• Define your topic area, target audience and most importantly, purpose(what will the audience gain by listening?  What will you gain by hosting?).  In writing.  

• Decide if you are doing audio only or video.
  • Video is popular right now, Audio allows for listening while in the car or doing other chores.
  • Video is awesome for repurposing as social media clips, audio lends itself to the audience feeling strongly connected with you.
  • Video is more expensive and time consuming to produce, audio is simpler.
  • Youtube requires a high number of downloads to begin monetization and has its own rules, audio hosting platforms vary but you can certainly find some that are less restrictive and will help you monetize from the beginning.

• Script a trailer.  This is a 30 to 60 second recording that describes what your podcast is about.  It will be the first episode published.  And it will be used for marketing your show. 

• Listen to examples from your favorite podcasts.

• Choose equipment.   It’s possible to start with just a laptop(or one per host in remote locations).  Almost any external(plug in) microphone will be better than what comes installed in your laptop.  The BPHS1* headset is a really good choice as the headset style means that you don’t worry about maintaining the correct distance from the microphone all the time, but rather it stays with you.  If you have a bigger budget, the RodecasterPro offers excellent sound filtering and mixing abilities*.  The room you’re in can make more difference to sound quality than the equipment you use.  You want as many soft furnishings and fabrics around you as possible.  Some people start recording in closets for this reason and you can also tack blankets or carpets up on your walls.  For video you’ll want good lighting and of course a nice looking background.

• Choose editing software.  Audacity* is a great free editing software that a lot of people start out with.  Adobe Audition(audio)* or Premiere Pro(video)* have more features but are paid.  Audition has easy to follow tutorials with its software.  Or hire us!  We primarily use Audition.

• Choose a hosting platform.  There are so many audio hosts for RSS feeds that are good.  Take a look at the specific offerings for a few of them.  Some are free, or have a free limited tier.  Some have better customer service.  Some offer better payment on ads they sell for you.  Some have better analytics. Spreaker*, ART19*, Simplecast*, Ausha* and Redcircle* are just a few.  For video, Youtube* is the main platform, so read their directions and set up your show on Youtube Studio

• Choose music.  Ensure that you have the rights to use it in your podcast.  stockmusic.net* is one service where you can get a license pretty cheaply.  Alternatively, you could commission a musician to produce something custom.  

• Record and edit your trailer!  Almost there! 

• Create or hire a graphic designer for a logo/title square.  You definitely need some sort of image to create your RSS feed.  Apple podcasts’ requirements are as follows: 3000 x 3000 pixels.  It can be JPEG or PNG format.  

• Write the show’s text description, ideally with the use of Ausha’s optimization tool* so that your feed will be found easily on podcast listening apps.

• Follow the directions on your hosting site to set up the podcast with the elements created in the previous steps.  Apple podcasts will almost always require further action directly with them, and will take a day or two to publish.

• Write a script or book a guest for your first full episode. For guest booking, be bold.  People like to share their knowledge and stories.  It can work really really well to google search keywords around your topic using the ‘news’ filter, find interesting stories, and the people mentioned or quoted in the stories.  Search their name and see if you can find a direct email or media contact for their organization.  Send a very brief note describing your podcast, specifically what topic you’d like to talk about and offer three times you could be available for recording.  

• Ideally, before you publish your first full episode, you will record a bank of 4-6 and have them ready to go, especially if your content isn’t particularly time sensitive for listeners.  You can publish the earliest recorded episode in your bank each week, or only once a month or whatever schedule you decide on, while replenishing the bank with a new recording. That way, it is much easier to keep up with a consistent release schedule.  You can publish more  of your bank whenever you want or need to take a break.  The goal is to find a rhythm that you can keep up with indefinitely.

• Market the podcast.  One of the best things you can do to grow your audience is to pitch yourself as a guest on other podcasts with a similar audience.  See if you can book 2-4 of these a month.  Claim a profile with your show name on the major social media platforms, and at least the one where your target audience is most likely to be: FB, Bluesky, LinkedIn…  Ideally engage using that account daily. You can use headliner.app to create audiograms which work for video-centered social media, even if your podcast is audio-only.  Follow relevant creators and comment on other people’s posts and content that relate to  your show topic.  By this, I don’t mean constantly spamming your show links.  I mean responding to their posts.  Adding meaningfully to their conversations.  “Listening” even though it’s not actually a spoken interaction, you know what I mean?

• And now you publish episodes, generally on a weekly basis, or whatever schedule you decide is right for you and your audience.  

*We are not affiliated in any way with the companies that make these products and don’t receive any compensation if you click the link and/or purchase.