facebook, and sharing on TikTok and who-knows-what-else-the-kids-are-using-these-days.
A podcast is more than just an episode.
Creating your podcast for the world is like putting a digital megaphone on your personal brand for the world to hear your voice. Your voice deserves to be heard, so let's figure out how to make that happen.
Ok, so now that we got that out of the way. HOW do we start a podcast? Let’s get the audio technical stuff out of the way first.
With all of these setups, you’ll need a good pair of headphones to avoid audio bleed or interference. I recommend the Audio-Technica ATH-M50X Professional Studio Monitor Headphones. They're super comfortable and sound great, while being affordable.
Audio:
Option 1 (Good) - USB mic that plugs into your phone or laptop.
Plug it into your phone or laptop, and boom, you have professional audio recorded straight to you phone.
Here’s what you need: RODE NT-USB Mini USB Microphone (you’ll also possibly need an adapter for your phone).
If you want to go one step further, or have a guest, you’ll need another microphone. Luckily, you can use up to 4 of these mics with your setup and RODE even has an app called RODE Connect to make it easy to record.
Option 2 (Better) - XLR mic and audio interface
An XLR mic will give you better controls and allow you to plug into an audio interface which will generally sound better and provide more controls than a USB mic.
Here’s what you need:
Mic: RODE PodMic
Audio interface: Focusrite Scarlett to plug into a laptop or a RODE RODECaster Pro II if you want to record without needing a laptop.
Now, you have the tools to capture professional audio so the world can hear your beautiful, unique voice.
If you are recording with your guests virtually, you could use an app specifically designed to record high quality content for podcasts, Riverside. Riverside is just one more tool to step up your podcasting game.
Anyone can record with Zoom, Google Meet or any other virtual meeting app, but with riverside.fm you’ll take your quality to the next level.
Now, let’s talk video.
If you want to really step up your podcasting game, you'll eventually want to incorporate video into your production.
With video, your audience can see your beautiful face and really get to know you on a deeper level. You can also share and get more engagement on social media platforms.
What’s the best (and most affordable) option for recording video of our podcast? Here’s my simple answer: Your phone. That’s right, most phones nowadays shoot incredibly high-quality video. High-quality enough for some big screen films even.
Here’s what you’ll need: Your phone, a smartphone tripod, and your USB mic.
The best camera to use is the one you have.
If you want to step it up a notch, here’s a great option: Sony ZV-E10
This little camera is the best you’ll find for under $1K. (Cameras are expensive. Like I said, the best camera to use is the one you already have).
You can even plug the camera directly into your laptop with a USB cable to start streaming or recording on Riverside easily.
EDITING:
So now you know how to record your audio, you know how to record your video, now you need to edit your podcast. You’ll very rarely perform your podcast from start to finish without needing a little bit of editing to take out those slightly long pauses or filler words. Luckily, Riverside can handle this for you. But, if you’re looking for more editing tools, a more robust editing software is Davinci Resolve (free). This is what my team and I use to edit our client's podcasts.
Now that you’ve got your final podcast episode edited and ready for the world, it’s time to publish your episode!
PUBLISH:
There are plenty of options to use, but what we recommend to podcasters is Podbean. You can upload your edited file and Podbean will distribute it to various podcasting networks like Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts.
SHARE, SHARE, SHARE:
Now that you’ve got your show started as a podcast, you need to always remember to share, share, share on other platforms. Upload the full episode to Youtube (Youtube only accepts video files, so you’ll need to at least create a graphic in Canva if your podcast is audio-only). You can create social media snippets for Instagram and TikTok using OpusClip. You simply upload your full video and you will get more than 10 shortened clips with animated subtitles ready to use.
Remember, consistency is the most important thing when it comes to producing a podcast.
Don't quit! Release a podcast every week and you will be extremely pleased with the growth, simply by staying consistent. And as your show gets more engagement, that will encourage you to continue, which will grow your podcast even more.
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