From Equipment to Hosting, Here's How To Get Started Right Now
You want to make your podcast recordings the best that they can be. These days, listeners expect very high quality audio, consistent and instant access to all episodes, an updated RSS feed and little to no background noise. While it may seem overwhelming at first, you can deliver it all without spending a fortune.
Let’s discuss the essentials needed to create the highest quality podcasts.
Essential Equipment You Must Have For Podcasting
A Good Quality Microphone
If you publish poor audio quality podcasts, then your listeners will go elsewhere. Not only that, but some of them will leave very negative reviews that will ruin your reputation in no time. Nobody wants to listen to a crackly voice where it is hard to make out what the podcaster is saying.
Never use the microphone in your laptop for making a podcast. The same applies to a microphone attached to cheap headphones and the microphone in your smartphone. They are just not up to the standards that you need to create high audio quality podcasts.
If you are using your computer to record your podcasts, then invest in a USB microphone like the Blue Yetti. There are others available, and you can spend upwards of $75 to get a good quality microphone. It is one of the best investments you will ever make if you want your podcasts to be a success.
Get a Pop Filter and Microphone Stand
A pop filter is an inexpensive accessory that we strongly recommend that you purchase. It will help to minimize unwanted noises when you are speaking. The difference in quality of a recording made using a microphone pop filter and one that didn’t use one is usually significant.
You don’t want to be holding the microphone when recording your podcasts. If you do, it’ll be easy for you to accidentally move the microphone away from your mouth, which will show up on your recording.
Get a microphone stand for your desk or a boom arm so that you can fix your microphone in the best position.
Use Good Quality Headphones
When you are recording your podcasts, it is really important that you monitor the sound quality. With a decent pair of headphones, you can easily do this. There are good quality “in ear” or “earbuds” around as well if you prefer this.
When you monitor your recordings using headphones, you can easily tell if your voice is clear and whether it is too soft or too loud. You will also be able to pick up on any background noises which you probably wouldn’t notice if you were not wearing headphones.
Use Good Audio Editing Applications
When you record your podcasts, you’ll likely make a few mistakes, especially when first starting out. So, you need a way to cut these minor errors out of your podcast episodes. The best thing to use is an audio editing suite.
With a good audio editing suite, you can cut out coughs and sneezes and any mistakes that you make. You can also minimize background noise and even add additional tracks to your podcast, such as intros and outros.
There are lots of expensive audio editing suites out there, but you can do everything that you need using free applications. If you are a Windows user, then download Audacity. For Mac computers, you need GarageBand. These free apps will provide you with all the editing tools that you need without sacrificing quality.
Now that you know what equipment you need to get started and what software to use for your audio editing, it’s time to move on to your podcast hosting provider.
Just where exactly are you going to host your podcast files?
Why You Should Use A Podcast Hosting Service
Every time that you create a podcast you will need to store them somewhere online so that your listeners can get access to them. When a listener accesses your podcast they will either download it to listen to it offline or they will stream it online. Podcasting files can be fairly large and once you have a lot of them you need a good hosting solution.
Why You Shouldn’t Use Your Web Host
If you have a web hosting account for your website, then it is likely that they offer unlimited disk space as part of the package. The problem here is that most web hosts allow unlimited disk space for web files only. After all, we all know that “unlimited” can’t be real, or else Nike would host their entire website on a host for only $20 a month. Unlimited is a shrewd marketing tactic, but your podcast files need stability.
Remember, a podcast is an MP3 file which is an audio file and most web hosting companies, in their fine print, don’t classify these audio files as web files. Rather, MP3 files are media files.
Podcast Hosting Is A Must-Have Service For Creators
A podcast hosting service is all about hosting MP3 and other audio files used for podcasting. They are optimized for this task and have several advantages. You can store audio files of all sizes using a podcast hosting account. Here are some of the major benefits of using a podcast hosting service:
- A podcast host will automatically update and maintain your RSS feed of all podcast episodes.
- A strong podcast hosting provider provides highly detailed and very helpful metrics and data.
- You’ll receive your own podcast page, making it easy for your listeners to browse your episodes.
Podcast RSS Feed
When you set up your podcasting on a podcast host you they will provide you with an RSS podcast feed link. This RSS podcast link is compliant with all of the podcast directories and is a validated feed.
You may be wondering what the point of this podcast RSS feed is. Well, it makes submitting your podcasts to the directories very easy. All you have to do is to enter your RSS podcast feed link one time, and all of your individual podcasts are captured.
Whenever you upload a new podcast to your host, your RSS podcast feed updates and notifies the directories automatically.
Essentially, your podcast host is also your automated submission service. Listeners of your podcasts will also receive automatic details about this new podcast too.
Podcast Metrics
Most podcast hosting services will be able to supply you with a number of different metrics about your podcasts. These will generally include the number of podcast downloads, the devices and apps your listeners used for your podcasts, sources of traffic to your podcasts and the locations of your listeners.
Your Own Podcast Page
A podcast host will enable you to create your own podcast page. This is great if you don’t have a website or blog, and still useful even you have your own site. Use your page to include details about your podcasts, add your social media channels, your website link, podcast notes, banners for your podcasts and more.
When people visit your podcast page, they will be able to listen to your podcasts using the media player on the page or download them if they prefer to do that. They can also become subscribers to your podcasts on your podcast page.
Audacity is the world’s most popular free and open-source digital audio editor and recording application software.
An hour and forty-one minutes of over-the-shoulder training will optimize your time, build your skills, and have you using Audacity like a pro.
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