Hi everyone!

Here are the elements of your podcast you should have so far:

Name: Name of your podcast.
Description: Description of what your podcast is about.
Image: Podcast logo.
Script: Use to keep you on track as you talk about your episode topics.
Show notes: Description of the episode (including your links).

Last week I mentioned Anchor.fm also known as Spotify for Podcasters. The reason I recommend it is it’s free and a “one stop shop” for recording and distributing. You don’t have to be focused on recording, then uploading, then distributing, etc.

Even if you’re not sure how many episodes you want to do at first – no problem. You don’t have to commit until you’re sure it’s the right thing for you.

If you don’t have a Spotify account, you can login using Google, Facebook or Apple (logging in this way will link your account to Spotify).

You can record using their platform, store pre-recorded segments and use their music for your intro, outro and for transitions. This is why I say it’s a one-stop-shop. Everything can be done in one place.

After you get started, you may decide to move to a different platform and that’s not a problem. You can decide to record and upload independently, if you prefer. Or use a different podcast creation platform, such as Podbean or Libsyn.

For instance, you can host your podcasts on YouTube as audio only or record audio and video.

Equipment Costs
As I mentioned, you may decide to record without additional equipment. But here’s a sampling of the microphones and costs:

CAD U37 USB Studio Condenser Recording Microphone –approx. $29.00

Fifine USB Podcast Microphone (K678) – approx. $56.99

Logitech Blue Microphones Snowball ICE – approx. $49.99

Logitech Blue Yeti Premium USB – approx. - $129.99

I have the Fifine mic and it works very well. I’ve tried the Logitech mics and though they are very popular (especially the Blue Yeti) I found the quality of the Fifine product was very good.

Quite possibly if you record without a mic, the sound quality may be just fine. But if not, consider investing in a mic (or mic and headset).

I'm keeping this lesson short. Please take a look at the podcasting platforms I've mentioned and let me know your questions!

Creating an Author Podcast with Deb Bailey