IN THIS CHAPTER

Figuring out whether you want to create podcasts

Evaluating the equipment and tools needed for podcasting

Finding fun audio files to include in your podcast

Getting your podcast onto the web and promoting it

By adding podcasts — audio files that you publish on the Internet for people to download and listen to or view — to your blog, you reach a wider audience and reach your audience in different locations: People might listen to you while they drive or commute, catch up on your latest episode while out for a run, or make what you have to say the backdrop for daily activities like cooking dinner or getting ready for work!

The production process for a podcast is (in theory) simple: You go out into the world, record some audio, edit it on your computer, and then upload the files onto the Internet. You then share the information about your latest podcast episode with your blog readers; your readers then download the files; and they can still leave comments and interact with your blog in the usual way.

Intrigued? Podcasts are attracting a whole new audience to the blogosphere. With the creation of improved software and mobile devices that can consume these kinds of media, you might want to seriously consider adding podcasting to your blog or even making a podcast your blog’s focus.

If you want to become the coolest podcaster in your neck of the woods, check out Podcasting For Dummies, 2nd Edition, by Tee Morris, Chuck Tomasi, Evo Terra, and Kreg Steppe (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.).

Deciding to Podcast

Podcasts come in all flavors. You can find personal podcasts, technical podcasts, sports reports, music samples, recorded social gatherings, previously recorded radio broadcasts, book reviews, and audio books. If you can think of a topic, you can probably find a podcast for it.

I Simply Am (www.isimply.am) is a blog about one man's journey to live life as his authentic self as well as a source of tips and tools for others hoping to do the same. The I Simply Am podcast page (http://www.iamjoshbecker.com/category/podcast/) is shown in Figure 13-1. Following in this thread is the I Think I’m Gonna Lose It podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-think-im-gonna-lose-it/) by writer Dana Tofig, who takes listeners along on his very relatable weight-loss journey. Podcasts are the perfect platform for anyone wanting to share his or her personal story with either current or future blog readers.

Blogs and podcasts can look very similar; the main difference is that a podcast entry contains an audio file that the consumer can download and listen to either directly on a blog or on platforms and apps such as Apple Podcasts (www.itunes.apple.com) or Spotify (www.spotify.com). See the section “Delivering your podcasts,” later in this chapter, for more information about your options.

Many bloggers who want to podcast don't because of the perceived learning curve to build and maintain a podcast. As wonderful as podcasts can be, writing, recording, uploading, hosting, and promoting one requires a higher level of technical proficiency than written blog posts do. However, you may find figuring out how to work podcasts worth it if you think they can help grow your audience, enhance your blog content, or improve and expand your blogging skills. In the following sections, you can take a closer look at the advantages of podcasting and figure out how to choose between audio and video podcasts.

Podcasting can help you reach a different audience than you might with a traditional blog post. Many people like to read and enjoy taking in a well-written blog post. However, some blog readers enjoy listening to what you have to say as an audio recording. Also, some of the things that you want to talk about on your blog might work better as an audio recording than a text post, such as interviews, soundscapes, or special events.

Think about when and where people might play your podcast, and use that knowledge to help focus your entries.

Planning Your Podcast

To create a podcast, you first need the desire to make it the best experience for the listeners that you can. If you aren't having fun, it shows in the final result. Remember, even if you find your very first podcast a little frustrating, it gets easier.

Here are a few key ingredients that you need for a good podcast:

• Planning what you'll say: You can make a single podcast about anything, so have a clearly defined topic before you start. Some podcasters write a script for every podcast they record. Although you may find that a script is overkill for you, jotting down a few notes or creating an outline to follow can help you streamline the creation process. You can find a list to help you brainstorm topics and the flow of your podcast later in this section.
• Finding your voice: You need to establish the tone of the piece before you go forward. How will the format of your overall podcast determine how you shoot or record it? Do you want to use some kind of traditional show format, or do you want to improvise the entire program each time? Taking these kinds of questions into account when you're planning your first podcast can help you make your program a success.
• Timing: Technically speaking, you can use as much or as little time as you want in your podcast. You may find, however, that you get a better end product when you give yourself limits, rather than chattering on about your favorite color or a funny thing your cat did when you really should be getting to the point of your recording session. Think about how much time you can reasonably expect your audience to give you, and target that length for your podcasts. In general, podcasts range from a few minutes to an hour. Also, make sure that you have enough time to record the entire podcast in the same location so that you don't have awkward changes in the background noise, which can distract your listener or viewer.
• Recording conditions: When you want to record anything, you need to take into account environmental considerations before you hit the Record button. Is the environment you're in quiet enough? Background noise from fans or computers may annoy the listeners! Try to eliminate distractions, such as phones ringing or people walking by. And if you can, do some test recording that you can listen to so that you know what the quality of the final product will be before you record your entire podcast.

Blogging in writing is relatively easy in comparison to recording a podcast, and you can also more easily hide your inexperience in a text blog because you can rewrite and edit before posting. Although you can edit audio, removing stuttered speech is harder than revising text in a blog post. The good news is that practice can help eliminate awkward moments.

If you get stuck thinking about a podcast topic or format, ask your readers for suggestions. Even if only five or ten readers respond, you can get some good ideas and direction.

Here's a short list of podcast ideas that have been successful for other podcasters. Use this list to spark your creativity to find other topics that interest you:

• One-on-one interviews: Fascinating people in your neighborhood are just waiting to get on your podcast — especially people involved in a cause, an organization, or a business. Discover more about your family's background or the adventures of your friends. See who in your acquaintance might fit the theme and direction of your podcast.
• Show your expertise: Show off what you know and share your knowledge with others — maybe even show your audience how to do something.
• Soundscapes: You can find fascinating sounds all around you that you can document. Record yourself walking through a forest or park. Make some observations about your surroundings, describe each sound, and explain why it's important to you. Remember, what's ordinary for you (waves at the beach, a passing train, construction noise, or a barn owl) might fascinate someone living on the other side of the country or the world.
• Events: A performance at your local coffeehouse, a city hall meeting, or a surprise party all might make for an interesting podcast. Make sure to get permission before recording or publishing a podcast of an event.
• Discussions: General discussions in social settings can reveal some great conversations. Take your recorder along to your next BBQ or evening social, and direct the conversation along a theme or idea.

If you take the time to plan what you want to share with your subscribers, you can make your podcast happen. With a recording device, a plan, and maybe even someone else to talk to, you can have a complete podcast episode in no time.

Assessing the Tools

Making your podcast requires a bit more than your fingers and a computer keyboard. Podcasts require recording equipment for audio. Here's what you're looking at:

• Computer, tablet, or high quality smartphone: In the early days of podcasting, you needed a computer of some kind. Now podcasters are also able to record, edit, and distribute their content via a tablet or even a smartphone as long as they have a good mic and a capable recording application. Be sure that the device you select is able to handle editing audio files, which can be fairly large.
• Microphone: Microphones these days are built into almost every laptop, and you can easily buy external microphones. Consider purchasing a good microphone from a professional audio store because the microphones that you get from the average computer store or on the typical laptop are poor quality. Ask a podcaster or the staff of a good audio store for advice about the best microphone for the kind of recording situation that you expect to be in. Expect to spend at least $40 for your microphone: It isn't the item to economize on.
• Collaboration tools: Many successful podcasts involve more than one podcaster or, at the very least, the occasional special guest. Online tools aimed at making collaborating a breeze are a podcasting team’s dream. Check out WriterDuet (www.writerduet.com) for script writing and Doodle (www.doodle.com) for scheduling. Want to record video with multiple people in multiple places? Check out Skype (www.skype.com), another incredibly useful and free tool, or Google Voice (www.google.com/voice/), a simple and straightforward way to record conversations.
• Sound-recording and sound-editing software: Unless you're the sort of person who never deviates from a script or says “um,” you need software to edit your audio. Solutions range from free to the price of a small automobile. Let your budget be your guide. You may want to start small and upgrade when you know more about podcasting and your own needs. A good starting point for audio software is the free program Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net). Audacity (shown in Figure 13-2) is available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux/Unix. It's the program of choice for many podcasters, largely because it's free and open source. Audacity is a multi-track recording program, which means you can have two pieces of audio, such as a voice and a piece of music, and you can mix the two at different volumes or even fade from one to the other. A high-end solution is Sony's Sound Forge (www.sonycreativesoftware.com/soundforgesoftware). You may also want to check out Adobe Audition (www.adobe.com/products/audition) or even the GarageBand app available at Apple iTunes (www.itunes.apple.com).

Dressing Up Your Podcast with Music and Sound Effects

Nothing spices up a podcast like a little intro or background music. But podcasts — even if they're produced and released at no cost to the listener — aren't exempt from copyright restrictions. You need to find music or images that are in the public domain or licensed for republication.

Let me be clear: Even if you use only a little bit of a copyrighted song or give the performer credit, you're still violating copyright if you don't have a license or other permission to use the music. The same goes for using copyrighted images and video clips in videocasts.

But plenty of this material is available for you to use. The term podsafe has appeared to describe music, sounds, and other clips that are available for free, unlimited use in podcasting, but no specific license exists to identify that a clip is podsafe. Read the terms and conditions before you integrate sound or audio into your productions.

Creative Commons Search

https://creativecommons.org

Creative Commons is an organization that has evolved a set of licenses that you can use on your own content to permit or disallow use by others. If a publisher applies a Creative Commons license that allows republication, you can search for and find that content in the Creative Commons search area, specifically requesting content that you can use for commercial purposes or modify (see Figure 13-3).

Some of the types of licenses are

• Commercial Use: Permits use of the content for business and revenue-generating purposes.
• Noncommercial Use: You may use this media only for noncommercial podcasts.
• Attribution: You can use the work only when you give credit to the creator.
• Derivatives Allowed: You can cut, chop, and excerpt this media to create new works.
• No Derivatives Allowed: You must leave the media intact and unchanged.

Magnatune

www.magnatune.com

Magnatune is a record label that helps artists promote and share their music, and make money doing it. The label and artists sell their albums on CD and via download, and they split the money evenly. The music on Magnatune (shown in Figure 13-4) is available for download and purchase, as well as to noncommercial podcasters. To help promote artists, podcasters are granted a waiver to use Magnatune music without paying a royalty fee.

Publishing Your Podcast

You can put your podcast into the blogosphere fairly simply: Write a blog post about your podcast, upload your podcast media file, and then publish it by using your blog software.

But before you do that, you have a couple of tasks: You need to add metadata to and choose a file format for your podcast.

Promoting Your Podcast

Publishing your podcast on your website can help you promote it, but you can get the word out in more effective ways. If you already have a good promotional system built into your site and a decent-sized audience, you can get users to subscribe to your podcast without too much additional marketing. If you need a little more promotion, however, you also can use a number of other strategies.