Podcasting is one of the most convenient methods of delivering content, whether running, cooking, eating, or even enjoying the weather by sitting in a place or car.
Turn your gaze back 13 years, when Steve Jobs introduced podcasting features for iTunes and the iPod in 2005, referred to as TiVo for radio, as an alternative to radio. Its unique selling point is that anyone can download their favorite shows to watch them whenever and wherever they want.
Since then, podcasting has flourished at various levels, skyrocketed in popularity, and become a fantastic source of income for anyone who shares their independent thoughts with others. Some famous podcast shows, like the Joe Rogan Experience, the Ground Up Show, The American Life, Serial, The Rest is Politics, etc., take it to new heights.
We, Bloom Creative, a Minneapolis-based video production company, recently launched our “Bloom Podcast” and would like to share our experience and the steps we took to do so with you to help you launch your podcast and distribute it on streaming and social media platforms.
Just Start Recording
Podcasting has the ultimate goal of providing value to its listeners. But the core obstruction is overthinking, which affects them the most on their podcast journey. Keep calm and stay organized. Because you cannot cover everything in your podcast, deciding on one will make you more comfortable to talk and have in-depth knowledge to share with your listeners.
After finding your podcast niche, make sure to give it a name that relates to the topic of your podcast. Now this time, you need to execute your ideas, so before you start recording, you must research on –
- What will you talk about or what matters most to your listeners?
- Why is it important to you?
- Who will be the host (if you have a company)? Or, who are your visitors coming to speak with? Who listens to you?
- Where do you record your podcast? At an acoustically designated place.
- When should you get started? Now!
Think later about how frequently you release your episodes or content. Once the answers to the questions above have been discovered, it’s an excellent time for execution.
The Gear You’ll Need
Without gear, you won’t be able to record your content. Choosing a gear depends on the level of production and your budget. Throughout the internet, you’ve been flooded with several suggestions, but you must know that even with a low budget, you can do it. So don’t take it as a burden. Below is our tips and gear list that we use for our podcast.
But four things you won’t forget to keep while you are recording-
- The microphone is the most important thing into which you will speak.
- Audio Interface controls the input and output volume while recording
- Camera or phone, whatever you have, captures you and your guest.
- Lighting adds a dramatic feel to your video content.
Shared with you a list of what gear we use for our podcast; these are-
- On-camera Microphone: Rode VideoMic Pro
- Microphone: Audio Technica AT2020 Cardioid Condenser Microphones
- Microphone Stand: Boom arm desktop mounts with shock mounts & pop filters
- XLR Cables
- Audio Interface: RODE RODECaster Pro Integrated Podcast Production Console
- Image Stabilizer: Sony A7s III and Sony FX3
- Tripod: Manfrotto Tripods & 1 Peak Design Travel Tripod
- Lighting : Amaran 100x & 200x with lantern and light dome with C-stands & light stands
Editing Your Podcast
After you have finished your research and recording, it is time to edit your podcast. Editing is an intimidating barrier for many aspiring podcasters because it is more complex than it appears. If you do not edit properly, it can harm your content approach and sometimes offend the audience.
You can edit podcast videos in Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, Da Vinci Resolve, or iMovie. In contrast, the audio effects can be edited in Audacity, Garage Band (Mac), Adobe Audition, Premiere Pro, and Logic Pro.
Even AI editing tools, like AutoPod, an automatic podcast editing plugin for Adobe Premiere Pro, can help you edit more quickly. It can produce social clips, automatically edit multi-camera sequences, and add jump cuts to your podcast footage.
Nowadays, short social media clips are on trend. Having your podcast videos framed on a social media platform that directs users to your podcasting channel will be very beneficial.
Distributing Your Podcast
Last but not least, distribute your podcasts on several channels. When you know where your audience spends most of their time, you can easily drag them to the point where your podcast is released.
Spotify, Apple Music, and Google Podcasts are some of the popular podcast streaming platforms; you can also publish your episode on YouTube. We, for example, use Spotify, YouTube, and even social media clips to distribute our podcasts.
However, before distributing, you should be aware of the following:
- The thumbnails and titles of podcasts are the first things viewers see and are encouraged to click on. Make sure to use visually appealing images and a clear and concise title.
- Write engaging podcast descriptions depending on your conversational topic.
- Include timestamps for specific points within each section to assist viewers in quickly finding the information they seek.
- Share your podcast’s engaging clips on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts.
- Add a call to action to encourage your audience to watch or listen to the full episode.
6 Tips We’ve Found to Helpful on Launching Your Podcast
We’ve been recording a bank of episodes in a day and have faced several challenges, which we’ve fortunately overcome. But regardless, these difficulties inspire us to offer you some tips that might be useful for you when starting your podcast-
- Whatever your challenges, stay organized; otherwise, you will mess everything up very quickly.
- Do your operations step-by-step; first, make a guest list, then set up times for them to appear to shoot or record an episode.
- Curate a list of topics and questions that will spark interesting discussions.
- Before inviting a guest, please do some research on them.
- Always have fun, but keep “your why” in mind.
- It is easy to lose motivation or persevere, so find a team that helps you stay consistent.
Everyone can create their own podcast channel, but who knows how to make it exciting and nerve-racking? We can only name a few.
Podcasting is a great way to start something you’ve got excellent knowledge of or are curious about. Never cut back on the creativity and authenticity that can be the secret ingredient in profoundly influencing the listener’s or community’s thought process. By the end of this article, we hope to guide you in the right direction. Good luck!
Follow our journey at Bloomcreativ.com