How to Start a Podcast
WHAT’S YOUR PODCAST CONCEPT?
Why are you creating a podcast? This is a really important question you need to answer before you get ahead of yourself. Podcasts are a phenomenal marketing tool for personal and business brands. Having a podcast is fun, but managing and maintaining a podcast is HARD WORD, so it’s best that you can clearly outline a monetization strategy upfront to make the time commitment worth your while. The best use of a podcast is as a way to connect with prospective clients for your existing business. A few things you should get clear on before you start:
What are you selling?
Who are you selling to?
What questions or problems do they have that you could answer or solve on your podcast?
How will the episodes serve as a bridge between the prospective client, you, and your services?
IRONING OUT THE DETAILS
This is the nitty gritty. All the things you need to decide on to make your podcast go. Spend a considerable amount of time ironing out these details. The clearer you can be when you start, the better. There will be tons more confusing details you’ll need to decide on down the line.
Podcast Name
Get creative, but don’t get too creative. People should get a sense of what your show is about by the show name and tagline. (Pro Tip: research your name before you finalize it to make sure there isn’t already another show with that name or you are not infringing on any trademarks”)
Tagline
This can be a catchy phrase or a few words that describe the essence of your show. This is optional, but highly recommended.
Format
You’ll need to figure out if it will be an interview, freestyle, or scripted podcast. Do you want to have a cohost, co-host(s), or solo podcast? What genre will you fall in (e.g. relationships, history, audio drama, etc.)?
Target Length of Episode
This is truly an art form and a nexus between how long you can actually talk about a given topic without rambling too much and how long your listener will be able to pay attention without getting bored.
Design your Cover Art
I design all of my own on cover and episode art on Canva using their Instagram square template. You can change this at any time, so it doesn’t have to be perfect the first time around. I personally rebranded several times during season 1 of my first podcast, it wasn’t until after season 1 ended that I landed on a design that I loved.
HOW WILL YOU RECORD?
Video and Audio vs. Audio Only
Unless you have existing video capabilities, I recommended just focusing on audio to start. We can talk about microphones for days, but my pro tip is to get one you feel comfortable with. I personally like having a headset so I can be handsfree, although it doesn’t look the greatest on video. A ton of people also use the Blue Yeti mic, I had one and really liked it. I plan on purchasing that one again to have as my backup mic. Tech fails, so be prepared.
Computer vs. Phone
You can use your phone or computer to record high quality audio. I use Audacity (free) to record and edit my show on my PC. You can use Garageband on Macs. You can use voice memo app on the iPhone. I’m not too sure about Androids, but I think there’s an equivalent. You can also download voice recording apps from the app store.
In person vs. Virtual
I highly recommend doing as much in person as possible, but know that’s not always possible. With virtual recording, know that the internet is not 100% reliable and can impact your audio quality. I record my virtual interviews on Zoom - it has video capability, but I just use the audio files. There are both paid and free memberships for Zoom. I do know a few podcasters that prefer to use Squadcast instead of Zoom.