Podcasting is one of the best methods to talk about something you enjoy or are passionate about. Podcasts are a good alternative to creating video content, which is not easy for every creator and also for every brand.

Podcast as a media:

Podcasts are serving the similar role as the radio, and are limited in the same way. The form is limited by being exclusively focused on sound, that’s why it is important to maximize the quality beforehand, as just minuscule issues with sound can lower our chances of succeeding. Podcasting is a much less crowded and competitive space than blogging, which makes it easier to conquer.

Planning:

Podcasting starts with planning. While overlooked, the planning stage is one of, if not the most important aspect, the groundwork that will later profit. Planning can be divided into several steps:

• Topic selection: it’s important to narrow it down to have a niche in which we can operate, but not too much, as to not limit ourselves to several episodes.
• Hosting format: there is a lot of options, host and guest, host and co-host, 2+ (host, co-host, guest or guests), the more people invested into regular production of the podcast, the higher the need for long-term commitment. Having a co-host offloads some of the work and improves the flow, but it poses a risk of the other person backing out.
• Name and branding: Needs to be descriptive enough to capture the attention and establish the topics. With the name we need to come up with the cover art, one that would complement the name and help garner in the audience.
• Length and frequency: consistency is key, but there is no good formula for having a perfect podcast length. Average driving time is around 28 minutes in the US, and that’s why a lot of podcasts caters to that time frame. The other issue is making a decision on how often the podcast is meant to be released. And just like with the format, we need to stick to this plan. Every form has its pros and cons, especially regarding ease of creation and editing, so it is extremely important to be aware of that while planning the podcast. “Easy, Good, or Long – Pick Two”.
• Establish an episode structure: episode structure is like a skeleton to the human body, it is important to plan out a structure and adhere to it as closely as possible. One of the most popular structural constructions is: Intro – welcome message/coming up – ad/sponsor message – the body – call to action (review, share, etc.) – outro. This structure can and should be reimagined, to give very podcast its own flavor.
• Recording ahead of time: when all is done and it’s time to record, the important thing to do is to get ahead of the schedule. Recording two or three episodes in advance is a good practice that will profit us greatly in the long run.

Technical aspect:

• Intro creation: music and voiceover are often outsourced (e.g Music Radio Creative, https://musicradiocreative.com/collections/podcast-essentials?a_aid=podcastinsights). If a third person introduces the podcast, it makes it more believable and attractive to the listener, according to podcastinsights.com.
• Microphone: it is IMPERATIVE to have a microphone that does not distort or flatten the voice, preferably with an XLR connection to be ready for potential hardware upgrades later down the road.
• Editing software: there are DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations) that are free and can help with editing of audio files (Cakewalk by BandLab, Waveform Free), online podcast editing websites (Alitu), however the best known DAWs need to be bought, as they offer a wide array of effects and plugin support. As is customary to the world of sound realization, one would need to first learn how to use these programs, as they are quite intimidating at first glance.

Finding the audience:

One of the first steps is to choose a podcast hosting service. The podcast needs to be available, and the more outlets we can offer, the better. The most popular services are: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts. Then, although optional, it is recommended to create a website, or a website subsection dedicated to the podcast and get transcriptions, to allow search engine to “read” the podcast’s contents, and allow the audience to find a part of the podcast that is the most relevant to their interests (Buzzsprout and Rev offer paid transcription services). After that, promoting the podcast on social media or the company website is the way to find new audiences.