How to start a podcast

[Berocka 2,221]

How to start a podcast

 

I have hosted and been a guest star on a fair few podcasts in my time and if you are looking at starting a podcast here are a few tips on how to make it more successful.

 

1.0   Theme

Before you go hitting the record button you need to figure out the overall theme of your podcast. You could go a more comedic approach as in a JardyB10 production, you could go a strict vhl news/current events approach such as what Spartan does a lot, or even go a bit of a roleplaying approach. There are many different styles and you can jump around and find what suits you most but you should have some idea before you hit record.

 

2.0 Recording Software/Uploading

This is the part that took me the longest to figure out. Especially when trying to record with multiple people. I think I was the first to find Craig the discord recording bot. (Please note that I and others experienced a few recording issues with this in the past. Your milage may vary but it is worth knowing). I also love Anchor and I think I was the first on the scene with that as well. It is now owned by Spotify but it is a free way of uploading and cataloguing your podcasts. There are other ways such as soundcloud but I personally think that Anchor works best and is free.

 

3.0 Hosts

So are you going to record this solo or are you going to record this as a group? Both have their advantages and disadvantages, I will discuss these further below. Remember that only 4 people can claim a podcast though.

 

3.1 Solo

I 100% recommend as a solo podcast to do a semi-script, you can write out all the words you want to say if you want to, but at that point a media spot will be easier. I recommend setting out what you want to talk about and giving it a rough time frame that you think you can talk about the topic. Set your total estimated time to be 5 minutes longer than the minimum. That way you are less likely to run short and will need to improvise less. There is also the chance you go a bit longer and can get some multi claims organised.

 

3.2 Duo

This is probably the format I recommend the most for people starting out. You always have someone to fill the blank space in if you forget what you are saying. My biggest suggestion for a duo podcast is speak to the person before hitting record. Make sure you jump on the call 5-10 minutes before you want to record and sort of get an idea on how you communicate with the other person. You build a slight rapport with them, and it makes the podcast run smoother. The more time you talk with someone the easier recording a podcast will be. Next have a list of topics you want to cover and pick one person to be essentially the host that topic, they should steer the conversation. Some topics work better if one person has all the knowledge of a topic and the other person is learning it for the first time, like the listeners are. Other topics it is good for both people to know the information. For example if you are doing a draft recap both hosts should be knowledgeable about the draft. If you are talking about Hosts 1 next great idea, if Host 2 knows next to nothing about it, they can ask the general question that the listeners will be thinking about and it will make for a more informative podcast. Also, I do recommend if you are feeling up to it, do a video chat, this way you have more cues from the other person on when you should talk and when you should let the other person talk.

 

3.3 Three people and greater

This can be tricky, usually it is better for their to be two hosts and a guest but as seen in 3PPAO it can work with enough synergy, I think my points from above apply, but I would probably avoid having to many people. The video point above applies to having more people as well so you are not speaking over one another.

 

4.0 Posting

If you want the most interaction with your audience here is a few tips when you post a podcast these all involve more work but you can see the results a bit more.

 

4.1 Timeline

When you post your podcast have a rough timeline for what you talk about for example

0:00 – 6:52 – Introduction

6:53 – 12:47 – VHL News

12:48 – 15:00 – Q&A

This allows people to listen to the part of your podcast they are interested in, this can get more people listening if they know that they only need to listen to 6 minutes instead of 15 minutes.

 

4.2 Tagging

Tagging the people that you talk about is the best way to get involvement, just note that the longer your podcast you should probably give people a timeframe to listen to instead of your 90 minute podcast as not everyone has the time for it.

 

4.3 Links

If you specifically talk about something from the forums or the portal remember that the listeners aren’t seeing what you are seeing, including links on the post can help them follow along if they are at a computer or phone.

 

5.0 Other Pieces of Advice

So after my years of experience here are some ideas for you starting your podcast

 

5.1 Question and Answer

Setting up a question thread is a great idea, you can get people asking you 6 questions and claiming it as their press conference. Not only does this help someone get TPE usually when you answer their questions that is 1 person who will listen to that podcast. It is also a nice easy way of getting topics to talk about, a good question can lead into a good topic of conversation.

 

5.2 Keep it short

If you can do ones week worth of claims and record another one every week, this way people will know when to expect a podcast from you and people are more likely to listen if it is shorter. If you can’t record every week sometimes you can do 2 recordings in one day. But use the multiweek claims if you need them, you just might notice a slight decline in listeners or more of a delay before people interact with the podcast.

 

6.0 Conclusion

There you have it Berocka’s guide to starting a podcast.

 

[AJW 1,860]

Will be putting this in Houston’s locker room cheers

[rory 1,781]

3ppao mentioned pog

[fishy 1,757]

2 hours ago, Berocka said:

2.0 Recording Software/Uploading

 

quick note on this - audacity is a free and very easy to use audio editing app. pretty sure you can also record directly into anchor but not 100% sure on that since I've never done it 

 

great article berocka, this is going to be a super useful resource 

[ShawnGlade 1,007]

Sick article! While I find this to be an easy article to review for TPE, I actually was thinking about how to start a podcast for the VHL, because writing MS every week gets old and really hard to do, so why not talk?? I like the formatting and the subsections too, it makes it easier to follow and I like how each section can be further broken down to really get into the nitty gritty and it's something I wish people did more with articles. Only gripe is I wish you went more into depth on some sections, it would really help. 9/10

[Berocka 2,221]

5 minutes ago, ShawnGlade said:

Sick article! While I find this to be an easy article to review for TPE, I actually was thinking about how to start a podcast for the VHL, because writing MS every week gets old and really hard to do, so why not talk?? I like the formatting and the subsections too, it makes it easier to follow and I like how each section can be further broken down to really get into the nitty gritty and it's something I wish people did more with articles. Only gripe is I wish you went more into depth on some sections, it would really help. 9/10

What sections do you want more information on I will update this as it goes

[ShawnGlade 1,007]

2 minutes ago, Berocka said:

What sections do you want more information on I will update this as it goes

sections 4 and 5 specifically

[Berocka 2,221]

Week 2