Make Your Own Podcast

This is an Open Educational Resource (OER) created by Feifei Z that is being distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND License. If you choose to share this resource, you must do so in a non-commercial way with attribution to the original creator. No derivative works are allowed.

Content

Can anyone start a podcast?Many people believe that you need to have something grand to say in order to start a podcast. This cannot be further from the truth. Podcasting is truly just storytelling. Find what you're interested in recounting. You may be a wanderer who travel the world from Norway to Uruguay to Malaysia. If that is the case, talk about your travels and experiences with the locals. You may be an indie author looking to share industry knowledge on how to navigate the independent publishing scene. You may be captivated by true crime, odd science, or old shows from the 1980s. Whatever it is, find what makes your heart sing, then make a podcast about it.This is your sign to do it. You have what it takes. You are allowed to begin.What types of podcasts can you create?There are many different types of podcasts that you can create depending on your goals and budget. If you wish to talk about your own experiences or share your own views, then a monologue style podcast would be a great place to start. If you want to involve other people in an interview style podcast, then you will need to reach out to potential guests and arrange meetings with proper recording equipment. If you are creative, you can try doing a fictional podcast.How do you conceptualize a podcast?Brainstorm a list of ideas for your potential podcast. Then pick the one that you are most excited about. Then try to pitch your podcast to yourself. For example, one of my upcoming podcasts recounts the anecdotes of my childhood while growing up in China. If you cannot distill your concept into one or two sentences that clearly conveys your message, keep trying until you can. This way, you can make sure you never go off-topic or meander into irrelevancy.How do you plan out episodes?You can start by dumping all of your ideas onto a sheet of paper or a digital document. Then sift through, group similar topics together, and see if you can brainstorm ideas about potential episodes. If you cannot come up with three episodes or more, then revisit your concept and see if you can tighten it. For example, if you want to do a podcast on food, try tightening it to "Comfort Foods In South India." That way, you can have a better focus on what you want to do, which can help you brainstorm episodes.But do keep in mind that you do not have to plan out all episodes before you record. You can easily come up with new episodes as you go, especially if you are doing an interview style podcast. Just do whatever works for you.

What do you need to record?

Recording Device
This can be a laptop, a camera, a phone, etc.

Microphone
So we can hear your wonderful voice.
This can even be the mic on your laptop
or phone as long as you edit the audio.

Notepad
To take notes or consult your episode outline.
Can be a physical notebook or a digital notes app.

Audio Editing Software
Audacity is the most popular one
with an easy learning curve.

What about the graphics?

You Can Design Podcast Cover and Graphics Yourself
Canva is a great tool!

OR

You Can Hire A Freelance Graphic Design To Make Them For You
Fiverr and Upwork are good places to look. You can also look on social media.

Where to publish?

How do you publish a podcast?One of the easiest podcast distribution platforms is Spotify For Creators, formerly known as Anchor. It is free to use as well. Other places to distribute your podcasts are YouTube, Substack, and SoundCloud. There are also paid podcast distribution services, but why go with a paid option when you can start experimenting for free?Make sure you know the RSS Feed of your podcast. As long as you have your RSS Feed and input it correctly into each distributor, you will not need to update your podcast manually on every single platform that you distribute to for every episode.How do you get listeners?If you want listeners, try telling your friends and family about it first, then get involved in some promotional activities. You can print off flyers for your podcast and put them up on public bulletin boards in universities if you are a student, or in community gathering places if you are not. You can also leverage the power of digital marketing by connecting with your audience on social media. You can also hire a publicist if you have the budget. If you are doing an interview style podcast, then cross-promote episodes with your guests.But remember, your podcast has inherent worth regardless of how many listeners you have. The experience of telling your stories, speaking your truth, and collaborating with the community are the things that make podcasting worth it.