How to Start A Podcast

I have yet again fallen victim to a social media trend. First, I wanted to be a Youtuber( Failed miserably.) Then, I wanted to be Instafamous. ( Ha yeah right.) I even tried Tiktoking my way to fame and fortune. ( Didn’t last a month.) Now, since I am a glutton for punishment, I have decided that I should start a podcast.

First things first, you have to pick what category the podcast will fall under. I’ve always found that my family, in even our dullest conversations, are pretty entertaining. Honestly, we deserve a reality show. Since I was able to rope my father into co-hosting, as well as spark excitement into my mom and brother, I decided a comedic lifestyle-ish podcast was right up our alley.

Of course before we are able to start recording, you need to get a microphone. I am sure you can use a phone or headphones, but I decided to go a little more heavy duty. I ordered a microphone off of Amazon and after two days (thank you Jeffrey Bezos!) I was setting up our ‘studio’.

If you want to check out the microphone I got, the link is attached here. The Microphone is USB combatable and can be used for recording, gaming, YouTube, ect. It also only cost about $50 and was perfect for an amateur podcaster.

My father and I quickly spit balled a podcast name and topic then got to work. We sat for three hours and discussed a road trip that we had gone on ten years prior. (Traveling tips, funny stories, ect.) Everything was recorded on a software called 'Audacity' and although I was happy to have so much content, I was also nervous because I had no clue how to edit an audio track.

After doing some research on the basics, I figured out how to use Audacity. The software is fairly user friendly (and free) so, after a few minutes, I found my rhyme and started trimming, chopping, and cutting up our audio like there was no tomorrow. It took me a solid five hours to edit down the recording into two separate podcast episodes.

This is where I hit my next roadblock. Apparently, you can’t just log onto Spotify and upload a podcast. (who knew?) I found a site called Buzzsprout where you can create a podcast profile and upload to all major podcast streaming services. The site offers a free plan, as well as paid plans for those who want to upload more than two hours a month. Buzzsprout also supplies users with numerous ‘how-to’ articles as well as view tracking software. Also, for those looking to make some money, Buzzsprout has a section to assist podcasters in getting monetized.

Before you are able to upload an episode, there is a checklist that most streaming services require. From what I gathered, these are the most universal steps before being able to upload:

• A Podcast Description
• Original Podcast Artwork
• A Podcast Artist ( I.E. your name)
• Check the Explicit Checkbox if podcast contains adult content

After you have everything prepared, you are able to get listed on almost all major platforms like Apple, Spotify, and more. Once you are listed, Buzzsprout will start tracking the stats on your podcast so that you can stay up to date on all the activity.

Pretty easy huh?

My father and I enjoyed creating our first podcast and would recommend it to others. It took less then a week for the idea to be sparked, equipment delivered, and the podcast to be uploaded. Our podcast entitled ’Gardens & Gargoyles” is now listed on Spotify and can be listened to at this link if you want to check it out. If you would like to start your own podcast click here to create an account on Buzzsprout.