This post is part of a short series I’m doing with my friend and fellow podcaster, Sandi Hazelwood. We’re looking at what it takes to make a podcast. See the my first post here and Sandi’s here.
Today, we’re airing a lively discussion we recorded about podcasting. We take you behind the scenes and answer all sorts of meaty questions including:
the technical –
What equipment do we use for our podcasts? (microphones, headphones)
What do we use for hosting?
What software do we use to edit our podcasts?
How did we pick our theme music, intros and outros?
before the call –
How do we choose our guests?
How do we prepare for the interview?
How do we respond to pitches?
How do we prepare questions?
during the call –
Do we ask questions from a script?
Do we take notes during the call? What do we note?
after the call –
How do we prepare our show notes?
How do we edit our podcasts?
What are the intangible benefits to the show?
What do we think about sponsorship for podcasts?
How do we market ours show?
How do we stay motivated to keep up with the podcast?
And we recommend some of our favorite shows, too! Hopefully this episode is helpful if you’re considering starting a podcast or are just curious about what podcasting is really all about. Tune in!
I also wanted to share some of the resources I’ve discovered that have helped me to learn how to podcast better and continue to keep me inspired as I make my show:
1. the She Podcasts Facebook group
Founded by podcasters Elsie Escobar and Jessica Kupferman, the mission of the ShePodcasts Facebook group is to be “…a safe place for women podcasters to celebrate, commiserate, and help support one another.” There are 1,871 members and the discussions are lively and informative (newbies and established podcasting women are all welcome – Helen Zaltzman is a member and she commented on my question the other day!). Not sure how to get your show on iTunes? Need to hire an audio editor? Wondering how to deal with a rather demanding guest? Get all your questions answered. Tune in to the ShePodcasts podcast for even more.
2. Hot Pod
Hot Pod began as writer Nick Quah‘s passion project. He’s a guy who loves podcasts like nobody I’ve ever encountered. He started a TinyLetter to share weekly news about podcasts with other enthusiasts. That was about 8 months ago. Hot Pod is now the industry newsletter. It’s amazing how quickly that happened, but Nick knows what he’s talking about. I wrote a guest post for Hot Pod a few months ago about craft podcasts (so exciting!). I will say that Nick is really interested in NPR shows and shows with big budgets and awesome audio production. What I admire most about Hot Pod is his breathless and self-effacing enthusiasm for digital audio.
3. Listening as a maker, not just a consumer, and listening broadly.
I’ve been listening to podcasts for many hours each week since 2007 when I first got an iPod. When I began making my own show in January of 2014 I started listening to shows in a different way, especially interview shows. Jesse Thorn, Anna Sale, and Terry Gross are master interviewers and when I listen to their shows I try to focus on their techniques. An audio interview can feel like a regular conversation, but it’s actually quite different and it’s up to you, as the host, to structure that conversation and bring out the guest’s story. I think it’s a good idea to listen to a whole lot of audio and not just about craft. Download some shows about your other hobbies and interests (music, cooking, books, comics, whatever) and listen broadly.
Making a podcast is a lot of hard work, but it’s also incredibly cool. To record a radio show in your living room and be able to make it accessible to people all over the world? That’s new media at its best and I love being part of it.