Videos

• Podcasting is a medium where continuous learning about the medium is key. You don’t just get set up and then there is nothing else to know. You must remain up to date and updated with what is going on in the podcasting world.
• What is your why? It’s a cheesy buzz-term, but it is such a compelling and needed question when you start out on any new venture. And that includes podcasting.
• Do your due diligence. Who else in the podcasting space is talking about your subject-matter? What is the name of your platform? Is anyone else using that name? Does the domain name belong to anyone else? NOTE: just because someone else is doing it does not mean you cannot or should not. It just means you have done your research and you know you are or are not the first one on the block. So how would you be different?
• Join some Facebook groups. There are some groups that will only accept you if you are already a podcaster. Other groups will accept you if you are already a podcaster or aspiring to become one. So look at the bylaws of the group before attempting to join. Many of these podcasting groups are quite welcoming and helpful. So don’t be afraid!
• You do not need fancy or expensive equipment to start. Most of us started with an ATR2100 microphone (typically $50 or $60 on Amazon), plugged into our laptop. Hit record and start talking! Some people record on their smartphones. Some people download recording apps onto their smart devices. Many of these apps are free! One that is not free that I have on my iPad is called Bossjock. I would suggest that when you buy the microphone that you buy a pop filter or at least make one so that the ‘popping’ sound when you say ‘p’ words does not come through. And make sure you buy a mic stand if you cannot initially afford a boom arm so that you are not handling the microphone. You will be surprised at the amount of noise that will be picked up during recording.
• Listen to podcasts about podcasting. Sounds easy, right? Well, it is. You can listen to a podcast anytime anywhere. There is a podcast app on every smart device. And there are podcast listening apps available in the app store. My suggestions for whom to listen to, and probably the suggestions you will hear from most podcasters: Dave Jackson’s (School of Podcasting), Daniel J. Lewis ‘The Audacity to Podcast’, ‘She Podcasts’ with Elsie Escobar and Jessica Kupferman, Ray Ortega’s ‘Podcasters Roundtable’, ‘The Feed’ with Rob Walch and Elsie Escobar (Libsyn’s podcast.) Libsyn is a podcast hosting platform. And it is the one I use. But there are other hosting platforms available. By the way, many people go straight to Soundcloud, but they are having financial problems and are honestly more geared to hosting musicians rather than podcasters. If you are more of a visual person. Go to YouTube and search for The Podcasters Roundtable. The Gentlemen’s names I mentioned above, all get together online and create a video podcast episode. The women, Elsie and Jessica have a Facebook group and a Patreon group.

I hope this in-exhaustive list is helpful. There is so much more to learn. But as I mentioned earlier, the learning will come from you conducting ongoing research. Most of the research will simply be listening, experimenting, and not being afraid of making mistakes or making changes.

If you decide to become a podcaster:

Remain teachable.