How to Start a Podcast: Your Lightning Fast, No-Sweat 😅 Guide for 2022

In this article, we walk you through every stage in creating your podcast, from planning and recording to publishing and promotion. By the end, you’ll know exactly how to make a podcast, and hopefully, execute it in the quickest, most pain-free way possible.

Give Them a Reason to Listen

Create content that will give listeners something out of when they hit play.

• Provide value to your listeners by providing information that will help someone lose weight, or do an entertaining interview with one of your favorite authors. This will give them a reason to listen and stay tuned for more.

Podcast Websites

If you already have a website for your business or your brand, you can just set up your podcast on it.

• But if you want more control, more tools, your own branding and to own the space where your podcast lives, then you’ll want to create your own website for it.

How to Talk Into a Mic

Focus on talking to a single person

• An avatar is basically your ideal customer/listener
• Creating a persona is up to you how much detail you put in
• Hold a conversation with someone, rather than with yourself or the microphone, so everyone feels like you are talking to them

Script your podcast

The intimate nature of podcasting makes it more suited to being a conversation, as opposed to a sermon.

• Try to wean yourself off a fully scripted show with bullet points of everything you want to cover. This will become easier over time.

Podcasting in Seasons

A “season” represents a block of episodes.

• This means that you can really throw yourself into creating some great content, and then, take a well-deserved rest before going on to tackle the next season.
• Seasons can be themed too, which can make your show accessible and appealing to new listeners.

Conclusion

Launching and growing your own show takes a bit of work, but it’s a fun and rewarding type of work.

• The fact that you’ve looked for a guide like this one shows how seriously you take your creative projects. Now, there’s nothing else to do other than getting started.

How to Record Remote Guests or Co-Hosts

Zoom is a popular option

• A much better option is to opt for a dedicated ‘double-ender’ call recorder
• This means each participant is recorded on their own computer
• Two of the best tools for this are Squadcast and Riverside.fm
• Alitu is another option if you want to keep it simple

Earn Your First Shilling

If you put the work in, stick at it, and consistently deliver great content for your audience, then you’ll eventually be in a position to think about monetizing your podcast.

Recording & Editing Software

There are a few options for this: Audacity, Alitu, and Adobe Audition

• Audacity and Audition have steep learning curves if you’ve never worked with audio before.
• Alitu is the easiest and most user-friendly of the three.

The Solo Show

Also known as the monologue

The Interview Show

‘Borrowing’ the expertise or entertainment value of others

• Benefits
• Talking to your heroes
• Having a chat with someone you’ve always looked up to
• Challenges
• Interviewing is a skill that you’ll need to hone through practice

Alitu

The Simplest, Quickest Option

• Record your episodes right into it and it will take care of the processing, editing, and publishing of your podcast without the need for any editing software
• It’s also got a library of music and jingles now that bypass any need to find your own audio branding

How Long Should a Podcast Episode Be?

Anything from 20 up to 45 minutes seems to be within the “sweet spot” for an episode length.

• Ultimately, episode lengths should be decided by two things: content and audience
• Over time, your listeners will tell you if they think your episodes are too short or too long. Try to survey your audience once a year to gather data like this, and adjust accordingly. Finally, length can actually be a ‘unique’ factor.

What’s the Best Laptop for Podcasting?

The humble laptop fits nicely between the bulky desktop and mobile phone, making it the “best of both worlds”

• Best laptop for podcasting: 8GB of RAM quad processor with a base speed of 2.6GHz

Recording Equipment

All you need to record a podcast is a computer with a USB microphone and access to the internet.

• The more limited and lower cost your setup and equipment, the more limited the sound quality of your show will be.
• Use a combination of inexpensive USB microphones and premium quality audio equipment.

How Often Should I Release New Episodes?

The best schedule is normally the most frequent one that you can stick to

• If you can only manage once a month, that’s fine – if you can manage every 2 weeks, even better
• You’ll have a bigger impact if you put out one excellent episode a month instead of a very average episode every week

Do I Need an Audience to Start a Podcast?

If you already have an audience built around something other than your podcast, this could be a good opportunity for laying the foundations of the show’s fanbase.

• During the planning stages, you may opt to survey your audience to find out more about them.

Submitting to Directories

Create your show inside your media host of choice, then submit it to various directories

The Co-Hosted Show

Presenting alongside a friend or colleague

• Benefits: A great way around the’mic fright’ of recording alone
• Challenges: Not only do you need to set aside time to record, but that time must also be suitable for your co-host
• Ownership: There’s also the question of ownership

Podcast Hosting Platforms

Media or Podcast hosts are services that store your audio and allow your listeners to listen, download, and subscribe to your podcast.

• Do not upload your podcast to places like iTunes, as that is not how it is done with a media host.

Finding Music for Your Podcast

Many podcasters stick some music at the beginning and end of the show to add an extra layer of professionalism

• However, don’t leave music on for longer than 10 seconds.
• This can start to grate and train the audience to hit the skip button

Other Formats

Roundtable

• One regular host and a number of guests, talking through one topic

Get Your First 100 Listeners (and Beyond)

Free Personalised Podcast Planner

Choose good episode titles

Searchable, descriptive titles that give listeners a reason to click on the episode

• The added benefit of descriptive episode titles is that they’ll show up in search in most listening apps
• If someone types in a “how to” question on your topic and you have an episode on it, then there’s a much better chance of them finding your show

Did You Know?

Your podcast’s description (also known as a show summary) is THE most important thing potential new listeners will judge your show on.

Editing & Production

There are a few processes to learn which can enhance the sound of your audio: Noise Reduction, EQ, Compression, etc.

Podcast Cover Art

Have attractive cover art that stands out

• Ideally, the artwork should be 1400 x 1400 pixels, in JPG form, and under 500kb in size
• The benefit of working with a designer is that they can help you to encapsulate your branding

How to Be a Good Podcast Host

A good host needs to be curious, genuine, relatable, and a cohesive storyteller.

How to Start a Podcast on Your Phone

Your smartphone can handle every part of the podcasting process.

• This comes in especially handy if you’re at an event or conference, or if you just so happen to bump into your dream interviewee whilst down the off-license buying 8 cans of Kestrel Super.

Outsourcing: The Hands-Free Option

It can take a bit of time to become comfortable using Audacity, and time is something a lot of folks lack. If you’re prepared to spend some money to save time, you can always outsource your editing and hire someone else to do it.

What If I Have No Audience?

Potential new listeners don’t care if they’ve never heard of you.

• In fact, it’s the least important factor they will consider when weighing up whether or not to hit play.

Who is Your Podcast For?

Know exactly who you are making your show for, and why you are doing it.

• A lot of smart people talk about creating listener personas or avatars. It’s a good idea to sketch out exactly who it is that you would like to listen to your content.

Using Your Own Name

Unless you have an audience, this is a no-no unless you’ve already got an audience

Why Are You Making a Podcast?

Unless you answer the question of “why?” then you won’t be best positioned to design content that’ll match your ambitions and objectives

• This is you building the foundations of your metaphorical house, so it’s definitely worth a little extra thought (and work) to get it right!

Want this Guide to Take Away?

There are a couple of ways to get this guide offline

The Clever Name

People need to be able to find it when they’re searching for information about your topic.

• If you have a clever/catchy name, also include a description into the title (e.g. “The Uncommon Leader’s Guide”).

Join The Podcast Host Academy for Live Coaching, In-Depth Courses & Resources

The core of the Academy is our weekly live Q&A support sessions, where you can get all your questions answered by one of our team, and talk to others in the community.

• Start with our Podcast Launch video course, which takes you through every single step of making your show live.

Audacity

The free option

How to Make a Daily Podcast

You can’t do a one-hour daily show, but who has the time to listen to that, let alone make it?

• With Pocket-Sized Podcasting, we batch all of the work. Scripting, recording, editing, production, and publishing an entire week takes about 3 hours.

Edit Your Podcast

Typically, it’ll be the same place where you recorded your podcast.

The Descriptive Name

Simply call your podcast what your target audience is searching for.

What Music Can I Use Safely?

Many websites have music you can legally use on your podcast.

• This type of music will usually be referred to as royalty-free, stock, or library music.
• Check the source site and make sure you have permission to use a particular piece of music.

Source