10 steps to start podcasting
Step 1: A dynamic cardioid microphone
Audio-technica ATR-2100 $99 deliveredDynamic because they are more rugged, need no external power and less sensitive to subtle background noises. Cardioid because it will allows you to record in any room without the need for sound treatment due to its pickup pattern being specifically in front and close to the micIt’s USB and XLR so it will grow with youLots of podcasters use the so there’s a lot of help videos out there for you to learn fromStep 2: Show titles and artwork
Titles/descriptionsPodcast title, Host/talent name, podcast subtitle, podcast summary / description (under 4000 characters)Artwork3000px by 3000px max ,I prefer 1400 x 1400px to keep the file size down, Under 500k or will be rejected by itunescanva.com is a free option to create these withnamecheckr.com to check domain, fb, twitter, instagram, youtube etc for availabilityStep 3: Editing / recording your audio
Audacity – recording and editing– free open source software, powerful, quick once you know a few of the main featurescan be pimped up to very professional setup with 3rd party pluginsZoom.us – guest recordings via the internet or even phone insfree for 1 guest recordingscan split tracks for easier editing latercan also capture video of all partiescreate standard intro and outro mentioning subscribing to get latest episodesExport completed episode as .wav fileput .wav file through free Levelator or paid Auphonic software to balance all levels for consistent soundadd .wav file to itunes and convert to 128kbps mp3 filewith itunes add meta data and artwork via file info click and drag mp3 file to your podcast folder ( you will upload this mp3 later )Step 4: Audio hosting
Audio hosting is to audio is a bit like what youtube or vimeo are to video.itunes, stitcher and all of those podcast networks just point to where you host your audio fileslibsyn.com is reliable, cost effective and scalable. Classic 250mb plan $15USD/month gets you about 5 hours per month of new audio. Every month you get another 250MB and all of the previous uploads stay online at no extra cost.Depending on which plugin (next step) you use you these are the options A: upload them directly to you audio host ( libsyn) and get a link to the mp3 file to copy and paste into a special field at the bottom of your blog postB: Upload the mp3 file within the blog post for that episode directly to the audio host (libsyn)don’t worry the next slides cover the plugins for both optionsStep 5: WordPress Plugins to use
PowerPress Podcasting plugin by Blubrrymake your website the hub for the podcast directories and you upload the audio file to libsyn or wherever and then paste the link to the mp3 file at the bottom of a blog postLibsyn Publisher Hub pluginconnects to libsny account so you can upload the audio file while creating the blog post and libsyn is the hub for the podcast directoriesStep 6: Blog post
use a blog post which hasshow notes with profile of guest and links to websites mentioned in the episodehas a podcast player automatically provided by the previous plugins mentioneddepending on which plugin you decided on you now either: upload the mp3 file from the blog postupload the mp3 file to libsyn and then copy and past the link to the file into the bottom of the blog postStep 7: Make 3 Episodes
gives new listeners something to get their teeth into a thin intro episode is not enoughyou get better with each episode so by number 3 its already a lot betterStep 8: Submit to podcast directories
You will need your podcast rss feed urlApple Podcasts– via itunes select podcasts on top left area, top middle select store, then middle right side find submit a podcast
– via browser – Open podcast connect: https://podcastsconnect.apple.com/ click + sign at top of browser
Stitcher
– signup at https://www.stitcher.com/content-providers
– then submit here: https://partners.stitcher.com/PartnerAddFeed.php
Tunein – https://help.tunein.com/contact/add-podcast-S19TR3Sdf Podbean
– create login: https://www.podbean.com/site/user/login
– submit podcast: https://www.podbean.com/site/submitPodcast
Blubrry
– create account: https://www.blubrry.com/createaccount.php
– add your podcast: https://www.blubrry.com/addpodcast.php
Step 9: Promote on social media
tell people when you latest podcast is outmake a little video with a sample of the audio from the show with maybe a photo of the guest.
The website headliner.app can do this for you for free (at the time of this podcast/presentation anyway)
promote the blog post on instagram, twitter, facebook etcStep 10: Workflow
Schedule guest / decide on topicPlan show, storyline, questions for guest etc (send to guest)Record audioEdit audio / create show notesUpload audioSchedule or publish postPromote on social media
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