How To Start A Podcast At Home

If you have dreamed of sharing your knowledge about things you’re passionate about with a niche of people, and you have excellent communication skills, podcasting might be perfect for you.

There are a lot of topics you can talk about, like comedy, health, lifestyle, news, stories, business, education, self-help, culture, sports, entertainment, finance, etc.

It is essential to understand and consider that you have to be unique and different, so people feel they have a reason to pay attention to your podcast. In this helpful guide, and with these tips, you can know how to begin to do your podcast at home. 

Why podcast

According to Statista, 57% of the USA population has listened to at least one podcast in 2021. The trends for creating and listening to podcasts are multiplying, so maybe it could be a good opportunity to use your voice and share your essence. 

What is a podcast

Let’s talk about what a podcast is, in case you are not familiar with the term.  A podcast is auditive digital content that contains information on any topic you can think of. A typical podcast has multiple episodes that you can access anytime from platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Play, SoundCloud, Spotify, Stitcher, etc. 

Types of podcast

Along with the topic you choose, you have to consider the type of podcast you will be creating. There are different types of podcasts; examples of the most common ones are Interview, conversational, monologue, non-fiction narrative storytelling, fiction narrative storytelling, and hybrid podcast.  Now that you know the basics let’s start with the tips to do a podcast. Remember that they are ideas. In the end, you will choose what best suits you. 

How to create a podcast step by step

Talking from the depth of your passions and backing it up with your expertise could inspire developing unique creative ideas, so talk with your heart, and people will find it is a unique and honest voice. 

1. Land your idea

• Define the theme: If you don’t know what to talk about, you could write on a piece all of your ideas, list them, and the one that you like the most could be your theme. 
• Investigate your competition: Once you define your idea, you need to ask yourself if podcasters are already talking about what you want to conversate about. It is essential to identify them and do your research to solve the following questions. What are your competitors talking about? To whom are they talking? What makes them unique? How do they attract listeners to hear their podcast? This information will clarify if your idea is unique or you need to make adjustments.
• Select your audience: Identify the niche group that will be interested in your podcast. Define their demographic and psychological characteristics. Here is an example of a construction of an audience:
  Podcast for educational subjects for children: “Mothers between the ages of 26 to 36 years old, that are looking for the well-being for themselves and their family with interest in learning more about the education of their children, present in digital media.
• Choose a name: Naming your podcast is how people will identify your content and differentiate it from others. The name has to transmit the personality of the podcast, so make it easy and catchy so your audience remembers you. It is important to note that it is a great idea to verify your social media accounts to protect your unique name. Here is a great guide to how to get verified on Facebook.
• Duration of the podcast: Some experts say that they should last between 25 to 30 minutes. To confirm the length of your shows, you have to know your audience. What time of day would they listen to your podcast? Do they lead a busy life? Also, it depends on the topics; just make sure your decision is substantiated. 

2. Develop the structure of your podcast

• Storytelling: You can make your podcast memorable if you focus on the details. The story is significant to engage with your audience. This way, they might listen until the end and recommend it to their friends. Storytelling helps to transform a basic message into a more exciting story.
• Choose your content pillars: Structure your ideas and give them order considering the message you want to transmit. If you talk about many topics that have nothing to do with each other, your audience might become confused.
• Prepare your chapters: To have the right rhythm and fluency for your podcast, it is important to research the topics you will be talking about. Prepare a script to help guide you as you record. 
• Data visualization: Another strategy you can use to attract and keep an audience is to implement data visualization videos in your podcasts when the information is complicated. It can help keep information engaging and can help you provide effective visuals.

3. Consider the format of your podcast

Every episode should have a similar structure in how the story is told. The topic needs to have an introduction, development, and conclusion.

• The beginning: Listeners will decide if they want to stay in the first minutes, so keep in mind that you have seconds to explain what the podcast will be about, the tone, focus, theme, make your introduction enjoyable.
• The middle: It is the part in which the content of your episode is developed, so it is usually the longest part.
• The end: It will help those listeners who stayed until the end to connect with you, take advantage of this space to invite them to be part of your community on social networks or to listen to the next chapter, subscribe to your blog, etc.

4. Publication schedule

It will help you create a following by being constant and organized in the days of the publication of a new episode so that your audience is always present and aware of your content.

5. Visual identity

Create your mood board for the color palette representing your podcast.

You will need one for the cover of the podcast, the logo of name, and other additional things you want to add like social media, mailing. Experts recommend that everything needs to have matching colors, typography, and tone. 

Your audio studio at home

Let’s talk about your studio.

The equipment you will use to record your podcast can be the most sophisticated equipment or the most simple equipment you already have at home.

There are a lot of podcasters that started with the basics. Little by little, they were acquiring new equipment to improve the quality of the audio. Here are some tips to consider when setting up your studio.

• Choose the right space: Rooms that have soft furnishings and carpeted floors are the ones that will isolate the sound the most since empty rooms generate an echo.
  Make sure the room is not on the opposite side of the street or near areas like the kitchen, where is typically a lot of noise. If you do not have room to record, some beginners use small places like the closet, so the space shouldn’t be an issue to start recording.
• Sound treatment: Once you select the room, you need to consider that the voice of the microphone usually bounces with the walls and floor and makes external sounds. There are some options to add to your room. A cheap way to do it is by hanging blankets on the walls and attaching pillows to the room’s corners. If you want to look more professional, you could use foam tiles also in the walls and behind your microphone. Be aware that every space is different so please contact a specialist for more details to isolate external sounds. 
• Microphone and recording equipment: You need to have a microphone to have a quality voice in your episodes. There are two typical options, dynamic and condenser microphones. Dynamic microphones are the cheaper of the two; they can be charged by USB outlet so you can connect them to your computer.  Condenser microphones usually need an external power source like a console. They are more sensitive to ambient noise and offer better audio quality. 
• Headphones They are used to cancel the external noises and keep track of the audio quality. So it is a vital element to take into account. 
• Programs to record: You could use theconsole to record your voice, or there are other programs like Quick time from Apple, voice recorder from Microsoft, Squadcast, Streamyard, Zencastr that will help you with this step. 
• Chapter Editing Editing your recording is personal. There are many people who uploaded their episodes as they recorded by only adding the introduction and the outro. If you wish to avoid mistakes, add music, special effects, or commercials, here are some tips: To edit the errors on the recording, like coughing, background noises, or other mistakes, hear the episode with your headphones and write notes of the minute where you found the errors. When you start editing, you will know where to make the edits.

How to publish your podcast

So after some creative investment of time, you should have ready the style themes, the name, the logo, the cover, and any marketing ideas you will focus on.

By then you should also have a few edited content topics ready for your podcast.

Now that you are ready to upload your work to an audio platform so your audience can listen to you, you first need to create a podcast hosting site where you will store all your content.

This could be tricky if you don’t have experience with making a website. A better option would be to go with a podcast hosting company like Podbean.com. You can read this article of theirs so you can have a better idea of why you might want to go with a podcast host company. 

• Open an account at a hosting site: There are several options of hosting podcast companies, some of them offer a free trial like RSS.com, and others you need to pay, so choose the one that best suits you. 
• Upload your episodes: If you go with a podcast host company this will make the work easier. They automatically generate an RSS (or “Really Simple Syndication”) feed on your behalf.  This RSS feed is distributed out to the services like Google podcasts.
  This is necessary because the platforms will ask for the RSS, which is a link that you will copy and paste. Those services don’t host material 99 percent of the time, and podcasters don’t upload their content there.
  They upload to their podcast episodes at the host/storage location, and then, once they’ve established that initial link via their feed, additional episodes are distributed automatically.
• Choose the platform: Going with a podcast hosting company will make this step easier as mentioned earlier. You can go with the service platform you like the most or the one your audience is most interested in. Maybe you could upload to all of them to see which have more listeners. If you choose Apple and Spotify, you must make a separate account.

How to make a community

It takes a lot of dedicated effort and time to create a podcast, but remember that if you do it with passion the time will pass quickly.

Before you know it, you will have your podcast on the platforms so anyone can listen to your content. A critical point to consider is that these platforms do not make advertisements or strategies to attract people to listen to your podcast. Here are tips that might help you to have more listeners little by little until you create a community. 

• Friends and family: As a beginner, you can start by inviting your friends and family to listen to your podcast and ask them to recommend it to their friends and family. Word of mouth is a potent tool.
• Social networks: Based on your topics and audience is something to consider when deciding what social network you should use to start a following.
  It might be better if you don’t use all of them at the beginning, especially if you don’t have the time to give them proper management. A good idea is to start with a social media platform like TikTok or Instagram. It is a good idea to review statistics like TikTok statistics before you choose where you will focus your energies. Once you select the social media, create content interesting for your audience and invite them to listen to your podcast. Take into consideration that depending on the social media you choose is the kind of content you will make.
• Blog: Making a blog and inviting your audience to subscribe will be an excellent way to make a community. You could share unique content, recommendations, or whatever detail that you think your audience will be interested in. 
• Get feedback from your community: Once you start attracting followers, subscribers and listeners, ask them what they would like to listen to. They might feel important because you are taking their recommendations for your next episodes.
• Always seek to respond to the messages you receive from your audience to get to know them and make them feel part of the community.
• Look for inspiration in other communities, get inspired by a podcast you admire or lifestylers, influencers to motivate you to create your podcast.

Take a chance and go ahead, create your podcast! Do not let fear stop you. The first step is to start. You don’t need to create a whole season to begin. Create a pilot episode, do your research, talk with your heart, and trust in your work. 

Originally posted on Porch.com