REBEL RESOURCES: HOW TO CREATE A PODCAST FROM HOME

THIS GUIDE WILL TAKE YOU THROUGH HOW TO USE AUDACITY TO CREATE A PODCAST FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR OWN HOME

Podcasts are becoming increasingly popular, as more of us look online for content to consume. If you've ever wanted to try and make one yourself at home with just the equipment you may already have, then you'll be happy to know it's a lot easier than you thought! This guide will give you a basic understanding of how to get your podcast going. While this isn't going to teach you how to make the most elaborate, highly produced and professional show, it'll help you get going and understand the basics!

1. Get the gear you need to start Podcasting!

You will need some basic equipment to start podcasting. Good equipment will go a long way but you might already have everything you need!

MICROPHONE(S): Any microphones you have will do when you're just getting started. Your laptop might have a decent one built in already! Alternatively, if you have a good pair of headphones, they tend to have a mic built into them. Also if you own a gaming headset, the microphones on these tend to be decent quality as well! It's worth trying out each microphone device you have and seeing which works best for you.

COMPUTER:  Any Windows or Mac computer should work fine to record, edit and upload your podcast. Thankfully, editing audio doesn’t take a ton of computing power. Additionally, depending on how you choose to record—directly to the computer or onto a dedicated recording device—your computer will also need the right ports. USB microphones, for example, will obviously need an open USB port. If you’re using analog microphones with a portable XLR recorder or audio interface device, you’ll need either a 3.5 mm audio-in jack, a USB/USB-C port, or in some cases, a FireWire port. Before you spend any money on equipment, make sure you have a computer that can support it.

EDITING SOFTWARE: There are many different software solutions for recording and editing. There are a lot of more professional programmes out there, but they will cost you a fair amount of money. If you already have software like this that you're comfortable with using, then go ahead and use that. This guide however is going to focus on the free, open-source program called Audacity. Despite being free, this program offers a lot of powerful features, is fairly easy to use, and will get recommended a lot to anyone just starting out with Podcasting. You can download the software for Windows or Mac from https://www.audacityteam.org/ for free!

POP FILTER(S): These are entirely optional, but will enhance the clarity of your recordings. They don't cost very much either, however if you really want to keep your Podcast as low cost as possible to produce, then you can make your own for free with just some paper. 

2. Decide on your topic, narrow your focus, and find a niche
There are already thousands of Podcasts already out there. This might be a bit disheartening to some people just getting started out. However, while most broader topics have already been covered, it isn't too hard to make your own spin on a topic and make it all your own! Start by really thinking about your idea for a Podcast. Ask yourself if there is an audience for this specific topic. Narrow down your topic from the general concept to something way more specific. For example, you want to make a Podcast about music? Figure out a genre you really have a passion for most. Now your podcast has found it's niche: The music of the genre, the people, and the culture surrounding it.

Once you're happy with the focus of your Podcast, you might want to add your own spin on it to make things interesting. Find an approach that is different and uniquely all your own. The more you inject your passion into the podcast, the more likely people are to enjoy listening, and keep listening!

3. Get Audacity set up and ready for recording

1. If you haven't already, go to https://www.audacityteam.org/ and download the program. You can install it on Windows or Mac.
2. Connect the microphone you've decided to use to your computer, and then launch Audacity.
3. Check that your microphone has been recognised by the software. Click the drop down menu to the right of the small microphone icon. If you see your microphone available then select it. If you can't see it, then try closing the software, unplugging the microphone, then plugging it in again. If you're using a USB mic then you may need to install drivers for it to work. This guide will assume you're using a mic plugged into your normal headphone port on your computer.
4. In the top left corner of the program, you will see several control buttons (pause, play, skip back, skip forward, and record). Go ahead and click the record button, then talk into your microphone to make sure it's working properly.
5. Stop the recording by clicking the Stop button, then click the Play button to listen back to what you just recorded. Make sure it sounds okay and that you can hear yourself clearly.

4. Record and edit your Podcast in Audacity!

Actually recording your Podcast in Audacity is fairly straightforward! But there are just a few things to do before you start your first show.

1. Connect up your microphone and make a test recording like you did previously. This is always important to check your audio levels, and if you are in a different location to before then the quality could be impacted by your surroundings!
2. If you find that the overall volume of your recording is too loud or too quiet, you can adjust this easily by using the slider above the drop-down menu where you selected your microphone. 
3. Once you're happy with the levels of your recording then go ahead and delete your recording test. You can do this easily by clicking the X at the top-left of the recording track.
4. Make sure your surroundings are silent, then record 5-10 seconds of silence. This is what Podcast editors call "room tone", and you can use it to cover up any unwanted background noise while you're recording your actual show! For now though, you'll want to mute this track by clicking the mute button on the left of the track.
5. Go to FIle > Save Project > Save Project As then enter a name for the project. This isn't exporting any audio files to listen to, it's just saving your current progress.

Now you're all set to record your Podcast! When you're confident and ready to begin, click the Record button. Audacity will start recording your audio to a new track in the project. When you're done, simply click the Stop button. It's simple! Make sure to save your project again before continuing.

5. Intro and outro music

This is entirely optional, but if you want to add some flair to your show then some intro/outro music is a must! If you're musically inclined then you may already have recorded your own music for the show. If not, you can download some free-to-use music from any website that offers music under an "Attribution International License" or "Attribution-NonCommercial International License". A good place to start is the Free Music Archive, located at http://freemusicarchive.org/. If you do use music from one of these websites, you need to credit the creator in your Podcast's description.

When you're happy with what music you've got, it's time to add it to the show and make any necessary edits.

1. Go to File > Import > Audio. Locate any music you want to use within your podcast, and click Open. The music will get dropped into Audacity as its own separate track.
2. Find the Selection Tool in the Audacity toolbar. (It looks like a typing cursor.)
3. Drag the Selection Tool over the section of music you’d like to use for your intro and outro music.
4. With that section of music currently selected, find the Trim Audio button on the Audacity toolbar and click it. You should be left with only the section of music you chose.
5. While that section of music is still selected, find the Copy button on the toolbar and click it (you can also use CTRL+C or Command+C).
6. On the same music track, click anywhere to the right of that music section. Then find the Paste button on the toolbar and click it (or CTRL+V or Command+V). You now have your intro and outro music, but it’s still not quite ready.
7. With the Selection Tool, select one of the music copies. Then go to Effect at the top and choose Fade Out. Do the same for the other music copy, but choose Fade In instead. Your intro and outro music is now ready to go.

 
6. How to edit out specific parts of your recording

Podcasts still need a certain amount of editing after you've recorded them. An average podcast can go on for an hour or two, and when recording for that amount of time you're bound to make the odd error. You might want to edit out swearing, or info that you didn't mean to share. This is easy enough to correct!

1. Find the section of audio that you need to cut.
2. Use the Selection Tool and highlight the entire section you want to remove.
3. Find the Cut button on the toolbar and click. Boom, it’s gone. (Alternatively, you could also use the Silence button.)
4. Remember the room tone you recorded earlier? You can copy a section of that and overlap it with the cut portion so you have a less-jarring silence.

Now you've got your intro/outro music ready, and the edits made, you're ready to make sure all your audio is lined up correctly. You can do this using the Time Shift Tool. It's one of the buttons above the drop-down menu we used earlier to select the microphone. It looks like two arrows pointing left and right, connected together. Click this, and then you can slide each individual audio recording in it's track. You might want to play around with this until everything lines up the way you want.

7. What to do if your audio sounds bad?

You might find that no matter what you try, the overall quality of your recording isn't good. Remember, you're only just starting out, and this isn't going to sound as good as a professional Podcast! That being said, there are a couple of tools at your disposal if you want to try and fix what you've already recorded. Mainly, you'll want to tweak your compression and EQ settings. This is entirely optional, and might be a bit daunting for a newbie Podcaster. 

8. Recording Skype calls for interviews/guests

You might also be considering having co-hosts, guests or interviews as part of your Podcast. Most commonly, people will use programs such as Skype for this. Audacity doesn't offer the ability to record Skype, but there are a couple of tools you can use to get around this. The most popular programs for this are MP3 Skype Recorder (http://voipcallrecording.com/) or Pamela (http://www.pamela.biz/en/products/). 

Once you've recorded the audio you want to use, import it into Audacity the same way you imported music earlier in this guide. Once you've imported the new audio, make sure to check and adjust the levels again so everything sounds okay.

9. Add tags and export your Podcast as an audio file.

Once you are finished, you'll want to export your finished Podcast as an MP3 file. You will also want to edit the metadata so you can add important tags such as the show's name, who created it, etc. Audacity let's you do this very easily.

1. Go to File > Export > Export as MP3.
2. Select MP3 Files in the ‘File type’ drop-down menu. Then name the file (your podcast name and the number of the episode, for example). Click Save.
3. Now you’ll see the Edit Metadata Tags window. Enter all of the necessary information. You can also add and remove sections as you see fit here.
4. Go down to the Template section and click Save. Save this template for future episodes so you don’t have to fill out most of this information ever again.
5. Click OK. Your MP3 should export and be ready for uploading.

10. Share your podcast!

Now you've exported the file, you most likely want to upload your Podcast somewhere to begin sharing it to an audience. Send you podcast to our Radio team and we will get it uploaded onto RebelEssex.com ready for our listeners to check out.

So that's it! There are many more things you can do to spread the word of your Podcast, such as getting added to a directory (Like Apple Podcasts), or getting more professional equipment to improve your production value. But for now you should be set and ready to get Podcasting!