Everyone that I talk to about my podcast always asks me two questions
1. How do I start my own podcast?
2. How much does it cost?
It seems that many people are very interested in the idea of having their own podcast but feel intimidated by the expected financial and time requirements. Others (like me) are both willing and able but have no idea where to start. It took me roughly six months to go from wanting to start a podcast to publishing my first episode, mostly because I had to figure all of it out as I went along, so, in an effort to save future podcasters from the hassle and time wastage that I went through I thought I would include everything that I have learned here to help others over those first few hurdles and get Trinidad and Tobago into podcasting for good.
Most of this is off the top of my head so I will keep updating this as I discover new things. Feel free to add to it in the comments below.
What do I need to start my own podcast?
1. Recording equipment (video recording optional)
2. Editing software (video editing software optional)
3. Podcast Host with RSS feed (If you don't have an RSS feed then you don't have a podcast)
Each section is covered in a separate comment below so help keep comments organised.
RECORDING EQUIPMENT
Option 1 - Budget $0
I've found that you can record good enough audio using your phone once you have access to decent audio editing software. Adobe Audition has pretty good noise cancellation and sound correction software that can make almost any mobile audio sound pretty good. Don't have access to Adobe Audition? No problem!!! I'll do the noise cancellation for you! Just follow the following steps. Check out Let's Talk About It - Episode 012. The audio for that podcast was recorded with an ordinary cell phone and had noise cancellation done with Adobe Audition.
Step 1. Comment below with the following information. Email contact (First time only)b. Name of podcastc. Episode number
Step 2. I will create and online folder for you and email you an access link. Open the link in any browser and upload you episode to be edited. If you already have a link you can just go ahead and upload your episode as soon as you post your comment.
Step 3. I will apply the noise cancellation software and upload the edited audio. Click on the link provided earlier and download your edited audio.
Editing Software
Option 1 - Budget $0
Audacity - Recommended
I don't have much experience with Audacity anymore but this is the program that I started with. There are countless tutorials on youtube that you can watch. Don't let the price, or lack thereof, of Audacity fool you. It is a great audio editing tool for beginners and is extremely easy to learn to use. Audacity has just about all of the features that you would need as a beginner. You can multitrack audio, cut/edit and there are features for equalising, normalising, limiting and noise cancellation.
Option 2 - Budget US$21/ Month (TT$150)
Adobe Audition
This is one of the the industry standards for audio editing. This is what I use and I highly recommend it if you can afford it. Tutorials are also extremely easy to find online and online and there are relatively cheap online courses available. Again, keep in mind that this still is not necessary as Audacity should have just about everything you need to edit the audio for your podcast.
Hosting
Option 1 - Budget $0
Anchor.fm offers free unlimited hosting (will update with more details)