By Sharyn Konyak
Don’t love the sound of your own voice? Don’t let it stop you from being a podcaster, says podcaster and producer, Nick Georgoudiou. He fell in love with radio first and eventually the sound of his voice while doing a public radio show. He now hosts two podcasts, To a Certain Degree, featuring long-form interviews of local Orlando residents doing something neat, and Your Daily Dose with Bob and Nick, short 5-minute snippets of advice and humor. In addition, he produces several others covering the performing arts, Orlando news, history and the podcasting industry.
Georgoudiou offered a master class in podcasting providing a step-by-step breakdown of the basics including tips on how to launch a show, what equipment is needed, how to edit and handle web hosting. He even threw in a few hints on promotion.
According to Georgoudiou, the first thing any aspiring podcaster should consider is the reason they’re doing podcasting. Is it an excuse to meet new people, stay inspired and motivated, keep you to a creative deadline or find new projects? Each is an excellent reason and will inform the content, guests and audience you’ll attract. “Start with the WHY and center your idea there.”
The barrier to entry for podcasts is low. “It’s so easy to do. You only need a mic, recording/editing software, a learning curve, and a place to host it,” says Georgoudiou.
Beginning with microphones, there are two types – USB and XLR. A USB microphone is the most common and the easy choice for newcomers. It plugs straight into your computer, whereas the XLR mic will require an interface. A USB mic can cost anywhere from $25 to $100. Fit the mic with a pop filter, to alleviate the pops and clicks that often come from consonants, and a decent pair of headphones and you’re on your way.
In terms of the actual recording, there is no shortage of recording/editing software platforms. Audacity, which is free, and Adobe Audition are but two. Most SaaS versions charge fees based on usage, file size and the like. Finding one to fit your needs and budget requires a bit of research. “Don’t feel you need to overedit,” cautions Georgoudiou. “(Podcasts) should be conversational and natural. Don’t overthink and overproduce it.” It can be time intensive and to remove all the pops, clicks and uhmms and will result in an over-edited piece that ultimately sounds canned.
An inexpensive logo and royalty-free music will round out the necessary items and help create a professional look for your foray into podcasting. Do you need a website? Sure, though its main function is to act as a placeholder for the requisite RSS feed information such as episode description and accompanying graphic. In fact, very few people go to a podcaster’s website to listen. Instead, they go to the podcast platforms and listen from there. Be aware that without website traffic driving listenership, it is important to promote the podcast links, ask them to listen, subscribe and share.
- Create a simple website where you post an image and description of the podcast.
- Submit through iTunes connect and include the RSS feed URL.
The podcast itself is a file hosted on an outside server. These files stream from your site using an RSS feed. This can be done on WordPress, Podbean, Anchor or others. Some are free, while others charge a nominal fee based on storage size. These platforms send your podcast to Google, iTunes, Spotify, Pandora and other networks where listeners can find them.
How do you find people to interview? Georgoudiou believes that even if you don’t have a presence or widely downloaded podcast, it’s not difficult to find people and get them to say yes. Because of the pandemic, people are getting very comfortable being remote and speaking to an audience. Another benefit of the current environment is that it’s “easier to spread a wider net and get a larger variety of guests”. Simply record the interview you’ve done on Zoom or Facebook on your computer through a program like Audacity and the sound quality will improve.
Is your content scripted or interview? It’s up to you. Podcasts can be daily, weekly or a limited series. Some are even done seasonally, with each season as a different topic. “Getting on this hamster wheel of content isn’t as intimidating, if you think about it that way,” says Georgoudiou.
Repurpose content from podcasts whenever possible. Create articles, social media posts, audio grabs and video grabs. Otter.ai, a transcription service, lets you get pull-quotes from your podcasts to use for social media posts. They also offer free hosting of transcriptions, which allow you to do an entire article from your content.
Promote your podcast via social media. Creating communities and groups on FB can be helpful to get traction for your platform. Find people with similar demographics and hashtags and comment on their posts. This puts you top-of-mind so they will be more likely to interact with you, leave a comment and listen. The system will see that you’re interacting and will rank the podcast higher.
With nearly 2 million shows and 47 million episodes, is there room for your podcast? Absolutely. Half of all US homes are podcast fans which leaves a wide-open avenue to bring your idea to the airwaves. Armed with Nick Georgoudiou’s detailed list, go ahead, plan and buy your equipment. Someone’s waiting to tune in.
The Website:
https://www.toacertaindegree.com/
The Other Website:
http://withbobandnick.com/
Any members doing a podcast now? Feel free to post links to it online in the comments below. What about equipment choices. We’d love to hear about your favorite mic!
