Podcast are one of the simplest ways
to approach content creation.
And for many of you,
it will be your path
into becoming a full time
content creator.
So here's some things to help
you get started as a new podcaster
or an absolute beginner.
One of the first things I can tell you
about why you need to start a podcast,
especially now, is the fact
that more than 55% of adults in America
for the first time
ever are listening to podcast.
And I feel that if you do a podcast,
especially if you do a video podcast
as a live stream
like I do with the
Create Something Awesome Today podcast,
you actually have a great opportunity
to monetize and access
an audience.
Podcast also build
very loyal communities and you don't
necessarily have to go the video route.
If you're on a budget
and you're getting started,
you have limited
time, limited resources.
Podcasting is much
more accessible than video
if you're not capable of that.
I do believe that if you add
the live stream component,
it does get accessible and cheaper
to do video and audio though.
If you want to start
an audio only podcast,
you could just use your smartphone.
You really don't
need much more than this
to start as a content creator.
Having better gear does help
and gets better quality results
and does make a lot of things faster.
But if you're starting from nothing,
this is a better device
than most of your favorite creators
had when they got started.
In my own creative journey,
I started with this a very humble Sony
HD Webbie back in like 2009.
This is how it started.
This is how it's going.
But nobody really needs this.
You can start with something
better than this
in your pocket called a phone.
If you have $25 and a smartphone,
you can get a very affordable
lapel mike
I'm going to link to it
in the description down below.
It will improve your audio quality
and allow you to get started.
Podcasting.
Audio-Technica also has
a $50 microphone
that you could get started with
that has gotten great results.
I believe it's the ATR 2100,
and this is something that I started
using in the very beginning
of my podcast journey and under $100.
If you want
to go into video podcasting,
you can use very affordable webcams
if you need something under $100.
Logitech typically has
you covered
and if you want something
a little fancier
that gets close to DSLR quality,
you can get the Elgato face cam.
I will link to both of those
and the rest of the budget podcast gear
in the description down below
and those will be Amazon
affiliate links.
They do help the channel.
I get a small commission
at no extra cost to you
when you use those Amazon
affiliate links.
In terms
of getting your audio podcast
out on all these other platforms, it's
one of the key advantages
not only for distribution
and getting more attention
for your podcast, but also
when it comes to the monetization
because you get to put links
in the show notes,
these come links to your own products.
These could be links to your services.
These could be links to the Amazon
Influencer program.
You know that when I got started
with the Amazon influencer program,
I was able within the first year
to get to earning 1200 dollars
a month, recommending budget
camera gear
and budget video editing laptops.
So I do think this could be lucrative
for a lot of you,
even if you're not in the tech space.
You could be using affiliate links
from Audible
to get a podcast listening audience
to buy audiobooks
by getting a free one
that they keep forever.
And you would get a $5
to $10
bounty from Audible,
depending on whether they go free
or whether they decide to pay
and keep the subscription service.
So even with a small
podcasting audience,
you have the ability to make up
to $100 a month
just with the audible affiliate program
from Amazon as an Amazon influencer.
So don't think that only big people
can make money from this
or that you have to do it forever
to get anywhere.
You can monetize fairly early
if you have the right strategy.
I will be doing a dedicated video
on more than ten Ways
you can monetize your podcast.
So you want make sure you come back
and check that out.
For those of you in the audience
who are self-published authors
or you're aspiring authors,
you can sell your own books
in the show, notes of your podcast.
And this could be a great way
to increase your sales
and get more people to buy your book,
whether that's the Kindle e-book,
a print book
like this one or an audiobook,
and with the audio books,
you actually could earn up to $75
if you've made your own audiobook
in Amazon and Audible.
Using the referral link for that.
So there's all kinds of ways
to monetize your podcasting,
even if it's purely on the audio side
when it comes to hosting
your podcast and distributing it.
You can do this for $0
if you use AnchorFM.
This is an app.
It's owned by Spotify,
but it does allow you to distribute
not just to Spotify but to Apple Music,
Amazon music
and all the other podcasting platforms,
including iHeartRadio
and Anchor, does offer
some in platform monetization
if you host there now,
because I'm a bit of a control freak,
I like to go ahead and host
on Simple Cast and BuzzSprout
whenever I'm doing podcasts
because I just like having the back
in control of the analytics
and I'm willing to pay
for the hosting
and the RSS feed there.
However, you do not have to do that.
You can use Anchor
FM for free
and you can avoid all of that
at least
when getting start from your podcast.
And if you decide to ever upgrade,
you can transfer and move
your podcast over seamlessly
to whatever
hosting platform that you want.
The thing I like about podcasting
is how simple and how accessible it is,
but I think that live streaming
gives you an opportunity with video
podcasting to do more.
And that leads us to the sponsor
stream yard.
Stream yard offers the simple solution
in live streaming
and allows you to smoke faster
live stream on multiple platforms.
I use this for the great
something awesome for a podcast.
I put it out on YouTube,
LinkedIn Live, Facebook
groups, Twitter Live
and even Twitch.
This allows me to benefit
from being on multiple monetized
platforms all at once, earn
more revenue
and grow all of my audiences
while letting them choose
how they want to consume my video
live streams and streaming.
It's also great for podcasters
because I can download
the individual audio
files from the live stream
and then I can distribute that.
I can even edit it
after the fact and I can put that out
to all of my audio platforms
and when I want.
Guest All I have to do is
send them a link
and there's nothing to download.
It's all in-browser
and you can try it absolutely.
Free stream.
RW LinkedIn description down below.
Get it for free
or use one of the wonderful paid plans.
Thank you to streaming art
for sponsoring this video.
And now back to these tips
when it comes to the live
streaming part of video podcasting.
One of the most important things
is to have a good,
stable Internet connection.
I think that this can be something
that a lot of you take for granted
when it comes to the video quality,
it does matter.
I also like using stream art
because then the CPU
intensity is not an issue
in terms of the software
lagging or anything like that.
It's all in browser
and if something happens or goes wrong,
the live stream
isn't immediately terminated
by the software.
So that can actually be really helpful.
So you don't have to lose your live
stream or start over.
The other great thing about live
streaming video
is that I was able to monetize
my live streaming and podcast YouTube
channel in 30 days last December,
and the reason I was able to do this is
I had to start over
because I took a break
during the pandemic from my podcast.
It was a very long break.
However, by coming back
strong in the late part of the year,
I streamed for almost 30 days,
really got the audience
engaged with the content,
and I was able to monetize
in less than a month.
Because live streaming allows you
to get the watch time very quickly
to qualify for the YouTube
partner program,
which requires 1000 subscribers
and 4000 hours of
watch time in 12 months.
I had to start over
based on that 365 day, 12 month cycle
because of my long break
during the pandemic.
But I was able to make up for it
with my live streaming,
and the replay value of live
streams is another benefit for it.
When it comes to monetizing later on.
And it also helps you
when it comes to things
like the Amazon influencer
program and affiliate links.
One of the other benefits
is that I was able to make $1,000
just from donations from my audience,
because when people enjoy your content,
they want to support it
and live streaming
your podcast, doing it live.
The tape lets them donate
to you on their own.
And there are three really great live
streaming platforms that allow
this kind of fan
funding that are integrated directly
with stream yard as destinations,
and that's YouTube
with traditional YouTube
monetization and super chats.
Twitch where people can actually donate
through bits.
It's another form of fan funding.
And Facebook, believe it or not,
because of the Facebook Stars program,
which is another form of monetization
for livestreaming on Facebook.
And so by using all these
platforms simultaneously,
my audience
can choose their own adventure
and how they want to support me.
The way that I approach
my podcasting is a little bit
more advanced.
I do use things
like switchers from multicam.
I do use the Sony cameras,
which can plug in directly to USB
when I travel and I stream
from my MacBook Pro
and I do prefer
to use professional microphones,
but none of that should hinder you
from getting started.
Your content can look
basically
just as good as anyone else's,
and if you're
already making YouTube content,
even if you're not
using your smartphone,
which by the way can also be used
as a live streaming camera,
if you connect it directly
to your laptop, you can use a mount
and this becomes
your camera
might be a little bit more high quality
and not require you to buy anything.
You can make quality
content when it comes to podcasting.
As a beginner,
it doesn't have to break the bank.
All you have to do
is focus on high value content.
If you're worried
that no one will listen
to your podcast, just focus on topics
that already have conversations
around them.
Talk about things you know,
people are already interested.
Here's a hint it's
probably not you
because they don't know who
you are yet.
So talk about something they do care
about and keep doing that.
And as people get to know
you and your personality,
you will
become their favorite podcaster.
But you have to meet people
where they are.
A lot of content creators fail
because they make selfish content.
They want everything
to revolve around them,
and they want unlimited
attention, usually for no reason.
But if you meet people where they are
and you show them that you share
interest, you share values,
you have something in common.
Then, just like the lunchroom,
the dreaded lunchroom back
in high school,
when you were
trying to find your friend group,
it really helps to pay attention
to finding where you fit in
and then not interrupting conversations
that are happening,
but participate in them instead.
I know that
growing a podcast from scratch
can seem really intimidating
and that a lot of us make it look easy.
But if you want a step by step on
how to get started with some details,
I have a video that you have to watch
in the description down below.
Stay awesome and I will catch you
in the next video. Take care.