Recently, the term podcast has spread on the internet, as it came from combining two words the first one is “iPod” that became popular after Apple introduced its iPod, which refers to the pocket because of its small size, and the second one is “Broadcast”.
And it is known as the voice recordings or blogging that is broadcasted to mobile phones.
Podcasts broadcast recorded episodes in a way similar to traditional radio stations, with the slight difference that you can control what you hear at the time you want, meaning that the podcast is under your control.
It is worth mentioning that more than a third of Americans at the age of 12 and above use podcasts on a regularly.
Things you need to know before starting your podcast:
To get a professional voice, you will need the right ideas and appropriate techniques, and some important things as the following:
Choose a topic that you can be the best in providing it:
Because of the great crowded podcasts and the high competition, you have to take good care of selecting and evaluating the topic.
And it must have many advantages, which are:
- Be of value to the listeners.
- Interesting and attracts the attention of the listeners.
- The topic must be unique and unrepeated, traditional or old.
Get a good and suitable microphone:
Your dependence on your device’s microphone is not sufficient, so choose an appropriate type of microphone that fits with your audio broadcast style, for example:
- Cardioid mics captures a wide area in front of them and are best for one person speaking.
- Omni-directional mics captures audio in all directions, and it is best for group discussions.
- Bidirectional mics are best for interviews as they focuses on front and back audio.
- Gun microphones, picks up sound directly within the narrow frontal area, and are best for recording outside where there is ambient noise.Your dependence on your device’s microphone is not sufficient, so choose an appropriate type of microphone that fits with your audio broadcast style, for example:
- Cardioid mics captures a wide area in front of them and are best for one person speaking.
- Omni-directional mics captures audio in all directions, and it is best for group discussions.
- Bidirectional mics are best for interviews as they focuses on front and back audio.
- Gun microphones, picks up sound directly within the narrow frontal area, and are best for recording outside where there is ambient noise.
Use the editing program:
Free audio editing tools should be used to create premium sound, and engaging podcasts with high quality, and Audacity is one of the editors that can help you with that.
Video capture your podcast so you can upload it on YouTube:
When you display your podcast as a video, it will greatly boost the potential audience for the same piece of content.
And here you will need an HD camcorder or two, a tripod and a video editing software.
Get hosting for your podcast:
Hosting mp3 podcast files on your current web server can cause bandwidth and speed issues, so you can get affordable podcast hosting via special apps.
Register and upload your podcast:
- Create a detailed plan for your episodes:Your work without proper planning will lose focus and will not capture the attention of your audience, so you need to take these steps in determining the time of the clip to reach the optimal audio broadcast.For example, if your show is between 18-20 minutes, it is divided as follows:
- 30-second intro.
- 30-second musical introduction.
- The first topic is 5 minutes.
- The interval is 30 seconds.
- The second topic is 10 minutes.
- Two minutes conclusion.
- Preview the next episode in two minutes.
- Final 30 seconds music.
- Don’t use long and vague:Analysis of Apple’s podcast revealed that shows with long introductions have had a low audience.So be precise and clearly explain what and who will be in the episode without being too long.
- Upload your podcast where the audience can find it:Having podcasts only on your website will limit your chance of getting a wide audience, so send your podcasts to Apple Podcasts, Podbay, Podtail and other podcast collectors.
Post your podcast once a week:
40% of the top 25 podcasts you made are published, with a regular publishing schedule once a week.
How to improve your podcast lists:
Include an accurate description for your podcast:
Incorporating a podcast caption after the podcast name is an important way to help you improve your search ability on major platforms.
Example: The skin care tips podcast from our top female makeup artist.
Get a special cover:
A cover is the first thing potential listeners will see, so you should take care to choose the cover so that it attracts them to you.
Adopt a good description in your podcast:
The description in the podcast is an important factor in determining whether a listener will listen to a new show.
That’s why in your podcast description you should answer these questions:
- Whom is this for?
- What will they get from it?
- Who are you?
- What will it be?
Tips for promoting your podcasts:
Release 3-5 episodes on launch day:
Having more than one episode in your podcast on its first day gives your listeners more content to start with and boosts listening time, which reflects positively on you and raises your rankings.
Create snippets to promote your site:
You can use Soundbites on social media as teasers for the full episode.
Upload your clips on SoundCloud for playback in Tweets on Twitter.
Benefit from the crowd of your guests:
Having prominent guests on your podcast gives you a good opportunity to expand your audience and gain more listeners.
That is why you should create a bunch of marketing materials for your guests to share in their accounts when they go live, such as links, quotes, photos, and tweets.
Introduce yourself as a guest on the popular podcast:
A good way to upload your podcast is by appearing on popular podcasts as a special guest.
Conclusion:
Podcasts are now an effective and fun way to introduce your ideas and projects through them, and get an engaged audience if you commit to taking the right steps to get an attractive and distinctive podcast.
