Podcasts are a hot topic in today’s entertainment landscape. With low startup costs and free listening for your audience, podcasts have really democratized content creation in a whole new way. But how can you get started creating your own new podcast?
Creating Your Concept
If you’re reading this article, you probably already have an idea of what you want to make, but it’s worth looking into really nailing down the specifics of your concept. Fiction or Non-Fiction? Comedy or Drama? Scripted or Improvised? With so many podcasts out there, having a really specific idea of what your podcast is, what the goal of the content is, and who the audience might be are all going to help you focus your concept.
Finding Your Team
There are lots of excellent solo podcasts out there (my first podcast was a solo endeavor!), but chances are you don’t want to do it yourself. You may already be working with someone on your idea, but take some time to sit down with them and discuss each of your strengths, and what aspects of the project each of you are going to claim responsibility for.
Recording
Nowadays a podcast can be done on any budget, with the bare minimum being simply recording into the microphone on your phone. However, if you’re willing to invest some money in your podcast, microphones are a great way to start. You can either get a USB microphone, or microphones that use a connection called XLR. For an XLR microphone, you will need an additional piece of hardware called an Audio Interface. I use a Scarlett 2i2 Audio Interface for my recording. You will also need a software to record your audio into, like GarageBand or Audacity.
Post Production
Congrats! You’ve recorded your first episode. Chances are, you didn’t get it 100% right on the first try, so you may have to do some editing. Podcasts have a massive spectrum in amounts of post production, with some “talk” podcasts being barely edited at all, to fiction podcasts with massive amounts of post production. Decide on a level that is right for you, and edit your podcast in your recording software until you’re satisfied with the end product. As a heads up, as far as free software goes, I find it much easier to edit audio in Audacity.
You’ve Got an Audio File, Now What?
You’ve got your audio file cleaned up and ready to go! Maybe you’ve even thrown in a credit roll at the end, or a theme song at the beginning, or any manner of elements to polish your podcast, but there are still some non audio elements you’ll need to bring your podcast to the masses. You’ll need some graphic design skills or a friend that can make you a logo, and a hosting service that will distribute your podcast to the assorted podcatchers via an RSS feed. For more detail on the latter, there will be a forthcoming article on Publishing Your First Podcast. Finally, you may want to get some social media accounts set up for your podcast to start building a community and helping people find your podcast.And there you go! If this article helped you create your podcast, show me in the comments below!