“What do I need to get into the podcasting game?” Do I need an audio mixer? Or will a computer microphone be sufficient enough?
You search on the Internet and you will get endless results of what items you need to start your podcast. However, this shouldn’t stop you from getting started with podcasting. Yet, the truth is there are still bare essentials that you must have to start a podcast.
Now, there are few people who would way too much time researching on what equipment to use to start your podcast and never take action while there may be others who would just buy the best equipment available without doing enough research.
The disadvantage of a former group of people is that you tend to waste too much time in researching while your main task should be to just record the podcast and put it out there in the world. When I started my podcast, The Anuj Kapoor Talk Show, I didn’t really buy any podcasting gear. Now, you must be asking yourself, “What is the bare minimum thing I would need?”
Well, in simple terms, you just need a smartphone or a computer to start your podcast. That is all you need. You can either record your podcast on your laptop/desktop or you can even record it from your smartphone itself. Also, you will need a computer or a smartphone to record and upload your audio files.
But, once you get started with the first few episodes then you would need to buy some equipment for your podcast. However, you don’t want to go too far in another direction otherwise you could buy the wrong thing or you could get an equipment that may not work for your requirements. Also, you may even end up wasting your money buying the wrong equipment.
In this blog post, I’ll list the four essential things that you require if you want to start a podcast.
The podcast equipment…
Microphone
You will need a microphone if you need to start a podcast, as you cannot use the built-in microphone of your smartphone or computer. You can either go with your regular microphones or buy microphones that are suited best for podcasting.
There are various microphones available in the marketplace depending on how much you can invest your money.
Microphones come in different categories, such as condenser microphones like Blue Yeti Pro and Rode Broadcaster and lavalier microphones like BOYA BY-M1DM Dual Lavalier Universal Microphone.
Along with a microphone, it is also a good idea to purchase a pop filter that consists of a little foam sock and it will help to filter out the plosives from your voice when you’re speaking. Plosive is a sound that comes when you say a word with a p sound. A pop filter can be one of the useful accessories in your list of equipment for your podcasts. Without a pop filter, it can cause many problems as the plosives can cause distortions in the audio. Also, a pop filter will generally make your podcast sound more professional.
Headphones
A way to record and edit your show
While it is important to have gear for your podcasts, you also need an audio editing software where you can edit your episodes.
There are plenty of options available that are both standalone and cloud-based. Some of the examples of best audio editing software are Audacity, Adobe Audition, Zencastr, and Cast.
Podcast Host
So, you’ve recorded and edited your episodes. You’ve exported your episodes into MP3 format using the audio editing software. What next?
The next thing you need a space where you can house your episodes. And, you can do this using a podcast host. There are various podcast hosts available like Libsyn and Buzzsprout. All of the podcast hosts provide a bunch of features depending on your preference. When you’re making a decision to choose a host, you need to look at the features they offer and think about where you want your podcast in the next six months or one year or even five years.
Also, if you’re looking for free podcast hosts like Anchor.fm then you make sure that you read their terms and conditions thoroughly. But, if you are just starting fresh then my recommendation will be to use a free podcast host and then when your podcast grows then you can switch to a paid one.
Got a burning podcasting question you’d like answered? Send me an email.