So you’re ready to start a podcast?! Or maybe you started one but you’re ready to make some money from it? GOOD! Your voice is so valuable and the world wants to hear it. I wasn’t sure how my podcast would go, if I would like it, or if I would ever make money from it. But I can sit here and honestly tell you that it was the best decision I have ever made for my brand. I have a deeper connection with my audience, it’s extremely therapeutic & it makes me money! That will be you, I know it.
So let’s get you started. This will go over all the equipment you’ll need (it’s not a lot), how to plan for it (it’s easy), where to find hosting (don’t worry, I’ll explain), and how to start making money (duh).
LISTEN TO MY PODCAST ALL ABOUT SOLO FEMALE VAN LIFE
What You'll Need...
Microphone:
When you listen to a podcast, does the sound quality matter to you? Uh, yeah. If you can hardly hear what the people are saying, you’re likely to switch it off or not come back. Audio is super important when you’re first starting out because you want people to come back and take you seriously from the beginning. Others might tell you, “don’t spend money until you know it’s going to be something you love.” But I disagree. Having a little financial investment will probably make you more committed. Now I’m not saying to spend thousands.. But $200 for something that could become your income? Trust me, it’s worth it.
Podcast microphones greatly vary in price and quality. So below I’ve suggested my top 3 choices. The one I recommend is the one I still use to this day and it’s definitely affordable. If you’re not ready for that yet though, I give you an even cheaper one (while still maintaining average quality). Lastly, I’ll share an expert level mic that you really don’t need until you’re making money from your podcast. BUT I wanted to share it with you just in case.
Recommended Mic (this is the one I use): Blue Yeti USB Mic
Budget-Friendly: Fifine Metal Condenser Recording Microphone
Expert- Level: Shure SM7B Cardio Dynamic Microphone
Pop Filter & Arm Stand:
What’s a pop filter? What the heck is an arm stand and why is it necessary? Okay, a pop filter will do a couple things. First one being, it will protect your microphone long term and lessen your chances of having to buy a new one. Second major job, it reduces certain sounds that don’t record properly. Popping sounds with the letter “P” are a good example. It cleans up the audio and simply makes it sound a whole lot better. They’re also pretty inexpensive so for me, it’s worth improving the quality for less than $50.
Arm stands bring the mic off the table/surface also increasing the quality. The mic will be closer to your mouth, no longer on a hard surface and will have a lot more mobility. Also: worth it. I have suggest one bundle below that includes a great pop filter along with an arm stand that gets the job done well.
Headphones:
Headphones are important when recording your podcast because it allows you to hear exactly what your listeners will hear. Once you incorporate headphones into your setup, take them off and on while talking into the mic. It’s crazy how much more detailed the audio sounds when you are completely tuned in with headphones. This is your last step in having awesome sound quality. Below I will recommend two great options. One is higher quality and what I currently use, but the other is also a great choice for anyone just starting out.
Recommended (what I use): JBL Around-Ear Headphones with Noise Cancellation
Budget-Friendly (also great option): OneOdio Adater-free Headphones
PLANNING...
If I had to guess, you probably know what you want your podcast to be about.. at least a little. Even so, it’s easiest to start writing down notes for different episode ideas. I have a journal dedicated to different episodes. Each page is assigned a new topic and then I jot down all the notes I want to share during that episode below it. So a day or two before recording, I find a relevant topic I’ve already been thinking about, and polish off all the bullet points in a clean, organized way. This helps when I’m not feeling overly creative and can just flip through past ideas and rewrite them to be deliverable. Then I set up the equipment and get to recording.
Develop a routine that will keep you consistent. Set aside time on certain days to plan. Figure out a day that you need to record by in order to get it up on time. Along with that, have a day that you ALWAYS publish. If your podcast is once a week, choose the day of the week you’ll publish and commit to that. If it’s once a month, every month on the same day.. have it ready to go. Plan, record, and publish like it’s your job. Because it can and will be.
This is a planner that will help you launch within 50 days and walk you through the ENTIRE process. It’s extremely helpful and detailed.
HOSTING...
In order to have your podcast live on all the mainstream platforms (which is critical to your success), you have to have a hosting platform. I have Podbean which is free for the first several episodes. After signing up with Podbean, you will need to manually set your podcast up on each platform *once*. To do this, you will simply Google “putting my podcast on __” and easily fill out the application for iTunes, Spotify, etc. It’s much easier than it may sound! The process will take less than 5 minutes per platform.
Each one will ask you for your RSS feed. You can find this in your Podbean dashboard > Settings > Feed. At the top of the screen, you’ll see your RSS feed. Copy and paste this into application where it’s needed.
Now, you are ready to go! Every time you publish a new episode, it will automatically be uploaded onto each platform! It can take about a week (max) to get approved on each one. But you will be notified as soon as you are and then you never have to worry about it again! Easy.
monetize...
There’s a couple different ways you can begin monetizing your podcast from the start! You can reach out to brands directly with your media kit and information. Here’s my media kit along with a customizable version if you don’t already have one. You can design this to show off who you are and what you are all about. Then send it off to any brand you want to work with alongside an introduction email!
Aside from this, you can work with a podcast ad platform which is what I do! Let’s break down these methods a bit more:
Reaching Out to Brands:
This is what I did for the first few months of my podcast. I pay an editor for each episode so I was spending money when I wanted to be making money. So I needed to find a few brands to work with which can be difficult. My recommendation is to start off with smaller brands. Don’t immediately email REI or Sony. Start with brands that you can find their marketing employees emails. Do some digging. Follow them on social media prior to sending the pitch.
You can definitely get brands to pay for ad slots before having thousands of downloads or years of experience. This method just takes a little more grind.
Using a Platform:
I am a podcaster for Advertisecast which is a platform that takes the work away from having to connect with or find brands myself. Although reaching out is definitely a great option, I have enough to do. Between running all of my social media, creating content for my website, designing my website, planning/recording my podcast itself… I do not have time to reach out to every brand I want to work with.
So Advertisecast takes a percentage of each ad that I do on the podcast but they also do all of the work in finding brands. I get asked if I want to work with X and I say yes or no. If I say yes, they send me the contract and “script” of things I can say during the read. That’s it! I’ve made much more money doing it this way than trying to on my own.
LISTEN TO MY PODCAST ALL ABOUT SOLO FEMALE VAN LIFE
Thank you for the detailed information of how to start a podcast. By time I was done reading this blog I had already purchased what I needed to start a PodCast lol. You’re the best. I appreciate you!
I’m such a big fan of the podcast! I’ve been listening almost since you started it. I love that you provide information like this even though it’s not just about van life. I’m looking forward to the posts on blogging and Instagram that go along with this!! And seriously can’t wait for your course to come out!!