This – how to podcast – guide is presented to you by award-winning podcaster Hank Davis from TPE Network. Below are the 16 steps that will be presented.

  1. Concept or idea.
  2. Show name + domain name.
  3. Artwork and branding.
  4. Website or alternative place your podcast resides.
  5. Contact email and/or voice message service.
  6. Choose a media hosting company.
  7. Audio elements – music, voice-overs, and sound effects.
  8. Equipment.
  9. Record your promo, trailer, or episode zero.
  10. Create your feed once you have all the elements needed to record.
  11. Submit your podcast feed to all the major players.
  12. Feed subscription buttons.
  13. Social sharing buttons.
  14. Promotion.
  15. Financial Support.
  16. Legalities. 

TAKE YOUR PODCAST LIVE! LIVE STREAMING CAN INCREASE AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT! streamyard

1.CONCEPT OR IDEA

You will need to answer the following questions in order to flesh out your podcast idea.

  • What will your podcast be about?
    • Will there be enough content to keep the podcast going?
  • When will you release the podcast?
    • Daily, weekly, monthly, etc…
  • What are your goals for the show?
  • Why are you doing the show?
  • Who is doing the show?
    • Will this be a solo show or do you need/want a co-host?
  • When will it start?
  • Where and how will you record?
  • How long will the show run? 
    • Episode length.
    • Is this a limited or continuous series?

* SEE THE LEGAL SECTION FOR IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT HAVING A CO-HOST*

2. SHOW NAME + DOMAIN NAME

  • Search for shows with the same name.
    • Head to any major podcast directory and do a search.
    • Use a quality search engine in order to sniff out any other shows that already have the same name.
    • You can save yourself a potential headache by choosing an original show name.
  • Buy the domain name for your show’s title.
    • Owning the domain name that is the same as your podcast’s name can be beneficial if lawyers come calling.
  • Include relevant keywords if possible.
  • Believe it or not there are still many original show names to be had.

I use Google Domains for all of my domain name needs. They are inexpensive, easy to navigate, and offer free privacy settings that other service providers charge for.

3. ARTWORK AND BRANDING

  • What do you want your artwork to convey?
  • Does your artwork look good small?
  • Keep in mind your podcast’s cover art must be square (e.g. 1400×1400 – 3000×3000).
    • File type: JPG or PNG.
    • Color space: RGB.
    • 72 dpi (dots per inch).
    • File size: less than 512kb.
    • Don’t include anything that could get your show rejected (i.e. bad words or offensive images).
  • What’s your slogan or description?
    • Make sure your slogan or description is short and catchy.
  • Does it look good small?
    • Artwork must retain its appeal when it’s the size of your thumbnail.
  • Don’t forget you’ll need logo sizes for sharing on social.
    • Social images differ from the square images we use as our cover art.
    • Roughly 2048 or 960 on the widest side for Facebook images.
    • Check social media services for exact dimensions.

You can potentially find low cost designers at the following website.

4. WEBSITE OR AN ALTERNATIVE

  • When it comes to where your podcast will reside you must decide whether or not you will have a dedicated website or a done-for-you service.
  • WordPress appears to be the top choice for podcasters who desire to have their own website. That doesn’t mean you can’t utilize another CMS (content management system) or forgo a website altogether. The choice is up to you.
      • I personally feel that owning your own website is the best way to go.
        • You can maintain control of your brand and how it’s presented on the web.
        • Unlike a done-for-you service you can make alterations to your website in order to suit your needs.

*Affiliate link*

    • Owning your own website is not without some concerns you should keep in mind.  
      • You’ll have to consider down time, monthly bandwidth, and the potential of being hacked.
        • You could spend many sleepless nights worrying about any number of potential problems.

 

 

*Affiliate link*

5. CONTACT EMAIL – VOICEMAIL SERVICE

  • Show engagement is one of the main methods you can a) create free content and b) build your show’s social proof. You can achieve this by offering your audience several ways to reach you.
    • An email address will be necessary when if comes time to create an RSS feed for your podcast. 
      • This can be as simple as a Gmail address or as detailed as using contact@yourdomainname.com or feedback@yourdomainname.com. 
    • Sometimes an email just doesn’t work as well as the spoken word. It can be much more impactful to play a listener’s voice message on your show.
        • You can acquire a Google Voice number.
        • There are voice message services available for free or low cost (e.g. telbee). 

 

 

 

*Affiliate link*

6. CHOOSE A MEDIA HOST

Things to look for when choosing a media hosting company.

 

 

      • Do they change your audio file?
      • If your RSS feed originates from their website do they offer a 301 redirect?
      • What’s the total amount of storage per month you’re allowed?
      • What are their limitations if you become popular?
      • Are they dynamically inserting ads into your podcast?
      • Do they offer reliable statistics?
      • What is their average down time?
      • If you want to do video can they accommodate that?
    • Licensing music.
      • Make sure you read the fine print.
      • Keep a copy of your licensing agreement.
    • License sound effects.
      • Don’t steal sound effects from the internet.
      • Keep a copy of your licensing agreement.

  •  

8. EQUIPMENT

This is by far the slipperiest slope in all of podcasting. Often podcasters will spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on equipment. Many podcasters have the mentality that if they create high-quality content millions of people will magically find them and become raving fans. The old adage “the cream rises to the top” doesn’t always hold true in podcasting.

          • How much do you want to spend on equipment?
            • You’ll need a mic, mic stand/boom arm at minimum.
            • You could also invest in a mixer/interface, DAW, digital recorder, and sound dampening materials.
          •  If you’re going to do video then you’re going to need a camera, tripod, lighting, video editing software, and a backdrop.
            • You might also want to invest in graphics for branding. 

Podcasters are always asking for recommendations when it comes to gear. The gear you get depends on numerous factors including: how much you want to spend, what you actually need, how you’re going to record, and many other reasons. I’ll list a few options that I’ve either personally used or have first-hand knowledge of.

 

First and foremost you will need a DAW (digital audio workstation). This is software you’ll use to record and edit your podcast. I always recommend using a physical hardware recorder but for now we’ll simply focus on acquiring a software recorder/editor.

GOOD

          • USB straight into your computer (even though all of these have XLR connections as well).
            • Samson Q2U.
            • AT 2005.
            • ATR 2100x.
          • Headphones (use any that you choose or see below in the section titled “Best” for my recommendations)
          • Mic stand.
            • Boom arm.
            • Desk stand.

You’ll get good quality sound while not spending a lot of money. 

BETTER

          • Microphone plugged into an audio interface.
          • Microphone options. 
            • One of the aforementioned mics.
            • Rode PodMic
            • Zoom ZDM-1.
            • Samson Q9U
          •  Audio interface options.
            • Audient EVO 4.
            • Focusrite Scarlett Solo.
            • MOTU M2.
            • Behringer U-Phoria UMC22.
          • Headphones (use any that you choose or see below in the section titled “Best” for my recommendations)
          • Mic stand.
            • Boom arm.
            • Desk stand.

For just a little bit more money you’ll get a nice boost in audio quality.

BEST

          • Microphone plugged into a high-quality mixer or audio interface.
          • Microphone options.
            • Rode Procaster.
            • Heil PR40.
            • Shure SM7B.
            • Electro-Voice RE20.
          • High-quality mixers and audio interfaces.
            • RODECaster Pro.
            • TASCAM Mixcast 4.
            • Zoom PodTrak P4.
            • Zoom H6.
          • Headpones.
            • Over the ear options include: Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO, Audio-Technica ATH-M50, and the famed Sony MDR-7506 headphones.
          • Mic stand.
            • Boom arm.
            • Desk stand. 

*Keep in mind this is a list of items I have either owned, purchased for co-hosts, or have other first-hand knowledge of.*

You’ll notice I only recommend dynamic microphones for new podcasters or podcasters who have a less than ideal recording environment. This is because dynamic microphones tend to pick up less ambient room noise. If you have a treated studio then by all means fire up a Rode NT1 or another well-received condenser microphone and record away.

*Affiliate link*

9. RECORD YOUR PROMO, TRAILER OR EPISODE ZERO

  • Prior to recording make sure you understand how to use your gear. 
  • Once you have a solid understanding of your gear practice, practice, practice!
    • It can be tempting to jump straight into recording but you should get behind the microphone, hit record, listen back to what you recorded, and promptly delete said recording.
    • Listen to your practice recordings with a critical ear.
      • Listen for mouth noise (sticky clicks and pops usually from dry mouth), plosives (obnoxious bursts of wind that hit the microphone’s diaphragm), and noise from tapping or hitting your desk or the microphones stand. 
  • Make sure you have a way to monitor your own voice while you’re recording. If you’re using an audio interface most of them have a monitor jack onboard. Hearing these things as they happen can help you mitigate the problems or at least make you aware of them.

If you want a polished sounding podcast without having to learn about plugins and post-production, check out Auphonic! Auphonic provides an automated audio processing service that will give your podcast that broadcast sound. Affiliate Link

10. CREATE YOUR RSS FEED

    • There are numerous ways to create an RSS feed these days. Essentially every media host offers you an RSS feed on their service in case you don’t want to build your own website. Blubrry offers their PowerPress plugin to WordPress users for free. The PowerPress plugin allows you to make a feed the emanates from your WordPress website. Their team also is behind the service Podcast Mirror. According to their website: Podcast Mirror is a free feed replication service designed to keep your podcast RSS feed running with blazing performance and reliability regardless of your web traffic or technical issues.
      • No matter how you choose to create your podcast’s feed after you’ve made it you should test it. 
      • Again the folks at Blubrry offer a service for that located at https://castfeedvalidator.com/.

Regardless of how or where you choose to create your podcast’s RSS feed, they will have step by step instructions on how to achieve that.

11. SUBMIT YOUR PODCAST FEED

  • You will want your podcast to appear everywhere you can possibly have it. If you choose to submit your feed yourself this can be a somewhat tedious process, however you will maintain control of your feed going forward. Be leery of services that will do this step for you. Be sure to ask whether or not they have a process in place for when/if you decide to move elsewhere. Often this will be a question for your media hosting company (see step #6). Every media host that I’ve personally used offers a “DESTINATIONS” type process that will allow you to submit your podcast to many, if not all, of the services listed below. 
  • There are many places you can submit your podcast’s RSS feed. Any media host worth their weight will have a “destinations” section that will allow you to submit your podcast to all the directories. NOTE: the following links are for people who have built their own website, self host their RSS feed and use a plugin like PowerPress.
    • Podcast Index.
      • If you are with a media hosting company they will have measures in place to get you into the Podcast Index (if not then reach out to their support).
      • Blubrry support says do this >>>  CLICK HERE  to be listed in the Podcast Index (below is merely how I did it).
      • If you self-host your feed on a WordPress website and use the feed generation plugin PowerPress, here are the steps I took (not recommended by Blubrry):
        • Head to your WordPress dashboard > hover over or alternatively click PowerPress in the left sidebar > click settings > click destinations > click Podcast Index > you should have a link to your RSS feed URL but if you don’t you can click the feeds tab (if you only host one feed on your website). > paste the feed URL in the field on the destinations page for Podcast Index > check the appropriate boxes if you want the link to appear where the boxes specify > click save changes and you are all set.
        • If you do category podcasting like I do here are the steps you’ll need to follow:
          • From the WordPress dashboard hover over PowerPress in the left sidebar > click category podcasting > click edit under the specific category name > click destinations > copy the feed URL > find Podcast Index in the left sidebar and click it > paste the feed URL in the blank field > check the appropriate boxes if you want the link to appear in the places where the boxes specify > click save changes and you are all set.
            • Please note, it took 3-4 days for my show to appear in search on PodcastIndex.org. This test was done the week Apple had issues with Apple Podcasts.
          • Apple Podcasts.
            • If you have a login already submit your podcast to Apple Podcasts here.
            • If you don’t have an account and you need to create an Apple account head here.
          • Spotify.
            • Submit your podcast to Spotify here.
          • Google Podcasts.
            • Submit your podcast to Google Podcasts here.
          • Stitcher.
            • Login or join Stitcher’s partner’s program here.
          • Deezer.
            • Submit your podcast to Deezer here.
          • TuneIn.
            • Submit your podcast to Tune In here.
          • iHeartRadio.
            • Submit your podcast to iHeartRadio here.
          • Pandora.
            • Submit your podcast to Pandora here.
              • Good luck! I’ve been waiting for almost a year.
          • Audible and Amazon Music.
            • Submit your podcast to Audible and Amazon Music here.
          • Gaana.
            • Submit your podcast to Gaana here. 
          • And I’m sure there are many more. 

    I have attempted to link directly to each services submission instructions or page. If any links are broken please email feedback at free podcast tools dot com.

    Be vigilant about what rights you are handing to these services when you submit your podcast. And be on the lookout for services that have boxes already checked just in case they’re attempting to get you to agree to something you don’t want.

    12. PODCAST SUBSCRIPTION BUTTONS

        • Always offer your potential website visitors a way to subscribe to (follow) your podcast. 
        • I believe all of the services offer a button you can download. 
          • Adding buttons to your website can be tedious when done one by one. 
          • You’ll have to upload the image to your website and link to it so when clicked it takes people to your show in that service.
        • I created a subscription plugin a couple of years ago that helps solve the WordPress button issue. In the future I plan on offering that plugin for free so stay tuned. 
          • The plugin allows you to show specific buttons based on the user’s browser. Since browsers are tied to specific platforms this allows you to show Android buttons to only Android devices, so on and so forth. More coming soon. 

    13. SOCIAL SHARING BUTTONS

        • If you have your own podcast website then make sure you offer site visitors a way to share individual podcast episode posts on social media.
          • Look for social sharing buttons that allow you to share custom images designed for social media.

    14. PROMOTION

        • If you thought you could simply create a podcast and listeners would magically show up you are wrong.
          • Promoting a podcast takes tons of effort, time, energy, and typically some money. 
        • Many podcasters could benefit from knowing where their time is spent on their podcast. 
          • Some marketers suggest creating a spreadsheet of time spent editing/producing your podcast as apposed to how much time you spend on growing your audience. 
          • If you ran a business you wouldn’t simply turn on your open sign and think success would come and find you.
        • Sharing your podcast to social media doesn’t work.
          • We’ve all been there, praying a specific hashtag or some audio snippet will turn on the new subscriber floodgates.
          • Sadly, many podcasters are stuck in a loop of editing and producing but never truly promoting. 
        • Sometimes you have to pay to play.
          • Many people will spend money on golf, video games, bowling, and other hobbies but when it comes to podcasting they don’t want to spend a dime. 
          • Unless you have a network that is truly set it and forget it you will need to spend some money in order to get the word out.
          • Advertising on podcast apps, in search, or on relevant websites isn’t always cheap.
            • You’ll have to decide whether or not the risk is worth the possible reward.
        • Regardless of which avenue you choose to promote your podcast, keep in mind that if you’re after a large audience that growth is likely going to come from a financial investment.

    Just like other businesses and hobbies, podcasting isn’t free.

    15. FINANCIAL SUPPORT

        • As I stated above podcasting isn’t free. You may want to explore ways to make back some of the money you’ve spent on your passion project. 
          • Patreon, PayPal, or other donation services.
            • Donations are a great way to allow your audience to support your show.
            • Donations can also convey social proof to others that your show has value.
          • Apparel.
            • T-shirts are a great way to earn a few bucks while promoting your podcast.
              • Steer clear of trademarks and copyright protected materials.
              • Zero in on slogans or memes that come directly from your podcast.
          • Sponsors.
            • When it comes to sponsors size isn’t everything. You don’t necessarily have to build a gigantic fanbase in order to get sponsors.
              • If you can build a passionate base that answers your calls-to-action, sponsors will want to get in front of them.

    16. LEGALITIES

    I am not a lawyer. The following information is not intended to be taken as legal advice.  Even though I graduated summa cum laude from the School of Hard Knocks, consult a lawyer for any legal information you may need.

        • I want new podcasters to understand that podcasting isn’t all roses. There are pitfalls that I’ve landed in that I hope you can avoid. This section will be full of “don’ts”! 
          • Don’t use copyright protected music. 
            • Don’t even use a second of music you don’t own the licensing rights to.
            • Fair use probably won’t save you.
            • Once the music companies begin to start scanning podcasts for violations, it’s game over.
          • Don’t use sound effects you haven’t licensed.
            • It’s simply best to license everything you are going to use in your podcast.
          • Don’t steal artwork.
            • Create original artwork for your podcast or be 100% that your use doesn’t break the law.
          • Don’t use trademarked names.
            • I was threatened with legal action over a domain name. I had no idea that there was a person who went by this specific name. Even though she was a judge, she hired a lawyer and they came after me with “figurative” guns blazing! 
            • Even if you are a “fan” podcast, using TV show names can be a slippery slope should they choose to take action.
        • Do you really want to add a co-host?
          • You’re friends now but what about in 6 months?
            • Pay a lawyer to draft a legally binding agreement stating who owns what.
            • If you send out equipment make the co-host sign a legal agreement stating they will return the gear if things go south.
              • I have thousands of dollars of equipment in use on podcasts I don’t produce, and even worse, collecting dust.
            • Since you can’t split a podcast in half, only one person should hold the keys to all the accounts.
        • Read the fine print when dealing with web hosts, media hosts, anyone you hire for services, and anywhere you submit your podcast’s RSS feed to.