7 Helpful Hints to Start a Podcast
Beginners Podcast 101
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Unlike many other podcasters, we actually started with a YouTube channel long before we launched our podcast. We decided to create a podcast on movies and tv because it didn’t fit with the subject of our YouTube channel. We talk extensively on heavy world topics and share vlogs about our life on YouTube. We needed something more lighthearted and fun to discuss, thus we created “Gabbin’ with The Gala Sisters.”
So if you are interested in starting your own YouTube channel please refer to our blogpost with guidance on how to do that. We know much more about the intricacies of YouTube than podcasting. We’ve kept our podcast development relatively simple compared to YouTube, but it works and it’s easy to follow.
1. Choose your topic. Make sure it’s something that you know a lot about and that interests you. For instance, our very own Rhea went to many showings of bad movies at The Trylon Cinema, so we talk frequently about B movies. We also both have a deep love for Mystery Science Theatre 3000, Rifftrax, and The Mads are back.
2. Choose your host. We use Buzzsprout. While Buzzsprout is not free, we think it provides the most benefits. Not to mention they have a Facebook group where you can get all your questions answered. They have great customer service. Other options are Anchor, SoundCloud, Wix, and Podbean. We did look into Anchor because it’s free, but their site is very buggy. A host site will help market your podcast. They will upload each of your episodes onto the major platforms you choose and even create a free website for you. It’s worth the cost.
3. You can’t have a podcast without recording anything. We found the best way to record is through Quicktime player. You can purchase specialized equipment for this, but we decided to keep it simple and affordable. Quicktime is included automatically in most Apple products, but you can download it onto a PC.
4. While you can record using your computer’s microphone it is better to get some basic recording equipment. At a minimum, you’ll need a microphone and pop filter. We use a Blue Yeti Nano and a cheap pop filter.
5. Editing. At first glance, editing seems like an immense mountain impossible to climb. Many are tempted to skip this step and upload as is, but we think that is a terrible idea. As YouTubers we didn’t think twice about editing, we had already decided it was necessary. People who don’t edit their podcasts sound trashy and unprofessional.
So where do you start? By the time we started a podcast, we had already taught ourselves how to use iMovie. Our very own Rachel took the lead on this and learned everything she could about different editing techniques. Due to this, we found editing a podcast to be easy. However, we understand that this does not come naturally to everyone. You can certainly use other editing software such as Filmora, Final Cut Pro, and Adobe, but we use iMovie because it comes free with our Macbook Air.
After we save our audio onto the computer we upload it into iMovie. We choose a random photo and add the audio below it and edit as usual. It’s easy to add opening and closing music too. We use Epidemic Sound and FreeSound.org for our music and sound effects. Once we are done we upload the audio only as a file onto our computer. This is the most simple and easiest way we’ve found to do this. There are other ways to edit, but this is what we do.
You know how we all occasionally say “um,” or “you know,” too frequently? Descript will edit this out for you. We prefer to do this manually, but this may be a good option for you if you have less patience for editing. At first, our audio was pretty bad and super crackly, but we cracked that up to the learning curve. We eventually figured out a good way to do this. If you are still looking for some help with your audio, Buzzsprout our host, has an option called “Magic Mastering,” which will help enhance your audio. Remember, you can’t improve unless you start. So start recording and improve as you go! If you build it, they will come.
Of course, you may hire an editor and pay them to do this for you, if you can afford it. We, personally, would have a hard time handing over control of our final product to someone else. We doubt anyone could do it in a way that would satisfy us.
6. Recording an episode with a remote guest can be rather tricky. We haven’t had any guests on our podcast yet, however, we have on our “Spill the Coffee,” segment of our YouTube channel. Yet, we do plan on spilling this over onto our podcast eventually. We record these guest collaborations through Webex by Cisco. Most people use Zoom, which is fine, but we prefer Webex. While we’ve only ever filmed video through Webex, you can also use it just to record audio only. We’ve noticed other people use Zencastr, but we found their platform utterly and completely confusing. We can’t and won’t use it.
We do have a guest application and agreement form. Over time, we’ve discovered it is necessary to have people fill this out and relinquish all rights to the recordings over to us. As our YouTube channel is very controversial we run into people with selfish motives for coming onto our channel. We have had people try to steal control of our channel over for themselves and take credit for our work. While we have enjoyed opening our platform to guests, it doesn’t come without risk and we must protect our work. We recommend that you also do so.
If you would like to be a guest on our YouTube channel or podcast please complete the application. We will review it at our earliest ability.
How do we prepare our guests for the interview? Well, we offer to send them questions/talking points if that makes them more comfortable. They also may meet with us briefly to introduce themselves. Usually, we just wing it. We are very quick thinkers and are able to keep the conversation flowing. If our guest has watched our videos they will understand our expectations and method of communication. We choose guests based on the demonstration of their knowledge on a subject matter across social media or their own work/platforms. We always try to make our guests feel important and schedule based on their time. We don’t expect anyone to bend over backward to our demands and put their lives on hold to appear on our channel. On the other hand, we do expect our guests to respect us and all the hard work we do to share our platform. It takes an average of 8 hours to organize, record, edit, and upload one episode of Spill the Coffee. Protect your work and do not allow anyone to monopolize and steal it.
7. So now we go to networking. Unless you are already famous and have somewhat of an audience you are essentially starting from scratch. You can still succeed starting from scratch, but it is not going to be easy unless you get really lucky. This is going to require a lot of work. If you are lazy, RUN.
The most obvious way to network is through social media. We do this nearly every day. We are not going to give away all of our secrets, so we will let you figure out the details here on your own. There are also so many different ways to do this we could never get them all on paper. The best thing about social media is that it is free to advertise, as long as you do it tastefully. Most people are generally curious and eager to support unique ventures by individual people. Another way to promote your content is through a website. Building a website is not easy, but it is possible to do on your own if you have the patience and work ethic. We built this website ourselves with the template that Squarespace provides. Our very own Rachel has a mind for this and patiently programmed this entire site, with plenty of input and help from Rhea. It is a combined effort. Of course you can pay someone to do it for you, but if you are strapped for cash it is better to do it yourself. Most small businesses require the owners to do the grunt work themselves in the beginning. Check out our podcast section of our website for an example.
You can also buy advertising through places like Podbean, Apple, Google, or Facebook. If you have the money to do this, it’s a good option. Otherwise, you will need to do this yourself, one bit at a time.
This is a very simple way to create an excellent podcast. We know that there are many other ways of making a podcast, this is how WE do it. We are not looking for any other suggestions or recommendations. Our method may change over time, but we made this work with the resources we have on hand. We’re proud of our work and we truly enjoy creating our podcast. It is so fun. If you aren’t enjoying it, then why are you doing it?
We almost forgot about merch. So, technically you get a bonus hint making it a total of 8! Once we got rolling we launched merch for our podcast on our Teespring store.
We hope that you enjoyed this piece and learned from it. Please support our work by listening to our podcast and subscribing to our YouTube channel. You may also share our work with your friends and family. If you have any questions or comments please email us at thegalafam@gmail.
