Table of Contents
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last 2–3 years, you’ve 100% heard about—or listened to—a podcast.
Podcasts have become many people’s preferred medium when it comes to having audio in their ears on the way from A to B. The number of podcasts has grown extremely fast worldwide in recent years, and hooray for that! There is (almost) a podcast about everything under the sun today. There’s even an English podcast about grass. Yes… grass.
My background for being able to write this guide for you, besides being Marketing Director here at SoundStoreXL, is that I’ve created and produced Denmark’s biggest podcast within the gaming niche. Here, I myself took the podcast from an idea, created a visual identity, recorded, post-produced, distributed, and made money from the podcast.
In this guide I’ll both tell you about podcasts and also prepare you for how to make a podcast, make money from a podcast, and much more!
You can also watch the guide as a video below:
🤷🏽♂️ What is a podcast?
The short version: In this modern streaming era, podcasts are what radio was in the old days.
Podcasting is a type of content that was developed in 2004 when former MTV video nerd Adam Curry and software developer Dave Wine developed “iPodder”. iPodder was a program that gave users access to download internet radio onto their iPods.
Today, podcasts are a bit different, but nonetheless, an insanely popular form of audio entertainment.
A podcast is, broadly speaking, a series of episodes or instalments that one or more host(s) publish on various services, where you can stream, download, or buy access to them. Most podcasts typically come out daily, weekly, or monthly, but there are also limited series where, for example, one new episode is released every 3 months, which is typically a bit longer and goes very in-depth on a topic.
That’s one of the things I’m personally a big fan of about podcasts; there’s something for every taste and temperament within the podcast world.
At the same time, it’s a pretty unique medium because you can make a podcast about pretty much anything, and in that way you can find segments that even Google and Facebook can hardly identify. It’s a beautiful thing!
But is it still a podcast if there’s video? Yes, it is. There are podcasts that release their episodes with video of the hosts sitting and talking. That way, you can also reach a target audience on, for example, YouTube or Twitch. Most often, these episodes are also released as audio-only on the streaming services.
Well. Now we seem to have a handle on what a podcast is. Shall we get started with what you came for: How to make a podcast!
🧐 How do you come up with a concept for your podcast?
Before you sit down in front of the microphone, you need a plan for your podcast. You don’t necessarily have to write a script for each episode — otherwise you may end up sounding like a robot.
However, it is a clear advantage to have an overall plan for your podcast.
Set a goal for your podcast
Why are you sitting down to make a podcast? That’s the question you need to ask yourself.
Are you making it to earn money?
Are you making it as a cosy side project?
Are you making it to share knowledge you have?
Are you making it to help others with a problem you’ve had?
There are examples of podcasts that have been created based on all of the questions above.
Personally, I created my podcast because I had a friend who was unemployed, and I wanted to do a project with him. At the same time, I saw a gap in the market for a Danish-language Counter-Strike podcast, so we could potentially get press passes to attend the big tournaments and meet some of our idols in the sport.
Ultimately, my recommendation is to create a podcast about something you think is insanely fun to talk about. I’m convinced that passion always wins.
Come up with a title for your podcast
It goes without saying that you need a name for your podcast. Here are also a couple of small hacks you can make use of.
See if you can slip the topic into your title. Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Podimo and all the other places where you find podcasts have a search engine built in, and they also appear in Google’s and YouTube’s search engines.
Imagine having to search for “food podcast” — then it would be a big advantage if your podcast, for example, is called “Foody: A food podcast for the hungry”.
It can also be beneficial to find a name that rolls off the tongue. Something that feels nice to say. It almost goes without saying, but it’s still worth keeping in mind.
Just like with names for all kinds of brands, companies, music artists, etc., it can also be an advantage to find a name that looks great in writing. For all your future graphics for Facebook, Instagram, etc., it’s important that your name is recognisable and looks good with what your podcast is meant to present.
🎧 Find your format
Podcasts come in many different formats, and therefore it’s important to find the format that you think best suits you and your concept.
There are many different formats to look into, and there is no right or wrong. Basically, it’s just about finding the format that’s right for you and your podcast.
Live or recorded
Podcasts are mostly known for being recorded formats, where you record the episode, then post-produce it, and then distribute it across various services.
However, there are also lots of live radio shows that are released as podcasts, where the music and news have been cut out. Sara og Monopolet is probably one of the best-known.
Often it’s either radio programmes or video-based programmes that are live first and then released afterwards as a podcast.
Again, there’s no right or wrong. It just has to fit what you want!
Conversation podcast
One of the most commonly used podcast formats is the “conversation podcast”. It’s also generally the most informative format. It can be anything from a single host to a whole table full of participants. Many of these types of podcasts are interview-based, which is a discussion between a host and a guest. However, this also applies to, for example, two or more regular hosts.
Often these podcasts have plenty of time to dive deep into topics, and as mentioned earlier, it can be anything under the sun.
A really good conversation podcast requires that the hosts and any guests are present and give something of themselves. A good rule of thumb is that you know you’ve succeeded with a conversation podcast if the listener gets the feeling of being present in the room where it’s being recorded.
News podcast
It almost goes without saying, but a news podcast is a podcast that delivers current news—typically in a slightly shorter format.
They provide an overview and a brief analysis. The most popular news podcasts are actually released daily and provide a short and effective news roundup, and DR, Børsen, and others use the format for their users.
It’s a difficult market to break into, but nonetheless worth considering.
Reportage podcast
A rarer player in the podcast market, but a format I personally hope becomes much more widespread in the future.
Being out in the field and working with the sound around you while recording. It’s a reality-based format that has a lot to offer, because you can’t control everything that happens the way you can at home in your studio or living room.
In the USA and England, there are a number of blogs that both broadcast live and make podcasts where they are out in the field meeting people—at parties, events, and other things related to the topic that is the focus of the podcast.
There are also more and more podcasts that run live events where they literally pull the microphones out of the stand, head out into the field, and broadcast live. Often with an audience, but you still bring some of real life with you.
There are, of course, even more formats, but I’ve chosen to cover the broad strokes in this article.
🎙 Podcast equipment
The foundation for even being able to get started with a podcast—and probably one of the most discussed topics in the podcast world—is the equipment.
We can’t get around how important and essential it is to have equipment that makes it possible to record, produce, and create the sound that is your podcast.
I will therefore take you through all the podcast equipment you need — and trust me, I’ve been through it all. I’m a massive gear nerd in this area. At the same time, I’ll give you some ideas for buying equipment at different budgets, so you can get started no matter your budget.
Podcast environment
When you’re recording a podcast, it’s important that the environment you’re sitting in and recording in is “podcast-friendly”. You can absolutely record a great-sounding podcast without a dedicated recording studio. The sound you capture in the microphone or microphones naturally also depends on which microphone you use, but you can reduce noise and external factors by placing yourself in a good environment.
A real recording studio naturally has its advantages, as it’s a light-controlled room, and you’ll find that audio recorded in a room like that simply sounds great — on almost any equipment.
The only reason I’ve chosen to mention the environment is actually to reassure you that it’s not the room, but the equipment that gives you a good podcast — so don’t worry! My podcast was first recorded in a recording studio, and today it’s recorded in one of the hosts’ living rooms in an apartment right in the centre of Aarhus, and it sounds just as good because we upgraded the equipment.
If you have a place where you experience some room reverb that you find hard to get rid of, you can benefit greatly from hanging up some sound-absorbing foam, which will take the worst of the room reverb for you.
Podcast microphone
The microphone is, without comparison, your most important weapon in the pursuit of a successful podcast. Either you’re the type who likes to know exactly what you’re buying, or you’re the type who just wants to know what’s best and then buys it.
For the nerds out there, I’ll just briefly touch on the two types of microphones that are typically in play for a podcast.
- Condenser microphones: You get a really crisp, rich and full sound, but a condenser microphone is also very sensitive. This means it picks up sounds in the room such as noise from the neighbour, a washing machine that is on, or a car out on the street. That’s why these microphones are most often best in recording studios.
- Dynamic microphones: Here you also get — based on the quality of the microphone — really good sound. Dynamic microphones are less sensitive, and for podcasting that is a major advantage. They are fantastic for speech, especially if there may potentially be some noise around you.
So unless you have a recording studio available, I would without a doubt recommend a dynamic microphone for your podcast to avoid too much noise.
Which microphone should you choose?
Condenser Microphones
Here you get 3 condenser microphones for 3 different budgets.
This is the very same microphone I started with for my podcast, when we recorded in a studio environment.
It’s a fantastic microphone for the price. You get a microphone with clean, clear sound, and when you’re in the right environment, you can’t hear that it only costs 649 kroner.
I would recommend using a pop filter with microphones to reduce noise, but as mentioned earlier, a studio environment can take care of the worst of it.
sE Eletronics X1S
This microphone is in a completely different league, yet still at a very good price!
The X1S was introduced as a microphone for recording instruments, but it can certainly also record vocals. Here too, I would recommend using a pop filter to reduce the worst noise.
Blue Spark SL
This Blue model is an exceptional condenser microphone. A hand-tuned microphone capsule with a high-pass filter that helps keep noise from low frequencies out.
It’s made for voices, gaming, voiceover and audio production, so it’s definitely a top-class microphone for podcasts. Despite being a condenser microphone, it also solves a large part of the noise problem in advance.
Dynamic Microphones
Here you get 3 different dynamic microphones for 3 different budgets.
RØDE PodMic Microphones
As the name might suggest, RØDE’s PodMic is a dynamic microphone made for podcasts, streaming, gaming and other speech-based purposes.
It comes with a built-in pop filter and also has a built-in shock mount that minimises vibration noise that can occur from stand to microphone. You get a fantastic podcasting microphone for 799 kroner, and you don’t need to upgrade later.
A small side note about RØDE’s PodMic is that it isn’t particularly well suited for much other than voices and speech.
Shure MV7 Podcast Microphones
You might sense that when we move into dynamic microphones, there is simply a selection of microphones made specifically for podcasts. That’s also the case with Shure’s specially designed podcast microphone: MV7.
The reason the MV7 was made was to take some of the pressure and price off its big brother “SM7B”.
Click the link and read about all its great features. I’m not going to repeat it, since the product text includes everything. I can just say it’s a fantastic podcast microphone \- nothing less.
And then to the MV7’s big brother: SM7B.
Probably the world’s most popular microphone for podcasting \- and in fact also for singing and recording. Shure SM7B is a legendary dynamic microphone used, among other things, on Michael Jackson’s album “Thriller”, and all the studios in DR Byen are equipped with it. It has so many years, so many recordings, podcasts, albums and all sorts behind it that the Shure SM7B speaks for itself.
It is, by far, the most popular microphone for radio, podcasts and other voice-based recordings for a reason.
XLR Cables
Depending on how many microphones you need for your podcast, you will need the corresponding number of XLR Cables to connect your microphone to your Audio Interfaces or recorder.
If you use a USB microphone, you avoid this problem and simply need to connect your microphone to your computer via USB.
To round off your most important weapon, the microphone, I’ll share a piece of advice based on my experience: You can always upgrade. The used market for microphones is huge, and there are always people looking to save a bit of money on this kind of gear. So if the budget doesn’t stretch to a Shure SM7B from the start, begin with a RØDE PodMic and upgrade later if the need arises—then sell your PodMic.
Headphones
Technically, headphones are actually not a must at all for making a podcast.
Headphones can be an advantage, but not a necessity. It’s often a really good idea for the person responsible for the sound to wear a headset, and if you’re doing, for example, an interview, it can also be a big advantage for both parties to wear headphones to be able to hear each other completely clearly.
As a rule, there aren’t any headsets that won’t work for the purpose, but there are definitely some that make more sense. For example, hi-fi headphones aren’t particularly good for listening to podcasts, as the low frequencies are typically boosted quite a lot in them.
Here I’m only giving 1 recommendation for headphones, because they are simply the perfect headphones for podcasting. The reason I’m only giving one recommendation is simply that if you’ve reached the point where you need headphones, you’re also at a point where you’re taking it seriously, and then you shouldn’t be using any other headphones than these.
Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (32 ohm)
Without comparison, Beyerdynamic’s legendary DT 770 Pro studio headphones are the best you can choose.
The price range sits somewhere between cheap and expensive, and you get tremendous value for money. The impedance of these “32 ohm” means they reproduce audio from, for example, a smartphone really well. It’s also a rugged design that can withstand being taken along to live events and interviews when your podcast really takes off!
Podcast recorder/recorder
Now you have a place to record your podcast, a microphone and a set of headphones. So you’re just ready, right?
Every time I’ve helped someone get started with a podcast, the question comes up about how you connect the microphones to the computer because “the computer doesn’t have those XLR jacks, does it?”. If you’re not familiar with XLR and audio gear in general, I completely understand that it’s not easy to picture. Your podcast microphone needs to be connected—unless you have a USB microphone—to an Audio Interfaces, or a recorder.
Below, I will give 3 suggestions for which units I would prefer to learn to use and why these 3 units are the best.
This unit takes mobile recording to a new level. It is the first handheld recorder in the world with 6 inputs, where 4 out of the 6 are XLR inputs. It is an audio recorder with separate gain for all channels, as well as 3 different phantom power strengths.
It records in superb quality—up to 96 kHz / 24 bit. It can record directly to an SD card or be connected to a computer and, in that way, function as an audio interface.
It is probably the most used unit for recording podcasts, and there is a reason for that. Once you’ve used it a couple of times and have a good sense of what it can do, it is incredibly easy to use!
Focusrite 2i1 3rd Gen Audio Interfaces
Perhaps one of the most popular audio interfaces on the market, with 2 XLR preamp inputs. It also comes with phantom power and has 2x well-balanced line outputs.
An audio interface acts as the hub between microphone and computer. So you connect the microphone to the audio interface, and then you connect the audio interface to the computer. That way, you get the microphones connected to the computer via XLR. On the computer, you then have software to record with—we’ll come back to that a bit later.
If you have a fairly stationary setup, an audio interface is a really good solution. When you use this solution, you typically need to do a bit of post-production on the audio, as there are not usually built-in settings in this type of audio interface as standard.
RØDE Rødecaster PRO II
RØDE, which we’ve heard of before, has made an audio interface that makes podcast production incredibly easy. Rødecaster is an absolutely fantastic machine and has made life for me personally, as an audio engineer, 100x easier than when I started my podcast, and I can’t recommend it enough.
Everything you could ever need for livestreaming, podcasts, broadcasting, and phone interviews becomes possible with this excellent unit.
It comes with 4 microphone channels with fantastic preamps and phantom power. It can record to a MicroSD card or be connected directly to your computer and act as your best partner for production purposes. It even comes with 8 programmable pads that can be used to play jingles, effects, music, adverts, or whatever you can come up with.
But the most important thing—and the reason your production becomes so easy—is that you can adjust the audio settings directly during recording, so the output you get on your SD card or in your software on the computer is already taken care of. This saves you post-production and can be set once, so you don’t necessarily have to fiddle with it again.
So you get a complete solution for a lot of things in one machine, which can also serve many other purposes.
🖥 Software for podcasts
You’ve now got all the equipment, you’ve recorded your first podcast, and it’s time to cut and paste it together so it turns out the way you planned in the first part of this post.
Audio editing software can be a bit of a jungle, so I’ve gathered a few different options for you below, for both beginners and more experienced users. No matter how you record, you can’t really avoid having to bring your recorded audio files into software where you can compile everything into a single file.
I’d also like to give you a good tip here. Since you’re already working on getting everything to fit together properly, you might as well learn a real DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). Hopefully your ambitions are high, and that’s why I personally think you’ll really benefit from having learned a really good piece of software from the start.
It takes a bit of extra effort and a lot of mistakes at the beginning, but trust me—you’ll be really glad later, and the quality will be much better in the long run.
Let’s dive in!
Audio editing software
We’ll start at the cheap and very simple end and work our way up.
Audacity
This software isn’t actually a real DAW, but it can still be used. It’s free, which is also very practical.
It’s really ugly and looks like something from the 90s, but it can still get the job done. It can be used for very simple solutions with only a few audio tracks, but that’s where it ends. It quickly becomes a hassle and can feel confusing due to the ugly layout.
Garageband (Mac only)
You might remember Garageband? It still exists and actually still works extremely well.
It’s very clear and easily accessible from Apple’s App Store. You basically just import the tracks, then you can turn them up and cut and paste around within it. It’s a modern DAW, so once you’ve done it a couple of times, it goes pretty quickly thanks to the clear layout. It does, however, have limitations when it comes to certain effects, etc.
…and then it’s only for Mac users. Sorry, Windows user!
Adobe Audition
A really great DAW specifically for podcasting! If you already know Adobe’s programs, it can be a big advantage to use Audition, as the setup will look familiar.
You have pretty much everything you need in this DAW. There is, however, a slight learning curve, but it’s simply a matter of a bit of practice. Audition includes a multitrack session option, so you can have as many tracks as you want in your session. You can get a free trial and try it out, after which it costs 186 kroner per month.
Ableton LIVE
So now we get to the cream of DAWs: Ableton.
Ableton is a DAW made for music production and is used to create all the hits you hear on the radio, on Spotify etc. It’s an amazing DAW that can do pretty much everything when it comes to audio and production. The learning curve is a bit steep, but when it comes to podcasts, it’s actually quite simple. The big advantage in Ableton is that you can really play around with the sound.
Many of the settings you, for example, set on a Rødecaster PRO can be done in Ableton in post-production. It’s expensive software and costs 4-5,000 kroner for the full version. However, luckily you can get by with either the free version or the Intro version for just under 600 kroner. It all depends on what the rest of your setup looks like.
Essential settings
Now you’re sitting there and need to produce your podcast, but you don’t really know what to pay attention to.
That’s why I’ve put together a small list that I’m not going to go into in depth, but just briefly mention so you can look into them and make your podcast sound even better. Really, I’d say the less you have to do after your recording, the better. You’re best off if your settings are as good as possible in advance!
- Volume/gain
- Gate
- EQ
- Compressor
- De-esser
- Limiter
I would recommend exporting your audio files to .wav as it’s the best quality, but MP3 can also work and typically takes up a bit less space.
📡 Distribution of your podcast
Now you’ve made your very first podcast episode - big congratulations!
But no one can really listen to it when it’s just sitting there on your computer, right? We obviously need to do something about that.
There are also a handful of options on the market here, with both pros and cons. The most important thing is that they generate an RSS feed for you, which you can submit to the platforms you want to be on. It’s the RSS feed that automatically pushes your episodes out to the platforms all by itself.
Soundcloud
Soundcloud is a free solution to start with. You can upload x number of GB, and after that you may need to look into their Pro solution.
Podcastpusher
If you want it to be really easy and cheap, there’s actually a Danish provider that makes life easy for you: podcastpusher.dk.
Here you set up your podcast, pay 50 kr. per month, and then you can upload as many episodes as you like, and they are automatically synced to the platforms you choose. Their analytics section isn’t 100% finished yet, but nonetheless it’s a cheap solution where you also support a Danish startup. It’s easy to set up and it works!
Simplecast
Simplecast is one of the world’s largest podcast distributors, and it’s a really great system. They are one of the few systems that are a Spotify partner and that offers reporting that is really good and accurate. At the same time, they are a provider for companies such as Facebook, Nike, Twitter, and many of the other largest companies in the world.
It costs around 300 kroner a month, but in my opinion it’s worth the money. I use it myself and have been incredibly happy with that solution.
Which platforms should you be on?
You need to get out there and be available on as many platforms as possible—and not everyone listens on the same platform, even though that would have been easy, right?
As a rule of thumb, it’s best to be available on as many platforms as possible. However, there are some platforms you can’t do without, and some that may not be as important.
Here’s a short list of the most important ones for Danish podcasts:
- Apple Podcast
- Spotify
- Google Podcast
- Podimo
- Castbox
For the rest of the options, you can simply sign up, and then you’re covered. It doesn’t cost more or less to be on as many as possible.
💵 Make money from your podcast
Now you’ve been running your podcast for over a year, and your follower base has really taken off. There are more than 1,000 listeners per episode, and you get lots of great feedback. Your Facebook page is booming, and your Instagram gains followers every day.
But…
You also spend a lot of time on it, and all that time can almost never be justified because there’s no income. Maybe it shouldn’t be your primary income, but you’d like to have your time “covered” as support for the project, so to speak.
I firmly believe that if you’ve made a great project, an outcome will come at some point. The podcast world, in particular, is incredibly young when it comes to advertising and finances.
You don’t get paid for streams yet. There isn’t a portal where you can submit your podcast for brands, etc., to browse. Either you just have to keep at it and try to grow your follower base with the passion you have for the project, or you have to go out and proactively reach out. It’s brutally hard work to make a podcast if you’re aiming to make money, but keep going! Passion will win in the end.
That said, there are a few ways to kick-start it:
- Podads.dk
- Acast.com
- Cold canvas sales
- Partners
- Sell your podcast to a relevant company/media channel
