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.