How to Start a Podcast in 2024: All You Need to Know

After 3,000 interviews and nearly 5 million downloads of my Tech Talks Daily podcast, the most frequent question I get asked is about how to start a podcast with no audience. This is usually followed by questions about the best microphone for podcasting and whether they should invest in a two-camera setup for a video podcast like the incredible TikTok influencers they see online.

Searching how to make a podcast online can deliver an overwhelming number of results, and many convince themselves they don’t like the sound of their voice anyway and end up walking away. The problem is that as soon as people attach the word podcast to a recorded conversation, they complicate everything, but remember, version one is always better than version none.

If you are considering starting a podcast, we are here to make your leap into podcasting as easy as possible with our easy-to-follow step-by-step guide.

Table of Contents Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Your Podcast
3. The Bottom Line
4. FAQs
5. References

Show Full Guide

Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Your Podcast
3. The Bottom Line
Show Full Guide
4. FAQs
5. References

A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Your Podcast

1. Plan Your Podcast, Choose the Niche, Identify Audience

Although it might feel like everyone has a podcast, there are currently around 4.25 million podcasts online. Compared to the 600 million blogs and 1.9 billion websites, it’s easy to see how podcasting is the easiest way to make your voice heard above all the white noise.

Podcasting also builds trust with your audience as you become part of your listener’s daily routine by talking directly into their ears and commanding their undivided attention. Despite this, many rush into the idea of a podcast and, without a strategy, quickly run out of ideas and quit within a few months.

"90% of podcasts don’t get past episode 3. That’s 1.8 million who quit.

Of the 200,000 left, 90% will quit after 20 episodes. That’s another 180,000 gone.

To be in the top 1% of podcasts in the world you only need to publish 21 episodes."https://t.co/IDH9XOmYnu

— Jack Butcher (@jackbutcher) June 18, 2021

Choosing Your Niche

Your podcasting journey will begin with a nagging feeling that you want to start a podcast. Rather than googling for the best podcast microphone, the critical first step is finding your why.

Although a podcast episode can be as simple as hopping on a 30-minute call, starting a podcast will consume your time. If you tire of a subject or find recording a conversation a chore, listeners will hear it in your voice.

If you are not passionate about what you are talking about, why should your audience?

To begin with, you need to identify your niche and listen to other podcasts of what others are doing. What did you like? Dislike? What is missing from other shows out there? In the words of Bruce Lee, you then need to absorb what is useful, discard what is not, and add what is uniquely your own.

Identifying Your Audience

If you have resisted the charms of ChatGPT, Claude AI, and Gemini, now would be a perfect opportunity to use these AI tools to help you identify who your target audience is. This is often referred to as a podcast avatar, the person you think about when speaking into your microphone.

A podcast is seldom a business or a career, so you must build your show around what you want to achieve. If you wish to generate leads for your business, have a side hustle, or be seen as an industry leader, writing down who your ideal listener is will help you bring your show to life.

2. Find Your Format, Name, Design & Branding

Selecting a Podcast Format

There is no rule book regarding the best podcast format, and it’s more about which best suits your style. Do you want to begin with a few solo episodes to set the scene and move on to interviews as your confidence grows? Or would it be easier to bring in a co-host?

The reality is, no matter what format you choose, guests will cancel at the last minute, and your co-host will have a family emergency on recording day, so expect these situations and be willing to adapt when the inevitable happens.

Your first 50 podcast episodes will discuss finding your way and style. Most importantly, it’s about creating a schedule and becoming part of someone’s daily routine, so showing up is essential to growing your podcast.

Mixing up the format of your podcast will keep your show fresh, but disappearing for weeks or months without warning will undo all your hard work, so make sure you have at least 3-5 episodes in the bag before launching.

Naming Your Podcast

You now know your audience, what they want to hear, and your show’s format. It’s time to bring your show to life with a unique name. You can begin by searching for shows in your niche and noting any crucial keywords.

Although your podcast will appear on many different platforms, such as Spotify, Amazon Music, Pandora, iHeartRadio, and Pocket Casts, most of your listeners will come from iTunes podcasts. The Apple Podcasts Connect states that:

“It’s important to have a clear, concise name for your podcast. Make your title specific. A show titled Our Community Bulletin is too vague to attract many subscribers, no matter how compelling the content. Also, pay close attention to the title as Apple Podcasts uses this field for search results.”

Once again, AI tools like ChatGPT might help you brainstorm ideas by inputting your variants and showing details, followed by requesting 50 podcast titles that best describe your future content.

Creating Podcast Cover Art & Branding

Once again, open up upper, your favorite podcast player, and search for other shows in your niche. What makes some shows stand out and makes you want to listen? Is it the color scheme? Or the fact that it instantly tells you what to expect from the show?

Your podcast cover art will be a tiny square with room for a handful of words that tell the listener exactly what your show is about.

This cover art is what makes a show differ from everything else out there. You can let your creativity shine using Canva or Adobe Express.

But if you want someone to take care of this for you, freelancers on Fiverr offer endless options at a reasonable price.

3. Get Equipment You Need to Start Your Podcast

What do I need to start a podcast? Of course, you think of it, but you must wait until your podcast strategy is complete to worry about podcast equipment. With your virtual stage set, you can now start thinking about your first podcast microphone.

Podcast Microphone

Before blowing your budget, remember that the average listener cannot tell the difference between a $150 microphone and a $500+ professional setup. Even if you did have the dream setup, your guest would likely rock up in a pair of Apple AirPods, so there is only so much you can control.

Choosing the best microphone depends highly on where you plan to record your episodes. For example, Condenser mics such as the BlueYeti can provide super crisp audio. But, their sensitive nature means they will pick up lots of background noise, such as air conditioning units and chatter in busy environments. If you are recording in a large room with minimal soft furnishings, it will also sound very echoey.

Dynamic mics, such as the Samson Q2U, Shure MV7+, or Audio Technica AT2040, are much better for noisier environments.

Dynamic microphones will be the best option for most podcasters who don’t want to invest in soundproofing their home offices.

Recording Software

Microsoft Teams and Zoom offer the easiest way to get up and running. Both you and your guests know exactly how it works, and you will remove any obstacles. Although podcast purists will tell you the average sound quality and single audio track mean that they should invest in dedicated podcasting software, it often delivers a learning curve too early in your podcast journey.

Your first goal is to publish 21 episodes to be in the top 1% of the world’s podcasts. Our guide aims to get you to that point, and only then should you decide how you want to improve your production process.

Squadcast and Riverside are dedicated services for content creators who can record with separate audio and video tracks, making editing easier. The sound quality is also much better.

Podcast Editing Software

The most common editing tools for podcasters are Audacity, Adobe Audition, and Garage Band for Mac users. Although they all look intimidating when you first open them, many videos on YouTube will teach you how to cut out mistakes, add intro music, or remove background noise.

New tools like Descript will allow you to edit an audio file like a Word document by simply deleting the transcribed text. It will also allow you to remove “ums,” “uhs,” and filler words like “you know” with a single click.

Elsewhere, Adobe Beta allows you to leverage AI to enhance speech and automatically make the podcast audio sound better.

Many podcasters, including industry leaders, choose to collaborate with podcast producers like myself, who allow you to focus on recording a great conversation and let someone else take care of editing.

4. Host & Distribute Your Podcast

Once you have your first edited episodes, you must upload the audio files to a podcast host. You then need to give your episode a title and description, and you can push your content to all the podcast platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

For example, Buzzsprout will let you upload two hours of content per month for free. However, your episodes will have an expiration date and will disappear after 90 days unless you switch to a paid package.

If you are serious about your new podcast, you must think about a host that will stick around and grow with you.

If you only plan on a couple of episodes a month, Libsyn, which has been around since 2004, has an excellent package for $5 for 162MB of uploads per month, which equates to around three of content. You will not have access to in-depth stats, but it offers a great entry point for podcasting.

If you are a heavy user and have hours of content each month, Buzzsprout will have you covered for under $18 a month.

Ultimately, your podcast host will store all your podcast episodes and distribute them to podcast platforms so listeners can find your show on places like Spotify and Apple podcasts.

5. Launch Your Podcast

Creating a Podcast Website

Although your podcast will be listened to on the usual podcast platforms, you still need a home for when you grow your podcast. You can add your podcast episodes to an existing website or blog to increase its SEO. When promoting your episodes, this method also allows you to direct traffic to your content rather than sending it away to Apple, Spotify, etc.

Marketing Strategies for Launch

When launching a podcast, many podcasters launch with two episodes.

First, it is a short solo episode where you introduce your listeners to what you want the show to be about and what listeners can expect from future episodes. Then, you share your release schedule. This scene-setting episode is often referred to as “Episode Zero.”

You can also launch with your first official episode and allow new listeners to settle in with a few episodes.

Post-Launch Tips

• Once released, you will need the help of your friends, family, colleagues, customers, and social media followers to spread the word.
• Also, ask them to leave ratings and reviews wherever they listen to your podcast.
• Remember that a 30-minute podcast is around 4,000 written words of content. Repurpose your episodes by breaking them into bite-sized content such as videograms, audiograms, blogs, and guest quotes.
• Create different ways that make it easier for followers to share your content far and wide.
• Most importantly, tag your guest and their company in your social shares. If you are making them look great in your podcast, they will want to share it, and you will be able to leverage their following, too.
• Finally, when you have exhausted your options around your following, don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and appear on other people’s podcasts.

Growing Your Podcast Audience

Be realistic with your podcast goals. Many start a podcast thinking they will go viral and give up when they only get a few hundred monthly listeners. But, look at this another way. Imagine you had a local club where 200-400 of your fans lined up in the cold every week to hear you speak. That would make you feel like you had created something special, right? Keep this in mind when you create online content.

A podcast will have hundreds of people tuning in and expect you to show up at the usual time, and they will reward you with their undivided attention. Growing your podcast is about showing up.

Rinse, wash, and repeat all the methods and enthusiasm that you had in episode one. When you reach 20 episodes, don’t let the old content rot.

Bring it back to life and repurpose your content, which has quickly become 80,000 words of rich insights.

6. Monetize Your Podcast

Most successful podcasters don’t get rich directly from their podcast. Instead, they use it as a complement to their existing business. They use it as a marketing channel that builds authority in their niche. It also lets them showcase their personality while connecting with potential clients or customers.

Sponsorships & Advertising

When starting a podcast, you should wait before monetizing the show. Your job as a podcast host is to serve your audience rather than sell to them. This way, your audience will naturally check you out, and it could lead to consulting opportunities, speaking engagements, and increased course or book sales.

You will only make money with sponsorships and advertising once you have built a strong audience, which can take time.

Crowdfunding & Listener Support

As your podcast grows, several services allow your listeners to support you. Community channels such as Patreon or Buy Me a Coffee are great examples. But it’s a bit cheeky to do this with a handful of episodes, and your efforts will be better spent serving your audience and earning their trust.

Creating a Media Kit for Advertisers

When your inbox begins getting questions about advertising, guest appearances, and other podcast-related queries, it will be a nod from the universe to prepare for the next stage of your podcasting journey.

Think about creating a media kit for sponsors, advertisers, and pitches from guests. After a while, this is something to get bogged down with, but your inbox will tell you when it’s time.

7. Avoid the Most Common Mistakes

Not Knowing Your Audience

Creating a podcast for yourself rather than your audience without any strategy is the worst mistake you can make.

A podcast is a dialogue, not a monologue, so you need to know exactly who your audience is to engage with and connect directly with them. This also allows you to serve them content they want to keep returning for more.

Poor Audio Quality

In the same way, there is no longer an excuse for turning up at a Zoom or Microsoft Teams meeting with a poor mic and camera; podcasts depend on good audio. You don’t need to have the best microphone that money can buy, but you do need to make sure the sound quality is clear and easy to understand.

Good quality microphones are available for under $100, and there are AI tools to tidy up your audio. If you find editing audio too daunting, you can outsource your editing, so don’t try to do everything on your own.

Inconsistent Posting Schedule

Serving an audience and becoming a part of their daily commute or dog walk is a big responsibility. If you say there is a new episode every Tuesday and then disappear for a month, your hard work will be undone, and many will assume you have lost interest and unsubscribe.

From the outset, ensure you have a few episodes in the can and set a schedule you can keep up with. If life gets in the way and you need to take a break, record a 5-minute solo episode and communicate with your listeners. They will stick around and may even support you when you need it the most.

The Bottom Line

Although this step-by-step guide covers a lot of information, your podcast setup can be scaled back to hitting record on a conversation and uploading it to a podcast host who will distribute it to all popular podcast platforms. That’s it.

However, understanding your “why” and knowing your listener are foundational to the success of any podcast.

Your “why” is the foundation of your podcast. It drives your content, guides your episode planning, and keeps you motivated even when podcasting becomes challenging. It’s what makes your podcast uniquely yours and not just another podcast in the sea of digital noise.

FAQs