How to Create Your Own Podcast a Step by Step Tutorial

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Posted on 10 Nov 2020 6 min read Share On:

Films, soccer, music, video games, or politics: everyone has something they are passionate about. Podcasts are an ideal way to stay up to date and get rid of your own opinion on the subject. Some people are busy typing blog entries, but if you prefer to talk rather than write, a podcast is a better solution. The best thing about it is that You determine the topic, scope, and form yourself, and the costs are kept within reasonable limits thanks to inexpensive hardware and software solutions. Here is how you can create, edit, and publish your podcast in simple steps.

Why should you start a podcast?

A podcast is free, and you can decide when you want to listen to the podcast. Your podcast reaches a specific target group, and they are interested in the content. You build a close connection with your listeners. A podcast is easy to spread (how to do it later) and can reach millions of people. Podcasting is the Networking Tool 2.0.

This increases your expert status and builds up authority. Your listeners can do other things while listening to your podcast. Much content can be better conveyed through a podcast. The podcast helps you build trust faster because you are in your ear and your podcast can also be heard in private moments.

Your target group gets to know you, like you and trusts you. A podcast can be listened to almost anywhere (car, shower, plane, or while jogging.)

Recording with software editing

Listen to the recording in peace with headphones. Make a note of the points where improvements make sense. Your processing can now begin. The free Audacity software already offers several options:

Adjust volume: Select a soundtrack or passage and go to “Effects” and “Normalize” in the menu to adjust the soundtrack’s volume.
Moving tracks: With the “moving tool,” you can move soundtracks and passages on the timeline as you wish, for example, to incorporate breaks (with music).
Text track: Use the “Selection Tool” to mark the desired area and click on “Edit”, “Bookmarks,” and “Add bookmarks when selected” in the menu. This way, notes, and annotations can be made quickly.
Name and colorize the audio track: Click on the name field on the left and select names to rename the selected track. Use the Wave Color item to give the individual tracks different colors.
Inserting breaks: If a break is useful at one point, click with the “Selection Tool” to this point in the audio track. With CTRL+I, you cut and can move the passages according to your wishes.
Fade-out / fade-in: To gradually fade out the recording or music (“fade-out”), mark the desired area of the soundtrack with the selection tool, and go to “Effects” and “Fade out” in the menu. “Fade in” has the opposite effect (“fade-in”).
Export: Go to “File” and “Export” in the menu. Select MP3 or WAV as the file format.

For a successful podcast, it is advisable to look for intro, outro, and possibly background music. The YouTube audio library offers suitable music titles and sound effects for free download. The tabs “Attribution” and “No source required” display license-free titles that you can use without naming the artist. Otherwise, you have to mention the artist in the description. You can reach the audio library on the website Audio Library Plus. You add the audio files to the Audacity project using drag & drop.

Publish the podcast on the Web

Finally, you have to make the podcast public – and for this, there are cheap ways: Easy and fast it goes over soundcloud.com. If you haven’t already, create an account first. Then click on “Upload”, “Select file to upload” and select the desired audio file. You can then give the podcast a title, select the genre, set tags, and add a description. Finally, click on “Save” and the podcast is published.

With the free SoundCloud account, up to 180 minutes of audio material can be published – for more capacity, you need a subscription. The Soundcloud subscription is too expensive for you in the long term? No problem: There is unlimited and free upload capacity on YouTube. The only catch is that the platform only allows uploading video files. To convert the audio file into a video, use free software such as Windows Movie Maker and use a license-free still image.

Edit and cut podcast

The recorded recording can now be edited directly in the “Anchor” podcast app. There are also other app alternatives: Examples would be the podcast app ‘Auphonic’ for Android or ‘Hindenburg’, which is only available for iOS.

In the case of Android smartphones, the audio file can alternatively be transferred from the cell phone to the PC using an SD card. The recording using the podcast apps can then be edited on an audio editing program such as Audacity or Samplitude.

Now remove possible slip-ups or clearing of throat that happened to you during the recording. You cut out the audio sections. Then you put the audio segments together so that the transitions are seamless. Background noise can be suppressed with a so-called equalizer, which is standard in all audio programs. This process requires some tact.

Otherwise, if you overturn it, it will quickly sound unnatural. Overemphasis such as sharp’s’ sounds can also be retouched with the equalizer function.

With the help of a compressor and limiter, you finally control all your podcast episodes to the same volume. This gives your listeners a coherent overall picture when they listen to several of your episodes. Here, too, tact is required to find the perfect balance between ‘loud’ and ‘pleasant to hear’.

Conclusion

With the right equipment – cell phone and LTE tariff – and an exciting topic, your podcast can be launched quickly. Alternatively, you can also create a platform where others can host a podcast. With the right media and entertainment IT solutions, it is possible to create an agile platform that is loved by users.

It is only fun to run a podcast if the creation works as smoothly as possible. A modern Android smartphone or iPhone and a high-performance mobile phone are the best basis for this, thanks to the rising amount of mobility solutions for the entertainment industry. The microphone and all other functionalities in the iPhone XS are convincing. For Android fans, for example, the Sony Xperia 10 is ideal. Both models – whether with an Android or iOS operating system – are a safe bet for budding podcasters.