Disclaimer: This is Not Necessarily the Right Way, It’s My Way. Also was written in 2018… but I just had someone reach out to me for info, so I thought it would be a good idea to post here. Another quick note that that there may be some affiliate links here, but they are all products or services I use or used.
I didn’t really know what I was doing when I started my podcast. But I piecemealed together a process. Here’s the steps I took to start my podcast, NoVA Weekend Warriors. Hope this information assists those of you getting started with podcasting!
Listened to Massage Business Blueprint Podcast about Podcasts: e146 How to Start a Podcast for your Massage Business (this is a podcast for Massage Therapist but this episode is how to set up a podcast). This is what I listened to first and it really translates for anyone that wants to start a podcast quickly and easily with little cost. Signed up for Pat Flynn’s 3 part series on How to Start a Podcast. Ignore the “Garage Band” parts of you are a PC. I did the free 3 day mini-class that was free. That might be a cheat sheet now. You don’t need to pay for the Power Up Podcast class, at least to start. Especially if your goals are not to monetize immediately. *If you are a PC watch the Audacity Tutorial afterwards, listed below.
Watched Audacity Tutorials (this is what you can use if you are a PC to add music before and after, edit out ums and filler words, etc). If you are using a Mac you’ll use garage band most likely, which I have no idea about but is addressed in the 3 part series on starting a podcast above. • Audacity Overview & Tutorial • Fixing if parts are too loud or too soft
Hardware/Software I use I sarted using my old beat up Acer tablet or an older Mac.
Artwork I made my cover art in Canva. Something that is easily read and viewed when the Square is small. Large letters, one background pic that isn’t too busy is probably best. Mic
I started with the ATR2100 mic, pop filter and boom arm now...but I used earbuds to start with and they were totally fine. he ATR mic broke after a couple of years (mainly because I was carrying it around in a backpack often).
I then upgraded to Rode NT mic but honestly, there were times I still used my earbuds. Sound quality is definitely better with the Rode, but not terrible otherwise. And most guests were remote, talking to me using their earbuds anyway. Headphones I have old Sony headphones that look cool but are garbage or I use earbuds. To Record I use Zoom meetings to record when I have a guest and/or if I want video. Otherwise I record directly into Audacity. Music I bought business licensed music for intro/exit on TuneFruit but I’m pretty sure you can find websites that offer free business licensed music. Also, I love the idea of partnering with a local musician. But at the time I was lazy and found one I liked so I forked over the $50 for peace of mind. I also used the discount code NEW20TUNE for 20% off. Podcast Hosting Site I use Spreaker as my podcast hosting site. It’s free for up to 5 Hours of content. Since weekly I’m only using 25 minutes, this should give me 3 months free. After that, the plans are as low as $5.99 a month (at least they were in 2018). I saw an article though recently that other hosts might get you better visibility, but for me cheaper is better. Getting it out there You only need to connect to Stitcher and iTunes once (free) using your RSS feed from Spreaker (or another host), then they will auto update from that point on. How to do that is in the 3 day mini class or if you forget, like I did, you just google it. 😊 also upload it to TuneIn if you want people with Echo/Alexa to be able to listen through their Echo. Search for more current articles
Technology and best practices change often. But also keep in mind, you don’t need to spend a lot to get started. You can even just record right into you voice memos to start and upload. Don’t overthink it!
In Conclusion
So this is not the best way, this is just my way. My sound is sometimes not the best, I hit the mic, etc. But you can hear the end result of all of this on my podcast NoVA Weekend Warriors and see if you think this way is ok for you…. NoVa Weekend Warriors available on iTunes, Stitcher or on my website.
Happy Podcasting! Meg