A Basic Guide to Start Your Own Podcast

I remember it was around 2009/10 hearing various industry experts and everyone in between talk of this concept of podcasting. Describing it was as wordy and as complicated as cryptocurrency is today. “How is this going to work? Is it online? Is it a radio show?” All this confusion predating the popularity of cellphone apps & consistent internet connection.

Today, even a high-schooler can succinctly describe it as a radio program of your choosing, on demand. Politics, music, fashion, sport – the options are literally endless. These podcasts are distributed across a variety of platforms, from the most popular, YouTube or Spotify, to, again, an endless number of platforms online, both on the computer and mobile phone. From giants like Apple to other small players.

They truly have changed the game. Traditional TV and radio have for decades decided what and who we see and hear, how they’re presented and how long we can access said thing or person. Today podcasts present a huge challenge to these mediums, and to be fair, these mediums have bravely faced these challenges of potential obsoletism and still survived.

The big (insert superstar) interview that used to be a draw some few years ago on your favourite radio station or TV show no longer has the same draw because one would have had 2hrs of said celebrity from a YouTube podcast, on demand; an underrated disruptor. The consensus is that podcasting is still in its infancy so it is probably safe to say that the pie is big enough for all of us, big enough for you. So, how can you start your own podcast? From equipment, to content, to launch platform. Let’s take a look:

Equipment

Podcasting equipment is not too dissimilar to basic studio equipment. A microphone on its suitable mic-stand, some headphones, a sound card and depending on whether you’re doing both video and audio, you might need a DSLR camera or, most accessibly, the very phone you’re reading this on. Scouring a number of websites, you can get all this from R3000. These can also be bought individually – bit by bit, which can be easier on your pocket.

Format

Here you decide how you’d want to execute your podcast: indoors in your studio, outdoors, a roving studio or all of the above. This has to be taken into consideration also when buying your equipment. As previously stated under Equipment, check if you’d want both audio and video. A tip would be to prioritize audio. We cannot unhear bad audio quality but we can tolerate inferior video quality, as long as the audio is sweet to the ear.

Content

You can have the most superior equipment in the world or even the most inferior, what will count the most for your podcast is the content. This can be overwhelming by virtue of the fact that there is so much content routes to choose from. From computers, to music, to movies, to sport and one can even go niche and talk to a cigar market, make up, natural hair, Shakespearian literacy. Whatever your interests or point of expertise, there is a global market ready to devour them. It will definitely be trial and error but choose a sector you are passionate about, a sector that will have you celebrate your 100th episode and still feel like there’s 100s left in you.

Ask yourself questions like:

– To whom does this matter?

– Is this saturated – ie. are enough celebrities being interviewed?

– Who in this culturally vast world is not being spoken to enough?

What is that interest that has been burning inside of you for years that you are convinced is only of interest to you? Answering these questions can lead you to some ideas, where you can eventually work it down to 5 ideas, to 2 and ultimately to the one that you will put out there for us to subscribe to. Spend more time figuring out what it is you want to put out there.

Launch Platform

This is simply where your podcast will be distributed or uploaded. The advantage here is that these can be uploaded on a multitude of platforms, which automatically means wider reach.

Do not neglect to promote and market your podcast – from traditional ways of marketing like word of mouth to taking advantage of social media. 

Be consistent, be persistent and watch your podcast grow. There is a huge gap for the female voice in this growing world of podcasting. I hope to subscribe to your podcast soon.

-Lonwabo