A question that I used to get asked a lot is ‘what is podcasting?’
Originally defined as an audio file that was delivered to you automatically via really simple syndication (RSS), the term ‘podcasting’ has now come to embody many different facets of audio on the web.
A quick way of explaining them is to call them mini radio shows that you can listen to when and where you choose—be that at your computer during lunch, on the commute to work or walking your dog. You don’t need any sophisticated gadgetry to listen to one—you can download them onto your smartphone.
The content of that audio media varies considerably.
The early adopters of this new information distribution channel used it predominantly as their own music radio station; indeed, you could call podcasting radio with a rewind button. But once the costs of production (almost zero) became known to businesses and consultants it was only a matter of time before all sorts of material became available by RSS subscription.
Today you can subscribe to:
- University lectures
- Comedy shows
- Music shows (focusing on each and every type of music – whatever your taste, you can find a niche specialist who equally shares your passion)
- True crime
- Women’s issues
- Industry information
Anything that can be recorded and distributed as a digital audio file can be podcasted (remembering that the podcast isn’t the audio file itself, but how it’s delivered and distributed, which is via RSS subscription).
HOW DO I CREATE A PODCAST?
Simple – record someone or something, edit it and then publish it.
1. Record: using a microphone (a $20 version works just as well as a $100 version for most podcasts), record an interview, yourself or someone else.
2. Edit: take out the “ums and ahs”, the fluffs, the mispronunciations, the nervous ticks (I have a dreadful habit of sucking in air through my front teeth when breathing between sentences, which I have to laboriously edit out!) and generally tighten up your recording. Software like ‘Audacity’ (free) and Adobe ‘Audition’, allow you to add “compression” and change equalizer settings to make the sound a little more polished, but don’t worry about those bells and whistles at first; all of that stuff can come later as you gain more experience and confidence.
Add in some music (if your podcast format has music in it as introductory or outgoing “signature” pieces, for example) and sound effects if you want. Listen to the final output several times – you’d be amazed at how the recording you listened to at 4pm and thought was rather good sounds less so at 9.30 the next morning!
3. Publish: Host your edited audio file on a third-party’s server (I personally recommend Libsyn—www.libsyn.com—for cost effectiveness and reliability). Once it has been hosted, make sure you let everyone in your world know about it – customers, employees, suppliers—depending, of course, on who your target audience is (Hopkins).
Don’t forget:
• Keep it simple: Don’t be over-ambitious on your first few attempts.
• Keep it short: Aim for around 10-15 minutes at first, you can always increase the length of the podcast once you have a better idea of how much content you need to create/curate in order to hit the bigger timings.
• Don’t overly fret about production values and technology: A podcast that sounds like you’re in a fishbowl will not work well, but equally, they don’t necessarily need to sound like something produced by a professional broadcaster. Your phone is very likely good enough to capture audio, just not in a café (I learned from bitter experience).
• Look out for best practice: Always be on the lookout for new ideas and ways to improve the podcast – just as you would do with anything else. That means taking suggestions on board and listening to as many different podcasts as you have time to.
• Keep them coming: Don’t use up all your energy on the first one and then give up!
Hopkins, L.J. Melcrum’s Special Report on Podcasting. Melcrum, 2007. https://leehopkins.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/melcrum-_-podcastingreport.pdf.