How to start a podcast in 11 steps

1. Identify a podcast theme

2. Decide on a format
3. Create your podcast brand
4. Choose your podcasting equipment
5. Get recording software
6. Outline your first episode
7. Record your podcast
8. Record an intro and outro
9. Edit your podcast
10. Decide on podcast hosting
11. Market your podcast

1. Identify a podcast theme

The first thing you need to do to start your podcast is

identify a theme. It’s important that when you do this you
stress test your idea by writing out at least 20 episode
topics, including what you would discuss and who you would
interview, if your podcast will include interviews.

A stress test is critical, because if you can’t think of 20

episodes, you’ll probably run out of ideas before your
podcast ever picks up steam. You need to make sure your
idea has a good foundation.

For example, The School of Greatness by Lewis Howes just

passed 1,500 episodes. Great podcast themes have
longevity.

When choosing your podcast theme, take this into

consideration: ill you be happy and satisfied making new
episodes on this topic two years from now? Choose
something you’re passionate about. Your passion will be
your greatest motivator to keep you disciplined when things
get difficult.

Once you decide on a theme, ask yourself the following

questions:
  What’s the goal of your podcast? Some reasons include
generating leads for a business, building authority on a
topic, and earning passive income.
 What’s the “why” behind your podcast? Marry your
practical reason with an intrinsic purpose to stay
motivated. What is the message or mission you want to
share with the world?
 Who is the show for? Create an avatar of your target
audience. It’ll help you better understand how listeners
think and feel, so you can address them directly. It also
helps create a more intimate feel for your podcast that
connects with listeners. Consider their interests,
beliefs, and lifestyle.
 How will your show stand out? What are the notable
things about your podcast that would cause people to
talk about it? A simple way to stand out is to find a
niche that is an inch wide but a mile deep. Niches help
you eliminate perceived competition. Another way to
stand out is through your style and personality.

Consider how your podcast will help your listeners. If you

can create educational material that is also entertaining,
you’ll foster more enthusiastic and excited listeners who
will tune in weekly to your show.

2. Decide on a format

The next important component is the podcast format. What

will your podcast be like and how will it be structured? Here
are some ideas:

 Interviews. These podcasts feature a single host who

interviews individuals who fit with a particular theme.
Think The School of Greatness.
 Scripted non-fiction. Typically, these podcasts have a
single theme for the entire season. Think Serial.
 News. These podcasts give you the news in a super
digestible format. Think NPR’s Up First.
  Educational. These scripted non-fiction podcasts
primarily seek to teach something. Think Creative
Class.
 Scripted fiction. These podcasts are similar to radio
dramas and are often scripted and highly produced.
Think Limetown.

Once you’ve chosen a format, ask yourself:

 Are you going to do interviews?

 Will there be a co-host?

All of these formats can make great podcasts. It’s important

to have a format nailed down, because it impacts the type of
equipment and software you need to invest in to produce
your show.

When it comes to format, two of the most common questions

beginners have are:

 How long should my podcast episodes be? Episode

length depends on how long you need to give your
audience value, but not longer.
 How often should I publish my podcast? Consistency,
not volume, is the key. No one wants to subscribe to a
podcast that is unpredictable. Choose a publishing
schedule that will be easy to maintain. You can always
scale up later.

3. Create your podcast brand

Next, let’s talk about developing your podcast brand. You

want to put some care into your branding because it’s the
first impression new listeners have of your podcast.

Name your podcast

Don’t underestimate the power of a name. Your podcast title

should speak to you and your audience. Listeners should
know what the podcast is all about from just the name
alone.
Here are a few guidelines for choosing a popular podcast
name:

 Make it four words or less.

 Keep it succinct and intriguing.
 Make it easy to spell and pronounce.
 Decide on a name you enjoy saying out loud.
 Make sure it’s not taken by another brand.

A lot of podcast platforms include a “hook” or short

description along with the podcast name. However, don’t get
too hung up on this. Make sure to include keywords that
make it easier for people to find your podcast, but avoid
keyword stuffing or you could be penalized.

Choose your category

There are many podcast topics to choose from: news, arts,

culture, and much more. Podcast listeners browsing these
categories for new shows will do so by interest, so it’s
important to choose a category that accurately represents
your podcast.

If your show is listed in a category that’s completely

irrelevant to its content, you run the risk of being removed
from some directories.

According to Spotify, the fastest growing podcast categories

in 2022 were:

 Health and fitness

 Religion and spirituality
 Music
 History

Episode descriptions

Take writing your podcast description seriously. It’s the

thing that potential listeners read that will help them decide
whether to listen to your podcast or not.
Each podcast app gives you a different character limit. For
example, Apple Podcasts gives you 4,000 characters (which
is a lot of words), but between 400 and 600 is the sweet
spot.

Take The Unofficial Shopify Podcast , for instance. The

description is around 480 characters and tells you exactly
what to expect:

 New episodes every Tuesday

 Answers to your burning growth questions
 Insights from ecommerce and Shopify experts

When writing your podcast description, be sure to:

 Make it engaging
 Ask a question
 Describe what you’re about
 Include your podcast’s value proposition

Remember that podcast platforms are search engines also.

You’ll want to include relevant keywords so people can find
your show when searching for new podcasts.
Podcast cover art

As your first impression, your cover art needs to be

beautiful, stand out, and visually communicate your
subject.

Here are some best practices:

1. Your cover art should be a minimum of 1,400 pixels by

1,400 pixels and maximum of 3,000 pixels by 3,000
pixels.
2. Compress files to optimize for mobile use.
3. Don’t use too many words in your podcast artwork.
You can easily create cover art for free using Canva. It even
has templates you can use to speed up the process. If you
lack an eye for design, you can find highly skilled designers
on Fiverr or 99designs.

4. Choose your podcasting equipment

Now that we have your podcast’s brand down, let’s discuss

the tools you’ll need to start. Truth is, if your podcast
doesn’t sound great, nobody is going to listen for long.

Most people listen to podcasts in headphones—bad sound

quality isn’t just distracting, it’s uncomfortable. So having
the right podcast equipment isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s a must-
have.

First let’s talk about microphones. When it comes to mics,

there are three major categories.

USB mics. USB mics are the most accessible for people
starting out, as you just need to plug them into your
computer’s USB port and open your recording software and
you’re good to start recording. They are the most affordable
and easiest to work with, but have the worst sound quality
compared to other mics.

Popular USB mics include:

 Blue Yeti (best USB microphone overall)

 JLab Talk (best mic for less than $100)
 Blue Snowball iCE (best USB mic on a budget)

Dynamic mics. These mics reject background noise well

and, as a result, are a great choice when you have two
people speaking. They are also durable and don’t require
external power. Dynamic mics are often used by radio
announcers, broadcasters, musicians, and podcasters.

One con to dynamic mics is that their lack of sensitivity

means you need to keep your mouth close to the mic to
ensure consistent recording levels.
Popular dynamic mics include:

 Shure SM7B
 Electro-Voice RE20
 Heli PR 40

Condenser mics. Also known as capacitor microphones,

these mics are known for excellent audio quality and
sensitivity. These mics require 48V phantom power or
batteries to operate. Condenser mics are much more suited
for quiet, sound-treated spaces, as they are a lot more
sensitive.

Popular condenser microphones include:

 Rode NT1
 Audio-Technica AT5047

Can you start a podcast with just an iPhone?

The short answer: yes. Since iPhones have microphones,

they have everything you need to record audio. However, the
audio may not be as clear or as professional sounding as
you’d like.

That being said, there are several apps you can download
that will turn your iPhone into a podcast audio recorder.
Podcast hosting services, such as Podbean and SoundCloud,
also offer in-app podcast recording capabilities.

Many of these apps are available for Android devices, too:

 Spreaker (iOS and Android)

 iRig Recorder (iOS and Android)

Podcast recording equipment to improve quality

Beyond microphones, here is some other gear that can boost

the quality of your production.

Pop filter (typically $5–$20). Pop filters help keep the

clicking noises your mouth makes when speaking close to
the microphone from being recorded. It prevents the sound
of plosives, which are really harsh consonant sounds like p’s
or b’s.

Desktop microphone stand or boom pole: Boom arms help

keep your podcast microphone in front of you, hands free.
They also allow you to easily adjust the height and distance
from your mouth on the fly, so you can move around while
you podcast or simply keep your mic out of sight when
you’re not recording. This is handy if you’re recording at your
home office desk.

You can pick up a Neewer Broadcast Studio Mic Boom Arm for
under $50.

Over-the-ear headphones. Unlike earbuds, over-the-ear

headphones offer noise rejection, better sound quality, and
more comfort.

Two solid options are:

 1. Sony ZX series stereo headphones. A good pair of
headphones is important if you’re interviewing guests.
You don’t want to have their speech come through your
speakers and get picked up by your microphone, which
would cause echo.
2. Sony MDR7506 professional headphones. If you have a
bit more in your budget, these headphones are an
industry standard and ideal for monitoring recording
and listening back to audio when editing.

Shock mount. This tool suspends the microphone and

prevents vibrations. Most microphone brands offer their own
compatible shock mounts. There are some universal
microphone shock mounts, like Rycote, that allow you to
easily attach microphones of different shapes and sizes
easily.

XLR connections

If you’re opting to use a USB microphone, then an interface

isn’t something you’ll need. Simply plug your microphone
directly into a USB port on your computer and select your
microphone as your audio input in your recording program
settings.

But if you are using a condenser or dynamic microphone,

these require an XLR connection.

For this, you have three options:

1. An audio interface like the Focusrite Scarlett

series. An interface is a piece of hardware that
expands and improves the sonic capabilities of a
computer, giving you the ability to connect professional
microphones. They act as a middle man, allowing sound
to go in and out of your computer.
2. Hook up your XLR microphone to an external audio
recording device. This means you can record
independently of your computer and can host a podcast
episode anywhere. External audio recorders will save
 your audio to an SD card that you can upload to your
computer later when you start editing.
3. A podcast machine. Companies like Rode have created
standalone podcast machines that give you recording,
effects processing, and an intuitive console to control it
all. These are typically on the more expensive side and
are a better option for upgrading to later than starting
out with.

5. Get recording software

Once you have all the hardware, you’ll need to use software
for recording and sound editing. Some people use Zoom, but
you can use different tools to record also.

Audio recording software

The software recommended in this section will allow you to

record the audio from your microphone and save it as an
MP3 file. The following software will also let you edit your
recordings.

Adobe Audition (PC/Mac; $22.99 per month). If you want

really powerful podcast editing software with all the bells
and whistles, Adobe has it with Audition. It might be more
than what you’ll need to edit your podcast, but if you’re
using a mixer and high-end equipment, it could be a good
idea to look at Adobe Audition as well.
Audacity (PC/Mac; free). Audacity is a great alternative to
paid premium audio-editing software. It’s easy to use and
there are a lot of tutorials available online to help you.
GarageBand (Mac; free). GarageBand comes with all
MacBooks and is good enough for most of your audio editing
needs. GarageBand allows you to record the audio from your
podcast microphone and save it as an MP3.

Remote recording software

If you plan on conducting interviews for your podcast, you

might want to use software that records your calls. If you’re
using a mixer that records all sound from your computer,
this software won’t be required.

However, if you’re using a basic setup and a tool like Skype

or Google Hangouts to conduct interviews, here are some
recommended call recording tools:

 Zencastr (PC/Mac). Record remote interviews in studio

quality by sending a link and receiving a separate track
for each guest.
 Dialpad AI Meetings (PC/Mac/iOS/Android). The free
conference call software allows participants to join the
call via desktop or phone, and the moderator can
record the calls.
  Callnote (PC/Mac). Callnote records Skype, Google
Hangouts, Viber, FaceTime, Facebook, GoToMeeting,
and WebEx conversations.

6. Outline your first episode

No matter how good your recording is, there is no substitute

for great podcast content and a confident performance. Your
podcast can’t just sound great, it needs to be worth listening
to.

A key to making this happen is creating an outline.

Unless your podcast is meant to be scripted, you don’t need

to script the entire show. You just need to create an outline
based on the transformation you want your audience to
have.

Start with the end in mind. What’s the purpose of this

episode? What’s the take away that you want your listeners
to have? Picturing your listener avatar while creating an
outline can be incredibly helpful.

A good outline includes a hook to grab the audience’s

attention, introductions for guests, interview questions,
talking points, transitions, and closings. These not only help
make the podcast go smoother, but also show your guests
that you came prepared.

Here is a generic episode structure you can use to fill out

your outline:

 Hook (teaser)
 Intro
 Welcome/episode overview
 Ad spot
 Interview
 Call to action
 Outro
No matter how good your recording is, there is no substitute
for great content and a confident performance.

7. Record your podcast

Recording a podcast seems a lot more complicated than it

really is. It takes the following series of steps to prep and
manage an effective podcast recording.

Find a room with solid sound

Try and choose a space with minimal noise. Think about

things in your environment that might make noise. Is there a
fan on your computer? Refrigerators? Cellphones? Cats?
Dogs? A television? A cleaner recording will be easier to
handle later on in the process.

If you have hardwood floors or rooms with a lot of windows,

try and minimize echo. While it is most effective for
professionals, you don’t need to spend a bunch of money on
sound treatment right off the bat. Echo can be really easily
reduced with movers blankets. Soft objects absorb sound
and help create a cleaner recording.

Adjust your systems

Adjust system preferences to make sure that sound from

your microphone is going into the computer. If you’re using a
condenser microphone, ensure that phantom power is
running.

Open software and change bars and beats to time. Since

you’re recording a podcast, not music, we don’t need bars
and beats.
Photo courtesy of: Unsplash

Set a conservative recording level

Set a conservative recording level. Never record audio that

is too loud. You can always make things louder later on, but
if you record too loud, your recording will sound distorted.

To set a good, modest input level, speak at a normal-to-loud

speaking voice, and aim to make this level around -20 dB, or
about halfway up (yellow) on most meters.

Then test with a hearty laugh or emphatic phrase to make

sure the level never peaks above 0 dB or goes “into the red.”

Record a high-quality audio file

Compression artifacts, which are noticeable sound

distortions, compound over time. So make sure your initial
recording is a high-quality WAV or AIFF file. Resolutions of
24 bit, 48 kHz are great. Even though you’ll probably be
uploading your podcast as an MP3 or AAC for distribution,
you want to start off with a high-resolution format.
Be consistent with your mouth placement and tone

Pay attention to where your mouth is in relation to the

microphone. You don’t want to have wide-ranging volume
levels. Try setting your microphone up slightly to the side so
those bursts of air don’t go directly into the diaphragm.

Don’t set it up at too extreme of an angle or you will be

working against the pickup pattern of directional
microphones.

Make a test recording

When setting up your podcast recording environment for the

first time, it can be helpful to listen to a test recording in
comparison to other podcasts’ quality. Try listening to your
test recording through headphones, car speakers, cellphone
speakers, a laptop, etc.

Always record 30 seconds of silence

This helps you capture the noise print (kind of like a sonic
fingerprint) of the room and will be helpful in post-production

💡 PRO TIP: Don’t be self-conscious about your voice. You

don’t need a radio voice to get people listening. Everyone
hates the sound of their voice at first and, eventually, you’ll
get used to hearing it.

8. Record an intro and outro

Having an intro and outro for each episode of your podcast

adds flair and personality. Usually, they are short voiceovers
with intro music that covers the podcast, the episode
number, the host(s), and the “hook” or tagline of the
podcast. These intros/outros are also sometimes called
bumpers.

A great podcast intro will hook your listeners and give them
a glimpse into the value your podcast is going to deliver. It
should tell listeners:
  Who you are.In one sentence, introduce yourself,
highlighting your experience and why your perspective
matters.
 What your podcast is about. In one or two sentences,
state clearly and concisely what your podcast’s
purpose is.
 How they’ll benefit from listening. This is the most
forgotten, yet most important, part of a great podcast
intro. You need to tell the listener how your podcast is
going to improve their life.

An excellent podcast outro thanks listeners for tuning in,

includes your tagline, and gives them something to do next.
This is called a call to action and really helps to develop a
deeper relationship with your audience.

Here are some example actions you might want your listener
to take:

 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

 Join your email newsletter
 Support your show on Patreon
 Follow you on social media

💡 PRO TIP: Only give one call to action per episode. The
more things you ask your listeners to do, the less likely they
are to take action.

If you’ve got the chops, you can record these yourself.

Alternatively, you can hire someone with a great voice to
record your intro and outro for you. You can use Fiverr to
find the right fit.
9. Edit your podcast

Editing your podcasts allows you to add your intro and outro,
stabilize the volume, and remove gaps of dead air and any
mistakes you might have made. Any of the software
recommended above (e.g., Adobe Audition, Audacity,
GarageBand) should do the trick.

For a lot of people, editing is the less appealing part of

podcast production. But it’s not an optional part of the
process.

The reasons for this are simple:

 Conversations can result in tangents. Less is more. Cut

the fat and only keep the good parts.
 Poor quality audio can result in listener fatigue. This is
when the act of listening takes too much effort and
focus, causing the listener to get tired and exit early.

The most common editing mistakes:

 Music is too loud. Make your music softer than you

think it needs to be. Then listen to your intro in a
variety of environments and with several different
 devices (car stereo, headphones, in the kitchen, etc.) to
hear how it will sound to your listeners.
 Intro is too long. Your intro should move at a quick
pace, roughly 20 to 30 seconds in length. Don’t let it
overstay its welcome.
 Use of copyrighted music. Unless you get permission
from the artist and the recording label to use a track,
you can’t use it.

However, there are plenty of royalty-free music options that

easily solve this problem:

 YouTube Audio Library

 909 Music on Soundcloud
 The Free Music Archive
 Epidemic Sound
 Soundstripe

When editing, your first pass should be to edit the content to

make a cohesive and engaging podcast. Your second pass
should be to clean up the audio.
Photo courtesy of: Unsplash

Some pro tips to make your audio sound more professional:

 Remove gaps of dead air, as these will be highly

noticeable to a listener.
 Crossfade between tracks to avoid any jarring
transitions.
 Use noise reduction to filter out any unnecessary
background noise.
 Use a high-pass filter to let sounds above a certain
frequency to pass through while everything else is
filtered out. Because most speaking voices don’t
generate any fundamental frequencies below about 85
Hz, you can set a high-pass filter around 80 to 100 Hz to
help remove rumble and plosives that your listeners
won’t want to hear anyway.
 Use equalization to compensate for certain
frequencies that might seem to stick out in the
recording. Don’t cut or boost anything more than 6 dB,
as you want the recording to sound natural.
 Add compression to even out your sound and ensure
that the loudest parts are closer to the average volume
of the recording. While this is a really helpful tool, don’t
use it in extremes. Start with a ratio of 2 to 1.
 Use a de-esser. A common problem you may run into
with vocal recordings is the harsh presence of “s” and
“t” consonants in words, called sibilance. A de-esser
gets rid of this unpleasant sound and makes the voice
easier to listen to for longer periods of time. Again, less
is more.
 Master your audio to bring your podcast to a loudness
range that is similar to other podcasts. Peak level
represents the volume before the sound starts to
distort. Generally, a peak level of -1 dB is good for
podcasts. Your RMS level is the average level of your
signal. An RMS level around -16 dB to -12 dB is a great
range.
If you don’t have time or interest in editing your podcast,
don’t let that stop you. You can hire someone to edit your
episodes for you. There are freelancers on Fiverr and
Upwork. There is even a professional service for this very
purpose called We Edit Podcasts.

10. Decide on podcast hosting

One common thing people misunderstand about podcasts is

that you don’t upload them directly to a podcast platform
like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. Instead, you’ll need
a separate host for your audio files.

Do to this, you use a podcast hosting platform, like:

 Buzzsprout
 Transistor
 PodBean

Once you have your podcast hosted, submit an RSS feed. A

podcast RSS feed is a standardized way to syndicate
content to podcast directories.

It ensures that your episodes are automatically placed on a

specific podcast directory, adding the necessary code to
ensure that your listeners see all the proper titles and
descriptions and hear the right audio file.

If you’re using a hosting site like Transistor, then you can

submit your podcast to all of the major directories directly
from your dashboard. It’s that simple.
There are many directories where you can list your podcast.
Here are some of the most popular, but you can distribute
your podcast across as many channels as you’d like. You’re
going to be asked for your podcast’s name, description,
category, artwork, etc.

 Apple Podcast (formerly iTunes)

 Stitcher
 SoundCloud
 YouTube
 Spotify
 Google Podcasts
 Deezer
 Amazon Music
11. Market your podcast

When you launch, there’s an opportunity for you to be

featured in the New & Noteworthy section on Apple
Podcasts. Just imagine how much this could grow your
podcast in a short period of time. This would give your new
podcast a lot of traction.

To get noticed by Apple Podcasts and increase your

chances of being featured, you’ll want to launch your
podcast in a way that you receive some listens and reviews
immediately. This is going to put you in the position to be
featured. While it still isn’t guaranteed, launching your
podcast this way will help you grow organically, too.

To do this, make the launch of your podcast an event and

generate buzz around it. Create a podcast website to let
people know what you have planned. This site should also
give people the chance to opt into a mailing list, which you
can use to reach out on launch day.

The day you debut your podcast, you should launch it with a
few episodes, ideally three. This is a good number of
episodes to have your audience listen to immediately
without overwhelming them. If you launch with just one
episode, you likely won’t get the listen numbers you need to
get noticed by Apple Podcasts.
You also need to show your listeners that you’ll be putting
out content regularly, and that there’s something to
subscribe to. Having multiple episodes at launch (i.e.,
showing episode #1, episode #2, etc.) implies that there’s
much more to come.

Announce the launch to your email list, and ask them to

subscribe to the podcast and leave a review after listening.
It’s really important that you encourage your subscribers to
leave a review, as having reviews (and subscribers) the first
day can help you get noticed by Apple Podcasts, increasing
your odds of getting featured.

Some other simple marketing ideas include:

 Use tools such as repurpose.io and wavve.co to create

little snippets of your audio in video format and publish
it on social channels.
 Create show notes of your episodes to improve
your SEO and get found through Google.
 Leverage your guests’ audience to spread the word
about new episodes.
 Be a guest on other people’s podcasts.