You've been thinking about starting your podcast. You've been obsessing about the
idea for months and years. Yeah. Or you've been procrastinating it, or you're overwhelmed by
all the different technical stuff that goes into starting a podcast. Well, in this video,
we're going to show you the four different ways. You can start your podcast this year.
Hey, welcome to the Pod Sound School. I'm studio, Steve, and I'm Veronica.
And we're podcast coaches, podcast producers, and we've helped dozens of clients and hundreds
of students to get some really amazing results with their podcast. And we want to do the same
for you. In this video we're going to show you the four different ways you can start your podcast
from the very basic to the professional level. And we're going to show you also the pros and cons
of each option. And by the end of this video, you're going to know everything you need to
know in order to start your podcast today. We are going to cover a lot in this video, so
make sure you stick around until the end. And for those of you who like to skip ahead, we've
left some timestamps in the description below of each of the topics we'll be before we get into the
different ways that we can create a podcast. It's important to know how podcasting works.
How do we get the audio files? From our phones or computers all the way up to Google podcasts, Apple
podcasts, and Spotify. One of the many things that confuses a lot of people about podcasting is that
the podcast directories like Apple and Google and Spotify, they don't actually hold your MP3 file.
You actually need to upload your MP3 file. To what's called the podcast. Host a podcast. Host
is a service that holds information for your podcasts and your podcast episodes.
It holds your MP3, your episodes, descriptions, all the information regarding your podcasts,
your podcast, cover art and your episode artwork. Yeah. And to help this make a little more sense
to you. This is actually a screenshot of us uploading one of our pod sound school podcast,
episodes to our podcast hosts, simple cast. We add a title. We add episode description, some
episode artwork and some keywords. Once we update it here. It is updated to all of the podcast
directories via something called an RSS feed. Once you have at least one episode, you can
distribute your podcast to the different podcast directories. Using this RSS link. This link will
go to the different podcast directories. And it will automatically update your podcast every time
you post a new episode, that helps the whole thing makes sense to you a little bit more.
Don't worry. Just get a podcast host and it'll all make sense as you start uploading episodes.
And before we get into the four ways that you could start your podcast today.
Because we're podcast coaches, we couldn't let you just jump into starting a podcast without at
least sharing three really important tips that you keep in mind before starting your podcast.
Yes, because we want to set you up for success. So tip number one would be to do a preliminary
name check. You don't want to use this. Same name that all their podcasts out of using
you want to be original. And also you want your name to be easy to spell and easy to pronounce.
And tip. Number two is take the time to listen to some other podcasts that are similar in topic and
find ways that you can bring your secret sauce and that you can be different and stand out.
I like to make a list of what I like about the podcast and what I don't like about the
podcast. Courage. If you find that there are other podcasts doing what you're thinking about doing,
remember that this is your podcast and you're going to bring your personality
and your creativity and your uniqueness to this point and tip number three,
make a list of all of your passions and all of the topics that you'd be interested in covering.
Sometimes it's. Good to make sure that you have a topic you can talk about for hours on end,
that you would never get bored of and make a list of all of those things that can be really
helpful for coming up with episode ideas and for your podcast idea. And, yeah. And take a minute
to share your podcast idea in the comments below. We're curious to know what you guys are planning,
and if you need more help with finding the right topic for you, I have this video right here,
taking you through the exact. Steps. I take my clients and students to find the right
topic for them. Now let's talk about the different ways you can start your podcast
so you can decide which one is right for you. Number one, you can start your podcast using your
smartphone. Yes. And this is a really popular option that a lot of people are getting into
podcasts. Using, we recommend two apps for this that you can get on your smartphone,
either Apple or Android phones. And that is anchor FM or speakers. Either app allows you
to record your podcast directly into the app. And then from there distributed to the different
podcasts, right? Both apps have a lot of really cool options and little bells and whistles on
them. The anchor app is our favorite and it allows you to do minor edits. You can cut out big chunks
in the middle of your performance. If it wasn't good, you can also trim the beginning and the end,
but that's about it with the editing. So it's important to know that you're
not really going to be able to do any advanced editing or any kind of professional editing or
control any of the EQs or the compression or any of that fancy professional stuff actually
on your phone. And as you can imagine the microphones on your phone. Okay.
Aren't as great sounding as some of the professional podcasting microphones out there.
However, this is a good solution. If you are new to podcasting and you don't want to invest a lot
of money in equipment, and you're not sure if podcasting is your thing. So this is a low-risk
low investment away for you to start your day. Yeah. And you'd actually be surprised with the
results you can get. Lastly, the other really cool thing about the anchor app is it comes
with a bunch of royalty free music you can use and it's owned by Spotify. So right when you publish
your first episode, usually within minutes, Uh, your podcast will go live on Spotify.
There are also many accessories, adopters and USB microphones that you can plug into
your smartphone to make this sound quality even better. Yeah. Yes. And we have a whole playlist
that we did all about smartphone podcasting that you can find right here. If you think this
is the option that you want to start with now, let's move on to option number two, and that's
using your computer and I use the microphone. Yeah. And this is probably the most popular option
for independent podcasters because USB microphones are. Affordable and they sound really good and you
don't need to get an audio interface. All you have to do is plug them into your computer and you're
ready to go. So our big two recommendations for USB microphones are the Samson Q2 U
and the audio Technica ATR 2100 X. Both of these are tried and tested
great sounding microphones. And they're also upgradable. When we move on to option number
three. Which we're not to yet. And in addition to a USB microphone, you are also going to need
to download an audio editing software onto your computer. There's a lot of different
options ranging from free to very expensive here. The Y all around best top choice for independent
podcasters is Reaper. And you could download Reaper for free and try it free. 60 days. And
then it's a, one-time $60 after that. Now here on YouTube, you also hear a lot of people recommend
audacity, which is a free DAW, but I would really recommend that you steer clear from audacity.
It really just causes a lot of headache and it's worth the $60 to just get up. Better DAW from the
beginning. If you're stuck and, and really want to stick to a free option, I would say garage
bands better. And then even better than garage band would be pro tools first, but pro tools
first takes a lot longer to learn than reading. So the way you set this up is pretty simple.
In this illustration here, Veronica is using the Samsung Q2. You she's going to plug it
directly into the computer. Then all she has to do is open up Reaper, set up a track and
press record. When she's done recording, she can press stop. She can add recording.
She can make all sorts of events, edits. She can add music. And then finally, she can export
this recording as an MP3 to share with her podcast hosts, you feel intimidated by day W's or the fact
that you have to edit your podcast. I consider myself technically challenged and I learned how
to edit a podcast and I've seen my students and clients learning how to edit their own podcasts.
Definitely don't get discouraged. Anybody can learn how to use a DAW.
You're just going to have to take a few hours to get familiar with how it works. And at first it
can seem like you're moving so slow and it can be painful and you want to pull out your hair,
but just stick with it a little practice and you will be up and running in no time.
I've spent many years teaching people how to use DWS, and I've developed a really fun
learning style that cuts through all the BS and just teaches you what you need to know right now
to get started. We have some videos here on our channel that you can watch about Reaper. And I
also put together a free 40 minute training. All about editing a podcast and getting going
in Reaper, you can find that by going to pod sound, school.com/training and grab your seat
for that free training option. Number three, you can use an XLR microphone and an audio interface.
And this is where we get into professional podcasting. Yeah. And this is probably also
where we get into people being intimidated by podcasting, but it's really not that complicated.
Once you break it down. So the first thing you're going to need is an XLR microphone. We call it an
XLR microphone because that's the output of the microphone is an XLR cable is what you
would do plug into it for this. We have two top picks for those on a budget. We really liked this.
Sure. SM 58. This is a classic vocal microphone. And then next we really liked the Shure
SM seven D. This is a really classic podcasting microphone used by many professional podcasts.
Once you've chosen a microphone, then you'll need to choose an audio interface. There are
tons of audio interfaces, many that sound really good ranging from pretty cheap to very expensive.
But my top recommendation for podcasters of all budgets is the focus right? Scarlet to ITU.
This has two inputs. So you can record two microphones at the same time, but Scarlet also
has a single input option. That's even cheaper. If you know that you're only ever going to be using
one microphone, or it has a four input option. If you're going to be using more than two
microphones. So in this illustration, Veronica is going to use the Scarlet to I two and simply plug
it into the USB input on her computer. Now, all she needs. To do is plug a microphone into the
focus, right? So she'll use an XLR cable, put one end into the microphone and the other end of the
cable, she'll plug into the focus, right? And you'll see she chose input number one,
and right next to input, number one, there's a gain knob. This knob allows us to adjust the
volume or the gain of the microphone. Usually with dynamic microphones, we're going to want
to crank this knob pretty much as high as it goes. And that's a good place to start
now much like she did with the USB microphone. All she has. To do is open up Reaper,
set up a track and press record, and she's recording some sweet podcasts vocals. Now let's
move on to number four. Our last option video podcasting video podcasting is becoming more
and more popular among podcasters. You are already recording your voice and you have your podcasts.
That episode, the only thing you need to do is to add a camera. This wall allows
you to record different videos that can go on different platforms. They can go here on YouTube
or on your social media. And it's the ultimate content re-purposing for your podcast episodes.
Yes, but this is also the most complex way to podcast, but we couldn't let you
go without telling you more about it. So this really just requires three more
elements to your podcast setup. The first one, like Veronica mentioned is a camera. Most people
will start with just using the camera on their phone. We have very impressive cameras on our
phones nowadays, or the camera on your laptop or on your computer. And then you can upgrade to
a webcam or a more professional camera. Then you're also going to want to pick up
some lighting. We really like ring lights. Ring lights blast all the shadows off of your face
and help you to look more youthful and beautiful, and that can help you to feel more confident on
camera. And then after that, you're also going to need to pick up some video editing software
to actually be able to edit the video together. But this is a great way, like Veronica said to
repurpose your podcast. And it can be a bit intimidating. This is a great option,
but we don't want you to get too overwhelmed with recording your podcast and recording video at the
same time, especially if you're new to both. The important thing is for you to start to
start podcasting, to get into podcasting. It's you put your ideas out there and to
start creating content. There you go. Pot ski. I know that was a lot of information,
but don't get discouraged. Don't wait any longer. Don't put it off. No more procrastination.
Come out of the Gates with your podcast. You've got us here to help you if you
haven't subscribed to our channel yet do so. Now we post really fun podcasting videos
every week here on our channel. Also, don't forget that we've left the links to all the
gear. We talked about, the microphones, the USB microphones, everything you can find the links.
In the description of this video, there's a lot more that goes into podcasting, like branding
and promotion, and also to be able to have an audience even before launching your podcast.
And for this, we have a free training and it's called this my way to launch your podcast. You can
knock your seed by going to podcast in smart.com. And before we go to things, no, it'd be Vanessa
and don't forget to like, and subscribe to our channel. Happy casting, Amigos.
Well, there are many accessories, uh, shoes. Do you want a pair of shoes?
Few years though? Enough shimmy shake. Okay. Yes.