A Basic Podcast Workshop
A basic introduction on how to make a new podcast show and/or episode
A podcast is, "a program (as of music or talk) made available in digital format for automatic download over the Internet" - Merriam-Webster Dictionary
The Animal Turn Podcast , hosted by Claudia Hirtenfelder
I am the host of The Animal Turn Podcast which was launched in February 2020. I am relatively new to the world of podcasting but I have learnt a great deal about how to start a podcast and how to make some basic audio content.
This workshop aims to introduce some of the rudimentary tools you might need if you want to start a podcast but it would also be useful to folks who are looking to create audio content for a class assignment too.
This workshop was originally designed to be given as part of a virtual presentation for an undergraduate class in November 2020, it was updated for a workshop at the 2021 Scholarship Beyond Boundaries Conference . Nonetheless, it provides a lot of information as a stand alone resource.
There are three overarching phases involved in making a podcast: Planning, Doing, and Maintaining.
- Planning - What will this episode be about? Who do you need to contact? What is your timeline to make and edit the content? When would you like the content to be released? Have you thought about the equipment you need? Have you played with it to get a sense of what might go wrong - something will go wrong ;
- Doing - Do you have what you need to actually record and edit your audio? Have you thought about the quality of your audio? Where will you you record it? How will you edit it?
- Maintaining - How will you keep and improve your audio level? How do you plan to keep a steady and regular stream of content? Do you have a long term plan for your podcast? What other value-added components have you
While this workshop will not answer all of these questions, it does provide a starting point for where and how you could work through them. It will cover:
- What aspects you need to think about when planning and starting your podcast
- What basics are needed to make good audio
- What questions you might want to consider as you think about the longer term trajectory of your podcast
What do you need to get started?
Know Your audience
It is critical that you think deeply about who you would like to be accessing your content. This will help guide the feeling of your content as well as how you market it.
Generally, the more narrow and niche your audience - the better!
Here are some support links:
Come up with a distinctive name and logo for your podcast
The name and logo of your podcast are the first things about your show your audience will be exposed to.
It is important to invest the necessary time and resources into thinking about how these reflect the goals and tone of your podcast.
You want your name to be short, possibly include the word podcast, and to be memorable. Here are some support materials for when thinking about your podcast name:
You might also want to think about other identifiers for your podcast, like a show jingle or gimmick, items that are consistent through all episodes.
*Tip: Check if this name has been used, is there a URL available for it? Is it being used on social media platforms? You want to avoid duplication and ensure it is a name you can grow into
You want you logo to be equally shareable and memorable.
You also want to think about how your logo will work with your other (potentially future) art - such as website, Facebook or Instagram banners.
Check out these resources:
Think about where you want to host your host your content
This is often an overlooked component and folks think that they will simply host their audio content on their website or exclusively on Youtube. While many podcasters do do this - there are some downsides and missed opportunities to not making use of a podcasting host site.
Audio files are big and storing them on your website can be cumbersome. Podcast hosting sites keep your content and help you share it with broader podcasting platforms (like iTunes or Podcast Addict).
They often also give you access to analytics which is crucial to tracking the success of your podcast and knowing who is listening to what, from where.
It may sometimes be tempting to ask someone else and/or a network to host your podcast but this could lead to a lack of ownership and some challenges over how and when your content is loaded. Starting on your own with a podcasting host right from the beginning could save you a lot of headaches and ensures you have access to analytics from the beginning.
There are tons of free options available and moving your content from one podcast hosting site to another is done easily enough.
Check out these hosting sites:
Think about how you will get your content
There is a lot involved in getting good content. You need to ensure that it speaks to your audience and that the quality of your audio is good enough to listen to.
Coming up with a doable plan for how your content will be laid out is crucial and you should ask yourself a series of questions:
- Will you be hosting your podcast alone?
- To what extent will your content involve editing?
- Will it have music and how will you get access to that music?
- How long will each episode be?
- Will you be recording inside or outside?
- How often will you release an episode?
How you answer these questions will shape the type of equipment and planning you might need.
Here is some support material about content:
*Audio Hack and Epidemic Sound are some ways you can gain access to interesting content too
When creating The Animal Turn Podcast I had to take all of the above components into consideration, to review:
- Know Your audience
- Come up with a memorable name and logo
- Think about where you are going to host your podcast
- Think about how you are going to get good content
My audience are folks interested in animal studies, my logo is adaptable but unique, my title speaks to the scholarly nature of my podcast but also leaves it open to future development. I originally hosted my podcast on my campus radio station but had no access to analytics and little control over how my material was displayed. I subsequently moved to Buzzsprout and now have full control over when and how my material is shared.
Through Buzzsprout, I also have access to a basic website ( see here ) which I used extensively while I was building my own website. I only launched my own podcast website after a year as this was the time frame I could work with and I wanted to make sure my website clearly articulated what my podcast is about. More on this in the longevity section.
In terms of content, I have a long-form show where I interview experts with very minimal editing. Each episode starts with the same bed music, I have a short introductory blurb before the interview starts, and it always ends with me saying thank you and pointing out what will be in the next show. That is my general formula.
But the actual content is only part of the picture - you need to make sure that your content itself is audible. This has been one of my steepest learning curves and one I still constantly fumble on. Nonetheless, I would like to share what I have learnt so far...
What you need to create good audio:
Making audio involves planning, doing, and improving:
- A computer
- A microphone
- Headphones
- Recording Service
- Editing Software
Below I give some tips on the above bullet points and some of what I have learnt along the way. While I started out my podcast recording in-person interviews, Covid-19 quickly made learning how to record interviews remotely my main focus.
Your Recording Space
As long as you have a computer and some headphones you are pretty set to record some audio but before you hit record, you might want to think a little about what your recording space looks like.
When I first started out I would get pretty flat sound with a lot of reverberations. I followed these easy steps and my sound improved dramatically:
- I record in rooms that have things on the walls and are cluttered (not empty). I know of folks who record in their closets!
- I put pillows behind my microphone so that I am talking into a soft surface which stops some reverberations.
- I build something of a blanket fort. This is probably overkill, but I like to have as many soft surfaces as possible. Yip, the image is of me at Blanket Fort Studios.
- Switch off any fans and close any windows - this ambient noise can be pretty distracting when it comes to listening to the audio.
- Make use of a microphone and headphones (See next)
Microphone
With the exception of your laptop or computer, this is likely to be the most expensive item you will need to get started.
I originally planned to do in person interviews so I purchased a microphone that was easily portable ( H2N Zoom ) but when Covid struck I needed to get better at distance recording. Luckily the H2N is also a USB Microphone so I could set it up easily enough.
The most popular microphone for beginner podcasters is The Blue Yeti (pictured). This is the microphone I now use too! Check out the below for some more detailed reviews about the best microphones for podcasting:
Once you get more into your podcasting you could also consider getting some additional equipment, such as pop-filters, which further help to enrich your sound.
If your budget is really tight and these are not possible, you can record your audio using the built in microphone on your headphones.
*Tip: Make sure you are talking into the right part of your microphone and that your levels are not set to high. It is easier to make sound louder in postproduction than it is to fix audio clipping that has happened because it is too loud.
Headphones
While there are certainly better headphones out there, you can get started with your podcast with simple ear-bud headphones if you need.
There are a couple of reasons for why you should wear headphones while recording:
- It seems stops reverberations
- You are better able to hear what is actually being recorded and will pick up if there are any environmental noises you should fix. It is easier to fix these problems before you click record than in the editing phase.
- If you are interviewing someone, it is easier to hear them.
- If you don't have a microphone, headphones often have built in microphones and the audio quality is usually pretty good - I almost always ask my guests to go this route and it works perfectly.
Should you want to invest in some headphones, you might want to read up a bit about them before you do so:
Recording Services
So you've got a space, microphone and headphones - Next you need to decide where to record your audio.
You have the option to either buy particular software for your computer or to make use of online recording services. This article discusses some of the free recording services that are available and this one focus on services designed for remote recording.
Some of the ones I have heard of, include:
Choosing your service will depend on your budget and your needs (do you only need audio or do you need video too?).
Editing Software/Services
The final sound component you want to consider is how you are going to edit your recording once it is complete.
Many of the recording services mentioned above have some post-production components and some include automatic post-production services. If you are only doing a fairly basic show, these might suit your needs perfectly.
There might, however, be some reasons for why you would want to invest in proper postproduction software:
- It allows you to put together or split different audio files.
- It helps you regulate and normalize sound - so these different parts are at the same level instead of some portions being really loud and others soft
- It allows you to fix some sound mistakes made during recording (like removing some background noise or editing our long pauses or ums)
Since starting my journey, I have used Reaper. The provide a free service which I made use of when I first got started and later when I realized I was getting more serious, I invested in the software.
Like with your recording service you need to think about what you need before you decide which service you would like to use. Check out these articles for some extra guidance:
Unlike with your recording service, learning how to edit your work will take a fair bit of time playing with the files. There are loads of editing tutorials on Youtube too!
*Apple Users might find Garage Band particularly useful
To review, to make good content you need to:
- Think about your space
- Make use of a microphone and speakers
- Make use of recording and post-production services
With The Animal Turn, I build a blanket fort and have pillows behind my microphone; I previously used an H2N Zoom Microphone and simple ear-bud headphones - now I use a Blue Yeti microphone and Philips SHP1900 headphones (second hand - woot!); I record my audio on Zencastr ; and I edit my audio on Reaper. I am still expanding my equipment library and hope you invest in better headphones, pop-filters, etc in future.
Making something like this is a process and you need to do what you can with what you have, and you can really get started with very little - You can get started with a pair of ear-bud headphones and make use of free recording and post-production services. In fact, it might be a good idea to do this first and practice, make some audio and episodes, to think about the nature of your podcast and how much time and money you would like to invest in it.
Maintenance, Longevity and Tips
There is no way I could cover everything you need for making a successful podcast and in fact, I am only 8 months into making my own so I might not be the best person for the task anyhow. The below are some reflections on what I have learnt so far:
01 / 09
My podcast is growing and I have been building it incrementally. Thinking about my brand and audience was the first step, getting some initial episodes the second - so that I could get registered and get on a platform. And the work did not stop there. I have since built a website - which is useful but in my opinion not the start but a place you go to when you have a deeper sense of what you are doing. I used Wix to create my website and was able to tailor it exactly to what I wanted. I am also slowly expanding to other platforms, like Youtube, but this is still a work in progress as I figure out these mediums and whether or not they serve my purposes and my audience. In a nutshell, it is iterative and you need to be both innovative and adaptable while playing a long game. :) I'm one year in, let's see what year two looks like!
More Resources for You
Here are some more detailed articles with tips and secrets for making a good podcast:
I have found listening to and watching some videos on Youtube particularly useful in creating and improving my podcast. I particularly like the work of Podcastage and Ben Leavitt . I have included below two of their videos on tips for getting started but they have so much content speaking to almost every aspect of podcasting so their channels are well worth a visit.
How To Launch a Podcast in 11 Steps (For Beginners)
Beginners Guide to Podcasting (How to Podcast in 2020)
To Review
This workshop was aimed to give you an introduction into what is entailed in the planning, doing and maintaining of a podcast. It only touches the surface but should give you a sense that creating a podcast is not difficult but it does require time and a certain level of dedication. What we have learnt:
- Getting started requires creative, conceptual and practical planning including thinking about your name, art, where you will host you content and how you will get your content.
- When you get started, getting good audio does not necessarily require all the best equipment and you can work up to building your library over time. You do need to, however, think carefully about the space you are recording as well as the recording and post-production services you will use.
- Keeping your podcast going requires both fun and promotion but it also involves creating a doable plan that has humility and a willingness to learn and grow built into it. You need to take time to adapt to your audience needs
I remain on this journey myself and I a feel ever more excited about the work I am doing on The Animal Turn. I only release an episode once every 2 to 3 weeks as this is all I have the capacity for right now, but I am creating a long term plan that involves investing in better equipment and creating more regular content.
I hope that the above has been helpful in giving you an overview of what is involved in making a podcast.
