VD66: How to start your own podcast

Lately, I have been receiving many questions about how to start a podcast. I have had my own podcast for about 2 years now. I originally started the podcast as an interest to connect and learn from other industry experts. I wanted to provide entrepreneurs in the fashion e-commerce industry with useful tips they could apply to their business while learning from others. The podcast has helped my business so much that I often recommend my clients to start their own show. Podcasting is just another way to connect with your audience. I first started by simply recording with my laptop on Skype and eventually invested into a mic. Part of my challenge was that because I travel so much, I needed a portable podcasting set-up. Through some research, I was able to create an “on the go” set-up which is quite inexpensive.

Here is what has worked for me:

1. Equipment / Software: You don’t need much to get started. I record all my calls on Skype with Ecamm. Skype’s audio quality is superior to Google Hangout. With Skype, I have been able to conduct interviews in places with horrible internet connections. Additionally, what is great with Ecamm is that if the call drops, it automatically saves the files and lets you continue recording. Now for equipment, I keep it really simple. I own a Samson Go Mic and Sony Headphones. That is all I need.  Other microphones that work well include the Yeti mic or the Zoom H4N.
2. Formatting Your Show + Editing: Before I started my podcast, I spent time thinking about the overall goal of the show. I wrote a show description, created a jingle, picked music which I felt defined the tone of the show. I hired an audio engineer on Fiverr (this guy). He is amazing. He helped with my jingle and has been editing my podcasts ever since. I originally tried editing my own show with Garageband. It was fairly easy and very intuitive. I, however, decided to save some time by getting the help of an audio engineer, it’s made all the difference.
3. Syndicating your show: Now that you are ready to launch your podcast, you will want to start thinking about distributing it to as many channels as possible. I personally use Buzzsprout to manage my podcast and push it to iTunes and Stitchers. Other syndication platforms include blubrry.com. It took me about 30 minutes to first set-up Buzzsprout. I had to create a favicon, including a description and a first episode. I then had to register my podcast through iTunes and waited a few days to get my show approved. Once the show is approved, your podcast will be in the iTunes homepage and on top of the category for a few days. Take advantage of the following and build some momentum. Spend time asking your audience to rate your show on Itunes. The following will make all the difference.

Finally, make sure when you first launch your podcast that you will be able to commit to uploading content regularly. Include breaks within the show, so the content is easy to digest for your audience. These breaks can be anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes. It will help tremendously with audience retention.

Feel free to comment below if you have additional questions and please share with me your podcast show once you create it.