Do you have a smartphone? Then congratulations, you can start a Podcast right now.

I’m going to explain how I’m making my podcasts and hopefully my ideas will help and motivate you to get started.

Let’s get right to it.

(Note: I am NOT affiliate with any of the services I mention below. They are just services I enjoy using)

Audio only podcast – Anchor

If you want to do an audio podcast only, then Anchor is your tool of choice. Download it now and start recording.  Yes, it is that easy.

If we want to look at the technical aspect, starting a podcast using Anchor is as easy as downloading the app, available for both Android and iOS, or go to their website, signing up, and either upload an existing audio file or you can start recording right away by clicking on the + button as you see below.

And you can record just by holding your phone as if you are speaking on the telephone. The quality is amazing so if you want to start right away, this is what I recommend. This method does NOT require a Microphone you can do everything from your phone. Of course you can record on your computer as well, but you need to have a microphone to record your voice.

If you have a small budget, you can go for a Fifine microphone, which is around 50-60 dollars on Amazon. This microphone comes with no software, so you can’t do much adjustments but the quality is amazing. However, you would need a quite room. If you have a bigger budget, then I would definitely recommend the one I own, which is a Rode podcaster microphone.
If you already have a headphone with a microphone, you are also good to go, and you don’t need to buy anything else.

Here’s how the mobile screen looks like (screen shot from an iPhone)

Alternatively, if you are on the computer, you can just upload an audio file, add your podcast title, a podcast episode title and a description, and you are good to go.

From Anchor you can either share the link directly to your Anchor page on your social media, like I did when I shared our podcast on Twitter.

or you can follow the instructions and publish your podcast on Apple podcasts, Google podcast, or even Spotify.

Ok enough with the self promotion. This is about you.

Starting a podcast in 2022 is very easy in my opinion and it doesn’t require a big production to record your first episode and publish it. Additionally, Anchor has a very interesting business model. They don’t charge you anything for their services, instead if you want to monetize, they give you a the choice of entering a kind of a library of possible advertisers that match your content, that you can choose yourself.

There is one more thing you need to prepare, besides a podcast title, a podcast episode’s title and a description, and that is a thumbnail, or your podcast image. For making thumbnails I recommend, as usual, Canva. It has a free (and a premium) version and many many cool designs that you can use, or just make something from scratch.

Here are some examples from their free choices:

But let’s move on to different platforms and different possibilities

Video Podcast – on Youtube or other video platforms

If you want to record yourself or you with a co-host or guests, that’s great, and I’ll show you what I use.

Requirements are: a webcam or any camera connected to your computer, and a microphone.

If it is just you and you want to record only yourself as you are speaking on the microphone, there are different ways to do it. Here is what I do.

• I have a Logitech c922 so I can record with their own capture software or,
• I use OBS and I have some scenes created. It might take you some time to set it up, but if you click on this link and follow the instructions, you can manage all by yourself.

Then we have a different option. Do you want to livestream your podcast? Then Restream or Streamyard is your solution. I use Restream with my co-hosts and some times we livestream it, which you can do it on their free plan, other times I just record it, but for that you need a paid subscription.

Then you have a video that you can upload on Youtube, or Facebook or even extract the audio file and upload it on Anchor.

Prepare and structure your podcast

When it comes to the podcast’s episode preparation, it’s good if you prepare a few subjects, and have a chat with your co-host in advance, or just exchange a few messages or emails, to help you create some sort of plan or some Bullet Points of what you are going to talk about.

This is what I and my co-hosts are doing, or at least we are trying we are not perfect but we do try to keep things somewhat prepared. It helps with the flow of the show.

A general rule of thumb is that you have something like that as your show flow:

• Intro
• First subject segment
  • a few bullet points about that subject
  • or questions
• If livestreaming, interact with the chat segment
• Second subject segment (if any) with similar bullet points
• Outro – your thanks and where people can find you on social media.

This is very generic and over simplified, but you get the idea. Just right some bullet points of what you want to discuss, is a huge first step. Just go for it

I hope I gave you some motivation into starting a podcast even today, as it is really easy to start one.

Do you have already a podcast? Let me know in the comments what it is about.

Do you have any questions? I’ll be happy to answer them so make sure to leave a comment below.

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