How to Start a Podcast: A Step-By-Step Tutorial for Students
Why Should I Start a Podcast?
If you have a passion for certain hobbies or a certain lifestyle that you always find yourself talking about to others, and more importantly if you love to talk, the podcast life is calling your name. Podcasts are a simple and fun way to talk all about your passions, dreams, and your life. Picture a blog, like this one, but instead, you are listening to the person versus reading the words. Podcasts are a little more personal and are amazing to listen to when you are driving, working out, walking to class, or doing homework.
What are the Steps?
Making a podcast is relatively easier than you would think. First, you need to come up with a theme/niche. It is possible to make all of your episodes be about random topics but if you are aiming for a certain target audience to listen and follow your podcast, finding a theme is best. Then you can design a cute and fun logo for your podcast. An easy way to do this is by utilizing Canva. It is super simple to use and free. Another thing you need to do is to come up with a name. The simplest way to come up with your podcast’s name is to use your first name and a word that starts with the same letter. This always flows nicely and you only have to think of one word. For my personal podcast, I used my first name: Maddie, and thought of my podcast’s theme. My podcast is a plethora of different thoughts, topics, and ideas. That was how Maddie’s Mess was created. Look at other podcasts and use inspiration you find from them and creating your own fun name will come easily.
How Do I Make One?
Next, you need to download Anchor. I find that Anchor is the easiest platform to publish your podcast on. It is free and very user-friendly. I suggest using the Voice Memos app that you probably already have on your phone. This made the audio super clear and crisp. Once you record your file you can easily save it and upload it to Anchor.
What Do I Talk About?
You can talk about anything when it comes to a podcast. That’s the beauty of it. If you want to talk about college, video games, celebrities, fashion, a sport, or anything in general, there is an audience somewhere that will listen to it and relate to you. Just be yourself and talk about your passions. Don’t worry about the audience at first. They will come if you are consistent.
Who Can I Talk To?
There are several different types of podcast setups. There are duo podcasters where two friends create a podcast and record together. This may be easier for someone starting out who doesn’t quite know the direction of where they want their podcast to go. There are guest podcasters where the podcast owner will bring guests on whenever they record. This is a fun way to engage your audience and always keep them guessing who you will feature next. Lastly, a solo podcaster. There is nothing wrong with deciding that you want to start a podcast yourself. This is the route I went to talk about my solo podcast. I can work on my own time. There are no awkward silences and no scheduling conflicts. I have had my boyfriend join me on an episode and am looking to record with more friends in the future.
Tips for Recording
When it comes to actually recording yourself, don’t be worried if you don’t have a fancy microphone. All you need to do is talk to your phone. You can’t tell the difference between the audio and it saves money. It improves your organization of thoughts if you have a list of notes of things to talk about during the episode. This will help you outline your episode so don’t miss vital points of your episode. This can also help if you get stuck or miss your place of what you were talking about. Lastly, this also guides you not to take random tangents around the main topic.
Good luck with your Podcast
All in all, don’t worry about what other people think. This is your podcast so you can talk about whatever you would like to. Don’t worry about followers, subscribers, or numbers at first. You can set goals but remember to start small when you are first starting out. Now go grab your phone and record your first episode. You’ve got this.
Podcast Recommendations
I have gotten into loving podcasts over the last year and a half. I have several recommendations for podcasts of all genres but most importantly PR-related ones.
PR Hangover is a great example of a PR-related podcast. PR Hangover is run by the lovely Olivia Dolley, a sophomore student who is a member of our student-run firm, GrandPR. The podcast features successful individuals talking about their stories, upbringing, college experience, and words of advice for future PR professionals.
Gals on the Go is another great example of a career-driven podcast. There are several lifestyle episodes on how to get motivated, inspiration to thrive, how to handle business and friendship, etc.
About Madison
Madison Zimmerman is a junior majoring in Advertising and Public Relations. This is her first year in the major and her first semester participating in PRSSA and GrandPR as an Account Associate with an emphasis in design. Madison also writes for Grand Valley's Newspaper, The Lanthorn as an opinion column author. Having her own podcast, Madison hopes to get involved in the podcast side of PRSSA and GrandPR as well as the blog. Madison hopes to secure a career involving writing and social media management after graduation.