So we have been doing this podcasting thing for a little while now (coming up on one year actually) and we have yet to tell you how we do it. There are a lot of quality coaster related podcasts out there, but I think there is room for more. I’m going to explain, step by step how we record, edit, and publish our podcast in hopes of getting a few more out there.

To begin with, podcasting is basically recording your voice and putting it onto the internet for others to hear. Secondly it does not require a lot of technical skill, if you do it our way, and can be done at little or no cost. Before you begin recording, you need three things; a microphone, editing software, and a place to publish your completed file.

Microphone

Microphones can be found in hundreds of different styles and configurations. When Kevin and I started, we knew that we needed to get a headset because we were going to be talking to each other, and having the microphone and headphones on your head at one time made it easier. When recording with someone you need to have headphones of some type so that you can hear the person without them getting picked up in your microphone. The easiest place to find a nice cheap pair is at your local Radio Shack. Kevin and I used a pair of Radio Shack brand headsets for the first few months, and it only cost us $20 each.

I have since upgraded so a USB powered microphone from Samson. In particular, this is the model that I have, and I have been very happy with the results. I highly suggest you look at how your microphone will plug-in to your computer. The original headset I had used your typical audio jack that plugged into my computers soundcard (right next to the speaker jack). USB also works well because it is easy to plug into your computer. Other microphones need mixers and conversion pieces which I will not discuss, since I don’t use them and don’t know them.

Editing Software

Editing is essential to a podcast. We use a free, open source program that is widely available on the internet. Free is the key word. Audacity is the name of the program that we use. It doesn’t have much of a learning curve and with a little time, you can do some amazing things with it. It is the only software that we have ever used, and it has worked without fail for us.

Publishing

The other two steps are pretty simple; speak and record. Publishing can be where you hit your stumbling block. It was for us when we started. If you have a host, you can upload your file there, and post a link on your site, and bada-bing people can download your file. RSS feeds are essential to getting your podcast out there. Any syndicater, like iTunes, requires an RSS feed. I’m not going to talk about creating one, because there are a lot of great guides on the net already and I don’t know how to do it.

We use Libsyn for our publishing needs. Yes it cost money, but you can get take the load off of your host, save bandwidth, and you get stats to see how well your podcast is going. It also automatically makes an RSS feed for you and submits your podcast to iTunes for you. Easy and simple, the way I like it. There are free solutions out there; podOmatic is one that comes recommended.

And that is basically it. Not to hard and hopefully I used enough basic English to explain things. When I started doing the podcast, there wasn’t anyone that made it easy. That is how you make a podcast for yourself, next week I’ll show you how to record and edit a podcast with multiple people. Let me know if you have any questions, I’ll be happy to help.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 29th, 2007 at 11:08 pm and is filed under Podcast, Editorials, Site News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.