You should! Audio podcasts are the easiest to make. They can be like music radio programmes and feature tracks or can be purely chat like many business podcasts.
All you need to make a simple podcast is a microphone (phone, handheld recorded, microphone on stand) to record your voice. You then need to get audio onto computer / mobile device where you can quickly edit it to take out any mistakes. I use Logic (made by Apple) but any DAW programme will work – Cubase, ProTools, Garage Band, Audacity (this is free) and much more to choose from. If you are adding music to podcast import your tracks into audio software (again this is easy) and when you are happy export (bounce in Logic) to MP3. (If you are including music in podcast you will need a PRS license.)
Next step is to get file onto iTunes which is still the main place to get Podcasts. More places are now accepting podcasts including Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher Radio and many more but I would worry about this after iTunes. The easiest way to upload a podcast to all the platforms (iTunes etc) is to use a podcast hosting platform. This is because to upload a podcast you need an xml file. XML files are cool things because every time you update your podcast the xml file updates and tells iTunes that your new podcast is available. Unfortunately this is the only cool thing about them and the rest is too complicated to worry about…
Podcast Hosters create all of this for you. Hands Up for Trad use LibSyn.com for all our hosting but there are other companies out there that also do an excellent job including Blubrry (Planet Pipe use them) and Buzzsprout. My experience of LibSyn is great. I basically upload the podcast to them and they send it out to iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, Google Play and other destinations. It’s really simple and starts at $5 a month. You don’t have to use any of these though and you can do it yourself (if you’re technical enough) and simply upload the MP3 to Soundcloud, Mixcloud or somewhere else.
Once your podcast is uploaded all you need to do is promote it. You do this by sharing it on your Facebook profile, Twitter etc. Tell folk to listen to it! The Foot Stompin’ Podcast has been going for a good few years now and is listened to all over the world. It’s a great bit of branding and your also sharing a little bit of Scotland to the world. The main thing is to make a regular show (once a month?)
You can also make a video podcast (vlog). If you are up for editing video this is very easy. You can do all the above or simply upload it to YouTube where there is a large audience to be got.
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