In this post I want to show you how to start a podcast. What equipment you will need to record it and how to edit it plus how do you post it so your podcast shows up around the world and how to do all of that for free.
First let’s start with the equipment.
Really if you own a phone you already own everything you need to start a podcast. You can use your phone to record your podcast. If you have a computer you also can use your built in mic and webcam to record the audio and video. Easiest way is to record your audio and video using a free program like OBS Studio.
Download OBS Studio here https://obsproject.com/
If you are starting out don’t worry too much about spending the money on expensive microphones, recorders or cameras. Just use what you already have. Spend time on thinking of good ideas and then actually recording the podcasts. Once you’ve learned the whole process and you also see that you are enjoying podcasting then with time you will naturally want to upgrade the quality. Honestly though most people get excited at first and spend way too much money on great only to quit podcasting a few episodes in. In fact statistically speaking most podcasts never make it past 7 episodes.
Now if you are one of the few who does stick to it and you do more than 7 episodes and you would like to upgrade then the first and most important upgrade will be the microphone. The one I am using here is the Rode Procaster mic. An excellent mic designed specifically for podcasts. Also another great podcasting mic that is not as expensive is the Rode PodMic.
➡Rode Procaster Mic https://bhpho.to/3bWR3WS
Also on Amazon https://amzn.to/3RohOUe
Amazon UK https://amzn.to/3c4h0DO
Amazon Germany https://amzn.to/3Iu5Tk2
➡Rode PodMic https://bhpho.to/3uUXT67
Also on Amazon https://amzn.to/3nRsOME
Amazon UK https://amzn.to/3AD5dXI
Amazon Germany https://amzn.to/3bYgOpO
➡Another Great Mic is the Rode Wireless Go 2
B&H https://bhpho.to/3uGwFy4
Adorama https://adorama.rfvk.net/e4v7ND
eBay https://ebay.us/i5p6U7
Amazon UK https://amzn.to/3bM7gKP
Amazon Germany https://amzn.to/37Uj2BK
Of course to use a pro microphone you will need a pro recorder that you can plug it into because these mics uses industry standard XLR connections. One very affordable recorder that can record up to 4 microphones on 4 different channels is the Zoom PodTrak P4. My friend Daniel with whom I do Galga TV Podcast uses this recorder. I use another more expensive recorder which is the Rodecaster Pro II which is an amazing and advanced audio recorder and mixer. It can be used for streaming or as your computer audio device. Basically it covers all your audio needs. Both recorders will record in great quality but one just has more features than the other.
➡Rodecaster Pro II https://bhpho.to/3OQ0GVS
Also on Amazon https://amzn.to/3Pbvpwo
Amazon UK https://amzn.to/3nRsygE
Amazon Germany https://amzn.to/3nRXmO4
➡Zoom PodTrak P4 Recorder https://bhpho.to/3s1QSP7
Also on Amazon https://amzn.to/3asQYKg
Amazon UK https://amzn.to/3yPHnqf
Amazon Germany https://amzn.to/3bPkqKD
Me and Daniel live in two different countries so we just do a video call and then each of us records our own video and audio and then I send over my recording files over to Daniel so he can edit the podcast together using a free editing software like Davinci Resolve. You would do the same thing if you for example had recorded more than 1 person in your podcast. Maybe you have 2 different microphones you used and if you are recording video you might also have two cameras. You put all that together using any video editing software.
Download a Free Video & Audio Editor – Davinci Resolve here https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/
There is also a website that makes recording podcasts or video interviews over the internet easier which is https://riverside.fm/ but I only mention them because someone suggested this website to me. I have not used it myself. This is a paid service. I’ve seen some high profile interviews done using their platform. So I assume it might be worth looking into. If you are interested check them out.
By the way if you are going to be recording video then always try to use as much light as you can. Either record during the day next to a big window that will provide natural light. Or if you are recording at night at least try to make sure that all your lightbulbs are the same color temperature. Don’t ever have one lightbulb that is yellow and another that is white or blue color in the same room because most cameras will not deal with that very well and your video will look like crap. Once you really want to go pro then buy yourself a pro video light like the ones I am using. Check out my video above for examples.
Upgrade your webcam with this Logitech C922x Pro Stream Webcam
Available on B&H https://bhpho.to/3aoal76
Amazon https://amzn.to/3aouv0L
Amazon UK https://amzn.to/3aozvCy
Amazon Germany https://amzn.to/3Iu6eTQ
Video Camera I use is the Sony A7sIII which you can find here https://bhpho.to/3PgikC9
also on Amazon https://amzn.to/3r06qRf
Adorama https://adorama.rfvk.net/LPaygY
eBay http://ebay.us/AQ2i4V
Amazon Canada https://amzn.to/3dGqFj0
Amazon UK https://amzn.to/2ZIijyZ
Amazon Germany https://amzn.to/3keA4iZ
Amazon France https://amzn.to/3aOcoPr
Amazon Spain https://amzn.to/3aM5TN2
Do you have to record video? No. In fact most people only like to listen to podcasts while they are commuting to work. But video is becoming more and more popular in podcasts since Spotify now plays both audio and video. This actually takes me to the next step which is how to post your podcasts for everyone to hear and maybe even see.
There are a lot of different online services that offer podcast hosting. They offer different plans for different amounts of money. If you are going to start a podcast however and you are still not making any money with it then I would suggest hosting it on a free platform like Anchor.fm
They allow you to host your podcasts completely for free just like Youtube does. Now I am not sponsored by Anchor or by Spotify who now owns Anchor. This is simply how I host my podcasts because like I said, it’s free and easy. Anchor even allows you to directly record a podcast to their website if you don’t know how to record it and then upload it. They even help you syndicate your podcast using an RSS feed to all the places where people listen to podcasts like obviously Spotify, but also Apple or Google podcasts and Overcast, Amazon Music, Castbox and so on. However there is something you should know about for the future. If you host your podcast for free on Anchor and let’s say in the future your podcast really takes off and becomes a huge success then you are kinda stuck with Anchor. If you ever decide you want to sell your podcast or negotiate a big deal like Joe Rogan did than you are stuck. Why? Because if you take your podcast off their servers then your whole audience is gone with it as well since your anchor.fm RSS feed will be gone. An RSS feed is how you get your latest episode to your audience. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. The feed tells the audience when new material—such as a news article, a blog posting, or a podcast —has been published on the server. So you can always change your server but if you don’t control the RSS feed then you don’t control access to that big audience that you have built. It’s kinda what happened to many people who create content on Youtube. Including myself. I spent years building an audience on my channel only to have Youtube decide that they will not let my whole audience know about my new videos.
So the way to get around this is to use a free service like Feedburner. It’s free and it works!
Essentially what feedburner does is to swap your RSS feed address with a custom address that you can always take with you. So you copy the RSS feed that anchor.fm provides and you input it into the feedburner to get a new RSS feed. Then you can go to Apple and Google podcasts and anywhere else you want your podcast to show up and you share your new RSS feed and not the one from Anchor. Then fast forward into the future when you are the number 1 podcaster in the world and you can go to any podcast hosting website or buy your own server to host your podcast on your terms and all you need to do is to swap your new RSS feed in feedburner. That’s it! All the other places where people listen to podcasts will still get notified of your new episodes and you haven’t lost your audience. Doesn’t matter if you want to move to a new host because you got a great deal offer or because your current host is censoring your podcast etc. Hope this makes things clear.
Now to make sure your podcast shows up on all the podcast platforms just go one by one and follow the info that anchor.fm provides to submit your RSS.
For example, to submit to Apple Podcasts, use Apple Podcasts Connect. Anchor provides the links. Just click on that and follow the directions. Do the same to submit your podcast to all the other places.
Once you have done all that then you just have to create new podcast episodes and keep on uploading to Anchor.fm and all your new episodes will automatically show up everywhere where people find podcasts.
Check out my Podcast on YouTube. You can also watch or listen to my Podcast anywhere you find podcasts or on Spotify
Here is a post where I show how to enhance video calls on Zoom or Skype etc.
Also here is my Rode Wireless Go 2 Mic Review.