10 STEPS TO A GREAT PODCAST 1. CREATE A VISION

Today’s podcasts are inspiring people all over the world. From learning about How Stuff Works, to solving true crime mysteries, or telling some of the most bizarre stories you’ve ever heard, podcasting is taking the world by storm. They’re informative, inspiring, and captivating. By and large, they are effective and for a number of reasons. But podcasting is not for the faint of heart. It takes work (as you will see throughout this guide). And to push through the hard work in order to get to the fun part of podcasting, you need a vision for how you want your podcast to go, what you want it to accomplish, and why you want to do it. So right from the start there are some preliminary things that should be considered:

1. Clarify your purpose. Are you doing it for fun? Are you trying to make an impact in the world? Is it a marketing strategy for your business? Are you trying to make podcasting your career? Whatever your goal is, this will help carry you through the learning curve of podcasting and help you persevere through whatever challenges you might face.

2. Set your goals. Setting goals for your podcast will help you stay focused and maintain consistency. Some examples of goals for your podcast might be to reach 5000 downloads per episode, launch 10 episodes for each season, generate income from podcast ads, use your podcast to increase web traffic, or to podcast weekly for a year and evaluate the results.

3. Choose your topic. Your podcast topic ideally is where your passion and knowledge about a particular subject/content area overlap. It may seem obvious, but if you’re not passionate about something (or don’t feel like you could be), then there’s no realistic way to podcast about it. If a topic doesn’t intrigue you, there’s no way you are going to engage others about it. And if you don’t know much about it, you’ll quickly run out of things to talk about. Now you don’t have to have a Ph.D. to be a credible source for a conversation, but it does help to know what you’re talking about. The reality is, most people are drawn to learn from and listen to other people who are open about their own limitations or weaknesses. Just because you haven’t mastered your topic doesn’t mean you can’t be a commentator on it!

2. CREATE A PLAN

Having a vision is not enough. To have a well-thought podcast, you need a content plan. What should that plan entail? Think about things like: • What do you want the format of your show to look like? • Do you want to do interviews? If so, who do you want to interview and why? • How many episodes in a season do you want to do? • Do your episode ideas fit cohesively with the theme of your podcast? • How often do you want to post episodes? (weekly, bi-monthly, bi-weekly, etc.) Think of your podcast content plan like you would a 20 page paper that you had to write for school. It’s much harder to have a cohesive paper when you’re just winging it as you go, but when you start with an outline of the content you want to cover, your points are much more concise and it flows much better. Establishing a content plan takes a lot of the “think work” out of the mix for you and can allow you to focus on your episodes with a confidence that it all fits together. Once you have a plan in place, you can move it into action. Schedule your interviews. Write up your interview questions. Schedule a time that you plan to work on your podcast each week. All of these things will help you get the ball rolling and be well on your way to some quality content.

3. SELECT YOUR EQUIPMENT

To podcast successfully and capture quality recordings for your episodes, you have to start with good, reliable equipment. While you can spend a lot of money of professional equipment, the reality is that with just a few, basic pieces of hardware you can record great content for your podcast.

1. Microphone The mic is arguably the most important element when it comes to podcast recording equipment, and every podcaster will need a good microphone. But what kind of mic is the best for your recording setup? A dynamic microphone will suit most recording setups best while providing quality sounds. We recommend if you’re just starting a podcast to go with the more affordable option and reward yourself with an upgrade once you celebrate podcasting for a year. There are many great podcasting microphones out there but these are 2 of our favorites and most highly recommended!

• Audio-Technica ATR 2100 – $64 (Works as both USB or XLR microphone – a GREAT mic for the price and a very popular USB mic for podcasting. If you are recording remote, this is your mic!) • ElectroVoice RE-320 – $297 (Broadcast standard mic and one of our favorites for podcasting. If you want to spend a little more for a top of the line voiceover mic, this is it!)

2. Accessories In addition to getting a great microphone for podcasting, we recommend you always use the following accessories to avoid common recording issues:

• Mic Stand or Boom Arm • Pop filter/Windscreen • XLR Mic Cable • Cloudlifter Mic Activator (will make any of the podcasting mics above sound better)

3. Handheld Recorder This is our favorite all-in-one tool for podcasting. A handheld recorder replaces the need to use a computer (with often complex recording software) and simplifies the recording process. One benefit to recorders is that they capture each microphone you use on separate tracks, making the overall quality much better. Another thing we like about the Zoom H5 and H6 is that they are very easy to navigate and adjusting the gain is as simple as turning a knob. • Zoom H5 – $269 (2 mic preamps, built in mic and you can purchase an adapter that gives you an additional 2 in your recording process.) • Zoom H6 – $349 (4 mic preamps, built in mic and you can purchase an adapter that gives you an additional 2 inputs for a total of 6 individual tracks. You don’t need a junky mixer with low quality preamps when this is an option! Most of the time all a mixer does is lower the quality of your recording and convolute your recording process.)

4. Headphones When recording a podcast someone should always wear headphones to monitor the recording and quickly identify any issues. If more than 1 person needs to use headphones, we recommend a headphone splitter or a headphone amp with this cable for up to 4 outputs. You don’t have to break the bank to find something reliable. Here are a few pairs of closed-back headphones we like. • Sony MDR 7506 – $79 (Many reporters and podcasters use and recommend these.) • Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro – $169 (Very Comfortable. Our favorite closed-back headphones.)

4. RECORD YOUR PODCAST (THE RIGHT WAY!)

1. Environment Your recording environment is perhaps the most important element that can make or break the sound of your recording. The majority of podcasts today are self produced, with most not being recorded in a professional studio environment. First, a good recording space must be quiet (no HVAC, fans, etc.). Second, a good recording space has natural sound absorption. For example, carpeted rooms with furniture or walk-in closets are going to work much better than an empty room with bare floors. To determine how much room noise your room has, simply clap or snap your fingers and listen for an echo or slapback sound. If you do not hear an echo or slapback, then it might work well.

2. Mic Technique When recording there are 2 basic things to ensure good mic technique: a. Distance – Most microphones will have what we call a “sweet spot.” This is the distance at which your voice will sound the best on that particular microphone. When recording narration, the distance from your microphone is everything. A good rule of thumb is to stay about 4-6 inches from your microphone. b. Positioning – Getting your mic in the correct position is key. Depending on the type of microphone you are using, the difference between 1-2 inches can make all the difference between clear, warm, and articulate narration and hollow, muddy, or unintelligible narration. Once you have your mic at the correct distance you want to ensure that the front of the microphone capsule points directly towards the source (aka: your mouth). One of the most common issues when recording narration is controlling the plosives and p-pops. This is caused by a burst of air coming from the mouth hitting the mic diaphragm. One way to help fix this problem is to adjust the mic off center from your mouth and then angle the mic at a 45 degree angle so the front of the microphone is still pointing directly towards your mouth. 3. Recording Levels & Monitoring The last element to monitor when recording your podcast is ensuring the correct recording level. Recording levels too high can cause distortion or clipping, and recording with the gain too low may cause hissing or hollow sounding narration.

• Gain – First, you need to identify your gain setting. What is that magic level you should record your narration? A good rule of thumb is to have your mic peak around -10 to -12 dB. This means at the loudest part of your recording the level should go no higher than -10dB. Most recording devices have these numbers listed on a visual meter. However, if your device does not have these numbers listed, try to stay in the green or about halfway up your meter. If you cannot find a visual meter on your device, well this leads us to our next point…

• Monitor – It is important that you have a way to monitor and listen to what you are actually recording. Even if your device has an excellent visual meter to check your recording level, we recommend you be a skeptic and never trust your eyes. In our world you must learn to only trust your ears. For this reason we recommend someone always monitor your recording with high quality, closed back headphones when recording. Monitoring your audio in real time will enable you to quickly recognize and address any issues with your recording.

A final thought on recording is that it is always good to do some test recordings prior to your actual recording time. Review these recordings with headphones and listen for any issues with the recording. Doing multiple test recordings will also help you to better learn and become more comfortable with your recording setup.

5. CREATE YOUR INTRO

When you are thinking about creating the intro and outro for your podcast, we recommend you take the extra time to make it as good as you possibly can with the resources you have. This is one of the ways people will recognize your podcast, so you want it to be good and reflect the quality of your content.

Tips for creating a great podcast intro: 1. Use relevant music. You want your music to fit your theme and communicate the feel you want your podcast to have.

2. Make it clear. Include the podcast name, name of host(s), sponsors, episode number and title, guest name(s), and any other relevant info for each episode.

3. Set the tone. Include the theme or tagline of the podcast, and give a short summary and purpose for the show. Use this as an opportunity to hook listeners and draw them in. 4. Make it professional. You want your intro to grab the attention of listeners and set the tone for your podcast. Go the extra mile to make it sound great. a. Voiceover: If you have a great voice you can record your own intro. If you prefer using a professional voiceover artist there are many great ones to choose from. b. Music: There are many great and affordable options when it comes to intro music creation. Here are a few: – Purchase pre-made royalty free music. You can – Have our team create your own find a ton of great options by doing a simple custom music. Google search. – Create your own.

6. CREATE YOUR COVER ART

It goes without saying that first appearances matter. The old saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover” only exists because it’s natural for us to judge others, books, magazines, movies, CDs, and even podcasts, by their “cover.” Similarly to your intro/outro, your cover art is one of the primary ways people will recognize your podcast, so it’s a worthwhile endeavor to make sure it’s good.

Tips for creating great podcast cover art: 1. Keep it simple. Your artwork should contain the name of your show and any relevant images or logos. Avoid the temptation to add extra words or flashy images that may not be needed.

2. Keep it relevant. Your artwork should reflect the theme or ethos of your show. Use contrasting colors that will help your show stick out and that reflect the emotion you hope your show will communicate.

3. Make it big. Be creative to make the title text fit but make it as large as possible. Many of your potential listeners will be viewing your cover art on the small screen of their mobile device in iTunes, so you want your artwork to be legible and stand out at this small size.

7. PUT IT ALL TOGETHER (EDITING & POST PRODUCTION)

Now that you have your content plan, your equipment, and new knowledge of how to record, you’re ready to start recording your podcast! But you’ll probably soon find that the job isn’t quite done after the recording process is finished. There’s some post production work to be done.

When editing is done correctly, you won’t even notice that a podcast has been edited. The goal of editing is to remove the things that may be distracting for your listeners, not to make you sound like a robot. Here are our top 8 tips for helping you edit your podcast. 1. Spatial Awareness. Pacing and space are crucial for the overall feel of a podcast. Too much space can sound awkward and unnatural, which can easily disengage the listener. Too little space can make the dialogue sound too choppy and confusing to follow. Finding a natural flow and feel to the conversation is extremely important in creating a well-edited podcast. Space can be utilized to create a pause between different segments to help the listener digest what they just heard. Adding space or a breath between edit points can be beneficial to making a smoother edit and transition.

2. Just Breathe. Another common mistake is cutting off breaths too abruptly or missing breaths altogether when making an edit. Cut off breaths occur when a breath is chopped off or incomplete. Missing breaths occur when a breath is edited out due to two different segments being put together. These errors cause the dialogue to sound unnatural and choppy. When looking at audio waveforms, breaths can be difficult to spot because they are so much lower in volume compared to other parts of dialogue. To make it easier to spot breaths we recommend increasing the size of the waveforms in your DAW.

4. Try Various Editing Modes. There are different editing modes within certain audio editing platforms that can be useful to help you save time. In Pro Tools, the shuffle mode can be used to quickly splice and move two different edit points together. Additionally, the spot mode can be used to move an audio region to a specific timestamp within the timeline. Take some time to learn and try out the various editing modes assigned to your platform. It will boost your editing productivity.

5. Remove Lip Smacks/Clicks. Do you ever get annoyed by hearing a continuous barrage of lip smacks? We sure do, and nothing can be more annoying than hearing a lip smack every other sentence. Editing out lip smacks and mouth clicks will make your podcast a more pleasant listen. Your audience will thank you!

6. Group Your Tracks. If you have more than one dialogue track to edit, grouping tracks together, or multi-track editing, can save you time and help keep your session organized. This also keeps the tracks in phase and in line with each other.

7. Use Headphones. One of the most useful tips when editing is to use good quality headphones. Over the ear, closed headphones work great to help isolate you from your editing environment. Listening on headphones will help you hear all of the details and nuances of the voice much better than listening on computer speakers or even on higher quality near-field monitors. This makes hearing subtle details such as breaths much easier.

7. Listen Back to Your Edit. This may seem like a no-brainer, but you need to listen back to your edit. Don’t exchange speed for quality. It may take some more time to go back and listen, but it will potentially help you catch even more editing mistakes. Listen without looking at your screen, and see if you can detect any of the common mistakes listed in this blog. Remember, the best edit is the one that is unnoticeable. If you can’t hear it, then you know it won’t be distracting for the listener.

8. DETERMINE YOUR HOSTING FOR DISTRIBUTING YOUR PODCAST

A podcast also needs to find a home. It needs a place to call it’s own, where it can settle in to live and be heard by the world; a place where it can get connected to the podcast directories for consumption. The hosting site generates a “signal” called an RSS feed, which links the hosting platform to the different podcast directories where people will listen to it, sites like iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, TuneIn, Spotify and even YouTube. Here are the top 9 hosting platforms available, as well as our recommendations. (For a more detailed overview of each of these hosting platforms, visit our blog.)

Top 9 Hosting Platforms 1. PodBean 2. Libsyn (use promo code RECORD) 3. SimpleCast 4. Buzzsprout 5. Spreaker 6. audioBoom 7. Blubrry 8. SoundCloud 9. Anchor

Our Recommendations At Resonate Recordings, we have decided to partner with Podbean, Libsyn, SimpleCast, Buzzsprout, and Spreaker. Each of these hosting companies are Resonate approved vendors and they have a unique blend of being approachable, affordable, and user-friendly.

All in all, it’s important to choose your hosting platform not just based off of your needs now, but your possible future needs. Find a platform that is willing to get behind you through the features they offer and the support they will give you as your listenership grows. Find out what specific features they offer for new podcasters and seasoned podcasters to see what might be best for you.

9. LAUNCH YOUR SHOW!

So you’ve done all the hard work of planning, recording, and editing your podcast and you’re now ready to launch your show! But what does that mean? How do you get visibility for your show so others can find out about it? In order for your podcast to continue to succeed it is critical that you give due diligence to the idea of promoting your podcast effectively in the early days & weeks after it’s released to gain traction & the listenership you’re looking for.

1. Decide on your goals. Whatever your goals for your podcast are will determine the amount of work that you will need to put into it in order to get the audience and influence that you want. Simply getting your podcast live is one thing, but climbing into top charts or New & Noteworthy in iTunes is a different animal. 2. Learn how it works. While some podcasters are content with sharing their podcast with friends and family, many podcasters see their podcast as a chance to grow their brand and desire increased exposure & greater momentum to their listenership. There is no more effective way in doing that than looking right into the eyes of the giant–iTunes. Many estimate that over 70% of your listeners will come through this directory alone, so this is where you really want (or at least, should want) to succeed.

So what does it look like to succeed in iTunes? To do this successfully, you have to have a plan in place. Here are the basics: to make it into “New & Noteworthy” you have a limited window of 8 weeks. Boosting your ratings, reviews & downloads in iTunes helps you climb the charts because it shows that people care about your podcast. How do you do this, you ask?

3. Publish consistent content for your listeners to consume. Consistency helps build your reputation and gives people a better taste for your podcast. And in your content, don’t be afraid to have a call to action. Ask them to like you, follow you, rate you, review you, download you. Ask them to help you succeed! It’s a simple but it goes a long way. Whatever platform or method you focus your attention to though, the call remains the same. Engage your listeners to find success & offer them consistent content to engage over. And ask them to help you get where you want to be!

10. GET YOUR SHOW OUT THERE (PODCAST MARKETING 101)

It might come as a surprise that having a strong online following (say, 10K+ Twitter followers) doesn’t guarantee a substantial podcast following. It’s much easier to get someone to follow you on Instagram or Twitter than it is to actually get them to find and listen to your podcast. We’ve encountered multiple people who have a ton of social media followers but are disgruntled because their podcast doesn’t seem to be gaining the traction they expected. What gives??

Here are a few tips you may not have thought of that can help you successfully market your podcast.

1. Use keywords in your title. This will help those searching for podcasts come across yours. Think about what you would type into a google search if you were looking for a new podcast to listen to. An example of using keywords would be “The Cleaning of John Doe | True Crime.” You can also add keywords to the artist area. i.e. Vanessa Pearson: True Crime Podcaster.

2. Don’t skimp on the written description of your show/episodes. You don’t have to give away any spoilers when writing your description, but including some “juicy” details will draw in listeners. You don’t want people to pass up on listening to your podcast because you left out important information. Remember content is key!

3. Submit to every single podcatcher (directory) possible. The more places your show can be heard, the better. Google some well known podcasts and see which podcatchers they appear on, and be sure to submit to all the same places. You can also search “list of podcatchers” and you’ll find a number of them. Some examples are: castbox.fm, tunein.com, and podchaser.com. 4. Take advantage of press releases. Look for opportunities on DiscoverPods.com or reddit.com. When you see blogs or articles listing “Best Crime Podcasts”, “Best Comedy Podcasts”, etc. be sure to comment and commend the author for making the list and mention yours to them. You should also write to the author asking how you can get added to the list or possibly mentioned the next time around. Even if they are unable to help you out this time, networking is never a bad thing so keep in touch with them if possible. If you do get added to one of their lists, be sure to promote them! They’re always looking for more followers, just like you.

5. Be active on iTunes. Find podcasts similar to yours and post reviews. Your username should be the name of your podcast. This will help you gain a little more exposure to those reading reviews. Something to remember is to always be kind. If you have constructive criticism it’s best to send it in a private message. An extra iTunes tip: You can release a minimum of 3 episodes on launch day and spend your first week reaching out to your audience and ask them to download all three episodes and leave a rating and review.

6. Interact on social media. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. are all incredible tools for picking up listeners. It’s super easy to stay in touch with your listeners through social media. Be grateful for all of the followers/listeners that you have. Don’t stress if your numbers aren’t where you want them to be. Enjoy the journey and watching your podcast grow.

7. Audio swaps and guest spots. This is one of the best things you can do to grow your show. Reach out to fellow podcasters to see if they are willing to do an audio swap or be a guest on your show. An audio swap is when a 30-60 clip of your show is featured on theirs and vice versa. If someone plays your clip or you do a guest spot on their show, advertise that episode for them (and for you).

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