Starting your own podcast is pretty easy. For a few dollars a month plus some inexpensive equipment, anyone can get going in just a few days. But, while it’s easy to get started, it isn’t as easy to build an audience and keep up the motivation to keep going week after week. So you first need a plan.
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5 Steps To Start Your Own Podcast
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through the 5 essential steps to start your own podcast, from defining your concept to publishing your first episode. This guide will equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to get started, whether you’re a seasoned content creator or a complete beginner. Embark on your podcasting journey today and learn the ins and outs of creating a successful show.
- Plan for success
- Set up the infrastructure
- Create the designs
- Record your first few episodes
- Edit your content and publish
Plan for psuccess
- Decide on your audience: Who is this podcast for? Imagine your ideal listener. A podcast that’s intended for everyone won’t be perfect for anyone. And you need someone to love it enough to subscribe and recommend it, so go narrow vs going broad.
- Pick a theme that you know well and which might be interesting to them: Now that you have your ideal audience, pick a theme that would be of interest to them. Again, go narrow and deep vs shallow and broad – and of course stick to your expertise or area of interest.
- Start building a pipeline of guests to interview: As many podcasts die for lack of interviewees as for lack of an audience. So make a list of as many interview candidates as you can and start reaching out to them before you start your show. 20 would be a good number, allowing for months of episodes before you have to start looking again.
CrazyTok includes show planning consultations and guest outreach for free in all our plans, even on our most affordable tiers. Check our plans and pricing.
Set up the infrastructure
- Buy the equipment: At a minimum, you need a good mic and wired headphones for quality audio recording. If you are recording video as well (highly recommended even if you don’t use it initially), you will need a good webcam or phone camera as well as lighting equipment. Lighting is a whole topic in itself but generally make sure your face is well-lit with soft, diffused lighting rather than hard light that throws shadows on your face and makes every wrinkle and blemish stand out in high contrast!
- Source the Software: For a quality outcome, we recommend using Riverside or Streamyard for smooth online recordings, Descript for editing the content, and Canva for making nice episode artwork and social media content. You also need a podcast hosting platform to upload and distribute your audio. Most platforms will give you further instructions on how to set up your Apple and Spotify channels. Now, obviously, there are a lot of AI and other tools over and above these but the universe is vast and if you keep exploring it, you’ll never get started. This is adequate just to get going.
- Set up your recording space: Set up the recording in a place where you can get or create good lighting. Ensure the background is clean and appealing, not messy or chaotic. Also try to ensure some distance between you and your background rather than sitting right up against a wall, bookshelf, or curtain.
- An alternative is to rent a podcast studio: Depending on your budget, you may choose to use a studio for an hour to get the best overall look and sound.
CrazyTok already subscribes to all these tools and more so you can get all the benefits of the software without paying a penny for it. We walk you through your setup live so you can be confident you have the best look and sound possible from your location.
Create the designs
- Pick a name for your show: The name should be catchy but not too clever so people can tell what the show is about and it shows up on searches.
- Select music: Pick appropriate royalty-free music from stock music sites. You may need to pay a few dollars to use it.
- Design the show cover art: Use Canva to design a catchy show cover. Make sure it does not have too much text as it needs to stand out as a small, stamp-sized thumbnail on a phone.
- Design the video graphics and thumbnail format: If you plan to have a video, you need to design graphics for your videos as well (not mandatory, but a nice touch).
CrazyTok will handle all these for free in every one of our pricing plans, so you can focus on being a great content creator, not a designer.
Record your first few episodes
- Brief your guests: Give them an outline or questionnaire beforehand so they can prepare for your recording. This will save a lot of confusion and editing later. Also make sure they have set themselves up with at least wired headphones, acceptable lighting, and a pleasing background
- Start recording: Start your interview (and don’t forget to hit Record!)
CrazyTok handles guest coordination and briefing in some of our plans, so you can save time and just show up to record at the appointed time! Check our plans and pricing for more information.
Edit your content and publish
- Edit your content: Editing is a complete course in itself, but in brief, we recommend ensuring your episode is no more than 30 mins or so, ideally 20. Cut out mistakes, irrelevant segments, and parts that feel like they are dragging so you can make the episode punchy and fun to listen to. Also, smooth out the sound so it is pleasant and not jarring, and ensure it is set to the recommended levels for podcast (and video) platforms. Add a bit of intro/ outro music, but no more than 3-5 seconds.
- Create the artwork: Make the artwork for your episode, adding the episode title and perhaps a guest photo to make it pop.
- Publish: Once you are happy with the episode, upload it to your hosting platform.
And voila, you have your own show! Now all you have to do is keep producing great content, but that’s easier because you already have a plan. The key to success is consistency. Aim for publishing new episodes every couple of weeks, and your audience will grow over time. Continue enhancing your content and spreading the word about your show.
All the best!
