Podcasting is more than just a hobby nowadays. People are making it a living. A quick social media search throws out plenty of stories about people leaving their full-time jobs to begin life as a podcaster. Not only can it be a thrill but there are plenty of other enjoyable aspects to podcasting. Below, I have discussed everything you need to know if you are thinking of starting a podcast, from recording to streaming and producing. If podcasting is a goal for you, then make sure you check this out.
Table of Contents
Think About Your Brand
Obviously, before you start a podcast you need to think about what you are recording. You cannot just simply get a laptop, microphone and other sorts of technology and get started. People will want to listen to your podcast because you are informed on the subject and actually have an opinion. So have a think about your target audience and most importantly make sure you talk about something you enjoy talking about. If podcasting really is something you are looking to take seriously, an audience and a brand are pivotal. Think about your style as well. Are you going to be opinionated and aggressive? Or are you going to sit on the fence and let your guests provide their opinion? It’s about finding the right balance but with the right research and right attitude, you can be sure to deliver the right podcast to the right people.
A Catchy Appeal
You obviously want your podcast to make the headlines for the right reasons. A catchy title will help with this. Something that rolls of the tongue and gets your podcast mentioned on social media. All the little things combined can help your show become a real force. Something short, catchy and appealing would be ideal. No one wants to listen to a podcast that is too much of a mouthful. Pick something that can be trending on social media and could even fit into a hashtag. Although this sounds superficial and inane, you’d be surprised about how important this when you are building your podcast. It’s probably worth doing a bit of competitor research as well when recording your podcast. This will help when assessing the audience, the names and the content. Think of what social media platforms they use to promote their podcast and how long the content creation is. A shorter, but the more insightful podcast is likely to be catchier to clients.
Plan and Prepare
For many outsiders, producing a podcast seems to be a group of mates sitting around a microphone and saying whatever comes into their head. In fact, the most successful podcasts actually involve plenty of planning and preparation. Writing scripts and researching the subject is just one simple step but it can be time-consuming. To produce a great pod though, this is very important. It is particularly important if you are ever live with your podcast, but it can also help to cut back on the editing required. Hesitating and mispronouncing words can be quite embarrassing and makes you look ill-informed. Everyone makes the odd faux pas and mistakes can be normal, but you can do your best to eliminate these through preparation. Obviously, when starting your podcast, you are more likely to get away with it. However, it could be that in some cases if your show takes off and garners more of a reputation then you will have to be more prepared. Not only will it help your own podcast but it will help if you grow big enough and get invited on to other shows!
How to record the podcast
So, you’ve got everything ready and prepared. You now want to ensure that people are able to hear your podcast. Forget about promotion now, you’ve got all that planned for when the show actually goes live. Now it is all about ensuring people can hear your podcast and that your recording is state-of-the-art. Do your research to make sure you’ve got the right technology and that you will be able to reach an audience. If you are wanting to know how to record a podcast, then this article is worth checking out. It covers everything with regard to the preparation you might need to do. It also helps run through the equipment that you might need. Whilst some of it appears expensive if you are serious about starting up a podcast, it’s worth the investment. If you’re not entirely sure but want to give it a go then it is probably worth looking into hiring a recording studio for an hour or so to see how you get on.
Have the right technology
Recording the podcast is something that takes time and practice to deliver in the best way possible. The easy bit is ensuring you have all the right technology. You may not have even considered these things when dreaming about your own show, but you need to have them ready.
Make sure you have a laptop as podcasts are a lot easier to record if you have portable devices. This is particularly prevalent if you start to guest host or join other people’s podcasts. You also need to ensure the laptop has the right editing software as not all of them will. There are usually some great technology articles that help you to understand what sort of technology you’ll need.
Headphones are important. They need to be noise-cancelling and work so that you can cut off the external noise. Nobody will want to listen to a podcast and hear the trains go by outside your bedroom window. It ruins the delivery and experience. You will also want them for yourself to cut out any distractions as you will be in the zone.
These are just the basic materials though and there are plenty of other pieces of equipment which you will need to ensure your podcast is able to reach the heights you want it to.
Have fun
Lastly, you just need to have fun. Recording a podcast is meant to be enjoyable. You do not have to turn it into a full-time job, it can be something you do because you enjoy talking about your passion and hobbies. However, even if it is just a hobby, you’ll still want to have the right technology and know-how otherwise it won’t be fun.
