There are only 2 things you need for podcasting success: A way to record and edit your podcast, and publish your podcast.

Each step requires a different set of tools and equipment and I break it down in this video.

Welcome to Systems Sunday, this month’s theme is Podcasting Pre-Launch. I am Lisa Wells, your Virtual Assistant Trainer.

In today’s episode, we will go over Podcasting Gear, Tools, & Equipment.

There are only 2 things you need for podcasting success:
A way to record your podcast and edit your podcast, and publish your podcast. Each step requires a different set of tools and equipment, so let’s break it down.

Recording your podcast takes both hardware and software

To record, you’ll need a microphone, look for noise-canceling or dynamic features. You don’t need to break the bank on audio equipment to host a successful podcast—but you do need to sound professional enough to attract the right guests.

For the budget-conscious, there’s the Logitech USB Headset starting at $25. For the startup, the Blue Yeti works great, it’s what I use, and it’s about $100.

You want a microphone that doesn’t make your voice sound far away—or like Minnie Mouse. For that reason, do NOT use the built-in microphone on your computer or laptop!

If you are going to be doing interviews, you’ll need a good clear internet connection and a way to record your guests. Cleanfeed is a free browser extension for recording live audio. If you’re in a pinch, Zoom is a great alternative.

For the software, you can use the same software to record as well as edit. You can get Audicity for free.

Adobe Audition is part of the Adobe Suite and is about $20 a month. If you already have a license for Creative Cloud, you may already have access to it.

If you are also going to edit videos, no need to buy additional programs. I use Camtasia and can easily export the audio file.

Editing is helpful to remove the ums and ahs, mistakes, add clips, music, intros and outros.

Once completed, you’ll have an MP3 file which is the file format that is needed.

Think about your surroundings, are there constant interruptions, background ambient noises (like an ancient air conditioner window unit, for example) that would distract from what’s being said?

For that, you don’t need equipment: You just need to create a checklist habit of…

• Shutting your office door (if you have one)
• Turning off the phone (mobile and house)
• Putting out the dog, cat, kids, parrot, or significant other
• Closing the windows

In my case, my desk is right next to the air conditioner return and I have the dehumidifier running throughout the day, so on recording day, I turn those off.

And I am lucky enough to live between two neighbors who take pride in their yards so much that they use the blower at least once a week. Definitely something to consider if you have a scheduled call.

Step 2, publishing your podcast. To publish your podcast, you’ll need a podcast host, which is the middle man between you and your listeners. You can try to go it alone without using a host, but do yourself and your sanity a favor, and just go with a host.

You’ll want to host your podcasts on a podcast-dedicated cloud service, for reliability, speed and to relieve bandwidth on your host’s server. In my cursory check for podcasting hosting sites, the pricing was pretty reasonable. To give you two examples, a popular site, Buzzsprout is $12 a month and you can upload 3 hours each month, episodes are hosting indefinitely with unlimited storage.

Another popular site, Libsyn, prices plans based on storage and features. The average audio file will range around .5 mb to 1 mb per minute of recorded audio, so if you publish an hour-long episode every week of the month, your plan would be $15.

You can most likely get a free trial so that you can see if the site fits your needs. It may be tempting to use a free service, just make sure you read the fine print as to who owns the intellectual property.

No matter what you choose, once you upload your MP3 audio file to a hosting site, your end product is an RSS feed that looks like this: https://showname.podcasthostname.com/rss

You submit your feed to directories, such as iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Iheartradio so that your listeners can listen to your episode. You can do this manually, each directory has instructions on how to do this, or in some podcast hosting sites, they make it pushbutton easy.

I’ll include links in the area below.

If you’d like some resources, check out my Podcasting template pack. I have email templates, worksheets, printables, tracking sheets and more. Check it out at my shop.

Tune in for next week’s episode in which we’ll talk legal issues and what you need to know. Bye for now.

Catch up on other Podcast Pre-Launch episodes + resources mentioned in the video:

• Episode 113: Brainstorming Your Podcast Theme
• Episode 115: Podcasting Legal Issues
• Episode 116: Podcast Guest-Getting Game Plan

• Microphones
  • Logitech USB Headset
  • Blue Yeti microphone
• Recording/Editing Software
  • Cleanfeed free browser extension
  • Zoom video conferencing
  • Audacity free audio recorder/editor
  • Adobe Audition
  • Camtasia video recorder/editor
• Podcasting Hosting 
  • Buzzsprout
  • Libsyn
• How to Submit a Podcast to the Most Popular Directories
• Podcasting Template Pack

Did you enjoy this episode and want to put it into action? Grab this kit!