I'm about to start my podcast. What's something I should know?

by Elena Vargas

Hello, I have a Startup called Enygmato, we send riddles via email and reward the first one answering correctly. I'm gonna record the first episode of a podcast with the same name where you listen to Short vignette stories with a riddle as the premise (around 3-10 min.). We are aiming for something like http://thememorypalace.us/ in terms of storytelling. Total noob in how to build a podcast, anything I should know or that I should take care of?

Thanks in advance!

Elena Vargas

on October 31, 2019

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Know what you want to get out of it, what you're willing to put into it, and what success/failure looks like to you. Most podcasters quit after the first few episodes. Even if you stick with it, patience and consistency are key. So it helps to be explicit about this stuff, because uncertainty leads to doubt leads to quitting.

csallen

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7 years ago
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  Great advice, thanks @csallen ! Can you share what success/failure looked to you at the beginning of your podcast?
  
  Elena Vargas
  
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  7 years ago
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When you're starting out, use a dynamic microphone like an ATR-2100 or Samson Q2U and not a condenser mic like a Blue Yeti.

They sound good, they're affordable, plug right into your laptop, and they aren't as sensitive to background noise or room acoustics.

Here's a technique you could try for your reads:
transom.org/2019/how-sruthi-tracks
1. Pretend that you are speaking to a person (or actually have someone in the room with you). You could even put up a picture to look at.
2. Don't write what you're going to say first, try to speak out loud with a few ideas and see how they sound.
3. Once you have something that sounds natural, then write it down
4. Now you can rehearse the written material that you came up with by improvising
jjung

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7 years ago
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Not a terribly intersting thing, because it's just about audio & tech, but if your audio setup or the situations in which you're recording in aren't the greatest, try https://auphonic.com/.

They're a small company that takes your podcast's MP3, applies some "magic" to it and reduce hums, background noise, distortions, etc.

I'm not afiliated at all with them but I've seen & heard them save (and in general just nicen-up) countless episodes of podcast audio already.

Just a quick tip for something you might get some use out of.

svenewers

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7 years ago
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  Woah, thanks for the tip @svenewers! Right now I'm gonna get some help from my school radio department, but they kicked you out as soon as you get sponsors/revenue, so if I get lucky I think I'm gonna need some tools to get better sound.
  
  Elena Vargas
  
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  7 years ago
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Patience is key & podcasts are slow but powerful!

Just listened to Memory Palace, that seems like a really fun style! I made a podcast episode with similar production elements a couple weeks back
https://www.recordeditpodcast.com/blog/rep-005-from-cutting-firewood-to-working-with-hollywood-influencers-my-podcasting-story-bradley-denham-of-record-edit-podcast

Would be happy to chat & help you with any podcast questions you might have :)

RecordEditPodcast

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7 years ago
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  Thanks, man! I listened to your podcast, it has great production. I'm gonna go ahead and ask some specific questions:
  
  Any recommendations on where to get music/sound effects?
  
  I found the way you talked very clear and you had great intonation, any advice on how to get better on that?
  
  Is there a way to write the way you talk in a script, like putting the accent in one Syllable? or is it just something that you get with experience. I think what I'm asking if is there's a standard to develop good scripts for podcasts.
  
  Hope my questions make sense.
  
  Elena Vargas
  
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  7 years ago
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    I use https://elements.envato.com/ for all my media asset needs
    
    Pay attention to the way the best speakers speak, very clear & focused. A lot of this, for me, has likely come from osmosis listening/editing to tons of podcasts (plus you didn't hear all the stumbles & retakes & playing around with my voice)
    
    also to the above note, in person I'm a pretty unaffected/apathetic guy & I know that, but I also know that doesn't keep an audience engaged so don't be afraid to amplify your emotions for the sake of a good show (you'd be surprised how many over-the-top Hollywood types are introvert homebodies)
    
    here's a google doc link to that specific script https://docs.google.com/document/d/1w1QDkbDnANVyhkNW1KGw3Nd94xUmp_NqUtcoAB3O3a8/edit , my suggestions here would be don't overthink it. I used things like exclamations to queue excitement! ...for dramatic pause... AND ALL CAPS FOR EMPHASIS.
    
    RecordEditPodcast
    
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    7 years ago
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      Thanks for the answers @RecordEditPodcast, and for sharing the Script!
      
      Elena Vargas
      
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      7 years ago
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Preserve control of your podcast's RSS feed URL.

If you use the feed URL like yourpodcast.libsyn.com, then you're stuck with Libsyn and it's a pain if you ever want to switch providers. All it costs you is the price of a custom domain name ($12/yr for a .com) and you can reuse the domain name to host your podcast website.

https://blog.pacific-content.com/who-owns-your-podcast-or-why-you-might-want-to-re-think-your-shows-rss-feed-b8be38fc69e0

I do this with my podcast by registering it with Feedburner and enabling CNAME redirects from my domain to Feedburner. Make sure you use a subdomain though, because CNAME redirects don't work with root domains (e.g., use feed.yourdomain.com/rss instead of yourdomain.com/rss).

mtlynch

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7 years ago
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  Thanks for the suggestion @mtlynch. I already have a domain, so shouldn't I just make the podcast.enygmato.com subdomain?
  
  Elena Vargas
  
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  7 years ago
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    Yeah, podcast.enygmato.com is good.
    
    You just want to avoid having it be something like enygmato.anchor.fm, which would leave you stuck with Anchor.fm.
    
    mtlynch
    
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    7 years ago
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      Thanks for sharing this.
      I read the blog post :https://blog.pacific-content.com/who-owns-your-podcast-or-why-you-might-want-to-re-think-your-shows-rss-feed-b8be38fc69e0
      
      The argument is in the event that the hosting site goes down. But that is still a highly unlikely scenario right.
      
      Have you heard anything about SimpleCast? https://simplecast.com/features-pricing/
      
      Any thoughts about this offering? Its certainly on the more expensive side but comes packed with features.
      
      devlewis
      
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      7 years ago
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        The argument is in the event that the hosting site goes down. But that is still a highly unlikely scenario right.
        
        It's in the case that you'd ever want to switch podcasting hosts for any reason. For example, suppose that you start your podcast with one host, then discover a new one with better features / better pricing.
        
        I actually did this a few months ago. I started my podcast on Libsyn but moved to Anchor.fm when I realized they offer the same thing for free. Because I had a custom domain, it was a smooth process and the change was completely invisible to my listeners.
        
        Any thoughts about this offering? Its certainly on the more expensive side but comes packed with features.
        
        Haven't tried it. The premium features seem to be around analytics, and I'm skeptical that any of them are that meaningful. If my podcast grew really big, maybe I'd be interested in fine-grained statistics about my audience, but I'm still in the dozens of downloads per episode.
        
        mtlynch
        
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        7 years ago
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Stick to a schedule whatever that is...
research your guest if its that kind of show.
Ask for feedback.
Listen to your recordings after - I hear all the tendencies I do which I never noticed prior.
Be yourself, have fun.

Milestonehackers

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7 years ago
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Hey Alonso,

I started my podcast a month ago.

I use a program called Anchor. My main idea of my podcast is not to promote any product or service but to share my voice.

I suck at podcasting. I'm listening to a lot of podcasts, and I expect to be great at it, but I'm not!

I tried improvising, but I'm terrible at it.

If you start, here's my advice:

#1. Leave the expectations on the table. If you don't have a big audience or email list, most probably at the bigging you'll get a few listens.

#2. Don't judge yourself. If this is your very first podcast, you'll probably suck, but this is ok. You'll get better with time.

#3. Try scripting your podcasts and reading them, this is what works for me.

#4. Focus on volume at the beginning, because volume leads to quality. I wouldn't focus on the best microphone or isolating my room from the noise. I would start by posting to two to three podcasts a week.

#5. It's all about finding your voice. Elite-level public speakers create some of the best podcasts you listen to. With time you might reach that level too, or this is what I aim for at the very end. haha

I hope this helps.

Cheers,
Niko :)

NikoVelikov

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7 years ago
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  Thanks for the advice @NikoVelikov
  
  Elena Vargas
  
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  7 years ago
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Be a niche ! Dont do all those same general business crap.

Focus on something i really want to hear daily basis.

elavenil

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7 years ago
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I wrote an article about starting a podcast, you can read it here:
https://supremerumham.wordpress.com/2019/06/17/how-to-start-a-podcast/

SupremeRumHam

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7 years ago
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