Anyone can start a podcast. But the only people that should start a podcast are those people that have opinions. No one wants to listen to someone who has nothing to say. The crazier your theories and beliefs, the better. So you have a bunch of wack theories and comments you can't keep to yourself. But how does someone start a podcast? What do I need to launch a podcast? Also what is a podcast?

Podcast Basics

Before you can start a podcast, you need to know what it is that you're actually doing. A quick Google search will yield the definition of a podcast. To summarize it's an mp3 file that you make available to anyone that wants to listen to your rants. You record yourself talking, you send that file to the cloud, and then people download it out of the sky.

How to Start a Podcast

Follow these simple steps and you'll be broadcasting your unfiltered chatter in no time!

Podcast Gear

You'll need to record yourself rattling off your nonsense so you'll have an mp3 to send people. Which gear to use is tough call. My advice is to just use your phone. If you really want to splooge, then pick up a Zoom H4N. Podcast listeners actually enjoy terrible audio. It will make your show appear more intimate and real. With NPR quality audio, you would need NPR quality content. And we all know that your thoughts on the Illuminati, although original, are not radio worthy.

Podcast Hosting

Once you take your thoughts in the shower and record them out loud, it's time to send it to the cloud. There are a bunch of hosting options available to podcasters. We recommend Blubrry and Libsyn. There prices are similar and they are the two big wigs in town. At Full Belly Laughs, we love WordPress (this is a WP site). Blubrry has a sweet plugin for WordPress sites, so we use them. But Libsyn has some dope bennies too. They are the only host on Spotify right now, which is lit. At the end of the day it really doesn't matter. Just pick one.

Make Your Podcast Available

After your recording makes it to the heavens, you need to make it available for civilians. If you use a legit host, they will have documentation to help you make your show available. After a few clicks your show will be on iTunes no problem, and by default available to Android users. Most Android apps (Podcast Addict, Podcast Republic, etc.) depend on iTunes listings. If your show is with Apple, then pretty much everyone can hear your rants. Once your show appears in iTunes, you should make the rounds and add your link to podcast directories. I have no clue who actually uses these things to find shows, but it can't hurt. Every other faux expert with good SEO is going to tell you the same thing. Whether or not you actually do it is your prerogative.

Make It Free to Me

Also most podcasts are free, and your show should be free too. The whole point of this project is to make your voice heard, so don't hide it behind a paywall.

Guaranteed to Work

The reason any yahoo comments on the internet is because they just need to let people know their opinion. It's what makes the social media news feed turn. Recording your own podcast will feel like the moment a coffee drinker discovers espresso. It's that eureka moment of "Oh okay. I could see doing crack-cocaine." Think about all the looney tunes on talk radio. Political pundits, sports analysts, and professional journalists spout out their opinion on the daily. Now you can too, but without the constraints of the FCC. The feeling is glorious. It's like the moment you realized in your first apartment that you can walk around nude, or never do the dishes. Your way of the world is in "can't stop, won't stop" mode when you start recording a pod.

Success Story

If you need more than my invalid opinion, then listen to some podcasts that will prove your point. Ignore shows with quality audio and legit journalism. So Serial is out. Actually don't touch anything NPR. But any podcast network that has 1-4 shows recorded over Skype are perfect. They will inspire you to create content no one actually needs, but your disciples will love. The best podcast to listen to would be the Rooster Teeth podcast. The original name was The Drunk Tank, because it was hammered dudes chatting video games. Now they have less drinks and more coverage of pop culture. These guys are famous because they dubbed new audio over screen recording of Halo (an Xbox game). Their show is perfect, because it serves a market segment. There are gamers out there that want to hear other gamers cry about things that don't matter. If that isn't inspiration to do your own show, then I don't know what is. You too can talk about anything with no real authority on the subject. Because at the end of the day your fans just want to hear you. And that's why you started in the first place.

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