written by Kevin O’Shea, updated by George Hatch
I’ve been asked many times for advice in setting up and producing podcasts. Answering them has been a delight, but there are simply too many requests for me to handle individually. As such, I will be writing a guide which walks you through the process of setting up, recording, and publishing podcasts of your very own! I’ll be working on a sample episode alongside you, so you can see how easy it really is. But before we get into that, as of June 2016 we’ve taken the liberty of updating the technical aspects. Please note that this guide assumes Windows computers and software, as none of us have used iOS or Linux. If you have, you’re probably way smarter than us and don’t really need this guide.
Before we get down to business, I have a very important question.
What kind of podcast do you want to do?
It’s basically the same question as “what kind of TV show do you want to make?” The possibilities are endless. Off the top of my head, I can think of the following formats: Game Show, News Program, News Magazine, Morning Talk Show, Movie Reviews, and Radio Dramas. Also, there’s my personal favorite: Vague-Focus Discussion and General Hanging Out With Your Best Friend. (It’s a more common genre than you’d think.)
(Also, you can have video podcasts, but I’m going to focus on audio-only, since that’s what I have the most experience with.)
Chances are, if you’re reading this guide, you already have a basic idea of what you want to do. There’s no “wrong” concept for a show; do what you want! The important thing is to have fun doing it. Down the line, you may decide to change your format to better accommodate your listeners, but the point is that you’re still doing this because you want to.
Once you’ve got a good idea of what you want to do, take a look at the next sections of this guide.
- What you’ll need
- Recording/Broadcasting
- Recording from multiple locations (guests/hosts in different parts of the world)
- Editing your audio
- Publishing
Those are your basics. Play around with all the concepts I show you, and figure out what works best for you! Every show is different, and has its own quirks and needs.
Enjoy your new show!