Teaching Audio, part 16 -- Listening to Podcasts and Publishing your Own

WHERE CAN I LISTEN TO PODCASTS?

In terms of listening, you can go straight to your favorite podcast website, network podcast site, or search podcasts available through Soundcloud. To listen to podcasts produced by NPR, there's an app for NPR podcasts called NPR One. For all podcasts, you can also download apps tailored for your smartphone or tablet. Some of the free option ones I like to use are Tune In and Stitcher. If you have Apple products, you can use Itunes. Here's a list of apps which work well with Android. Many of these apps are free, but some like Overcast are much better if you pay a little. Another app called Pocket Casts has gotten really good reviews. More and more cars are going online for audio, which is also great news for the audio industry.

TIME TO MAKE MY OWN PODCAST

Now that you're inspired, it's up to you to start making your own podcast. First you want to be able to answer a few questions. What is your podcast about? Who will your listeners be? Will they care about your topic and why? What will be the format? What type of audio will it contain? How much research and scripting will there be? What will be the name of the podcast? Who will be the hosts? What will be the point and evolution of your podcast? Why is it unique? What type of art will you have for the podcast website and for a possible logo and Itunes distribution?

KNOWING HOW TO CAPTURE AUDIO INCLUDING PHONE / SKYPE CALLS

The second step is making sure you have all your recording (both in the studio and possibly in the field) and audio editing in line, and that you know how to use everything you will be needing. Go back to previous lessons from this blog, to brush up on your gear and recording techniques. Also, will you be using phone interviews and do you know how to record those? Here's a tool that allows you to record audio from FaceTime or Skype. Here's another called Audio Hijack. You want to prepare your content, do some research, get your interviews, nat sounds and possible sound effects lined up, do some scripting for a tight, logical show, book your guests and studio time, and be ready to fly when you do the in-studio recording.

PUTTING ALL THE AUDIO MAGIC TOGETHER

In terms of putting the podcast together, that's up to you now, as it is a free flow audio adventure, and you're the captain. Here's a basic rundown of what you'll need to think about before you get going. Here's another simple bullet point list to be successful. Just remember, listeners do like structure, mashup audio and musical introductions, bridges and outros, teases, and plenty of auditory guideposts (what did we just hear? who is that talking? what's coming up? what's the name of this show? why should I care about this show? when will the next episode be coming out? are there chapters? how long will the show be? etc...). They also like a polished product, so make sure to edit and only give the listeners the best of what you recorded, keep it short, don't make it unnecessarily long, make sure it makes sense, make sure it informs, make sure it entertains, cut out the fat and polish it until near perfection.

PUTTING YOUR PODCAST OUT THERE FOR ALL TO HEAR

Hosting and RSS feeds

Once you've made your podcast, you might consider hosting it with a complete, easy solution (but the money not always going your way) company like Libsyn, Castmate or Podomatic. Podbean is another one, which also integrates lots of social media. .You can also use Amazon's cheap services for hosting. This can make it easier and faster for your listeners to listen to your work. Here's an instruction sheet on using Amazon to get that RSS feed going. You could also use Feedburner to get a custom RSS feed for listeners who are interested in subscribing this way. This step will also allow you to move your audio to popular sharing services. A place called Blubrry has an all-inclusive package to do all of this and more. WordPress also has its Seriously Simple Podcasting solution. More hosting options here and here. How about using Google Drive?

Podcast Directories

Here's the how-to guide on submitting your podcast to Itunes. Uploading to Soundcloud is much easier. You might have much less visibility, although visibility is getting harder and harder to come by anywhere with the glut of podcasts coming out. Bottom line, Soundcloud is by far the easiest solution for the uploading and distribution of your audio almost everywhere. Here's another how to for Soundcloud. On the con side, there are limits on how many free minutes you can upload there. Using YouTube as a platform for your podcasts is also something to look into. Here's where to submit to Stitcher. Here's a list with some other free interesting options... Other sites which come up regularly as good directories are Archive.org, iHeart Radio, Audioboom and MixCloud. The more the better though, as being on directories is really the key to being heard and accessible. Your own podcast website is great, sort of like your business card, but it takes much more work to get people to your own website. Here's a really good slideshow that hits on many of the points detailed here.

More All Inclusive Material

There are never enough links to learn from it seems, right? Here's a really good ebook on top to bottom how to produce a podcast. And here's an A-Z Lifehacker on podcasting.

If you found this tutorial useful, check out other installments. Here's the full list of chapters from my audio tutorials:

Teaching Audio -- Instilling Passion

Teaching Audio part 1 -- Recording Audio

Teaching Audio part 2 -- Writing for the Ear

Teaching Audio part 3 -- Audio Editing

Teaching Audio part 4 -- Sound Effects, Using Music and Audio Libraries

Teaching Audio part 5 -- Anchor Leads, News Writing, Judgment and Features

Teaching Audio part 6 -- Voicing

Teaching Audio part 7 -- On the Scene Reporting

Teaching Audio part 8 -- Interviews

Teaching Audio part 9 -- Newscasts and Stacking the News

Teaching Audio part 10 -- Commercials

Teaching Audio part 11 -- Raising Your Game

Teaching Audio part 12 -- Podcasting Intro

Teaching Audio part 13 -- Window Dressing

Teaching Audio part 14 -- Podcast Lists

Teaching Audio part 15 -- Big Podcasts, Little City

Teaching Audio part 16 -- Listening to Podcasts and Publishing your Own

Teaching Audio, part 17 -- Joining Podcast Communities

Teaching Audio, part 18 -- Podcasting for PR

Teaching Audio, part 19 -- Promoting Your Podcast

Teaching Audio, part 20 -- Making Money in Podcasting

Teaching Audio, part 21 -- Building a Career in Audio