Rios Orlando. - Podcasting Pro Basics: A Beginners Guide to Producing, Editing, and Publishing a Podcast

Podcasting Pro

BASICS

Copyright 2016 by Orlando Rios Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval without permission in writing from the author.

ISBN-13: 978-0692640975 ISBN-10: 0692640975

Podcasting Pro www.podcastingpro.com

info@podcastingpro.com

Printed in U.S.A

Contents

The world of podcasting has become a major player in the realm of digestible media. In fact, at the time of this writing almost one in three Americans has listened to a podcast at one point in their life. What once seemed to be just a novel idea, the podcast is now a highly lucrative platform that is a direct competitor to the radio industry. In 2015, there were over three billion downloads!

The best part about the podcast is that anyone can do it. You dont need a special license, you dont need a degree, and you dont need a big bank account to have your own show. With an idea and little commitment, everyone has the ability to share their thoughts and art with the entire world. And if you develop a good audience, you even have the ability to make a good living with sponsorships!

For those who want to start their own show, the idea can be a little intimidating. What equipment is best? How do I sound like a professional? How do I get my show on iTunes? These are all questions you most likely have. The good news is that its relatively easy to get started. With a little direction and a little practice, you can be podcasting in as little as a week.

In Podcasting Pro Basics , I will help you get going as quickly and economically responsible as possible. With over 300 hours of podcasting experience and as a producer of some of the top shows on iTunes, Ive developed a wealth of information on the subject that I cant wait to share.

You will learn which equipment is best for podcasting at any budget, which software is ideal for recording, some tips on developing your show and even some of the editing techniques I use to get my shows sounding crisp and enjoyable. Then, to top it all off, we will get your show published on iTunes and Stitcherthe top two podcast listening platforms in the world.

Lets get started!

If you are the creative entrepreneurial type, you may be tempted to move extremely fast in getting your podcast going. You may already be thinking about sponsors, the compliments youre going to get on your show, and how youre going to be sharing a spot on the charts with Joe Rogan.

Its great to have that drive. It will ultimately lead you to success, but there are a few things you should ask yourself and figure out before you jump in too deep. As you get started you want to have a plan and be able to follow through. You want to make sure the financial investment youre making isnt going to leave you with wasted dollars that you couldve spent elsewhere. The show has to be well thought out and good from the beginning. Think of how many television pilots get canned because the subject matter or quality of the show isnt up to par. You have one chance to make an impression, so you may as well go in prepared.

There is going to be some financial investment on your part in some way if you want to get serious about podcasting. Chances are that, if youre reading this book, you at least plan to make a serious effort. This is good, but we need to be honest with ourselves.

We all know the type of people who decide one day they are going to take up the guitar and go out and buy a Les Paul before learning an E chord. Dont be that person. On the contrary, you also dont want to go waste money on a cheap guitar that you will despise in a month.

The key is finding a happy median.

Its no secret that equipment is going to be your biggest investment in this venture. At this point in your podcasting career, hosting will cost you almost nothing and marketing through social media is mostly free. There are some other marketing investments you may want to make, but Im going to recommend you put your money in the equipment to start.

Below are some examples of starting packages (assuming you already have a decent computer) and what they would cost as of the writing of this book. You will notice a huge difference between better and best. Remember how I talked about the musician buying the Les Paul before he knew an E chord? The best is the Les Paul. You should only go best if you are a seasoned vet, have millions of downloads a year or are already a rich mega-celebrity, but I thought Id include it anyway to show how crazy things can get.

Good $150

• Quality Multi-Directional USB Microphone
• Free Recording Software
• 250MB Monthly Hosting (+$15/Month)

Best if your show will be no more than an hour once a week and mostly be solo or with one other guest.

Better $400

• Three Dynamic Microphones
• Three Cables
• Three Table Stands
• USB Mixer
• Free Recording Software
• 400MB Monthly Hosting (+$20/Month)
• Pro Editing Software Subscription (+$15/month)

Best if your show will be an hour or more, once a week or more and will consistently have more than two guests.

Best $2000

• Four Top of the Line Cardioid Dynamic Microphones
• Four Cables
• Four Table Stands
• USB Mixer
• Free Recording Software
• 1500MB Monthly Hosting (+$75/Month)
• Pro Editing Software Subscription (+$15/month)

As you can see from the pricing, you can get started for a very reasonable price that wont make a dent in your finances or you can blow your savings and possibly never see a return.

I would personally stand by all of these options to give you a quality outcome, even the Good package. The key, as Ive mentioned, is to be honest with yourself, where you are and where youre going. Most people start their podcasts as a solo show with maybe one other guest at a time. The Good package is more than sufficient for that.

You will notice that the hosting prices are a little extra. In reality, you can get started for as little as $5 a month. It just depends on how long and how many podcasts you will do a month. Platforms like iTunes & Stitcher dont charge to give access to your show, but you need the hosting to be able to feed it to them.

Some packages also include a Pro Editing Software Subscription. Obviously there are some you can just buy, but the one that I use has a small subscription fee. What the advanced software gives you is the ability to clean up the audio, mix other files in, and mix it down to a good quality MP3 at the best file size possible. If youre on a Mac youre in luck because you probably have Garage Band, which will probably do the trick for you.

Any way you decide to go, make sure youre comfortable with it. When we get to the equipment chapter, I will list a variety of options all of which are in use by some of the most popular shows on iTunes & Stitcher . The content is whats most important of course, but the content has to be digestible in a pleasant way to the human ear.

If you want to build a real audience, its a good idea to get a format for your show locked down. Think of your favorite television or radio shows. You know when new episodes are going to be available, you know the time commitment thats going to be involved and you know generally what the basis of each show is going to be.

It takes a big commitment for a listener to decide to listen to your show once and a near marriage for them to subscribe and listen to it regularly.

Categories

The first thing you will need to decide is what category your show is going to be in. Will you be covering topics in the news? Maybe youre strictly a health & fitness show. Maybe you have the gift of comedy. Whatever the basis of your show is, you will need to pick a category and try to stick with it in the beginning. You can always change it later if your show morphs into something else, but for all things good, pick one. It helps people find you, gives you a better chance at becoming ranked, and helps keep things consistent.