Making your first podcast: essential tips for beginners

Thinking of making your own podcast series, but no idea where to start? Here are some helpful tips to get you started on your new podcasting journey.

What is a podcast?

A podcast is a series of pre-recorded, spoken word, audio pieces. Typically, they focus on a particular theme or subject area.

Usually, a podcast is led by the voice of at least one host or narrator, but they often include the voices of other contributors or guests.

Podcasts can come in many different shapes and sizes ranging from discussions, interviews to documentaries. This provides a great medium to explore a topic or theme in greater depth than a shorter piece of content that might be shared on social media.

Are podcasts popular?

There are more than 4 million podcasts available for you to listen to online. So it’s safe to say it’s a popular medium. But do people listen to them? Yes, more than a third of adults in the UK listen to podcasts every month. 

Plus, 68% of listeners in the UK stick around for the entire episode. So podcasts provide the opportunity to reach a highly engaged audience.

The steps for making your first podcast

Decide on your niche

With so many podcasts already out in the world it’s important to decide on the niche for your series, which sets it apart from all the other podcasts. This means you’ll need to think about what you can offer that others can’t or aren’t. 

Identifying a niche is also important as it prevents you from adopting a broad theme which fails to make you noticeable. So instead of producing a history podcast which could touch on any period of history, you should produce a podcast which focuses on European history with the help of expert historians. 

Decide on a format

Many people wrongly assume that there is only one format for a podcast i.e. an interview. This is a popular format, but there are others you might want to consider.

The interview format offers the chance to interview guests one on one about a subject or story. A skilled host and strong story or topic can make this a really engaging format to consider for your podcast.

A roundtable discussion allows for co-hosts and guests to chat in a more relaxed or debating format about a chosen theme or topic. 

Another format to consider could be documentary. This would see the host interview a range of guests and case studies related to a story or theme. The final podcast would be edited so that the host narrates each episode and guides the listener through the story.

Choose your host(s)

Probably the most important thing to think about when starting a new podcast series is deciding on who should be the host (unless you're planning on making the podcast yourself). 

The host or hosts are the voice of the podcast. They need to be skilled interviewers, who can guide conversations, or narrators, who can hold the attention of your audience.

You’ll also need to decide if you would like to opt for one or two (or more) hosts. If you’ve decided on more than one, then you’ll need to make sure that they have good chemistry and can bounce off one another. 

Purchase recording equipment

You can record an entire podcast on a smartphone if you want to. But many listeners now expect a certain level of quality when tuning into a podcast. 

There are many different microphones, cables, sound desks, and digital recorders to choose from. You could spend thousands to kit yourself out with the very best equipment. But when you’re just starting out, getting the basics is all you need to trial out your new podcast concept.

When choosing a microphone you’ll be met with two main choices: USB or XLR. USB microphones allow you to plug them directly into your computer to record, this can be a great option when you have a solo host or are recording remotely. 

XLR microphones must be plugged into a professional recording device, like a handheld recorder or desk. This is often the more expensive option. 

Some microphones offer both USB and XLR outputs, which could help with future proofing your investment.

You might also want to consider purchasing over ear headphones and a microphone stand. 

Deciding on how you will record the audio is also an important consideration. On a computer this will be with a piece of software and on a recording device this will be setup already for you internally so you just have to plug the microphone in and press record.

Rehearse before recording

Rehearsals offer an opportunity to try out ideas before inviting guests in or hitting record (especially if you are making your first podcast). Give your host(s) the opportunity to practice and become familiar with the recording process.

Use this time to try out different ideas and concepts that you’ve developed. Maybe invite colleagues or friends in to act as guests and see if the questions or games you’ve come up with work in practice.

By rehearsing you’ll be able to ensure a much smoother operation when you come to record, which will be of benefit especially when external guests are invited in to attend a recording session.

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We’re Sheeran Media

You might have reached the end of this article and thought that you’d like some help from the professionals to create your new podcast series. 

We’re Sheeran Media. An all in one content creation company with expertise in video, podcasts, animation and social media graphic design. If you have a podcast you need support with, then get in touch. We’d love to help!