Introduction: How to Start a Podcast
What's up guys? It's Aileen. Today I'm going to talk about how to start a podcast, going from the beginning to the end: from recording it, editing it, and getting hosted online where it could get picked up by iTunes and Google Play, as well as post it on SoundCloud.
If you don't know already, I have a podcast called the Lavendaire Lifestyle that's out now on iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, and if you haven't heard it, go out and listen to it right now.
This video is part of my Q&A series for content creators. So if you haven't watched it already, I have a video on advice that I have for creators starting out, whether you're on YouTube, blogging, or podcasting, and another video on a more technical side of like my filming setup for YouTube. I'll post links to those videos below.
The Two Halves: Creation vs. Hosting
I'm going to break this video down into two parts. The first part is creating your podcast, recording and editing the podcast, the content itself. And the second part is hosting your podcast online so it could be on iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, etc.
Essential Recording Gear
The things you'll need to create your podcast are: a mic, headphones, a quiet space to record, and most times, a DAW which is a digital audio workstation where you edit your audio. And if you want to do interviews online, then probably a software like Google Hangouts, Skype, or Zencastr.
First, let's start with the mic. I'm going to show you what I use to record my podcast but then I'll give you a ton of other suggestions for mics that you can use as well. A little background information: I used to—I mean I still do, I still record music. My background is in recording, singing, and producing music so I already knew the technical skills for audio, and the mic that I use for my podcast is the same mic that I use for my singing. That's why the mic that I have is not necessary for someone who just wants to do podcasts.
Microphone Recommendations for All Levels
I have a Rode NT1 Condenser mic, and I have a Scarlet Solo interface. My mic is an XLR mic so that it has to go through an interface in order to plug into my laptop. So if you aren't in music, it really isn't necessary to get that kind of mic.
There are so many great condenser USB mics out there, which means mics that you can just plug in directly to your laptop through USB. If I were starting out as a podcast, some mics I would recommend that are USB condenser mics are: the Blue Snowball, the Blue Yeti, as well as some Audio Technica ones. Or depending on what podcast you're doing, I would consider getting a portable recorder. If you're thinking of doing a podcast where you're going to go out and interview people or get environment sounds or that kind of thing, then definitely get a portable recorder. I would probably get a Zoom H1 or Zoom H4N. Those are really popular.
Honestly, if you're starting out and you have no budget, you could totally just use your phone. If you have an iPhone, there's a voice memos app that you can use to record yourself or other people. Just get started with any mic that you can. Get some practice just doing the podcast, and maybe you can upgrade later on.
Using Headphones and Finding a Quiet Space
Next, you're going to need some headphones while you're recording your podcast. Honestly, any headphones or earphones will do because all you need to do is separate the audio that's coming out of the computer. You don't want that feedback coming out from your speaker back into the mic. So to prevent that feedback, just put it on mute or have some earphones on as you're recording your podcast.
And of course, it's so important to have clear audio, so you want to make sure that you're recording in a very quiet space. Usually closets are really popular because they're small and they're closed to muffle the sound. You have to use your ear and test the sound of that room. You can hear an echo. Even in this room right now, I know there's an echo so this would not be a good room to record a podcast in. But if you walk into a big room, you notice there's more echo. If you walk into a smaller room, like a closet, you'll notice that the sound is more muffled. And also: the more furniture you have or whether you have carpets or a rug, then the sound will be more muffled. It's all—you know, you're trying to stop the sound waves from bouncing around so that your audio into the mic is as clear as possible.
So if you want to reduce the echo in the room, you can do things like hang blankets on the walls, put up pillows, or you could get some acoustic panels. That's what professionals use to put all over the walls in those recording booths so that sound doesn't bounce around.
My Home Studio Tour
I guess now I can take you into my studio so you can see how I put up things to muffle the room. Alright this is my little walk-in closet that I've transformed into my studio. Here's my mic, and behind my mic I have this big pillow to block the wall and I've hung some clothes up here just to muffle the sound a little bit. And in that corner I just have guitar cases, and here's the carpet. This all muffles the sound. So this is where I record my podcast. That's my interface. I run it in Logic. And before I had this set-up, I really just put my mic in front of my clothes in my closet. So always have soft stuff in the back.
Introduction to DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations)
Alright, next up: you need a DAW which stands for 'digital audio workstation', and that's just a fancy word for a program on your computer where you can record and edit your audio. I use Logic Pro because that what I use to record my singing and it's easy for me. But you can use any DAW out there. If you have a Mac, you can use GarageBand, which is free. And if you have Windows, I heard Audacity is a free software you can use to record audio.
What you do is just plug in your mic to your computer, open the DAW software, make sure it's reading your mic. Sometimes you have to change it in the preferences or the settings. And then you hit Record, record your podcast, hit stop, and once you're done you can edit in that software.
Demo: Recording & Exporting in GarageBand
What I'm going to do is I'm going to show you guys how to do that in GarageBand. Alright, so now I'm going to open GarageBand. What I would do is—you could do Voice. Let's do Voice. Here, GarageBand gives you a ton of vocal settings that are pre-EQ. EQ just means what they want to enhance or lessen in your voice. Feel free to play with these. I would just go with Narration Vocal, so I would just delete these other ones.
And make sure that your mic is plugged in. You go to File, Preferences, Audio. Input and Output, right now it's under System. Mine is called the Scarlet Solo USB, so I would do Scarlet Solo. Now I've set these to my condenser mic. Make sure you set it to whatever USB mic that you're using. Then you close it, and you press Record. As you see, I've recorded my audio. And to stop the recording, you just press stop. From there, you can edit this to your liking.
After you're done recording your podcast, you can export it to an MP3 file. You can do that in many ways. Here, you can share your song to iTunes; AirDrop; Mail; Song to SoundCloud, even. Let's put Export Song to Disc. Here, you can choose what type of audio file. I would probably just choose MP3 and name it 'Podcast 1'. Save it onto wherever you want. I would put it in my Desktop or my podcast folder. Export!
An exception to recording straight into your DAW software is if you want to do an interview with someone online through Google Hangouts or Skype. You can actually just record your Google Hangouts from there. I'm sure you guys could figure that out. With Skype, I heard you have to download external plug-ins to record that call. And also, there's a new website that I just discovered this week, called Zencastr. That looks like a really simple interface where you can invite your guest to go on that page with you together, and through that website you can hit Record. And once you're done doing the podcast, it will send that MP3 file to your DropBox.
So there are ways to record your audio online without using a DAW, so it just depends what kind of podcast you're doing, what you're going for, and whether you really want to edit your podcast a lot or have it raw.
Getting Your Podcast Online: Hosting Options
Alright, now that you're done recording and editing your podcast, it's time to get it online. Now I'm pretty sure there are other ways you can do this but I'm going to share you the way that I know how, which is through a Wordpress blog. If you don't have a Wordpress blog, I know that you can host your podcast on podcast hosting sites. I think the popular ones are Libsyn and Blubrry. Feel free to do your research on other ways you can host your podcast. But if you have a Wordpress blog, then great news: I know how to teach you how to do that.
Wordpress Setup: Installing Blubrry PowerPress
So if you have a Wordpress blog, all you need to do is download a plug-in called Blubrry PowerPress. And now I'm just going to take you on the laptop because it's easier to show you there.
Here I am in my Wordpress dashboard. If you're in your Wordpress, what you do is you go to Plugins, Add New. Then search 'Blubrry PowerPress', and this is the plug-in right here. I already have it installed so make sure you install it. Once you have it installed, on your left side you should have this PowerPress. Once you're in PowerPress, here you can fill out all your settings for your podcast, fill in your description, everything according to what your podcast is going to be about. Under Advanced Options, make sure you click 'Category Podcasting', then Save Changes.
How to Publish Your First Podcast Episode
And to add your first podcast, what you do is go to New Post, and it's kind of like you're adding a blog post. What you do is write your podcast title here, and then you do your podcast description here, and here, this is where you put the URL to your MP3 audio of your podcast. Depending on where you host it, I like to host mine directly in Wordpress, so what I do is I host my audio on Wordpress, and this link is right here. I would copy that link and then post it here. But if you host your podcast audio on DropBox, Amazon, whatever, just grab that link from wherever you're hosting it and put it right here. Click 'Verify URL' to make sure that the link works. If it's verified successfully, then great! All you have to do next is, under Categories, make sure you check 'Podcast' and do whatever else you need to do. Add your tags, add your description, your blog post. But basically that's all you need to do. Click 'Publish' and now your first podcast is posted on your blog.
Submitting to iTunes and Google Play
But then you have to submit it to iTunes and Google Play. So once you've posted your first podcast and it's up on your blog, to submit it to iTunes, you go back into PowerPress. Then you click this link that says 'Publish a Podcast on iTunes'. You click that and you have to copy this feed link. This is my feed link, but yours will probably be: your website [dot] com [slash] feed [slash] podcast. Here, on this page, it will show you what your feed link is, and you have to meet these requirements before you submit it to iTunes, and basically everything else is just follow the instructions to submit it. Once you have it submitted, you have to wait a couple days before they email you back to let you know whether your podcast is accepted, and if it is, then congratulations. Your podcast will be on iTunes.
Also: if you want to submit your podcast to Google Play, what you do is: in PowerPress settings, you 'Switch to Advanced Mode'. Here, you'll see more options. You'll click 'Google Play' and then you click this link: 'Publish a Podcast'. And you basically follow the same rules to submit to Google Play Podcast.
The Submission Process and Final Tips
It's really important to note that you have to post your first podcast blog post before you submit to iTunes and Google Play. You have to have one podcast audio up, and then you can fill out the submission forms and stuff, and then the submission process takes a few days. Once your podcast is accepted, they'll send you an email. Then from then on, you just have to post your podcast as usual. Check that category 'Podcast', and it will feed automatically into iTunes and Google Play, and there's not much else you have to do on your part.
Another platform that's really easy to post on is SoundCloud. With SoundCloud all you have to do is create an account, and then upload your audio one by one. You can sort your podcast audios into a playlist which is what I did, and yeah. It's really convenient.
Conclusion
Alright, that's it for my video on how to start a podcast. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments below. Make sure to check out my podcast, The Lavendaire Lifestyle, on iTunes, Google Play, and SoundCloud. And if you like it, please, please help me by writing a review on iTunes because that helps a lot in terms ranking and how well it does, so I'd really appreciate that. Alright, thank you guys so much for watching. I'll see you next time. Bye!
