Podcast Intros & Recording The Podcast

                Today's post, we are back to the topic of podcasting as I took almost a week off from it to cover other topics within the last week. But alas we are back, or I am back talking about podcasting. I want to focus today basically on Intros and recording the actual podcast. Now the intro I use a royalty free intro that has my voice over. You can find some on Google and if you really want to pay for one then that is fine. Trust me a proper intro really does help you out and gains some listeners. Plus it tells your listeners what you are listening to actually so that is always a plus when it comes to the intros to your podcast or podcasts depending if you have two on the go and I have noticed some host two different podcasts weekly. However an proper intro is helpful to have especially if you guys like a sponsor that you need to promote as a thank-you to them for sponsoring you or even if you are promoting a product that a company that paid you to promote and yes that is still in the realm of sponsorship but it is a great way to get it out there to your fan base to check out and buy. Now if you do not have a sponsorship and you own a website like me, you can promote your website on the intro like you guys all know and hear each and every week or in this case twice a week as of right now as my schedule depends on how many episodes I cover per week! 


                  The next part of today's post I would like to talk about is the recording process of a podcast and I know this is a very detailed blog post and that is the point behind this post really. So recording wise this is the part of the preparation for the podcast is making sure the sound is perfect next the intro track and the voice track is set up as you will need to have two tracks or record then add the intro track on the post production but we will get into that Sunday's blog post. Sound quality is the upmost important if you are doing audio only and if you are on video as well then of course video quality is important. No you do not need a fancy green screen like I have behind me which hardly has been used since I got it but that is not the point. The point is the quality is the most important thing of all whether it is audio only and video quality is good. The final point I would like to make is have your notes ready to go as that is a huge part of the production side of things so you know what you are going to talk about in each and every episode of your podcast. Content is very important and to make sure it is entertaining content so this way listeners will come back each every episode that you produce and post up. Also being consistent with a recording schedule is also upmost important. I will cover the editing and uploading part which will be the second last thing in this series before we wrap all of this up and move on with new posts down the road as well.



Chris

Different Platforms You Can Put The Podcast On

              This is one of my favorite posts to make within this series. So today's post we are going to talk about different platforms that your podcast can be on. Let's start with the basic platform where the source of your podcast come from. Mixcloud, Anchor, Libsync and the one my podcast "Everything About Reality TV" is on Podcast.com are all a good site but I recommend Anchor, Libsync and Podcasts.com. As you know the history of my podcast where it began to where it is to this very day it has changed forever rapidly fast and cannot believe how fast my podcasts grows and the more platforms you get on the more you will be noticed. Now it doesn't happen overnight but as you keep on producing more episodes the more the platform is getting noticed and trust me it took me more then 1 year to start being noticed. By 2018 is when things got on a roll for me finally. Yes I am referring to me covering Music City and Celebrity Big Brother which really helped grow the podcast even more. 


               Now the platforms I grew on from the main platforms were TuneIn which is a huge directory and no wonder it's grown rapidly on there since late 2016 when I added it to their directory which honestly was excited. Next on my list I expanded to Player FM, Castbox, ListenNotes, PodParadise, Google Podcasts, and also ITunes which came later as I wasn't sure on there. The second platform my podcast was on was called Stitcher which is another great platform and see a great amount of listeners as I check it this morning and more listeners then I had when I first started out on that platform back in 2016 which was the second platform I expanded to. Now those are some of the platforms my podcast is on I cannot remember them all but 13 to be exact I am currently on at the moment. However it takes time and I recommend to not rush expanding too fast I highly do recommend to take things slow at the start then slowly expect. Like the saying goes you can't rush greatness. Now video platform wise, if you want to put your podcast on YouTube I do not recommend it but if you want to with the adpocalypse and being demonetized then I respect your decision but you guys know my thoughts about the platform already. Now Twitch you can do a Talk Shows and Podcaster category and can stream it under there. There is also other platforms you can stream on as well but it would be too long of a post to actually list them all out but worth to even Google it.


                There are some of the platforms you can do you're podcasts and I have made a couple of recommendations but definitely highly recommend, Stitcher, ITunes, Player FM, Tunein.com, Podcasts.com but again but still Google it and research the platforms is probably the best way to do it and you will be definitely surprised the ones that you can put it on as I just added mine to a 14th platform that I found. See eventually you will end up where I am being over over a dozen of platforms which can be very overwhelming but totally rewarding especially in the end to watch your podcast grow over the years. Now like I said in yesterday's post, I am now taking a couple of days off from this topic and will return Tuesday back to normal to finish off this series then with other topics the rest of the week. Tomorrow I have a special post as I will be on location with my dad for a food review at an event along with the event itself too. 


Chris

Equipment For Podcasts- What Do You Need?

            Welcome to Day 2 of this mini series of Podcasting Help or tutorials. I am excited to be back to do another one of these for you guys and was a great turn out on the post yesterday so it is totally worth to continue this series. I was thinking about doing it every second day but decided to go day to day. Anyways today I am talking about equipment. 

1) Video and Audio ONLY: If You want to go on the video side of things, the equipment you probably need is: If you do not have a mixer a headset does work but still it is worth to invest in one, even a handheld on a stand itself can be the cheaper route for you guys to take. Also if you are streaming it live on YouTube, Twitch or any video platform a webcam is a must. You have to get yourself a decent one as the cheap ones were not the greatest as I know from experience but I got some quality cameras here in the studio now. Also for recording using Audacity is a great program, but there is other programs out there like Adobe Audition, however you can just Google it and see what there is out there. Finally for this part of today's post is the software you use for streaming your podcast live. Now there is a few programs that are very popular these days. First is OBS which is an open broadcast software and it is free compare to the other two you do have to buy a pro to get more features to where OBS is totally free. The link for this software is www.obsproject.com which I am not paid to promote their software but highly recommend this! Next is X-Split which I used for many years but the only issue is for the free version of the software you have only 4 scenes and I think some features are locked unless you get pro which I do not know as I haven't used that program in a very long time as I am more a OBS user now these days when I do or did stream. Finally is Wirecast which does cost a bunch to get and I wouldn't recommend it whatsoever.

2) Audio ONLY: For Audio ONLY all you need is Audacity or any audio recording program which I spoke about above, microphone or microphones depending if there is one or two of you for the podcast which my studio is setup for 2 mics right now at the moment. I highly recommend to even get a 70 - 100 dollar hand held like I said above even a stand that you can adjust. That is actually how it all began for me then a goose neck and the rest is history but that is a great way to start then as you go on then you can upgrade to a condenser like I have and like I have told you guys I have the handheld which is now on the second boom behind the second screen which is rarely used minus when guests of a certain collaboration podcast is over here talking up snow on me at the wrong time... haha. Anyways start small scale then you can build it up eventually. 


              Anyways that is the post for this morning, tomorrow we get into the beauty of the podcasting world with the different platforms and it will definitely will be an interesting as my podcast is on way to many platforms and I will cover em and what to do. I am excited to get to this portion of the podcast especially. Fair warning after tomorrow's post I am taking a few days off to cover different topics on here so it will be changing but Tuesday we will be back on this topic after a small break. 


Chris

Starting A Podcast, What You Need!

                This has been on the schedule, sorry the list for quite some time now and I want to talk about this to help you new podcasters out especially. I have been technically been podcasting almost 5 years now so now I wanna give back to you guys after the years I have been doing this. So today's topic out of several which mind you I do not know how many exactly, but it could be 3 - 5 at the most tops no more then that. If there is part of this I am missing please do feel free to contact me and I will cover it on the blog. Today's post is about starting a podcast which takes numerous steps to get done. 

1) Microphone/Web Cam- Microphone doesn't have to be as professional as mine Next up is a Web cam especially if you are on a video platform like Twitch or YouTube which I do not recommend YouTube as you know by the situation I went through with YouTube but a good web cam is recommended but I will get into that under equipment later.

2) Choice of Platform- There are so many different podcast platforms to where your RSS Feed comes from, Podcasts.com, Mixer, Anchor which Punk Rock Cheeseburger Podcast uses and yes I gave Rocky a shoutout there! lol. There is other platforms you can put your podcasts on from submitting You're Podcast which will be in this blog series, but not sure. I want to do different platforms you're podcast can be on and think that will be tomorrow actually where I will cover that. 

3) Program- You will need a recording software to record which is key to recording and again that will be under equipment post later on when I actually do that nut it is key to recording a podcast even if you stay Audio ONLY like I have been doing for the past 2.5 years now soon to be 3 years. 

4) Subject/Theme/Topic- Finally you need a subject/theme or Topic. For example for me as you know, I talk Reality TV each and every week and also as you know occasionally the Power Rangers Podcast. That is kind of what I mean is to have an topic or subject and best to try staying on the same topic week but if you wanna just go off the cuff that is good too. 


                     There is what you need to start a podcast and I know it is quite a list and I cover most of what you need and I will talk about the equipment you need and that is actually tomorrow's blog post is about is the actual equipment part as I tried to be short on my points that I made as some of them I will be covering tomorrow. However it is upmost important to have these 4 items in order for a successful podcast and of course its common sense that you need these things honestly if you wanna succeed in the world of podcasting which has become a really big thing these days. 



Chris