65. The Podcast Equipment Breakdown
The #1 Most Asked Question I Get Is About My Podcast.
Selfishly, I am creating this week’s podcast so that I have a reference to send people to when I get the questions again. 😀 But for all of you, this is a resource for starting and creating your own podcast.
Episode 65 is all about what you need to get started with your own podcast. But, in case you were thinking of opting out of this episode, it’s work giving the first few minutes a listen, because they apply to any type of content creation you may have in mind. You can give it a listen here.
The biggest question that MUST be answered
about starting a podcast is really my biggest tip this week. Go give the first few minutes a listen to find out what you NEED to know before starting your podcast. You can do that here.
Here’s the breakdown of other resources:
Microphones:
In this week’s episode I give you the break down of each of these microphones, but here are the top 3 I recommend as well as the one I suggest you provide or have your interviewees attain.
ATR2500 – Around $100 with the filter and arm (I have this one)
Blue Snowball – Around $45
Blue Yeti – Around $150 without the filter and arm
Guest Mics:
Software:
You need a way to record, that’s where software comes in. I give you the lowdown on the freebies and why I chose Screenflow, but if you listen to the entire episode you will have a better idea of what will work for you.
GarageBand (MAC only)
Screenflow (I use this)
Zoom(interviews) (I use this)
Skype (interviews)
Royalty-Free Music For Intros & Outros:
The great debate over intros and outros happens over here in Episode 65. Here are the resources you will need if you choose in favor of adding an intro or outro. As well as, whether or not you want to create it yourself or have it done for you. It’s important to use only royalty-free music because just like photos or videos, the fines can be hefty for using someone’s copyrighted work.
Editing:
There are really only two choices here, edit yourself (which = many many hours of YouTube tutorials) or hire someone to edit for you. I give you the entire scoop over here in Episode 65. But the software for recording mentioned above in all instances (minus Zoom and Skype) have editing abilities as well.
Choosing a hosting platform:
So you won’t want to host your podcast on your website because it will slow things down to a crawl. I recommend using one of these podcast hosts to keep things neat and tidy and help rank your podcast so people can find it. Keep in mind you get what you pay for and that there are also some “all in one” solutions out there. I don’t have any experience with them, so I am not going to recommend one of those. They all offer different features, so do your homework and see which one will work best for you and what you want to do.
Last but not least, I covered transcripts and show notes:
I recommend at the minimum creating show notes to increase traffic to your website. You can get a good example of what that looks like, well, from this post. 😀 If you want to kick it up a notch, consider adding a transcript either download or as a separate page. Here are the two resources I recommend for that. If you want the inside scoop on the difference and the benefits, listen to this week’s episode here.
The other resource I mention is Searchi which makes your audios and videos searchable. Currently invite-only, but never hurts to get on the list. The skinny on that is also in the episode.
That’s the low down on all things podcast. I hope this becomes a resource for you to dive into your own podcasting adventure.
What did you think about this episode?
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Listen to the entire episode here:
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Hello Alisa,
I LOVED this podcast! Thank you. I’ve had the equipment for a year and haven’t done anything with it! This has inspired me to do something with this! My questions is: Under the Royalty-Free Music for Intros & Outros: How did you go about using the professional voice for your intro? Thank you Dawn
I’m so glad Dawn! So grateful you listen! <3 I'm not sure I understand your question. But I think what you are asking is how to get the professional voice in the intro. That is done when outsourced. I used Music Radio Creative and paid for my initial intro and outro. Hope this is answering your question.