Podcasts have been growing in popularity over the past few years. There are over 2 million podcasts online, making this fairly new platform pretty competitive to break into. Starting a podcast can be a rewarding experience if you have the knowledge and expertise to share with the masses.
Why start a podcast?
Technology has encouraged people to interact with content on their phones and connected devices. Many adults, particularly millennials, don’t care to read a lengthy content and prefer to listen to weekly podcasts. This platform gives people the ability to listen on the go. A half-hour podcast can span upwards of 3,000 words and takes an hour to create, whereas a 600-word article can take the average person up to two hours to complete. Podcasts are a great way to repurpose old content because they make easy video content and can be enhanced with images and audiovisuals.
You’ll need some basic equipment.
One of the most essential pieces of equipment you’ll need is a microphone that produces great sound. A laptop mic creates distortion and allows background noise to be heard. The good news is that you can find a great mic for an affordable price. Hotspawn offers a helpful comparison of streaming microphones from some of the best brands. Their comparison includes frequency response range, sound quality, the pros and cons of a USB mic as opposed to an XLR mic, and the various microphone types out there.
Whether you need a live stream, compact, or gaming microphone, it’s important to choose something with the ease of use. When it comes to the best streaming mic, Blue Yeti X, Shure MV7 cardioid pattern, the Audio-Technica AT2020 cardioid polar pattern, the Hyperx Quadcast S cardioid and stereo pattern, and the Elgato Wave 3 cardioid microphones all offer great sound, superb recording quality, and an affordable price.
You’ll need an audio interface to connect the microphone to your computer as well, unless you have a USB mic. The audio interface connects your equipment using XLR and TRS connectors. Mixers are great for complex setups that require physical knob adjustments. You’ll need headphones so that you can listen to guests without feedback. A basic headset will suffice, but it’s best to purchase durable headphones that fit your budget.
You’ll need website hosting.
You’ll need to build a website that can create a validated RSS feed for streaming platforms. You can create a WordPress website with a plugin, or use a web app to manage created podcasts. You’ll need the ability to upload audio files to a server and create an RSS feed in the appropriate format.
Using a virtual private server (VPS) offers high performance at an affordable price, simplicity and scalability, and the ability to support unlimited traffic and up to 2Gbps bandwidth. OVH Cloud’s VPS server is designed with total scalability and ease of use. The OVHcloud Control Panel makes it easy to add what you need and only pay for what you use. Their dedicated server increases performance, offers a dedicated virtual environment, simplicity, unlimited traffic and attractive bandwidth, backup options, and minimal latency. A dedicated host is a great option for gamers and live streams that can’t be interrupted by downtime.
Don’t forget multimedia production software.
A basic audio editor can be installed on your PC, laptop, smartphone, or tablet. This allows you to remove unwanted noise, equalize and normalize audio levels, edit audio clips, and compress, limit, and gate for better sound quality. An image editor is necessary for creating artwork in the right resolution and file size to represent your channel. YouTube requires the use of a video editor to post podcasts. Online video conference software allows you to interview guests and produce a video at the same time. This results in far better audio quality than a phone interview.
Starting a dedicated live stream channel requires the right microphone, a virtual server, and multimedia production software.
