Do you listen to podcasts regularly? Are podcasts something you love more than most things?
Even otherwise nearly 20% of the US adult population listen to podcasts.
Commuting is when most people listen to podcasts.
And people who use phones to listen to podcasts is registering 10 percent growth.
Podcasting is fairly new which means lot of people are exploring it. This gives opportunities for growth that are non-existent in more traditional forms of blogging. Podcasting is something that has multi tasking baked in. You can listen to podcasts and at the same time cook or drive too.
There are many advantages to starting a podcast. You get access to a new audience and it takes less time to create an amazing podcast.
How to get started- tools you need
A quality podcast needs good tools so that you can edit and mix properly. The voice is everything and the recording gear should record audio in high quality.
Invest in good tools to record quality podcasts and people will like it.
Audio quality is decidedly a function of the mic you splurge on. The mic’s quality determines the voice’s sharpness.
For podcasting you cannot simply compromise on audio quality.
USB microphones are relatively in expensive and they are generally front firing meaning thy pick up your sound and reject any ambient noise. Good value for money?
There are also cheaper alternatives that retail for around 30 bucks or so. It’s a great option to consider if you have hosts.
Recording
Before you go on to record your first podcast, here are few key things to keep in mind.
The podcast format refers to either a two man team, a solo person, guest speakers and so on.
Podcasting is labor intensive and if you’re planning for the long-term 2 or 3 hosts are ideal.
Podcasts sometimes have 2 or 3 hosts and sometimes guests.
Practice makes a man perfect. You’d sound entirely unprepared if you go without any practice.
It will sound professional if you have a few rounds of practice. That way you will appear prepared.
It’s not necessary to script things and sound entirely mechanical.
For the actual recording, we generally tend to use Skype. Recording a Skype call is easy to do.
Call your co-hosts or guests through skype and record the call with skype recorder. You can always edit later to add that touch of professionalism.
Your final audio can be uploaded to a number of different places. Here are a few of the big ones:
Once you have finished recording, and adding the final touches of editing and producing the podcast, host it one of the sites I recommend here.
You can choose Buzzsprout, Soundcloud and also directories like iTunes.
Create an RSS feed for your podcasts. Upload files to sites I recommended and they automatically create a feed for you.
Step 2: Submit a podcast button on the iTunes store syncs your podcast to iTubes where you can find a new audience.
Step 3: Enter feed url that you get from your host and details like name, author name and a brief description. Submit
The podcast will be under a review after which it will go live.
After that people can search and find your podcast on the store.
You can share the url directly to social channels and to blog posts.
What is the ideal length of a podcast
To not bore your readers, here’s how long the podcast should be.
Podcasting is no exception and doesn’t transcend the ideal length for content.
According to stitcher a podcast hosting website, the average listener tunes in for 22 minutes. That’s the attention span you will receive.
We can’t hold on attention before finding something else to do beforehand.
Most podcasts publish new episodes on Tuesdays. It seems to be a favorite after Monday blues.
Most other podcasts publish early in the week.
Also most podcasts publish a new episode once a week.
Makes sense since unlike blogging where you merely publish some text content podcasting requires much time investment along with transcription.
Without a schedule you run the risk of not building expectations and losing an audience before you build it up. A successful podcast is effortful and takes time.