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Podcasts are an ever-growing and popular way for sharing information or entertaining. But how can you make your own podcast?
As mainly audio-only content, it can be likened to listening to the radio and can be enjoyed by listeners while they are doing other things. There's a podcast that covers many genres, topics and stories out there, but there are still new ideas and interests you can explore. You might want to cover something from a new perspective or explore which format you want to deliver your show in.
This guide explores where to get started along with the workflow for Generating ideas, Recording, Editing and Publishing.
A podcast can be defined as a series of audio files available online to stream or download. Individual files are typically formulated as episodes with a clear topic/theme and structure.
The Podcasting Workflow
There's a few steps you can follow to help get your podcast together. Thinking through these will help you to pick out who your audience is, what you want to inform about and how much time you will need to create it. Thinking early on about your format will also be really useful.
A podcast can be informal and conversational. It can be most interesting when there is back and forth between an interviewer and guest - a conversation, rather than a series of questions and answers.
Try to record a podcast episode in one go, even if you need to redo something. Don't stop and start the recording if you make a mistake. Carry on, redo the question and remove any of retakes when you are editing. If you make a note of the time to edit out as you go, this can help speed things up too.
It's unusual to have one clean take of a recording without any mistakes because people sometimes say the wrong thing or want redo a question so that the answer is more concise. However, because a podcast usually isn't live, there's room to be flexible and take your time.
Tip 1: Ask open questions eg how, what, rather than closed questions which only offer a short answer eg do, have... this will allow for a more interesting conversation.
Tip 2: Acknowledge answers - while the interviewee can see your body language and reactions, listeners can't - so do this verbally. You could also comment on the response in some way, before moving onto the next question to make things flow. Be flexible - there might be an opportunity to ask extra questions to delve further into a subject.
Tip 3: Don't speak over the other person - wait for them to finish. While you want to use verbal reactions, it's ok to wait and do this at the end of the response. A podcast isn't a live broadcast, so if an answer is too long, take time to redo it. You can edit answers to an extent after recording, but the less you need to cut audio after, the better.
Tip 4: Remember that the audience cannot see what you can see - it's a good idea not to discuss what things look like eg a piece of artwork or a photo, unless you are planning on making a video version of the podcast where it will be on screen.
Interviewer: So, what did you have for breakfast today?
Guest: I had an amazing bowl of cereal followed by some scrambled egg on toast.
Interviewer: Have you been enjoying interviewing people for your research? ['have' indicates this is a closed question]
Guest: Yes.
Interviewer: So, what did you have for breakfast today?
Guest: I had an amazing bowl of cereal followed by some scrambled egg on toast.
Interviewer: That does sound delicious - I also had cereal but no eggs unfortunately. We should probably talk about your research! You've been looking into the impact of podcasts on mental health. How's your research been going so far?
Guest: Well, it's been quite interesting - I've met with ten people as of this week, and they've given me such a variety of information. Much of what I've discovered is backing up evidence I've read from elsewhere.
Editing a podcast can take a while so make sure you leave enough time to go through your audio. You may choose to record your podcast in smaller clips, so you can rearrange sections and put them together in a logical order. Free digital audio workstations like Audacity (also available on University computers) make this task easier as a place you can drag and drop multiple tracks together.
You may also need to alter the volume or quality of sound. Many audio editing tools allow you to add effects to be able to make changes to the sound. This may include a Deesser to get rid of spoken 'sssss' and hissing sounds, or to increase the volume by using an Amplifier. Many tools also allow you to use a noise reduction (or 'Denoise') tool to remove background noises and buzz, but you may need to play around to get it right.
Two important things to consider when editing conversational audio are pace and space:
Another thing to remember when editing is that when we talk our voices go up and down to emphasise points or mark the end of a phrase. If you cut a few words mid-sentence this might disturb the flow or pitch, and it may be obvious to the listener that something isn't right.
And finally, try not to add too many effects. While it's tempting to play around with the reverb/echo, change the pitch or give someone a robot voice, this isn't really what a podcast needs! If you took the time to get a good recording to work with, this should remove the need to change the audio too much. Making a few minor tweaks to the volume (5-10db) might be all you need to do.
To kick off your podcast episode or mark topic changes, you could use music or sounds. Copyright for music is incredibly complex and strict, so unless you have a lot of money, unfortunately you're not going to be able to include any tracks by a well-known global artist. However, there are plenty of creative commons resources you can use, such as openverse or Fugue or Bensound. Some sites may require you to purchase a license for a small fee, depending on how you are using the music.
When adding music, you probably won't need to use the full track as it'll take up too much of the episode. Instead you can cut it at a suitable point (ie not in the middle of a phrase), and fade it out. Then bring up your introduction vocal so there's a small bit of overlap. Be careful not to drown out a speaker with music or sound. Additional clips can 'sit' underneath vocal audio ie they happen at the same time, but at a lower volume.
There are some useful and free tools out there, which help you edit and organise your recorded clips together into episodes:
Once you have your audio files ready to share with the world, you need to host them online so that listeners can access them. There are a range of platforms and sites which can help you to do this:
Spotify for Podcasters - Spotify allows you to host your podcast on their platform. You can then use an RSS feed link to get your podcasts onto other large platforms like Apple Podcasts.
Soundcloud - as a free user on Soundcloud you can upload up to 3 hours of content. It's possible to connect your podcast on Soundcloud to Apple so that it's accessible via the podcast app.
YouTube - another free way to host a podcast is to use YouTube. If you only recorded your podcast episodes as audio, you will need to make your content into a video file in order to do this; see our Video Editing practical guide for more help on this. In terms of imagery for the video - you could create a simple graphic with the name of the podcast episode and presenter, or you could upload a relevant still photograph.
There are also lots of other hosting services such as Podbean, Buzzsprout and Acast. You may need to check these options, as they often have free versions with limited options.
After you have your podcast hosted online, you can start spreading the word!
Here are a list of some podcasts available from the University of York and those that have been recorded in the Creativity Lab's podcast studio.
Take a look at our 101 podcasting video, which covers some ideas on getting started with your ideas and what to look at next:
There's a number of different types and formats of podcasts out there. The best way to experience these are by listening to a few different types of podcast and reflecting on what formats you enjoy listening to. Find out a bit more information around some of the most popular, but there are many others out there!
Interviews are a brilliant way to draw out information from a guest speaker during an episode, with the 'host' asking one or more speakers a series of questions around a topic. There are many ways of doing it, however a simple question and answer format works well.
Interview episodes work best with open, broad questions which give the speaker lots of opportunities to talk openly to share their opinions, thoughts and knowledge. See our section on Asking questions for more advice.
During the planning process, you may need to think about if this process will be fully scripted beforehand, or unscripted on the day. Either way, we recommend giving your speaker the questions ahead of time, so they are prepared in how to answer. Sometimes interviews can take a little longer to record if any answers need re-recording.
The What do you actually do? podcast from the University of York's Careers and Placements team is worth listening to as an example of an interview.
Like an on-stage monologue, episodes are usually a single performer delivering a story or information as one speaker. This can often be from a pre-written script, but an unscripted version is still possible. A script can be really useful to stay on track and make sure the monologue remains succinct and the planned length of time. Monologues can be spoken word, poetry or any type of spoken performance you like.
Panel Discussions are often an engaging way to lead a discussion between a group of speakers. They can vary greatly in format, but often work with the idea that multiple speakers take turns to give their input on a topic area.
These can work well when speakers have a slightly different role; such as the host/leader, topic expert or someone who is less informed in that area. This can help to add some interest with different perspectives or views on the topic area.
Podcasts lend themselves nicely to be able to tell a story. As one example, True Crime is a popular genre as this often centers around re-telling a crime as a story by adding interesting facts and 'twists' that keep a listener engaged.
A narrative podcast can tell any story; real or fictional, and there are no limits on what you can do. They can involve one or multiple people, and often also include additional sounds or recordings to help describe what is being told. It's often a good idea to listen to a range of different narrative or journalistic podcasts to find out what you like, and what you don't.
The above podcast formats are just suggestions of some of the most popular formats. You can mix and match, and there are no rules on what must be included in a podcast episode.
You can be experimental with formats; there are some podcasts out there that use 'repurposed media'. This is sometimes the idea of taking something existing like royal-free sound effects, and using them in a new way to tell a story from a new perspective.
It is possible to record elements of your podcast at home, if you aren't able to access other facilities. Take a look at a couple of our tips below that will help you with the setup.
To record from home, you ideally need to use an item that has a dedicated microphone built into it. This can include a smart phone, laptop or headphones (check as not all headphones do). Be aware that the sound quality you get from these can vary, so you might need to try a few different ways before you find the best option for you. If you are using items like headphones, this can be trickier if there is more than one person recording, so you may need to record each person talking separately. See some device-specific advice, depending on which tool you are using.
See the drop-down below for advice on what software to record with.
When recording at home or on campus, try and choose a quiet location where there is not much background noise. Smaller spaces may reduce the amount of echo, and moving the microphone as near to you as possible will help with this. If you can record somewhere where there are lots of furniture or soft furnishings, it may also help to reduce echo.
If you are using a laptop, or a microphone device connected to a computer, Audacity is a free audio editor which also has a built in recorder tool that allows you to record using any connected microphones, or the one built into your computer.
Audacity is available on University computers via the Software Centre, or can be installed for free on your own personal computer. Once installed, you can use the 'record' button on the main toolbar. Check the 'Audio Setup' button to check the right device is selected. Audacity has a useful guide on recording to help you get started.
If you have recorded on a phone voice recorder app, and want to move the file to your computer, you may need to convert the files. Some iOS and Android devices may create a file in an .m4a format. Before you can put a file into an a tool like Audacity, you can convert it in a free tool like VLC (available on personal and University computers) with the following steps:
It's worth spending a little time to look at how you can record your spoken audio in a quiet space with clear sound quality. This may involve needing a dedicated microphone.
Available to anyone at University of York, the Creativity Lab in the Library has an easy-to-use, free, bookable podcast recording space where you can record your content with up to 4 people. Once you've completed a quick induction, you can book the space to record, or just to practice and get used to the sound of your own voice. The equipment in this room makes it easy to get clear sound quality and automatically removes some background noises.
If you're experienced with recording or having a go for the first time, we have a few useful tips to check beforehand. These will help to make you're life easier once you've finished:
Take some time to practice. It often feels odd when you have to listen to the sound of your own voice, but the more you do, the easier it becomes.
Give yourself plenty of time. So for a 30 minute episode, aim for 15 mins to set up, 45 minutes to record and then allow around 1 hour to edit and arrange the recording clips.
Check the recording level for each microphone. As people have different types of voices, always check the 'gain' for each microphone to ensure it's recording loud enough. Getting as close to the microphone as is comfortable will also help.
Keep moving paper/objects/chairs to a minimum. Some of these noises can be picked up by a microphone and can be a little tricky to filter out.
Don’t worry too much about ‘ummms’ and ‘ahhhs’. It's totally natural that these may happen when you're recording. Writing a script or detailed notes can help to keep those to a minimum.
Record some silence at the start. It can be really useful to leave a few seconds of silence before you start talking. This can be really helpful when editing afterwards to be able to easily find different sections and to edit out any background noises.
It's important to include a transcript to go alongside your podcast when you publish it. Not everyone will be able to hear the audio you've created.
Many tools can automatically generate a transcript for you, but you will always need to edit this to ensure it is accurate. If you've recorded your podcast using a script, that can make the transcribing process much quicker, as you have a pre-written version as a basis. This can then be easily tweaked to include any changes made while you were recording.
Our Subtitling guide has information on how to generate a transcript for your audio recording:
In addition, the Creativity Lab in the Library has workstations which include Adobe Creative Cloud, which can auto-transcribe audio in Adobe Premiere Pro.
Some further resources to help you with your podcast:
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