How to Make a Successful Podcast

How to Start a Podcast

Creating a podcast is a great way to share your message with a specific audience. And fortunately, the process for starting a podcast isn’t too tricky.

Equipment You'll Need to Create a Podcast

You really only need a decent laptop with a built-in microphone and access to the internet. But keep in mind that you may need a higher quality of sound than what your built-in microphone offers. You may need to purchase a USB microphone setup.

You’ll also need recording software. On a PC, you may already have Record It. If you have a Mac, you already have IMovie or GarageBand. These work well for recording podcasts, but Audacity is a free software that you can use as well.

Recording Your Podcast

The technicalities of this process are simple. Click record on your software and start talking. Click stop when you’re done. Save your file.

If you’re using a program other than Audacity, you may have to turn the recording into an mp3 file.

Turn Your Recording Into a Podcast

Now that your recording is complete, you need to turn it into a podcast. You need a media host to store your audio and make it possible for your listeners to listen, download, and subscribe.

Uploading to a place like iTunes isn’t the correct process, even though many people think that’s all you need to do. Instead, sign up with a media hosting service and place your audio files on a website set up on their site or on your own website.

You may get a free website when you sign up for media hosting, and this is good for a hobby podcast. But if you’re more serious, it’s better to have control over your podcast by putting it on your own website.

You can then submit your podcast to different directories so people can find you, listen, and subscribe.

Listeners can subscribe to your show through RSS. List the URL on your webpage to make it easy for them.

Recording Tips

Make your podcast organized and easy to listen to by knowing what you’ll say ahead of time. Write down bullet points, or even a script, but steer clear of reading straight from your notes.

Figure out your sign-off ahead of time. Otherwise, you’ll get to the end of your podcast and flounder for the right words to finish.

Start with about 10 minutes for your first recording, and gradually build up your length if you’d like. Now that you know how to make a podcast the next step is to find a host.

RSS.com provides everything you need to host a podcast. In fact, it’s so easy, you can be up and running in three minutes. You don’t need any technical expertise, and the process is fully customizable.

Looking for more tips? Check out our complete guide on how to start a podcast!