What it takes to launch a podcast?

You’ve probably seen the little banner on the side that shows my photo next to some words. Yup! I launched a podcast in 2018 after a ton of reluctance and overcame a ton of struggle.

What really helped was the unrelenting number of odds turning it into a reality.

Now you might be wondering why would anyone want to start a podcast? And if you thought well they certainly have something to say. You’d probably be right, but that’s not always why someone starts a podcast.

Coming back to what it takes to launch a new podcast? Simple answer your desire to.  But also to press on and the ability to have a conversation with yourself.

Luckily blogging for a few years helped me in telling and starting the podcast. But since I didn’t do a great job blogging frequently the same problem was something that I faced with podcasting what did help was reaching out to others and creating something remarkable together.

I actually had started a podcast back in 2012 when they first arrived on the scene with only a few hundred thousand podcasts on the horizon it was the perfect thing to get started. But I quickly realized that working with co-hosts is much harder when in 2 different time zones and in three different locations in fact it still haunts me just a little when I think about doing something similar.

Thanks to my ability to take chances and learn from my mistakes it’s great to know that anything is possible. Like literally anything you put your mind to is possible because you make it a reality by simply doing it.

We put in the energy and give it the support that it needs.

So let me break it down, btw thanks for making it this far as I get prepped up in talking about the behind-the-scenes.

What does it take to launch a podcast?

1. A message worth sharing
2. Type of podcast, long format, short-form or short series, interview series, or how-to lessons
3. Time commitment to publish on a timeline
4. Podcasting logistics
5. Equipment
6. A group of podcasters for encouragement 

Now that we know what it takes, let’s take each point and drill down

1. A burning desire

this is literally the precipice that’ll force you to take action. There’s no way but up at this point or down depending on where you start. Sliding down on a slide takes a bit of pushing and going past the tipping point.

Once you’ve decided to start a podcast, you’ll want to ask folks around you if they’ve ever done a podcast or know anyone. Another way is to start searching google, and other podcast platforms and you’ll find a TON of information about these. In fact, there are over 2 million podcasts in the world as of 2022, they might be a lot more because of how easy it has become to get it rolling. Alright, so you’ve made up your mind and looked up information but still struggling with where to start.

You’ve come to the right place.

2. A message worth sharing or teaching! 

What does that mean? Well if you think about it you want to start a podcast because there’s something inside of you that you want to get out. This blog post was something similar in sharing the knowledge I’ve acquired over the years. Although podcasting might sound easy there are a lot more levels to it. My first recommendation would be to start with an outline of all the things you’d want to talk about in this podcast because you might think there’s a ton to say but when you start without having an outline or a direction you can easily get lost in all the tech you’re about to get involved with.

Just like a teacher has a curriculum or a speaker has a bullet point for their speech, I’d invite you to go through a similar exercise.

3. Time commitment and publishing frequency

So what type of time commitment does it take to publish a podcast? Set aside about one hour to record your podcast, this might simply be an interview or a solo episode. Setting aside another 30 minutes to one hour to put down all the things you want to tackle in this episode, this might include research, footnotes, websites, authors, etc just so you can share information with the utmost authority and have facts to back up your points and teaching.

Set the precedence on what you’ll tackle in the episode. 

Let’s say you want to publish one episode a week that’s about 1.5-2 hours just to research and record the episode and over time you’ll get really good at it and it’ll take a lot less time.

How about editing, publishing, and all the tech involved? Don’t worry I’ll get to the nitty-gritty further down.

4. Find a group of podcasters or join masterminds

By this time I’m sure you’ve surrounded yourself with a group of podcasters as you learn and research podcasting. Why do we want a group? Because when you join a group they’ll encourage you along the way, they’ve gone through the journey you’re about to embark and guess what they’re still going through the same steps day in day out, week in, and week out.

When I wanted to become a beekeeper, for 6 months I watched YouTube videos learning about bees, their hives, and everything around the topic. I became a consumer of the stuff but it wasn’t until someone in these videos mentioned that if I’m really interested in becoming a beekeeper I need to join a local beekeepers group. The rest is history 🙂

So find people that see talking about a similar topic as yourself or friends and get started!

5. Podcasting logistics

So far we’ve got the desire and want, topic and research, time commitment, and a support system in place for yourself and your podcast. What logistics are involved? Let me list it out first.

1. Podcast host
2. Podcast name
3. Publishing timeline
4. Editing episodes and sections
5. Pure intention of just giving everything you know about the subject 

Podcast Host

Hosting platform for your podcast. There are a lot of podcast hosting platforms anywhere from paid to free ones. There are a ton of pros and cons for each. Here are some that I have used and my podcast friends love

1. Anchor.fm (free) I’ve been using these guys from day one of my podcast and they make podcasting super easy because you record your episodes from the comfort of your own smartphone and on the go. Only one podcast per account as of March 2022
2. Captivate.fm (paid) this is a newer platform that gives you a lot of functionalities including running multiple podcasts from under one account. They have cool features and really I haven’t tried this yet but my very good friend Andy Wang of The Inspired Money podcast uses it for two of his podcasts.
3. Libsyn (paid)
4. Podbean (paid)
5. Spreaker (paid)
6. Kajabi (paid)
7. Buzzsprout (paid)

Podcast name

Give your podcast a name or not, it’ll come to you. Let’s get creative and start listing out names for your podcast, the more specific you get the more chances of your podcasting getting organic pull on the networks and building a following to your podcast. Of course, this can also be your name, there’s not a whole lot I can say about naming your podcast that this is what people will remember your podcast by.

Publishing timeline 

Now that we have a name for your podcast let’s figure out your publishing plan. This is very similar to the topic research and the overall plan for the podcast. When I started my podcast I went between daily to bi-weekly to weekly and went back and forth between different frequencies to see what worked with my schedule. So let’s figure this out, also take into account the seasons, and daily events if you want to promote something again all up to you.

Editing your episode

This can take another 1-3 hours per episode depending on your experience with audio software and the type of podcast you want to put out. I’ve heard that folks figure out a flow of the podcast which then gives them the freedom to stick to a pattern that works well. Let’s break down the sections of an episode.

1. Intro or snippet that resonates with you to capture the attention of new listeners 
2. Promotional items if you want to tell people about your business or an upcoming event you can record pieces and share them here
3. Lay of the land, here you’ll tell the listener what they’ll learn from the episode so they’re better prepared.
4. The main course. Doesn’t need much explanation but dig in deep around your topic, also think about the state of mind your listener might be in. This is an intimate conversation, your listener is either using earphones, headphones, or speakers in their car or computer or even in the kitchen to listen to the episode.
5. Mid-episode promotion etc
6. End credits, any additional citations you might want to share go here
7. The ask: ask the listener to follow, subscribe or simply reach out to you so they can share their experiences with you
8. Outro: thank the listener and close out, maybe remind them to tune in next week and have a topic to share so they come back to listen more.

Give it all

One of the main reasons behind a podcast, blog, and written piece is to give it all you have because we’re building your authority with this episode. The more information you give away the more value you bring to your audience the more trust and likeability you’ll build. So bring your best foot forward when you create this episode.

6. Podcasting Equipment:

I know you’ve been waiting patiently to learn about the equipment you need to start a podcast. It’s also possible that you scrolled directly to this section. After all, we love to learn the How because that gives us an idea of what it really takes, and how much money will I have to put down for podcasting equipment.

You probably heard from a lot of people about mics, audio interfaces, pop filters, recording equipment, xlr cables, cloud lifters, etc. the truth is they’re all correct in their own ways.

I’m going to tell you one thing that you probably already heard before and that is to use your smartphone.

Yes, your smartphone has enough power to record and publish the podcast without much friction.

With the Anchor.fm app you can pick your podcast name, create a simple cover, record your podcast, and add music and sections all from within the iPhone, and Android app.

If it’s so easy doesn’t everyone do it? Because they don’t have the desire to.

This is what I recommend. Reduce the friction and get started and as you build your muscle add on the gear for your podcast.

Here are some items that I’d recommend for solo podcasts or remote interview settings

Microphones 

1. SHURE MV7
2. SAMSON Q2U
3. RODE GO II +
4. Rode Lavaliere GO professional mic

Audio Interfaces

1. Focusride Scarlet 2i2 (2-in, 2-out)
2. Focusride Scarlett Solo 2×2
3. Zoom H4n Pro 4-Track Portable Recorder

Headphones or Earphones

1. A lot of people like the over-the-head phones and these are great to listen back to your voice, especially when editing.
2. In-Ear Buds or Earphones do an awesome job as well and work great for video podcasts. KZ ZSN Pro are the ones I use for all my videos and podcasting needs.

XLR or USB?

1. Depending on the type of mic you get it might have a USB connection or XLR
2. Most of the higher-end mics are designed to be used with an audio interface.

Each microphone also has a different pickup pattern and or frequency response, because as humans we all fall into a variety of voice spectrums.

Special Audio Equipment

All of the gear mentioned above is great for solo episodes without video. But let’s say you’re looking to have a guest with you to record a podcast episode, 2-4 guests you can pick up special interfaces that’ll work great and record the audio on your computer with the use of special audio capture software such as Adobe Audition, Garage Band, etc. here’s a list of these specialized equipment designed of in-person recordings

1. Rodecaster Pro designed for in-person podcast production and couples with up to 4 microphones. A mixer and a recorder in one along with programmable pads for trigerring audio and effects.
2. Xoom H6n
3. Roland VERSELAB MV-1 Production Studio

 

7. Type of podcast

This might help you with a lot of the decisions in purchasing gear, laying out the outline, and the message you’re delivering.

There are a few types of podcasts and there’s no limit to this.

1. Solo Podcast
2. Cohosted Podcasts
3. Interview-Based Shows
4. Teaching specific topics
5. Fiction-based short-run series
6. Marketing based
7. Video Podcasts 
8. Storytelling for kids
9. And so many more

 

Solo Podcast

The simplest type of podcast is very similar to blogging, not only do you get to practice speaking but also a way to build your speaking muscle.

Interview Based Shows

These are the majority of the shows that bring together 2-4 people to a show/podcast. These are designed to have panel-type conversations

Teaching Podcast or Audio Course

An Audio course podcast is designed to teach a specific lesson to your audience. It can be a singular set of episodes that go through 5-10-15 episodes

Fictional Podcast short run

These podcasts are heavily produced with many dimensions, characters, and music to carry through the audience’s engagement.

Marketing Focused podcast

This type of podcast is designed to bring attention to problems and challenges your company is able to solve for your target client

Video Podcast

A podcast that includes video and focuses on video-watching audiences.

Storytelling Podcasts

These podcast types are pretty self-explanatory and I’ll be writing up a detailed post all about them in the next post.

Conclusion

This is just the tip of the podcasting universe. As you learn more in your journey to start/launch your podcast you’ll start to understand the depth of knowledge it requires to continue podcasting. I’ll be writing more to talk about the other aspects of podcasting because this is just the start.