Podcasting on the Cheap

I remember growing up and being a big radio junkie, listening to call-in request shows while pining for whichever girl didn’t know I existed at the time, and really connecting to the DJs.   I idolized these people and wanted for AGES to be an on-air personality.   Sadly, that dream was never realized….until now.

One of my absolute favorite forms of new media is the podcast.   The idea that ANYONE can make a recording and then kick that birdie out of the nest for the entire internet to hear (and judge) is just really cool to me.   Perhaps I’m a wee bit biased, (insert obligatory De-Bugging Life Radio plug here) but the best way to ensure that there’s a podcast out there that YOU want to listen to is to record it yourself!

To make a podcast on the most basic of levels, one would require three items.

1.)    A microphone

2.)    Editing Software

3.)    Distribution

Microphone: USB Microphones range in price from dirt-cheap all the way up to several hundred bones.   Most of the time, you get what you pay for…so if you want decent sound quality you need to shell out all of your lunch money, right?   Not necessarily.   I recommend hitting up your very own video game collection, grab that Rock Band or Guitar Hero microphone (roughly $5 at your local pawn shop), and plug that sumbitch right into your PC.

These are high-quality plug&play condenser microphones and can provide a clear crisp sound.   Until you’re sure that your still-hypothetical-podcast is something that’s going to take off, save your cash…there are more important places to spend it.

Editing Software: For you Macs out there, there’s really only one application you need to look for.   That is, of course, GarageBand.   This is Apple’s own personal music production studio and part of the iLife suite.   The triple threat of iPhoto, iMovie, and GarageBand for the low-low price of $50 makes this purchase instantly worth the investment.

For the PC in all of us, I greatly recommend Mixcraft by Acoustica.   This is a very user-friendly studio application, the one that I use for DBLR, and is so intuitive and customizable that it’s easily my favorite piece of editing software ever used.  It’s going to set you back about $75, but the free updates and HUGE library of royalty-free clips, samples, and sound effects make this easy-to-use application a great pick.

However, as the title of this post indicates, we’re looking to podcast on the cheap, and there ain’t nothing cheap as free.  For LEGALLY free editing software, the best you’re going to find is Audacity.   Audacity is very simple to use, makes a variety of different file types, and works with Mac, PC, or Linux.  While it’s not as good of an experience as the previously mentioned studio apps, Audacity provides a wonderful crash-course in editing software and definitely gets the job done.

Distribution: If you already have a website, then distribution can be as easy as uploading the file and then telling all your visitors.  For maximum impact, however, you definitely want to have your podcast set up in an RSS feed form and listed on iTunes.  Love it or Hate it…in the world of podcasts, iTunes is IMPORTANT.  Luckily getting yourself listed on iTunes is free, but setting up your RSS is a little more difficult.  WordPress has several plug-ins that do this automatically, but more importantly I want to point all you cheap bastards to Podbean.com.

Podbean has several different subscription tiers, including a free account, with varying levels of storage, bandwidth, and options.  ALL Podbean subscriptions include a free and automatic iTunes interface making your back-end coding and involvement almost non-existent.

So let’s tally this up here….ASSUMING you already have a Rock Band/Band Hero mic, pick up Audacity, and sign up for a free Podbean account… $0 + $0 + $0 = $0.

Holy Crap!  Creativity at it’s finest with zero out of pocket.  Now that the mechanics are satisfied, let’s have a few helpful insights on the rest of it.

-          Decide what kind of show you want to do.  Is it comedy?  Informative?  Maybe you want sort of an audio-diary or movie/game/TV/book reviews?  It’s all good.  Come up with a solid plan and start recording.

-          Apply editing scissors liberally.  Take the time to cut out dead air, er’s, um’s, bits that don’t work, and poorly recorded segments.  Just a few minutes of editing can drastically increase the energy and flow of your podcast.

-          Be Consistent. Consistency is a sign of quality. Figure out how long your show is going to be and stick with it. Decide how often you’re going to release episodes and stick with it. Be respectful of your listener’s time and make an experience so they always know what they’re going to get when they tune in.

-          Promote your show.  You may have a few close friends or acquaintances who’ll eagerly jump onto your show’s bandwagon, but getting new listeners in a grossly oversaturated market is very difficult to do.  Work on SEO, forums, facebook, anywhere you’re likely to meet the kind of people who would listen to your kind of show.

-          Don’t Steal.  With so many podcasts out there, it’s extremely difficult to NOT re-hash other people’s material.  I know I’ve been guilty of it in my early days of internet stardom.  It’s ok to clearly take queues from your inspirations and learn from others, but don’t blatantly re-record their stuff.  It’s not creatively satisfying, it’s not un-noticed, and it’s not cool.

-          Don’t Give Up! You don’t need to pull down 4, 5, or 6 figure hits for your show to be a success.  Play to your audience and focus on quality…quantity will come.

The hardest part of creating most anything is summoning the gumption to JUST DO IT…so what do you have to lose?

Do you have any podcast questions or advice? Do you have a podcast you want to promote? Maybe this has inspired you to create one? Leave it below in the comments, and I PROMISE I’ll listen to your show.