Today, we’re answering a question we get a lot. How do you start a podcast? We’ll tell you everything you need to know, from hardware to software to thoughts on content and format. Scroll down to our shownotes for a full list of the products and services discussed. Enjoy.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.

-----

This episode is brought to you by Scribe. Scribe is the presenting sponsor of this episode of Making Media and the magic behind the Colossus transcripts. One of the best decisions we made at Colossus was transcribing all of our audio into a searchable transcript library. We had been using another provider up until the summer of 2022 but we were constantly having issues with accuracy if our audio was just the slightest bit impaired. Whether it's training sessions, internal Q&As, or for media purposes, the value of transcripts is huge. And we are not alone. Scribe is the transcription service that powers all of S&P Global - like CapIQ - and the client list includes our friends at Tegus. Go to joincolossus.com/scribe to unlock 150 minutes of free transcription and test their capabilities.

-----

Making Media is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Making Media, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @ReustleMatt | @domcooke | @MakingMediaPod | @JoinColossus

Show Notes Hardware (00:03:57) - (First question) - The hardware needed to start a podcast (00:05:16) - Considering different microphone options Shure MV7 | Shure SM7B | ATR2100x Software (00:06:20) - Software required to record a podcast (00:09:48) - Specific devices made for podcasting when not using an iPhone or laptop - Podtrak, RODECaster (00:10:23) - A breakdown of Descript, a transcript and audio editing program (00:14:14) - Getting the audio file to the masses, creating an RSS feed Libsyn | Megaphone | Transistor (00:16:33) - Uploading to the digital distributor (00:19:57) - The costs involved with distributing your podcast to the world (00:20:58) - The statistics and a breakdown of downloads and streams Music (00:24:33) - Creating the theme music Pond5 | Epidemic Sound (00:27:22) - Sourcing narrators for the introduction voice over Content (00:29:07) - Deciding on what content to create a podcast about (00:33:54) - Focussing content to make the podcast unique (00:35:17) - Choosing a title for the podcast (00:38:46) - The key thing to get started - just do it! Launch (00:40:59) - The launch strategy (00:44:03) - Networking with existing podcasters in your area to create a buzz