The podcast is one of the newest formats of taking in information in the audio form. Some people refer to it as “online or internet radio.” What started as something small in 2004 has exploded now. For some, this is the preferred way of taking in audio. Like many things within the field of technology, what was once difficult to get involved with is no longer difficult. Prior to getting into how to create a podcast, I wish to cover some of the benefits.
The first major aspect is portability. If you have a smartphone, you have access to it. Individuals with iOS devices have a native Podcast App. If you utilize the Android platform, there are a number of options available for you to utilize.
What comes with portability is also consumed conveniently as an individual sees fit. They can be listened to while an individual is occupied in an other activity. Listening while traveling, working, or exercising are some of the ways that people can listen to them.
With that in mind, let’s create an audio podcast (you can create a video podcast and extract the audio).
Before going anywhere, you MUST ask this question: Who is your perfect listener? If you believe you’re going to “target everyone” and expect massive results, you’re in for a shock. Keep this in mind, targeting everyone will be listened to by no one. Once you have the demographics of your person:
Male/Female
Married/Single
Kids/No kids
Rural/suburban/urban living environment
Age Range
Income
Employment field
Education level
Political views
Religious views
Activities
Hobbies
Once you have those demographics in mind, choose your topic. Whatever your topic is going to be, I’d suggest doing some background research if it’s something you’re not overly familiar with.
With that in mind, here’s what you will need to get a podcast started.
You will need a way to capture audio. It’s recommended that you get a microphone. In a pinch, you could possibly use a bluetooth headset. However, if you do this, you may not get much in the way of great sound quality.
Next, we need a program to capture the audio you’ve created. These two programs are completely free as well. The first one I suggest is Audacity compatible with Mac and PC programs.
The next program is GarageBand, specific only to Macs.
Once the audio is recorded, export this file as an MP3 file. Here is how you want to export it as: 44100 Hz 16 bit, 64 kbps in CBR mono format. You will want to add some other information as well. This is tagging where you will add cover art, naming information, and podcast description. This site is a source that you can utilize to help with these final stages.
If you are looking at doing this in the long term, you do not want to utilize your WordPress website. The website will be bogged down if it takes off due to all the data that will take the time to load. If you are just starting out, you can get away with it. However, you will want to monitor your website and switch over if ti’s getting bogged down too much.
Thankfully, there is a solution for you that you can utilize. Libsyn is a site that you can utilize at a low cost depending upon the plan you wish to select. Side benefit of Libsyn is it will be aded to the various podcasting directories.
Schedule your podcast and publish. You are done and have created your first podcast! What you may wish to do is batch your podcasts and produce a number in advance so if something happens, you have built in leeway.
With all that in mind, you have the option of adding a podcast you create or any other podcast into the app as well. When you log into the Mobile App Maker Pro app builder, it is accessible via the “audio” page feature. Any podcast that you create will stream from within the app itself.