The phenomenal growth of podcasting has largely gone under the radar. Yet recent news that music-streaming platform Spotify has signed Joe Rogan, the comedian, MMA commentator and podcaster, to an exclusive deal which – depending on which figures you read – makes him the highest paid broadcaster in the world. This shows that podcasting is now a very serious business. You’re probably familiar with podcasting already, but do you know how to start a podcast?
The oft-used line is that it takes ten years to become an overnight success. Thankfully, the relative simplicity of creating podcasts means with the right ideas, techniques and gear, anybody can do it. In this guide we’ll show you the steps to take, and offer some advice on how to start a podcast for yourself. Best of all? It’s actually much easier than you might think…
GETTING STARTED
CHOOSING A PODCAST TOPIC
The first, and most important, part of starting a podcast doesn’t involve microphones, or catchy jingles. Before you even draft your first script, you need to start with one question; what is the big idea? Podcasting is a speech-driven platform so, as with any form of creative output, be that music, film, television or writing, you need to have a clear grasp on what it is you’ll talk about. We all have our own specialist knowledge areas, so choose something you know inside out. It could be Ukrainian folk music from the 1960s, or obscure wood carving techniques, or even a place to read out that murder mystery novel you’ve been writing since college.
Ask anybody in the media and they’ll tell you the importance of knowing your audience. This means knowing the topics they want to explore, the questions they’d ask, the language they’d use and jokes they’d find funny. Starting off with a vague notion of appealing to everybody is a sure-fire way to fall flat. If anything, a podcast is the perfect place to go super niche. Pick a subject you know and are enthusiastic about and everything else is just technical detail, which can be learned along the way.
CREATIVE ELEMENTS FOR YOUR PODCAST
With your topic sorted, and a clear idea of
