I love the work that I do, it’s fun, it makes me money, I am proud of it, but more often than not, I phrase the answer to the question, “What do you do for a living?”, like this, “Oh, I’m in the podcast industry!”, which is vague enough to be interesting, true enough to not be a lie, and not sad enough to generate the, “Oh”, followed by the long-awkward-pause, response. It is a worthy investment of your ideas, energy, time, and money. And a cold hard look at the first investments is all you need to get started.
You can start a podcast for a somewhat low investment. Nowadays, a new project that I am creating is about $10,000+ to get it all up and running, but when you are starting out you can find ways to lower that initial investment.
Here are some things you will want to budget for in the beginning, to really set yourself up for success.
Microphone
A good mic is essential. You want an XLR cable…
XLR cables: Gearlux XLR Microphone Cable: https://amzn.to/442sUDR
…which gives you a wide variety of microphone options. This will give you the flexibility in production to really get creative with the sound you want to capture, while never sacrificing quality. You want something that plugs in with an interface…
Interface: Focusrite Vocaster 2: https://amzn.to/3s4qHuf
…not something simpler like a mic with a Bluetooth connection. It gives you more control down the line. USB mics are also a no. They do not offer the same level of control you can get with one that has an interface and one that connects with an XLR cable. These are just the best mics, if you are not in a studio, and when you're starting out you probably won’t have access to a studio yet, great if you do, but with these mics, you would never guess that the sound was not coming from a studio. In fact, all my recordings are in my apartment.
So, here are some more gear options to help get you started:
Microphone: Shure Microphone SM7B: https://amzn.to/3OusTTa
Pop filter: Earamble Studio Microphone Pop Filter: https://amzn.to/3KvLywR
Podcaster Bundle: Focusrite Vocaster 2 Studio Kit: https://amzn.to/3OpZtG0
Art
Art is also important. The cover art for your podcast should be appealing to your target demographic as well as keep your unique brand. This is often best achieved by finding an artist. You can peruse Pinterest or talk to artist friends in your circle or contact artists through their websites. I can also recommend working for hire platforms, but the money I have invested in art created there varies greatly by how much you are paying. Do not be taken in by the 2D digital artist offering $50 for their work. It will not be the same as someone else charging $500. And this is to be expected. By contacting the artist directly, you have a chance to create a relationship, securing any future work, and ensuring quality as you will now know this artist personally, but in the beginning places like Fiverr, are not a bad place to start.
Fiverr: https://go.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=781079&nci=8355
Market Research / Market Strategy
A good Marketing strategy. Is well worth the investment of financial resources. Get it to the right audience or find that audience. Let's take this eBook as an example for marketing, start general (Ex: Men and Women, ages 18-35) then go specific, (Ex: Men and Women, ages 18-35, beginning to early career in podcasting). This helps narrow the focus of whom you are thinking will get the most out of your podcast or product. If you have done any work in ecommerce, product, or social media marketing, these ideas should be a welcome addition to your podcasting career. If not, consider hiring a Market Strategist on a consulting basis or paying for some market research that has already been completed by a market research company. This information can range from free (Google, Online courses, YouTube, ChatGPT) to costly. The amount varies exactly by company or consultant, if choosing this route, make sure you trust them. I recommend first googling and using free or low-cost online courses. But in terms of leveling up your skills and marketing knowledge.
AI generated content
This section will probably grow over the years. But for now, it will be kept brief here and in general, AI generated content for professional content has an enormous potential and a huge risk. Potential in that it can help speed up the process of creation, but it holds risk because you don’t always know where the content being created is coming from. But here are two ways AI generated content can help you in podcasting.
AI generated content: Text
Something AI text generates can be like a quick and slighter dumb writing partner. It is great for copy and product descriptions that are relatively easy to write but more complex stories get tedious and bad very quickly. I can now tell the difference between something that is generated by AI and created by a human. This might change in the future as AI gets better, but if I find it was created by an AI, I generally will turn it away. Keep it for simply writing tasks and nothing more at this stage in the game.
AI generated content: Images
This is the same as text, but often AI generated is even more AI Generated. If you know what I mean? Use it sparingly, like turning a square image into a banner image.
Sound Editing Software and Training
So, in my podcast work I advocate and practice sound-scaping. Like adding music, background noise, and sound effects. This creates a depth to the work that I will always include. But it is a creative choice. You don’t need it if you don't use it in your podcast. I would advise though, that it does help to have a knowledge of sound editing and software to be able to edit or figure out the quality of the edit yourself.
Let's start with sound editing tools, starting on the cheap tools and ending on the higher end.
GarageBand: Free
Side note: Everybody starts with GarageBand on mac. It’s free and easy to use. And professionals still use it to make beats and music. But… like the passing of gas in an elevator full of people, it goes unadmitted by the guilty party. There is a secret shame in using GarageBand professionally, but it is a powerful tool, especially if you are new to sound editing, what to play around, and are not using sound-scaping. Everybody starts there and some people stay. If it suits your needs, then go for it!
Audacity: Free
For PC or Mac
Adobe Audition: https://amzn.to/3OrJCGL
Adobe Suite offers assorted products and stock audio packages to help get something started. Also, the added benefit of having a super wide community that is incredibly supportive of ideas, and talent sharing is a plus.
Content licensing and copyrighted material
Pre-recorded sound and music save time and untimely money. If you are a major studio, you should be making your own music, through hired or contracted workers. It just makes the most legal sense. Because of copyright. I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice, but essentially, if you make something or hire someone to make something for you, you own it and can register it with the government. There is one thing I know is a myth and you should just avoid it. The myth is you can play anything for 30 seconds and it doesn’t violate copyright. No. This is a myth. Even if what you are making doesn’t make any money. It's fair use and is just the right thing to do, as well as the best way to protect yourself and your reputation.
But what if I need music? Sounds? And I can’t hire a musician or a sound guy. There are legal means to obtain great pre-recorded sounds and music for simple monthly subscriptions or even completely free sources. The trick is to always look at the fine print. If you found a website that hosts free sound, make sure to scour the entire site, for any statement on “licensing” or “terms of use”, if it says you can download it and “use it freely for commercial use”, it can be used, no problem. If it says you must give the creator credit to use it. Do that! It's really that simple. Usually, subscription sites have pages of rules and different subscription tiers. Make sure you look towards investing in the commercial subscription packages.
There are dozens of these types of sites. My favorite that I use right now is:
Epidemic Sound: https://share.epidemicsound.com/9dk607
I use it daily. It has a wide range of different sounds and music. And it is just a fantastic service!
Remote recording
This is a question that comes up. How do you manage remote recording? It makes sense given we live in a remote and online world. And considering podcasting can all be done from the comfort of your living room. How can we ensure remote recording is still of a professional quality? The answer is easier than you think.
A service I really like is Remotely. I’ve never had a problem with it. Other ones like Super Cast and/or Zoom might work as well for some situations, but I wouldn't recommend them. Remotely is simply great. Any one time I have had an audio glitch, we are still able to have the audio and even still, the sound will sound just as good as whatever mic you are recording on. In a pinch, or in a tight budget, use Zoom for free, but if you can spend it, use it remotely.
Mastering your audio levels
Let's talk about audio levels. I get asked this at podcast conventions all the time; what level I should aim for my podcast?
I use a site called Auphonic. Auphonic just takes your file through its AI and fixes the levels for you. It takes the busy work out of this side of podcast creation.
But what if you want to do it yourself? There is some debate, amongst podcasters though, around audio levels. A good standard is to be at negative -16 and that's that. Some people think negative -18, but you could get away with either. But if you are using a lot of sound-scaping, make sure your levels are at negative -18 to allow for more audio waves through. But if you are incorporating dynamic ads, export your file to -14. Because often they are made very loud, and you don’t want to blow your socks off.
Simply put, generally, aiming for negative -14 to -16 should be a good range.
Here now, at the end of our investment journey, since you have gotten to this point and are reading this sentence and do not have nerve wrecking anxiety, and maybe, are still thinking, “Starting a podcast is still realistic…” then you are in good company. It doesn't take that much to get started. And once you get started you can see if it is something you like doing and want to continue to do it.
To that end, making all the right forces of the universe meet, so that you can indeed start on your podcast journey, can still be a tricky thing to wrap your head around. The next sections should help offer you tips from other podcasters, and I have done to help you find ways to fund it.