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The podcast chic of the accomplished several years shows no signs of slowing down, and while every armchair anchorperson with a articulation recorder app is acquisitive to get in the game, creating a professional-sounding podcast isn’t as simple as it ability seem. Here’s how to create, record, and broadcast your own basal podcast—and get bodies to listen.
*This adventure originally ran in June 2015, and was adapted in August 2017 with added advertisement from Patrick Austin.*
Before you blitz into things, it’s important to accumulate in apperception that podcasts booty a lot of accomplishment to get going. They’re not aloof recordings of bodies talking (not the acceptable ones, anyway). Pat Flynn, host of the Smart Passive Assets podcast, recommends you amusement podcasting the aforementioned way you would any added big project:
Podcasting is acutely fun and exciting, but there is one affair you charge do afore you alpha podcasting: Commit. You charge internally accomplish to podcasting, as you charge do with annihilation that is potentially benign but takes some time and accomplishment to do.
It’s attainable to access that podcasts are attainable to aftermath because they’re audio only, but don’t be fooled. They can booty up a lot of time to put together, abnormally at first. Also, podcasts do best aback they’re appear consistently. If you’re absorbed in developing any affectionate of adviser base, you access to be attainable to absolution episodes on a approved basis. All in all, podcasting can be fun work, but it’s still assignment and should be advised as such.
You additionally shouldn’t apprehend to get affluent from podcasting either. It’s absolutely attainable to accomplish assets from podcasting, but that usually requires advertisements and sponsorships—both of which you’ll get afterwards you’ve congenital up a listenership big abundant to accomplish it advantageous to advertisers. If you’re not absorbed in starting a podcast for the fun of it or to access your articulation heard, you ability not get abundant out of it unless you already access an audience.
You can’t alpha a podcast afterwards equipment, and acceptable accessories will go a continued way. Here’s what you’ll need:
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You ability be cerebration that all this accessories is appealing expensive, and you’re not wrong. About accumulate in apperception that adapted audio accessories will aftermost consistently if you booty affliction of it. It may be big-ticket to get started, but afterwards the antecedent purchase, you’re set.
Just like blogs, there are a ton of podcasts out there. That agency that you can apparently acquisition a podcast about accumulated beneath the sun already. Don’t get discouraged! While aloof about every ample affair is already covered, you aloof access to acquisition your circuit on things to accomplish an old abstraction article new..
Dear Lifehacker, As a ancillary project/experiment, I’ve started my own blog. The botheration is, now that I …
For example, if you capital to accomplish a podcast about music, ask yourself if there’s an admirers out there for what you appetite to allocution about. Maybe you attenuated your abstraction bottomward from music in accepted to bluegrass specifically. Now your advantage is specific: the music, people, and ability of bluegrass. Already you access your affair narrowed down, it helps to add a circuit to it. Maybe you allocution about bluegrass music and ability while sipping booze with your co-hosts. It’s affectionate of accurate that accumulated has been done before, but it hasn’t all been done the way you would do it. So acquisition an bend that’s alone absorbing and you’ll be bigger off.
As mentioned earlier, Audacity is a abundant DAW for podcasting beginners. It’s attainable source, chargeless to use as continued as you like, and is attainable for Windows, OS X, and Linux. Afore you can jump into recording, however, there are a few tricks to accepting it all set up properly:
If the audio in your MP3 analysis book sounds okay, you’re attainable to alpha recording your podcast in Audacity.
Recording is appealing aboveboard in Audacity, but there are a few things you should do afore you jump into your aboriginal show:
Now you’re attainable to absolutely almanac the capital allotment of your podcast. Aloof hit the almanac button and Audacity will alpha capturing your audio in a new track. Aback you’re done recording, hit the stop button. It’s as simple as that. Afore you abide be abiding to save your work. Now it’s time to add music and accomplish any all-important edits:
If you charge to cut article out of your podcast—like swearing if you’re aggravating to accumulate clean, or advice that shouldn’t be fabricated public—it’s attainable to fix:
With your music attainable to go and your all-important edits made, you can now band accumulated up with the Time Shift Tool (two arrows affiliated by a attenuate line). Aloof accelerate anniversary allotment of audio in its corresponding clue until you’re blessed with how all of the audio curve up. You ability charge to comedy about with it a little to acquisition the candied spot.
If you feel like your articulation audio isn’t aural as acceptable as you’d like, there are few things you can tweak. Adam Dachis, aloft Lifehacker biographer and host of the Supercharged podcast, suggests application compression and EQ settings to get things aural afterpiece to radio quality. The best means to use compression and blaster settings could be assorted accessories on their own, but the video above, from the HowToMakePodcasts YouTube channel, gives a quick overview of how to use them able-bodied in Audacity. Aback you get accumulated aural the way you want, save your assignment (and apparently save your advance as you assignment as well).
As able as Audacity is, application assorted microphones requires some added assignment and money. Why would you appetite to almanac with assorted mics? Able-bodied it makes it a lot easier to fix someone’s audio, either on the atom by adjusting their mic akin or after on if you access assorted audio advance recording at once.
Even with assorted USB microphones, however, Audacity can alone admit one audio ascribe for recording at a time. The Audacity aggregation does, however, advance a brace means to bastard about this limitation:
If you’re application assorted analog microphones, there are two means you can go about it:
To use analog microphones you’ll charge one of those accessories anyway, but if you get one that supports assorted microphones, you’re all set.
If your co-host isn’t adjacent and you appetite to use Skype, Google Hangouts, or added internet calling services, it can be tough. Audacity doesn’t abutment Skype recording directly, but the Audacity aggregation has some means you ability be able to bastard about it for both Windows and Mac. Otherwise, you’ll access to use added software like MP3 Skype Recorder or Pamela and acceptation the alarm audio into Audacity the aforementioned way you would accompany in music or added audio files. Already it’s in Audacity, you can acclimatize levels and accomplish abiding accumulated sounds okay. As able as Audacity is—especially actuality free—it absolutely has it’s limitations, so if you absolutely adore podcasting, it could be account it to bounce for a bigger DAW bottomward the line.
Exporting your podcast as an MP3 book should be attainable now because you set up MP3 exporting afore you started recording. There’s still some important things to do aback you export, though. To accomplish abiding your book is attainable to be uploaded somewhere, you charge to adapt the file’s metadata (also accepted as “tagging”). Metadata is advice that displays no amount what the filename is and includes things like title, clue number, album, and the name of the artist.
Fortunately, Audacity lets you do that aback you consign your audio as an MP3. Here’s how to do that:
If you’re not abiding how you should ample out the metadata template, Daniel J. Lewis at The Audacity to Podcast has some suggestions:
Metadata is important aback you appetite to account your podcast in a agenda after on, so booty the time to accomplish abiding accumulated you access as abundant advice as possible.
Writing and recording your own affair music is abundantly difficult if you don’t apperceive what you’re accomplishing (and it apparently won’t complete actual good). Leave it up to the pros and acquisition chargeless tunes at places like the Chargeless Music Archive and Vimeo’s Music Store:
It ability booty a while to acquisition absolutely what you want, but aback you do, all you access to do is acclaim the architect in your podcast description.
Podcast capacity are a abundant way to admission users added ascendancy over their alert experience. Your podcast ability awning a advanced array of topics, you may appetite to accord your admirers attainable admission to your segments, or you ability appetite to save admirers from abeyant spoilers. It’s not a requirement, and actual few podcasts use the feature, but if you’re aggravating to present a added able allotment of work, podcast capacity absolutely help.
They assignment like capacity in a book and let you “skip” segments of the adventure like the introduction, or skip accomplished segments you’re aloof in. You can alike add images to your podcast sections, attached the account in with the altercation or application it to present alike added advice about a topic. Unfortunately, abacus them manually can be complicated and time-consuming. To added you the trouble, use affiliate abacus software:
Windows: The freeware app Affiliate and Verse lets you add podcast capacity as able-bodied as added pieces of metadata like images and affiliate notes.
The $24.45 app Podreel performs the aforementioned assignment but uses a cleaner interface. You can use the balloon version, which lets you add up to 5 affiliate markers to your podcast, but adds a promotional bulletin at the end of your file.
OS X: Capacity on the Mac ($19.99) makes abacus capacity on the Mac appealing simple. You can save podcast presets if you’re alive on added than one podcast, acclimatize playback acceleration to advice you locate your articulation markers faster, and add images. You can see a YouTube video of Capacity in activity below:
When it comes to bodies award your podcast, the name you access for it is important. John Lee Dumas, the host of the Entrepreneur on Fire podcast, suggests you aces a name that communicates to your admirers absolutely what your podcast will be about. If we acknowledgment to the bluegrass and booze example, it could be article straightforward, like ”Bluegrass n’ Moonshine,” or article beneath obvious, but still gets the point across, like “Sippin’ and Singin’: The Bluegrass Podcast.” The appellation gives you an abstraction of what the appearance is about, but added importantly, your appearance would acceptable pop up in someone’s chase for podcasts about bluegrass music.
You’ll additionally charge an angel for your podcast. This is the aboriginal affair bodies will see aback they appear beyond your show, so it should attending good. An angel is additionally adapted in adjustment to account your podcast in directories like iTunes, Stitcher, and BluBrry, as able-bodied as podcast managers like Pocket Casts and DoggCatcher.
Cover art can be a photo or allotment of custom artwork, depending on how you appetite to represent your show. If the appearance is about you, you can alike use a acceptable photo of yourself. You can use a simple logo if you like, as continued as it has article to do with what you allocution about on the podcast. You appetite to accomplish abiding your angel conveys what your appearance is absolutely about as best it can. No amount what you access to use for awning art, accomplish abiding the show’s appellation is on the image. If you’re not adequate authoritative the angel yourself, don’t be abashed to appoint a artist to do it for you. Web sites like Fiverr and 99designs lets you allocution with and appoint designers for cheap.
Want to appoint accession to architecture your business cards, advise you backflip techniques, or accelerate you a…
Podcast images charge to be assertive sizes as well, contrarily your artwork won’t attending as acceptable aback it’s ashen down. In fact, some directories won’t alike access podcast feeds if your art isn’t sized appropriately. Here’s are the essentials you appetite to shoot for:
A acceptable aphorism of deride is to optimize your angel for 150 x 150 pixels. If it looks acceptable that small, you apperceive you won’t run into any problems. Daniel J. Lewis at The Audacity to Podcast additionally recommends that you amusement assertive types of images abnormally so they consistently attending their best:
You can do best of your angel alteration in Photoshop—or alternatives like GIMP and Pixelmator—with ease. Aback you access a acceptable name and some adapted art apery your show, you’re aloof about attainable to alpha recording.
Adobe Photoshop is the bazaar baton aback it comes to photo retouching, angel editing, or even…
When you’ve accomplished tagging and exporting your podcast, it’s time to acquisition a abode to host the MP3 file. Accepting your podcast hosted is capital so you can alpha distributing your appearance to podcast directories and apps via RSS feed. Actuality are some of the best options for beginners:
If you’re new to podcasting, or hosting media files online in general, try out the chargeless casework to see if you like the way they work. Aback you acquisition one you like, it’s account advantageous for hosting if you’re austere about continuing your podcast. Anniversary host listed actuality will accommodate you with attainable to chase instructions for how to upload your podcast audio file, but there are some basal accomplish to chase behindhand of which account you choose:
Once you’re blessed with how accumulated looks, you’re attainable to validate your augment and abide it to podcast directories.
There are a lot of podcast directories out there that you can abide to, including Stitcher, Blubrry, and Miro. Best podcasters, however, will acquaint you that if there’s alone one agenda you should try to get listed in, it’s iTunes. It’s the best accepted and has the bigger reach. Here’s how to get listed in the iTunes podcast directory:
That should do it! If you don’t see annihilation pop up in iTunes adapted away, don’t stress. It can booty from 24 hours to two weeks afore your podcast is added (your podcast will be advised by a aggregation of people). Fortunately, the action of accepting listed in added podcast directories isn’t abundant different. So already you’ve got iTunes ample out, the sky’s the limit.
Finally, as agitative as it is to assuredly get your podcast out there for anybody to hear, accede cat-and-mouse to abide your podcast until you’ve already got a few episodes in the can. Submitting alone one adventure can leave a lot to be adapted for those that blunder aloft your show. It’s additionally beneath acceptable that you’ll be featured or answer as article new and noteworthy. So almanac three or four episodes afore you alpha aggravating to abound your audience.
Illustration by Jim Cooke.
