How to create a podcast?

This article will give a step-by -step process of creating, posting and publicising a podcast. This podcast tutorial will show the elements needed to create a solid podcast, which services are good for hosting the podcast on the Internet, and what you need to be aware of to make sure that your podcast is heard by as many people as possible.

Making the podcast

After you've decided what kind of podcast you want to make (talk show, music etc.) you'll need to start your own by actually recording it, using a microphone (or microphones) and a computer. Make sure to include 'imaging' - these are jingles and audio identifiers that brand your podcast as your own. A basic step is when exporting your finished podcast is to click 'create MP3'. This smaller file format is easier to use and download, as well as easy to upload to your chosen host.

Podcast hosting

Now that you've recorded your first podcast, you'll need a place to put it. By their nature, podcasts are online media, so you'll need to pick a good hosting website. This is a crucial step in creating podcasts. There are plenty out there, many for free. Podcast hosting websites vary in how much space they'll give you, how easy they are to work with and what kind of statistics they'll give you. Whichever one you go for, make sure it's easy to find by giving your podcast a distinct name. There are huge amounts of podcast audio and podcast news all over the Internet - give yours an edge.

Promotion

You can't just let your podcast sit there; you've got to promote it. To do this, you need to make sure your podcast is set up for RSS (Really Simple Syndication). This will allow it to be read by RSS readers, appearing on a variety of different websites. It helps to get your podcast listed on iTunes. To do this, you'll need your RSS and XML data (XML is a form of mark-up language which iTunes decode your podcast). This data should be available in manageable form from whichever podcast host you use, and all you have to do is submit it to iTunes (and other free podcasting hosts) to get it listed.