STEVE'S PODCASTING PRIMER

So you want to podcast? Let me tell you the story of how An Hour of Your Life came to be and the steps we took to make it happen. I’ll start out saying it has been an evolution and we learned a lot as we went. Kim and her friends Jackie and Casper started hosting a podcast called Mile13. Kim was already enjoying the research and being in front of the microphone. I was asked to be a guest on an episode and immediately became hooked. 

First step was to come up with what our podcast would be about. Should it be a serial podcast with a continuing theme or a podcast where we talked about different topics each week? Our attention spans are far too short to put together a serial-style podcast and attempt to stay on a single topic. So we decided on attempting a weekly podcast with a new topic every week. This allowed us to research off-the-wall history stories, conduct interviews with people who had different and interesting jobs and, to tell the truth, we thought it might give us an edge playing trivia!

Once we decided on our theme we talked a lot about what we thought made a good podcast in the style that we were planning to do. We decided that what we were thinking was that we needed to limit each episode to an hour. Now it was time to come up with a name.

The creative ground work was done but now it was time to research and learn how to make it happen. We tossed about several ideas for names. Every time we came up with a possibility we had to hit the internet to make sure our name would be unique. Yes, you have to have a unique name to get your podcast on a hosting platform. This was a little time consuming and many brain cells were burned up knocking this task out. We finally came up with An Hour of Your Life and low and behold it was a unique name. You will not get a podcast hosted without a unique name. If you want a URL for a website you will have to make sure it is available. We use GoDaddy. You will also need artwork for your logo to add to your site (thanks Jackie!!!).

The next step was figuring out how to get An Hour of Your Life out there so people could listen to it. This was pretty easy to figure out with just a few internet searches. You have to have a host to hang your podcast on. Now which platform do you use? Back to the internet, but this time it was looking for a specific host. We decided on Podbean to host An Hour of Your Life for several reasons. The simplicity of getting your recording on the platform was key. We also liked the ability to host several podcasts on one account and the price was very reasonable. You will generally find out you have to pay a monthly fee to your host. I will say at this time Podbean’s customer service was excellent, answering technical questions I had and helping me get our podcast up, but I don’t want to get too far ahead.

Now we had a host but we had to have equipment to record. You can actually record your podcast on your cell phone and upload it. But you probably want better sound quality. You also will want the ability to have two or more people talking at one time.  Like if Kim and I had a guest, it would be awkward to pass the phone. Here are the basics you will need:

• Microphones
• A DAW (Digital Audio Work Station)
• A device to record your podcast to
• Software to process your recording
• Headphones

Because of my familiarity and experience with microphones we decided to use Shure 58’s. Great sound, great price and very durable and meant to travel. Eventually we upgraded to SHURE SM 7B’s for that extra bit of sound quality. The 7B’s do require phantom power and a pre-amp. We use the Cloudlifter CL-2-2 that plugs in between your microphones and your soundboard.

The DAW is basically your soundboard that goes between your microphones and your recording device. We chose the RODE Rodecaster Pro Podcast Production Studio for multiple reasons, simplicity being the big factor. But the Rodecaster allows you to plug in four microphones, it is Bluetooth capable for when your guests are far away (or during COVID), you can plug in a ⅛ inch jack to hook up to your phone, iPad, or other device to record guests. It also comes with pre-recorded sounds and you can program the buttons for your own sound, like your intro and outro music. There are many other features like built-in pre-amps if required. Did I mention simplicity?

As we travel from the microphones to the DAW we next go to the recording device and software. We use an Apple Macbook Air and GarageBand. Simplicity is my motto. GarageBand is a very powerful program for recording and mixing. If this is all new to you it can be intimidating but with the help of YouTube and Google it really isn’t all that hard to figure out.

I spent several hours recording tests and playing with the mixing to get just the sound I wanted. Once I had the mix just right I saved it. So each time we start a new podcast I open the template and do a file/save to the folder where that episode will be stored. I created one folder called An Hour of Your Life (obviously). In that folder I keep the program notes, the GarageBand recording and the MP3 file that I convert from GarageBand to upload. Your host will require your podcast to be uploaded in an MP3 file. Luckily GarageBand will convert your recording into an MP3 with the touch of a button. You really don’t need to be a technical wiz to make all this happen,

While not absolutely required, I highly recommend quality headphones. They may actually be necessary for mixing.

Once your file is recorded, edited, and converted to an MP3 it is time to load your podcast onto your platform for the world to hear. Log onto your platform, select your file, and upload. Your podcast is up. Those are the basics of podcasting. Podbean will automatically upload your podcast to other platforms but some you will need to upload yourself. Some are particular about logos and size. Apple is very particular.