How to Launch a Podcast on a Limited Budget
Why do you want to start a podcast?
“The first thing I tell anyone is, don’t start a podcast for the money.” I started in radio and was quite successful, but I didn’t start thinking, “Oh my God, I’m going to make so much money on the radio!”
All I wanted was to be on the radio. The same holds true for podcasting. You must want to do it, whether there are five or five million people listening.”
The first step is to begin talking!
“Start doing it before you do any research, before you think about marketing or anything else. See if you enjoy doing it as well as listening to it. Nobody else will find you attractive if you can’t listen to yourself if you don’t find yourself interesting. But don’t be too harsh on the early episodes.
Plan on throwing them all out because they’ll most likely be pretty bad. Nobody is born with the perfect gift of gab, allowing them to simply sit down, turn on their microphone, and be entertaining from the start. But keep going if there are glimmers of something good, or even if there aren’t but you’re having fun.”
Listen to related podcasts
“Listen to the top five marketing podcasts and see what you like and don’t like if you want to do a marketing podcast.” Do the same for comedy, movie reviews, or whatever else you enjoy. Make a list of segments and ideas to figure out your podcast’s format, and feel free to build on their ideas and make them your own.
You can differentiate your show from the others if you understand what the competition is doing. Remember, this is a performance. I’ve told people a million times that three or four guys around microphones drinking and shooting the shit isn’t a show, and that 90 percent of podcasts are like that. Create a format and make some preliminary plans.”
Purchase (cheap) recording equipment.
“Purchase a low-cost microphone that connects to your iPhone or Android. Although iRig is a good option, there are many others. One can be had for around $40 or $50.
The ones we use on our show now cost a couple of hundred dollars, and while there is a difference in quality, it is not significant enough to justify spending that much money when starting a podcast.”
Download and learn how to use audio editing software.
“You need to be as self-sufficient as possible. You don’t want to be held hostage by a college student who decides he doesn’t want to edit your show this week, so you don’t release an episode. Perhaps you’ll hire someone who is far superior to you in the future, but for now, do it yourself.
Soundtrap is a great editing platform that costs less than $15 per month to use, and Audacity is a great free audio editor. Both are simple to learn, and editing will assist you in determining what you can do better the next time.”
Purchase a logo and a theme song
“Of course, there are some things you will not be able to do. You might want to hire a graphic designer to create your logo. You may also want to hire a musician to create your intro music.
Fiverr.com is an excellent resource for this type of work. Canva, a free alternative to Photoshop, is another excellent resource. Even if you have no idea what you’re doing, you can create cute logos. It’s free and unwatermarked, which is a good thing because watermarking devalues your brand.”
Give your podcast a name
“You want social symmetry with your name, which means that the name of the show is also the name of your website, Twitter handle, Instagram account, and so on.
There are great website resources, such as www.namecheap.com and www.namecheap.com, where you can type in a name and it will tell you if it is available on every platform.
I believe that having the same name across all platforms is preferable to having to add underscores or numbers to some because it is already taken on Twitter or whatever. The name “The Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll Show” was already taken for my show, so we ended up with The SDR Show.”
Create a website
“This is extremely important. Google is getting serious about podcasting, and they’re starting to make podcasts appear in searches, but only if the podcast has a website with the same name in the header. So, if someone searches for marketing tips and your podcast is about marketing tips, guess what? You’ve just discovered a new listener.”
Cheap microphones are fine, but audio quality is important
“Once you’re up and running and convinced that you want to keep doing this, one thing you can do to stay one step ahead of the competition is to improve your audio quality. Personally, I punch out if I hear bad audio, regardless of who is speaking. Because the majority of podcast listeners are auditory, they expect to hear high-quality audio. There are websites that will level your audio and make your files sound much better, such as Soundtrap and Auphonic.”
Do you want to fly solo or with a co-host?
“Many people are unable to ramble on their own and will require the assistance of a co-host. If you decide to go with a co-host, make sure they will be with you for a long time.
Nothing is worse than getting everything going only to have your co-host leave. Also, make sure that none of your intros or graphics include either of your names, because if you lose your co-host or something else changes, you’ll have to redo everything.”
