If you are looking for a guide to walk you through how to start a podcast , you are in the right place…
Starting a podcast isn’t difficult , but there are a number of steps you’ll need to follow in order to launch it.
In this podcasting tutorial, we’ll walk you through each step of the process:
- Choose a theme and a name
- The format of the show and the episode
- Cover art creation
- Intro and outro music
- team selection
- Audio recording and editing
- Submission to (iTunesApple Podcasts)
- Promotion Tips
And much more…
Bonus: Free 10-Day “How to Start a Podcast” Email Course
Just click the link and enter your email to get your first lesson:
Just some of the things you will learn:
- What is the podcast about?
- The equipment you will need
- How to record and edit
- How to promote your podcast
Get started today!
Podcasting is a much less crowded and competitive space than blogging, so now is the perfect time to get started.
By May 2023 there will be just over 2 million podcasts, but over 600 million blogs!
In case you’re wondering, I’ve helped thousands of people start a podcast over the past few years and have started a few shows in different industries myself.
Looking to start a podcast quickly? Sign up to Buzzsprout , upload your audio files and send them to Apple and Spotify.
Let us begin:
Planning
This is the initial (often overlooked) stage of making a podcast. You’ll want to spend a fair amount of time here before moving on.
Feel free to pull out a notebook or whiteboard so you can start planning your podcast like a pro.
Select a topic
You want your podcast to focus on a particular topic or niche.
Try to narrow it down to something you can talk about for many episodes (100+) but not so broad that it doesn’t appeal to your potential audience.
For example, instead of having an “outdoors” podcast, talk about hiking – or even more specific, like hiking 14ers .
You can always expand your theme later as you become more popular.
Important : See the section on choosing a name to make sure you don’t limit yourself.
Choose a co-presenter (optional)
Do you have a friend, partner or co-worker you want to co-host with?
It can be much easier to start podcasting if you have a co-host.
You will naturally have a more interesting conversation if you both share your views on a topic. It can also be helpful to have someone to keep things in order.
Plus, you can split up the additional tasks of editing, promoting, and more.
However, there may be downsides.
It is important that you both commit to the long term. And it’s helpful to set a schedule early on so you know when you’re going to record each week.
Although there are no rules here. If your co-host leaves, you could continue the podcast without them. Or you could go solo and add a co-host later.
The important thing is to start… so let’s choose a name:
choose a name
If you look at the charts above Apple Podcasts , you’ll see a variety of different names.
Some are descriptive of what the show is about, while others don’t mean much.
I’m actually going to apparently contradict what I said earlier: You want to choose a name that is broader than your theme.
Using the hiking example from earlier, if we choose “The Cast of 14” as the name, what happens when we want to talk about backpacking and ultralight camping as well?
Instead, choose a name that allows you to expand if you decide to do so later. Maybe “Mountain Adventures (Above and Below 14K Feet)” would work as it hints at 14 year old hikers but gives you the option to talk about all sorts of things if you want.
It just occurred to me as I was writing this, I’m sure you could do better!
Action Step: Purchase a domain name – opens in a new tab – for your podcast.
Another option is to get a free domain name with a Bluehost web hosting plan . You can search right here on this page – give it a try!
exhibition format
Length
You will find that various “experts” claim that certain lengths are perfect for podcasts. The problem is that this is nonsense.
You don’t need a 28 minute podcast because that’s the average drive time. Or less than an hour because people can’t pay attention any longer.
There are 5 minute and 6 hour podcasts. Find whatever works for you and run with it!
What I would try to avoid is making it longer than necessary because you went off topic for 15 minutes.
Here’s a great image of Pop Up Podcasting showing “easy, good or long – pick two”:
Style
Talk shows are popular, but that doesn’t mean you have to do one.
You can do solo (or co-host) shows half the time and talk shows the other half.
One big benefit of doing interviews is that they go a long way in getting new listeners, especially if you make it easy for your guest to share with pre-written templates and graphics.
Episode format
So what does a specific episode sound like? I wrote this post about podcast intros , but it has a ton of examples of different episode formats for popular podcasts.
Here’s an example:
- Teaser
- intro music
- Welcome
- Commercial
- Interview
- Call to action (“Review us on iTunes!”)
- Music Other
Get creative with this part.
The different segments make it easy to share small clips on social media too.
But remember that for every episode you post, you will have both repeat listeners and new listeners, so you should try to talk to both.
Preparation
Now that you’ve written your theme, format(s), and secured a domain name, we’ll need to prepare a few things before launch…
Create cover art
Your cover art is the first impression most people will see when browsing Apple Podcasts, their favorite podcast app.
It can also be the image someone sees when you share your show on social media.
Buzzsprout has written an excellent article on cover design, so I’d definitely start there.
If you have a bit of a budget, I recommend 99 designs to create your own .
You will have hundreds of different designers to produce a draft, and then you can choose the ones you like to make them more refined.
Get a professional introduction (Optional)
Music Radio Creative is the best place to get professional quality voiceovers and intros.
Being introduced to you by a third person only increases your perceived value, which is a great way to stand out when starting a podcast.
Choose the intro music
I’m a big fan of PremiumBeat for music from podcasts.
It’s easy to search, you get a full license, and they have a ton of different styles.
Check out this post on royalty-free music for more options.
Most people don’t need an unlimited subscription music service, just one or two songs.
get a microphone
Audio quality is important, but it doesn’t have to cost a lot to get a good quality microphone for podcasting . One of the most popular microphones for podcasting is the Audio-Technica ATR2100x-USB .
It is both a USB microphone and has an XLR connection that allows you to upgrade your recording equipment without the need for a new microphone.
I recommend taking a look at our podcast starter kit post for more options here, especially if you plan on having a co-host or two.
Podcast guests
If you’re doing a talk show, now is the time to make a list of who you want on your podcast.
Then start approaching them.
It can be helpful to use a service like Acuity Scheduling so people can book right into your calendar when it’s convenient for you.
This saves the headache of going back and forth working on meeting time – and means you can focus on getting more guests!
Also, you can ask them for certain information like their Skype username or an introduction that you can read when they schedule with you.
To record your interviews when you’re not in person (or if your co-host isn’t recording in the same room with you) I use and recommend Iris .
recording and editing
Alitu (The Easy Way)
If you haven’t used editing software before, even simple actions in GarageBand or Audacity can be quite intimidating.
It’s understandable: audio production is completely full of jargon!
If that’s the case, then Alitu might be the way to go .
It’s a podcasting tool that automates a lot of the confusing technical parts, practically building your episode for you. It’s all based inside your browser, so there’s no software to download, and it works on any computer connected to the Internet.
It is built to be super simple to use and does just about everything:
- It takes care of cleaning the audio
- Allows you to add music
- Helps you put your audio segments together
- It has the direct publication of its episodes.
All you have to do is upload your recordings, and use the foolproof podcast-specific editor to remove any big bugs. Alitu does the rest!
Even better, Alitu includes a library of music and jingles that you can use as your theme song, or as transitions between segments.
Whether you’re a complete beginner, or a seasoned podcaster looking to drastically reduce production time, you should definitely give Alitu a try. It comes with a 7-day free trial, so sign up here and give it a try!
GarageBand (Free Option)
I’m going to show you how to use GarageBand for recording and editing.
Other audio editing programs are similar, but most have more advanced features that you don’t need to get started. The most popular options are Adobe Audition and Audacity (both work with Mac and PC).
You can also check out our full post on podcast editing software .
create a template
Before you start, it will be much easier if you create a template that you can reuse each time you record a podcast episode.
Which means you’ll have your intro and outro music already placed, space for commercials, as well as your tracks for your voice or an interviewee.
Keep in mind that this will look different depending on your episode format – create a podcast template that works for you. Here’s one I use:
I just open the template, click File -> Save As, and save the file as my episode name (ie 008-episode-8-title).
This will also keep any effects you have applied to the tracks, including compression, EQ, or whatever. I’ll show you the settings I use in the editing section below.
Record your first episode (or 3)
Solo
If you’re just recording a solo episode or want to record an intro to an interview you did, just select the track you want to record on (see the selected light gray podcast audio track above) and click the red Record button above:
multiple hosts
If you have multiple hosts, you will need to click Track -> Configure Track Header and check Record Enable.
This will give you the option to record-enable multiple tracks at once, and you’ll see the record-enable button on each track:
You’ll click that button on each track you want to record, and then click the big record button at the top. Quite easy!
remote interview
Many people use Skype to record interviews remotely and the easiest way to record audio (or video) is with Ecamm call recorder for Skype (Mac only) or Pamela (Windows).
If you want better audio quality than Skype or Zoom allows, or a way to have individual audio files for more than 2 people, services like Iris are great. They are designed for remote recording and podcast interviews.
When you’re done recording, you’ll have two separate tracks that you’ll layer on top of each other like so:
This also shows another template that you can use. The Podcast audio track is only used for solo shows, and the interview tracks are only used for talk shows.
edit your episode
There are a couple things you can easily set up once (and save to your template) that will make your podcast (and your voice) sound so much better.
Keep in mind that everyone’s voice is different, so there are no perfectly universal settings, but these can give you a good starting point:
- Select the track you want to work with (start with your voice)
- Click an empty space in the Plug-ins box
- Add compression by going to Dynamics -> Compressor:
- I use these settings (sometimes I add more gain):Play around with them and click the power button next to the compressor plug for easy comparison.
- Next we are going to add EQ (under EQ -> Channel EQ).
- Here are my settings:
- 100 Hz: 24dB/Oct roll off, Q: 0.79
- 160 Hz: -2,5dB, Q: 2,20
- 500 Hz: -1.0dB, Q: 0.71
- 930 Hz: -0,5dB, Q: 3,20
- 3400 Hz: +0.5dB, Q: 0.71
- 5400 Hz: +2,5dB, Q: 0,71
I won’t go into what that all means, but if you only do one, the bottom (left) roll-off will be a good start.
Or you can download my Podcast Vocal EQ settings here (.pst file on Dropbox).
The last step I would recommend is to go to Auphonic to apply some normalization for loudness (LUFS), leveling, and filtering. It will also automatically add ID3 tags if you need them.
Launch!
Get a podcast host
I use and highly recommend Buzzsprout podcast hosting having tried many different companies over the years.
Plus, you’ll get a $20 Amazon gift card after you sign up for a paid plan.
Feel free to check out our comprehensive podcast hosting guide if you want to see other options, but another great option for bigger brands is Transistor .
You can also check out this list of the best podcast platforms .
Once you have signed up, you will have to fill in some necessary information about your podcast (name, description, categories, etc.).
Upload your first episode
If you use Buzzsprout this process is super simple.
If not, you may have to get into things like embedding ID3 tags in your MP3. It sounds confusing and unnecessary, let’s not do that.
Just click the “Upload” button:
and they will apply some magical processing to your mp3 file.
Then you will have to fill in the episode title, description, summary, publication date, and episode number.
If you want to use Seasons, put a “1” there, if not, leave it blank. If you use a lot of profanity, check the explicit box.
It might be useful to create a template for the episode description (in a separate text document) to reuse for each episode – I use something like this:
Click Save and repeat this step for the initial posting of the episodes.
It is recommended to launch a podcast with more than 1 episode so people don’t have to wait to hear more.
3-5 episodes is a good number to start with.
Send To (iTunesApple Podcasts)
I have a separate guide on how to submit your podcast to iTunes , but within Buzzsprout of it you just have to click Apple Podcasts on the Directories tab and follow the steps they’ve put together.
After that, grab your podcast ‘s RSS feed and submit it to other podcast directories as well .
As you upload new episodes, your host will automatically update your RSS feed, and any podcast directory you appear in will also be updated with your new episode.
spread the word
Use the lBuzzsprouta social sharing feature to generate test videos and start sharing!
Buzzsproutel built-in soundbite video maker.
There are other companies that will help you generate different styles of audiograms, but having it built into your host makes it really easy to create (and won’t cost you anything extra).
Wavve and Headliner are two great options if you want to create more personalized podcast videos to share.
Check out this article on podcast promotion for a bunch of other marketing tactics. One of the most impactful is building your own website (see the next step below).
Recommended Steps (After starting a podcast)
Your job is not done once you start a podcast. Here are my recommendations to help make your program more attractive and easier to grow:
create a website
WordPress (Easy to Medium Difficulty)
Podcast hosting companies usually give you a website, but if you want to be taken seriously, get yourself a separate WordPress host.
For beginners, Bluehost is easily the best option (plus you’ll get a free domain name for the first year).
If you need a little more guidance, start with this how to start a WordPress blog post for the initial steps.
Podcastpage (Easier method)
Podcastpage is an all-in-one website builder and hosting made specifically for podcasts. Kind of like Wix but designed for the needs of podcasters.
No need to code. You just have to choose one of their themes, customize it to your liking and optionally integrate email marketing or Google Analytics.
You can add pages or blog posts, customize your audio player and make it easy for your visitors to subscribe.
It works with any podcast hosting provider and the price is fair, starting at $80/year or $8/month.