How to Start Your Own Podcast
Before you rush into things, it’s important to keep in mind that podcasts take a lot of effort to get going. They’re not just recordings of people talking (not the good ones, anyway). Pat Flynn, host of the Smart Passive Income podcast, recommends you treat podcasting the same way you would any other big project:
Podcasting is extremely fun and exciting, but there is one thing you must do before you start podcasting: Commit. You must internally commit to podcasting, as you must do with anything that is potentially beneficial but takes some time and effort to do.
It’s easy to assume that podcasts are easy to produce because they’re audio only, but don’t be fooled. They can take up a lot of time to put together, especially at first. Also, podcasts do best when they’re released consistently. If you’re interested in developing any kind of listener base, you have to be ready to release episodes on a regular basis. All in all, podcasting can be fun work, but it’s still work and should be treated as such.
You also shouldn’t expect to get rich from podcasting either. It’s certainly possible to generate income from podcasting, but that usually requires advertisements and sponsorships—both of which you’ll get after you’ve built up a listenership big enough to make it worthwhile to advertisers. If you’re not interested in starting a podcast for the fun of it or to have your voice heard, you might not get much out of it unless you already have an audience.
What You’ll Need
[image error]
You can’t start a podcast without equipment, and good equipment will go a long way. Here’s what you’ll need:
Microphone(s): Any microphone will work for recording your podcast, but listeners can usually tell the difference between low and high quality microphones. If you’re not sure what to look for, our list of the five best desktop microphones is a great place to start (I use four analog Audio-Technica AT2020s for my own podcast). As you shop around, you’ll also need to decide whether you want to use a USB or analog (XLR) microphone. USB mics convert analog sound into digital so you can plug a USB mic directly into any computer and start recording without much hassle, but you could potentially get lower audio quality compared to analog. Considering you don’t need any extra tools or devices to record with a USB mic, they can be a little cheaper in the long run. Analog microphones use XLR connectors, which means you need another device to get your audio onto your computer, but you can get higher audio quality and can use them with other sound equipment (if you had a PA system or wanted to play live music, for example). Of course, if you have a gaming headset or other basic microphone around, you can easily use that too.
Portable XLR Recorder (optional): If you plan on using analog microphones for your podcast, you’ll need something that captures your analog audio and converts it to digital. Portable XLR recorders can capture multiple microphone channels and allow you to do basic sound level adjusting and muting on the fly. Audio files automatically get organized and stored on a memory card that you can insert into a card reader or slot in your computer. These are amazing tools, but they can be expensive. You can find them for anywhere between $100 and $500, depending on how many channels and options you need (I use a $400 Zoom H6 Handy Recorder with four available analog channels).
Audio Interface (optional): If you want to record directly to your computer with your analog microphones, you’ll need an audio interface. These devices allow you to plug in one or more analog microphones and will convert the analog audio to digital. Most audio interfaces will connect to your computer via USB or Firewire. Audio interfaces can cost as little as $30 and go as high as $300, depending on what you need. (You can see why a USB microphone is a cheaper option.)A Computer: Any Windows computer or Mac should work fine to record, edit, and upload your podcast. Thankfully, editing audio doesn’t take a ton of computing power. Additionally, depending on how you choose to record—directly to the computer or onto a dedicated recording device—your computer will also need the right ports. USB microphones, for example, will obviously need an open USB port. If you’re using analog microphones with a portable XLR recorder or audio interface device, you’ll need either a 3.5 mm audio-in jack, a USB port, or in some cases, a Firewire port. So before you spend any money on equipment, make sure you have a computer that can support it.Audio Editing Software: For the actual recording and editing, you’ll need a Digital Audio Workstation (or DAW), there are a lot of good options out there, but the licenses for some of them can cost a pretty penny, though. Licenses for professional level DAWs like Reason or Pro Tools can cost anywhere between $300 and $900. Apps like Hindenburg offer simpler audio editing software for under $100, Reaper is a fully loaded audio production app for $60, and Adobe’s audio editing software Audition CC is available with a $19.99 monthly subscription, but you probably shouldn’t start dumping money into podcasting software if you’re just starting out. Because of that, most people will recommend free open source programs like Audacity when you’re just getting started, and that’s what we’ll use an example throughout this how-to guide.Pop Filters (optional): The clearer your audio can sound, the better. Pop filters, while not required, are fairly cheap and can keep your plosives from making a nasty sound on your recording. If you don’t want to buy any, though, you can make some of your own.
You might be thinking that all this equipment is pretty expensive, and you’re not wrong. However keep in mind that decent audio equipment will last forever if you take care of it. It may be expensive to get started, but after the initial purchase, you’re set.
Step One: Narrow Your Topic and Find Your Niche
Just like blogs, there are a ton of podcasts out there. That means that you can probably find a podcast about everything under the sun already. Don’t get discouraged! While just about every broad topic is already covered, you just have to find your spin on things to make an old idea something new..
For example, if you wanted to make a podcast about music, ask yourself if there’s an audience out there for what you want to talk about. Maybe you narrow your idea down from music in general to bluegrass specifically. Now your coverage is specific: the music, people, and culture of bluegrass. Once you have your topic narrowed down, it helps to add a spin to it. Maybe you talk about bluegrass music and culture while sipping moonshine with your co-hosts. It’s kind of true that everything has been done before, but it hasn’t all been done the way you would do it. So find an angle that’s personally interesting and you’ll be better off.
Step Two: Download, Install, and Set Up Audacity
[image error]
As mentioned earlier, Audacity is a great DAW for podcasting beginners. It’s open source, free to use as long as you like, and is available for Windows, OS X, and Linux. Before you can jump into recording, however, there are a few tricks to getting it all set up properly:
Download Audacity 2.1.3 at audacityteam.org and install it.Connect your microphone and open Audacity.See if your microphone is being recognized by Audacity by checking the drop-down menu next to the small microphone icon. If you see your mic, go ahead and select it.In the top-left corner, you should see the pause, play, stop, skip back, skip forward, and record buttons. Click the record button and talk into your mic to make sure it’s working properly.Stop recording and playback what you just recorded to make sure everything sounds okay.You’ll want to export your audio in the MP3 format later on. In order to do that, you’ll need to download and install the Lame MP3 encoderfor either Windows or Mac.Once that’s installed, close and reopen Audacity. Record yourself talking for a few seconds like before, then go to File, then Export Audio, and select MP3 Files in the ‘Save as type’ dropdown menu. Name your file something simple like “test1” and save it to your desktop.Find the MP3 file on your desktop and try playing it in your MP3 player of choice, just to make sure everything is working properly.
If the audio in your MP3 test file sounds okay, you’re ready to start recording your podcast in Audacity.
Step Three: Record and Edit Your Podcast In Audacity
[image error]
Recording is pretty straightforward in Audacity, but there are a few things you should do before you jump into your first show:
Connect your microphone and make a quick recording the same way as before to check your audio levels.You can adjust your recording volume with the slider right above the drop-down menu where you selected your recording device.When you’ve found a good level, go ahead and remove your recording test by clicking the small X at the top left of the track. You don’t need it anymore.Make sure your recording space is silent and record around 5 seconds of “silence.” This is called room tone and you can use this to cut out things like swearing or even cover up some background noise that happens while you’re recording. You can mute this track for now by clicking the mute toggle button on the left side of the track. You can also minimize it by clicking the arrow at the bottom-left of the track.Go to File, then Save Project As, and choose a name for your project. Keep in mind that this doesn’t export any audio, just saves your progress.
[image error]
Now you’re ready to actually record the main part of your podcast. Just hit the record button and Audacity will start capturing your audio in a new track. When you’re done recording, hit the stop button. It’s as simple as that. Before you continue be sure to save your work. Now it’s time to add music and make any necessary edits:
Go to File, then Import, and then Audio. Locate the music you chose earlier (or your own if you made some), and click Open. The music will get dropped into Audacity as its own separate track.Now find the Selection Tool in the Audacity toolbar. It will look like a typing cursor.Drag the Selection Tool over the section of music you’d like to use for your intro and outro music.With that section of music currently selected, find the Trim Audio button on the Audacity toolbar and click it. You should be left with only the section of music you chose.While that section of music is still selected, find the Copy button on 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 Paste button on the toolbar and click it (or CTRL+V or Command+V). You now have your intro and outro music, but it’s still not quite ready.With the Selection Tool, select one of the music copies. Then go to Effect at the top and choose Fade Out. Do the same for the other music copy, but choose Fade In instead. You’re intro and outro music is now ready to go.
[image error]
If you need to cut something out of your podcast—like swearing if you’re trying to keep clean, or information that shouldn’t be made public—it’s easy to fix:
Find the section of audio that needs to be cut out.Use the Selection Tool to select the entire section that needs to be removed.Find the Cut button on the toolbar and click. Boom, it’s gone. Alternatively, you could also use the Silence button.Now, remember the room tone you recorded earlier? You can copy a section of that and overlap it with the cut out portion so you have a less jarring silence.
With your music ready to go and your necessary edits made, you can now line everything up with the Time Shift Tool (two arrows connected by a thin line). Just slide each piece of audio in its respective track until you’re happy with how all of the audio lines up. You might need to play around with it a little to find the sweet spot.
As powerful as Audacity is, using multiple microphones requires some extra work and money. Why would you want to record with multiple mics? Well it makes it a lot easier to fix someone’s audio, either on the spot by adjusting their mic level or later on if you have multiple audio tracks recording at once.
Even with multiple USB microphones, however, Audacity can only recognize one audio input for recording at a time. The Audacity team does, however, suggest a couple ways to sneak around this limitation:
Windows: For using multiple USB microphones on Windows, you can aggregate them all into a single recording device using software like Voice Meeter (free) or Virtual Audio Cable (trial version supports up to three devices). The audio from each mic will get picked up just fine, but all level adjustments have to be made through the software. In Audacity, you’ll still only see a single recording track to edit.OS X: In OS X 10.7 and later you can set up aggregate devices without any additional software. Check Apple’s official instructions to aggregate devices here.
If you’re using multiple analog microphones, there are two ways you can go about it:
Use an audio interface device or mixer that connects to your computerRecord everything on a portable XLR recorder and upload the files onto your computer
To use analog microphones you’ll need one of those devices anyway, but if you get one that supports multiple microphones, you’re all set.
If your co-host isn’t nearby and you want to use Skype, Google Hangouts, or other internet calling services, it can be tough. Audacity doesn’t support Skype recording directly, but the Audacity team has some ways you might be able to sneak around it for both Windows and Mac. Otherwise, you’ll have to use additional software like MP3 Skype Recorderor Pamela and import the call audio into Audacity the same way you would bring in music or other audio files. Once it’s in Audacity, you can adjust levels and make sure everything sounds okay. As powerful as Audacity is—especially being free—it certainly has it’s limitations, so if you really enjoy podcasting, it could be worth it to spring for a better DAW down the line.
