Podcasts have become very popular with more than 700,000 active podcasts, which have close to 30 million podcast episodes. Research shows indicate that more than 65% of the American population listens to podcasts. Most people who listen to podcasts are between the age of 25 and 45 years. However, a person of any age can listen to a podcast. Podcasts also give you the option of selecting the specific topic that you are interested in.
If you want to start your podcast, you will require some preparation. Commitment is a mandatory requirement if you want to keep making that podcast. Some people are afraid to start a podcast because of the cost that it takes in terms of equipment and time. However, there are ways to reduce this cost by looking for sponsorships or taking advertisement opportunities.
Here is how you can prepare to start a podcast:
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Selecting a Topic for Your Podcast
The first step in preparing to start your podcast is to select a topic for your podcast. When you develop a topic for your podcast, check how many podcasts on this topic are on iTunes. If there are many podcasts for the same topic already, you can find a way to make yours unique from them so that you get more listeners. If you already have a blog, it may be easier to choose a topic for your podcast because you can use the same topic from your blog.
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Come Up With the Format of Your Podcast
Selecting a format for your podcast entails deciding whether you will be the only host or you will have a co-host. You also need to decide whether you will be the expert on the topic that you have chosen or if you will be interviewing different guests for your podcast. Deciding on whether your podcast will be in the form of audio or video is another important step of having a podcast. It is at this stage that you should decide the duration of your episodes and how often you will be releasing new episodes.
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Acquiring the Necessary Equipment
Getting the equipment to run your podcasts is another vital step in preparation. Some of the equipment you require for an audio podcast to run a podcast includes a microphone, software for editing your audios, a Skype account, and the Wired Clip software to run the Skype calls. A webcam becomes necessary if you will have a video podcast. It is also important to have a good website where your listeners can download the podcasts from.
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Select a Title for Your Podcast
The title of the podcast will help your listeners to know what your podcast is about. It is important to come up with an exciting title that captures the attention of your listeners. To make it easy for your listeners to locate your podcast on iTunes or Google, you can use keywords that make your podcast appear at the top of the list when a listener searches it.
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Design the Cover Artwork
The artwork of your podcast is the first impression that you give your listeners when they search for your podcast. It is important to have a creative one because your listeners might judge your podcast by its cover. If you want to have an appealing artwork for a successful podcast, you can hire a professional to do it for you.
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Record the Introduction and Ending of Your Podcast
Another step in preparing to start your podcast is coming up with an introduction that tells your listeners the name of your podcast and the reason why they should listen to your podcast. You can define your target audience in the opening of your podcast.
The ending or outro is also important because it allows you to make a call to action for the audience and inform them where they can download your podcast from and also how they can reach you.
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Launch Your Podcast
Launching your podcast is another critical step in registering your podcast. iTunes features new podcasts that are less than eight weeks old on a feature called “new and noteworthy,” and having your podcast here will help to make people aware of it. This is the first feature that you people see when they open iTunes. However, there is also an option of just submitting your podcast to iTunes without launching it though it might not get a lot of attention.
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Market Your Podcast and Get Reviews and Subscribers
It is not very easy to get reviews for your podcast because the process is tiring, so many people avoid it. However, you can request your family or close friends who can take the time to write your reviews, do it for you to get a five-star rating, making more people want to listen to your podcast. The final step is then to market your podcast to increase the listening and views.
In conclusion, setting up a podcast requires preparation so that it can function well and attract more listeners or viewers. You need to set up equipment and software. Preparation to set up a podcast involves selecting a topic, format, title, cover artwork, introduction, ending and then launching your podcast.