Starting a Podcast: Step By Step
Starting a podcast? You’ve come to the right place! Below you’ll find a simple step-by-step guide on how to create and set up your first podcast.
1. Plan
Planning is essential to avoiding pitfalls down the road. Our FREE Podcasting at Work guide is a great place to start. It takes you through 25 questions you should ask yourself before starting a podcast including how long your podcast should be (TLDR? Shorter is usually better).
Other big structural decisions to make at this stage include the overall format of the podcast, whether or not you’ll include video, and even if your podcast will be available in multiple languages.
And don’t forget to plan important details like the name of the show! Search for potential names on Podcast X-Ray to check how unique and searchable your ideas are.
2. Write
The written elements of your show aren’t really necessary this early in the process, but they will help you distill and focus your goals for your podcast and your ideal audience.
Start by scripting Your Podcast Intro, Outro, and Teaser and then move on to your Podcast Show Description.
3. Gear
The tech and gear associated with podcasting is fun for some and a headache for others.
If you’re in the headache crowd, consider using a podcast studio (like ours) with a producer who can handle all the tech for you.
If you’re more of DIYer, here are some resources that can help:
4. Graphics
Podcast artwork should be square and measure 3000x3000 pixels. This is quite large but don’t be fooled into thinking you’ve got a lot of space to work with. Podcast artwork is often displayed in apps around the size of a quarter or even smaller. So use limited text and make it big and bold! Apple has further artwork guidelines and recommendations here.
You can test how your artwork will appear in different apps using tools like Podcast Cover Art Size Preview.
Search for similar shows in your favourite podcast app and consider how to make yours stand out from the crowd.
5. Music
Choosing the right tune for your podcast goes beyond getting just the right vibe - you need to be legally allowed use the track.
We use stock music services Melodie and Persona Music to ensure our clients are always in the clear. With so many other free and paid options out there there’s no reason to rip a track from Spotify and get yourself in trouble!
6. Record & Edit
Whether you’re getting help from a producer or going it alone, recording is the fun part of podcasting!
We always start by recording the podcast’s tearser/trailer since you’ll need that (or a finished episode 1) to set up distribution in the next step.
Recording in a studio helps you focus on your content and forget about the technical aspects of looking and sounding your best — but if you or any of your guests are podcasting from home or the office, you should review these Quick Tips for Looking Your Best On Remote Podcasts and Sounding Your Best On Remote Podcasts.
If you plan on editing the podcast yourself, we recommend Descript as an easy editing option.
7. Distribution & Launch
Podcast distribution is more complicated than simply posting a video on YouTube — but it has the advantage of getting your show out to every podcast app when done right.
Start with this quick primer on How Podcast Distribution Works and if your show includes video, look at The Best Way to Distribute Video Podcasts too.
But basically you’ll need a podcast hosting service that’s set up to connect with Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all the other podcast apps.
To set this up you’ll need serveral things ready to go:
Podcast title and description
Artwork
A piece of media ready to post (your teaser/trailer or episode 1)
A title and description for the episode or trailer (we use AI to help generate these)
We recommend Spotify for Podcasters in most cases. Our video tutorial will help you get it set up properly.
Once distribution setup is complete, it’s time to enact your podcast launch plan!
8. Promotion
Don’t assume your audience will automatically find the great content you’re putting out there.
First, make sure you’re nailing The Basics of Podcast Growth, which include making sure your podcast appears everywhere you audience may be looking; notifying them when new episodes drop; producing social sharing clips; and leveraging your guests’ networks.
Once you’ve nailed the basics you can move on to Paying to Promote Your Podcast if your budget allows.