Giving Podcasting a Try: Here’s How to Make It Worthwhile

Podcasting is a fun way to share your thoughts and feelings with the world, if they are worth sharing, that is. Episodic series is the way to go with podcasting and that’s why it’s not just about recording the podcast, you have to be dedicated to the whole process. The first thing on your list should be the theme. You can choose to talk about anything. Most podcasts have themes such as music, gaming, politics and interviews. However, that doesn’t mean you have to talk about these things if they don’t spark an interest within you. You just have to do a lot of research on the topics. Get your facts right and remember to write it all down. A good piece of advice is to make a list with bullet points that you want to discuss throughout your show. You can run a podcast with a few friends or by yourself, and you can invite different guests for each episode.

Once you’ve figured out who is going to be talking with you and what you will be talking about, it’s time to get the hardware. You’ll need a microphone, XLR cables, a mixer and a laptop or a computer. Microphones are difficult to choose from, there are so many options that you can rarely see which one is the best. I’ll give you some advice, go for a mic with an XLR connection. You will have to get a mixer, but they offer you a lot of control over your voice. Quality XLR cables are available on the internet. They are needed in order to connect the microphone to the mixer. The mixer is then connected to the laptop with a standard dual-RCA to 3.5mm jack. This way you get all the people recorded and you can easily organise and edit the audio files in the program accoriding to your liking.

Speaking of programs, let’s go over choosing the right one for a podcast. If you have a Mac, you’re all set. The GarageBand program is already installed and you’re ready to record and edit. For those who prefer Windows, there’s Audacity. It’s a completely free program that allows the same versatility as GarageBand. If you prefer it, you can get it on the Mac OS, too. After you’ve set up the hardware, recorded and edited with the software, it’s time to upload the podcast. And the same question always pops up, where? The answer is simple, everywhere. The more places you upload the podcast to, the broader audience you will be able to reach. You can create your own website and regularly upload there and also turn to the biggest platforms that all podcasters utilise, SoundCloud and iTunes.