WJ Tutorials: How to start a podcast

Let's get this out there right off the bat: podcasting is a lot easier than you think.

This introductory guide will tell you all you need to make a pretty good podcast. No, it won't tell you how to create interesting content or how to sound good while recording, but it will tell you about all the technology you need.

It's pretty easy to produce a professional-sounding podcast and, just like blogging, one can start podcasting for free.

Let's say you want to be able to do interview podcasts like I do for BeatBlogging.Org. What does this require?

Audio editing software -- I use Audacity. It's free. It's powerful. It's easy to use. It's on all three major platforms. I like the sound of that.

An external microphone -- Yes, my Macbook has a built in microphone, but if you want crisp audio like my podcasts have, you need an external microphone. A good microphone, however, doesn't cost a lot of money. You can get the official Plantronics headset that BeatBlogging.Org uses for under $30 these days.

Skype -- This is the easiest and cheapest way to conduct interviews with people all around the world. Plus, using Skype makes it really, really easy to record conversations. The plan that I have allows me to call anyone in the U.S. and Canada for $2.95 a month. That's unlimited minutes. The unlimited world plan is $9.95 a month. Calls sound great too.

Recording software -- I use Audio Hijack Pro to record Skype calls for my podcasts. It's really easy to use (never once looked at a manual or tutorial) and produces great results. A license is $32. There are other options too, but I find Audio Hijack Pro incredibly easy to use and flexible.

Hosting -- There are several good, free hosting options available for podcasters. We use Mevio at BeatBlogging.Org, and I have no real complaints. It's free, it works well, it spits out its own RSS feed and allows for comments. But there is another free option that might be better in the long term. I can't say whether Mevio will be around in five years (or even five months), but OurMedia.Org is probably the better long-term solution. BeatBlogging.Org may be switching over to it in the new year. It's a free place to upload creative works for the Web on the Web. Podcasts of course fall under that umbrella.

Dissemination -- There are several, free ways to disseminate podcasts. A WordPress/TypePad/Blogger blog is a fine home for a podcast. Both naturally come with an RSS feed. Each blog post can allow you to describe each podcast episode in detail and provide show notes. A blog also provides a way for users to comment on your podcasts. Once your podcast is established and you have a feed, submit it to the iTunes directory.

This is all you need to establish a professional-sounding podcast. For those counting at home, that's less than $100 a year (and as long as you don't break your headset, it'll be cheaper in year two). It is also entirely possible to start a podcast for free, which I'll address in a future post.

In the future, I'll have tutorials on how to actually produce an individual podcast.