3 Steps to Becoming a Podcaster You Can Take Right Now

Podcasts continue to rise in popularity and have evolved into a tool for professional communication and marketing – just like blogs. Starting a podcast is an incredible way for small businesses and entrepreneurs to connect with their customers and clients in different ways. The question is: what are some of the steps that you can take to become a podcaster and get your signal above the noise?

Here are three tips to make better content, whether it’s a podcast, a vlog, or everything in between.

1. Have a plan

Good podcasts don’t materialize out of thin air, and no matter how good of a host, interviewer, or personality you might be, you need a plan. In the podcasting world we call that a “show flow”; for our podcasts we use a shared document that lays out what we’ll be talking about in each segment, notes for interviewers, links to guest materials, and timing for the show. Creating a podcast is one third recording, one third editing, and one third publishing / promotion, so do yourself a favour and be ready to record, make notes on what you should edit, and take what you create and ensure you’re capturing the key details in your metadata and published information.

2. Record with the right gear

I’ve been saying for years: your audience will forgive bad video, but no one has time for bad sound.

If you want to go the two-in-one approach, think about picking up a good headset. Headphones eliminate echo and a good boom mic can be a great way of getting good sound. This model from Sennheiser has a digital USB connection, so you’ll get great audio.

Personally, I like a stand alone microphone, like this Yeti microphonefrom Blue. I’ve been using mics from Blue for years, and paired with quality headphones you get a real radio-like experience. This model has a stand included, can be used with an optional boom arm, connects through USB, and had three sound patterns. The cardioid pattern is good for single-person recording, while the bi-directional pattern is good for getting interviews without using a second mic.

You can add great video by mounting an action cam to capture your podcast sessions, and with the right software it’s easy to integrate screen capture and video from your action cam to get a unique take on how you make your show. I like the GoPro Hero 8 Black Action Camera; it has an ultra-wide angle lens, great battery life, and absolutely brilliant colour. You can also use the integrated microphone to sync up with your audio track in editing software like Final Cut Pro.

3. Publish with the right tools

You can do a lot of the work your own, but if you’re looking to punch out content, it might be worth considering a podcasting platform. Anchor is available for both iPadOS and Android, so you can use an iPad Pro to capture directly with a USB to USB-C connection kit, edit right on the device, and then publish straight to Anchor. You can do it the hard way… but why take extra steps?

With a plan, the right gear, and the right platform, you could be podcasting in less than the time it took me to write the blog post.

So, what’s stopping you?