I’m not sure if any of you have noticed, but the world of online audio and content production is BOOMING.
More and more people are becoming Voice Actors, Audiobook Readers, Podcasters, Cartoonists, Authors, Writers, and Independent Content producers (YouTubers, TikTokers, Instagramers, and Bloggers). People are waking up to the fact that with technology as it is today it is becoming more and more possible to make a living with nothing but a computer and a microphone, and not only that, but do it from ANYWHERE in the world.
Perhaps you are one of these people, searching things in the vein of “how to be a podcaster”, “how to start reading audio books”, “what equipment do I need to have to start my own YouTube channel”. If so, kudos to you for having the initiative to do the research and I wish you luck if you decide that it is what you would like to do– in this article I plan to give you some tips to get you started on your way. This article will concern itself with the what you need, rather than the how to do it.
Alternatively you may be someone who has never thought about it before or at least didn’t really humor the thought. If so, I invite you, if you’re interested, to take a peek and check out the information I’m presenting here. By the end of the article you be inspired to drive down this road yourself or at the very least learn a little bit about what’s on the other side of content that you consume and know that if the opportunity ever presents itself, you will know how to head that direction.
What it takes to become a podcaster.
It takes a few things to become a podcaster:
– You
– A voice
– Content to read or talk about
– Equipment (+environment)
– A few programs
– Listeners
I’m going to tell you about each one of these and how to assemble everything from the ground up so that you can know exactly what you need to get going AND how to be successful in your venture. I’m going to start from the very beginning because I don’t know what everyone’s level of knowledge that will read this article. If you know some of this already, I’m sorry for the repetition and please bear with me while I lay out some groundwork for those who need it. And if you’re looking for a more in-depth article or something more advanced, please feel to reach out and request what you’re looking for and perhaps I will write a future article about that.
The first thing we need is obvious, it’s YOU
You are a requirement, there would be no podcast without you after all. I realize you may feel this to be redundant or goes without saying, but I do have a reason from starting all the way with you first.
Not everyone is necessarily ready to be a podcaster, before you go down a road you should always first make sure that you are prepared. As such, before becoming a podcaster we must take inventory of ourselves to make sure that we are ready for such a campaign. There are a only really a few things that are required that if you have or develop, you will have a much easier time and increases your chances of bearing fruit. The first thing you need is:
A reason
You must have a reason for wanting to become a podcaster, what is it? Why would you like to become a podcaster? Is it for fun? Would you like to be famous? Are you trying to supplement your income or escape the 9-5? Maybe you would like to spread valuable information from yourself or others out into the world?
It doesn’t matter your reason, it just needs to be a good one that you can stand behind. You can have whatever reason you want. All of the reasons listed above are good ones and if it’s not one of those I’m sure you will come up with a reason that you find to be acceptable. Find your reason, if you do not have a good reason for wanting to be a podcaster then now is not the time. It’s ok if you’re not able to find a reason to get behind it immediately, this is a big commitment and it sometimes takes time to think about.
A willingness to learn
Chances are, if you’re just getting started, then everything involved in the production of a podcast is alien to you. There are a few different schools of skills involved in creating a podcast and it’s possible that everything could seem very out of your waters or very intimidating. Let me assure you, doing any production of audio is NOT difficult. It may be very technical or something you have never had much (if any) experience with before BUT with a little patience and a willingness to learn I PROMISE that YOU or ANYONE possess the capabilities to get a proper handle on everything and be successful regardless of your background knowledge/experience at this time.
Patience
I’d like to reiterate patience. See, there are plenty of people out there who expect/require instant gratification and on the off chance that you are one of them, I would like you to know that this process and everything involved may not come to you overnight.
Most people don’t realize the technicalities involved with the equipment or how much work is truly involved in writing/reading/acting. There is a lot to it really, I’m going to do my best to break everything down here, but reading about something is one thing and actually doing it is another. Like anything else however, with enough time and patience with yourself to not give up you will have the hang of things before you even know it.
Do you have a voice?
Statistically 8 in 10,000 people in the world are mute (I couldn’t find a credible citeable source, but I found this answer. If anyone has an official source on the estimation of mute in the world, I would appreciate it if you could please point me to it). If 8 in 10,000 people in the world are mute, that equals out to roughly 6,240,000 which is .08% of the population in this estimation. So odds are, you have a voice.
What kind of voice do you have?
You need to take stock of your voice. How do you speak? Do you have an impediment? Are you a mumbler or do you pronounce things well? Have an accent? Is your speed fast or slow? Has anyone ever complimented you on your voice?
So long as your voice is understandable that is really all you need. Depending on your voice though, you may be better suited for some genres more than others. If you are reading non-fiction, it likely doesn’t matter what your voice sounds like as those things are purely information unless they’re an auto-biography; whereas if you were reading fiction, you would need to act and possess more emotive qualities.
To understand what I mean, just think of some famous voices. There’s a reason Morgan Freeman had so many gigs as a narrator and it wasn’t Gilbert Godfrey instead. And of course we all know that famous movie trailer voice– “In a world….”
Give yourself a listen
Use recorder app on your phone and record yourself reading something you think you would like to read aloud. Listen back, think about how you sound, the impression you give off. Depending on what you’re reading, your voice may change. Is it suited to what you would like to be doing? How do you feel when you listen to it? Record yourself reading something and listen back one a week, if not once a day, and experiment with the sounds you can make. You can deepen/lighten/adjust your voice as needed.
Due to the nature of always having their voice come from the inside, some people don’t think about how they sound when they speak to the world. Upon hearing your voice form an external source like a video/voicemail, you’ve likely said, “Wait what? Is that what I really sound like?” This is because you never really hear your voice out in the world as others hear it. Your voice goes directly from within you, through the air, and then into the listeners ears; what you hear, on the other-hand, is your voice stemming from within you and due to our physicality these vibrations travel through yourself to the inside of your eardrum and makes your voice sound deeper to yourself than it actually is. Low frequency waves penetrate solid matter easier than higher frequency waves so more low frequencies are able to reach your ear by being able to travel easily through your body.
So your voice doesn’t sound like how you think, but you can make it sound like whatever you want
If you actually record and play yourself back you will know what you sound like when you speak and you will be able to adjust yourself accordingly to have the sound that you would actually like to be heard as. The more you are able to manipulate your voice in different ways, the more range you’ll have as a performer as well– you can’t have too many options, well you can, but definitely not where it concerns increasing the number of opportunities to make money if that is your aim.
What kind of voice would you use on your podcast? You should give that a good think and you should practice when you have the time. Do you think any of the great speakers of the world worth listening to didn’t practice and figure out the best way to use their voice? Do your listeners the respect of practicing how you speak so they don’t have to struggle to understand you. Many many people searching youtube would rather watch a grainy video with better sound vs one with 4k video with horrible sound– what does this tell you about what people like to listen to? Things that sound GOOD! I’m not saying you have a bad voice, I’m saying you can shape it however you like! Unless you had some reason to think about how your voice sounds by being involved in things such as choir, public speaking, customer service, sales, religious people, lawyers, radio DJ.. all of the jobs where how you sound affects you or maybe you were inspired by famous people who played your ideal character and you wanted to emulate them, there could be other reasons but I feel that’s enough for now. Sorry for that run-on sentence there, but it had to be done.
Content to read or talk about
Alright so you’ve got the you that can do it and you’ve put in the time to develop a voice of a angel, it’s time to decide what you’re going to do. I’m going to continue to type this in the singular, however before I do I must note: It’s possible that your podcast (or whatever content you produce) that you will produce it with others, make sure they all have this knowledge and are at their peak. If everyone is knowledgeable and practiced, it will make the show, all the greater.
What are you going to read/talk about?
It’s possible that you may already know what you want to read or talk about; perhaps it’s a part of your reason that you were supposed to come up with. If so, skip ahead; if not, here we go!
So you have two options when you’re deciding what you’re going to read/talk about:
- Read/talk about something you create/write/come up with
- Read/talk about something someone else has create/write/come up with
I’m going to expand briefly, hopefully, on each one.
Coming up with things to read or talk about
If you’re trying to birth content into the world yourself this means, if you haven’t already, you’re going to have to spend some time creating it. No matter what it is you’re making you should at the very least, have some bullet points of a rough outline of what each work is going to attempt to convey to your listeners.
That being said, more than likely someone else has already done what you are attempting to do, you are not the first person to think of doing what you’re doing. This is not meant to discourage you and say there is nothing that you can contribute to the world. I mean it to be encouraging in the fact that someone has likely already done what you would like to do and found some level of success. Meaning, you can find them, see what they’ve done, and emulate it– not merely making a copy of it, but also seeing where they could have done better and improving it and find more success than they did in way less time since you’re not building something from scratch. Let’s say you found someone who tried doing a similar thing as you would like to do and crashed and burned– well this is still a good thing, you can learn what NOT to do from them.
If you’re producing your own content, it would be helpful to you to go find others who are making similar content such as that you would like to make and absorbing as much of it as you can. You can’t create from nothing, you need to have to have some sort of inspiration that your own unique ideas will spring off of. If you are actively paying attention to the content that you’re absorbing you won’t just absorb the information therein, you will absorb the information throughout. Let me elaborate.
I made very sure to say “actively paying attention” and not just “paying attention”. “Paying attention” is when you are absorbing the content and downloading the information being presented by the person and that’s it unless something sticks out to you (if you can even focus on that entirely, most people allow their minds to wander when listening to things overtime). Whereas “actively paying attention” is not just consuming the information being presented, but also paying mind to how the information is being presented. This takes a lot of focus, if you’re playing merry-go-round in your head you are not “actively paying attention”.
So be actively paying attention
In other words, you need to be present in the moment and pay mind (heh, every thought about this expression? Paying mind. Are you paying the originator of the content with your mind, paying your own mind with information, or both?) to the WHOLE presentation.
How is the information being presented? What kind of words/tone/voice/speed are they using? If you can see them, what are they wearing? What is the structure of the presentation? If comments are available, what are people saying about it?
Now, don’t feel like you need to memorize all of the things happening in front of you, just keep greater focus than you would otherwise. Here’s a nice surprise about your brain, even if you are not consciously paying attention to all, YOUR BRAIN IS. Your brain still absorbs the information subliminally, you cannot turn off any range of the signals being constantly streamed into your brain, they are ALWAYS still perceived. You’re able to just direct your attention to one specific thing and let all of the other informational signals flow by you, but again, they’re still absorbed.
How do you know when you’re listening to a bad speaker or TV show? Well you can surely name various things, but the crux of it is: you’ve seen good and bad TV. Even if you can’t put your finger on or explicitly say what exactly is bad about it, you know what good TV is and you know what bad TV is.
If you really took the time you could analyze a good TV show and a bad TV show in a Venn diagram then when you were finished you would have a shopping list of how to make a good or bad TV show; with a shopping list, you know what you need to get from the store to make a complete and satisfying dinner. 😋
So if you’d like to become an Audiobook Narrator, you should listen to audiobook after audiobook. Eventually, between them all, you will just know what a good audiobook sounds like without even having to say it. This applies to all professions.
The next thing you need to do is promote an environment conducive to the growth and development of ideas.
You’re going to have to be writing. When’s the last time you wrote something that wasn’t a facebook tirade or because you were forced to in school? It may have been a bit, or maybe you’re fortunate enough to write regularly for one reason or another. If it’s the latter, you’re in a good place. If you haven’t written in awhile then you’d better psyche yourself up because if you don’t write regularly you may not be mentally prepared for all of the work that it takes to actually produce something worthy of the world.
Set yourself up with a daily journal, that’s a really great place to start. The more you write, the better you get. Read books about writing to learn about writing while learning how to write. Get an every day carry (EDC) notepad and pen and keep your notes app as well as your voice recorder in an easily accessible place on your phone; you never know when inspiration may strike and ideas one has are quick to drift off if you don’t catch them. You could even wake up from a dream with a million dollar idea for your next endeavor so keep these things by you when you sleep. Get in the hang of it by writing something down when you need to remember it, eventually you’ll build the habit of pulling out the journal/notebook when you need it. I am also a BIG fan of sticky notes on my workstation and in very visible places where I can see them so these ideas/notes stay at the forefront of my mind and aren’t able to get lost in/over time.
Sit down and don’t know what the write? Write everything down when you are inspired, you may not use all of the ideas you come up with but there is no such thing as a bad idea. Maybe you don’t necessarily believe that, well at the very least you can come up with a good handful of ideas and ditch the bad ones. Don’t get caught up on trying to come up with a good idea. Just let all of the ideas flow through and filter out the gold from the gold like an old prospector.
It is also easy for one to write about things that they’re interested in. I’m sure you have many thoughts that you can share about certain things, and some on things have never ending thoughts. You could be an expert in something, have certain skills or points of views on things. What’s something that you learned that may help someone else going through the same thing or that people may like to know?– Can you add to that idea? If you were to write a book to your younger-self, what would it say?
How do you find ideas written by someone else?
If you’re not writing your own ideas, then you will be reading somebody else’s. Some people just need a nice voice for something and your voice could very well be one that suits what they’re looking for.
If you’re reading someone else’s work, it’s likely that you’re getting paid for it. You can’t just read someone else’s work and present it, especially when it’s copyrighted material (the only exception being works in the public domain).
There are lots of options available to you to find something that you could read. If you’re looking to make money, you can read for acx.com, or answer/post ads on sites such as Voices.com, Upwork or Fiverr. You could also reach out to casting directors but I don’t advise this unless you have a job out of the 9-5 jive with flexibility during those working hours. In this type of work the client will likely want to direct you creatively and do many takes with a recording studio; this work happens during the normal working hours and unless your voice is truly special, the people seeking talent will likely go with someone who has the better schedule.
If you want people to find you you’ll need profiles on each of these sites and it would be helpful to have your own website. You should really own a website with your own name anyway, don’t let someone else buy it. There’s not really any excuse for not doing it these days when it is cheaper than ever to own a website. You can learn how to build a website yourself, or there are plenty of services these days that will build it for you for a fee.
Figure out what you’re going to read/talk about and you’ve got everything you need to start seriously looking at your recording set-up
The Environment
We have to start here. People don’t really pay too much mind to this when they first get started unless it’s suggested. They usually get going extemporaneously and consider the environment after some time rather than from the beginning.
You’re recording your voice right? That is really all you really want to capture and put out there, any extraneous noises are unwanted as they are only going to serve as a distraction to the listener.
So let’s think about recording our voice. What is that anyway? Well it’s audio waves at its core. Ok cool, so what do audio waves do? They bounce around. Since they bounce around, as you speak your microphone will capture your voice as well as the reflections of it from off of the walls (depending on your microphone). This is known as reverberation. We do not want to capture this reverberation because it will make your voice more difficult to understand.
So for your recording environment, you will want to be mindful and choose a room that has as few hard surfaces as possible (preferably without windows which allow in outside noise) as hard surfaces are what reflect audio waves. Where possible, cover up these surfaces with an absorbent non-reflective material such as a bookshelf, blankets, rugs, and whatnot. There are plenty of companies that make different acoustic panels for varying budgets if you’d like to splurge or there are also many DIY options out there.
Maybe it would be best to record in your closet? And a smaller room would be easier to deaden (cover up hard surfaces) than a large one.
The equipment
You’re going to need at least one piece of hardware to get started but I’m going to give you the full list of what I would advise for the most minimum set-up while maintaining the highest quality; anything in here that’s optional will be marked as such. If anyone is interested in higher quality set-ups, just let me know.
Where to source the equipment
So I’m going to suggest equipment below but not offer any links as to where you should purchase them. A quick google search of any of these products will take you to a place you can get them. If you’d like a couple of suggestions to dealers of this equipment I would suggest B&H or Sweetwater. Those are my go-to’s and probably the biggest players out there (Sweetwater gives you some candy in your order ;)). I would say Sweetwater has the better customer service as you have a designated Engineer that can help you with finding the right piece of equipment or helping you with some you may have bought.
Alternatively, you can buy from Guitar Center or Amazon, but I don’t particularly like those businesses myself and try to avoid them unless it’s a matter of speed/convenience. Notice how I don’t link them here for easy access for you ha!
The microphone
So, if you’re just getting started you’re probably not looking to break the bank. I’m going to give you a couple options. One of these options will be the only piece of equipment that you will need if you’re looking for the absolute most minimal set-up there is.
You’re probably gonna want a USB microphone
These microphones are simply plug and play since they hook directly up to your computer with no additional hardware needed. There are many options for USB microphones that vary in prices that can fit any budget. I’d rather not suggest you the cheapest equipment, I’d rather suggest you the best equipment with the highest value for its price. In other words, I’m suggesting microphones that are tried and true and capture high-quality sound that shouldn’t break the bank. Like I said above, people would rather watch a 480p (low resolution) video with good sound than a 4k video (high resolution) video with low-quality sound.
Option 1: Any USB microphone from Blue Microphones
Blue microphones are AMAZING. A truly great brand out of Westlake Village, California. If you’re someone that buys from USA based companies that treat their employees well (so I hear), then this is the shop for you! Almost all of their microphones are USB mics except for the “Pro Series” so just go to their homepage and browse around for the one that best suits the type of work that you’ll be doing, and how much you would like to invest in yourself (your budget)
Option 2: The Rode NT USB Microphone
This one is an industry standard. Rode is a company that makes some very reliable professional microphones. They are always a great investment. There’s really not much to say, it’s a high-quality microphone that does the job well.
Option 3 – Dynamic Microphones
Without getting too into the technical details, if you live in a noisy area, your home can be noisy for whatever reason, or you’re not able to really deaden your environment from your vocal reflections, you’re doing to want to take a look at dynamic microphones. There are a few types of microphones (here’s a slideshow if you want to learn more) and the short if it dynamic microphones are better for these types of situations because of how they work. They respond to the act of the physical vibrations with no extra help. There are microphones that take +48V power (usually condenser mics) to be more crisp and precise, but those are actually detrimental to the situation if they’re picking up all the sounds of the room easily. We’re looking to conly capture your voice.
Pretty plumbs blunder by the bay-side, a positively peculiar promenade
I didn’t just rhyme for no reason. I didn’t rhyme at all actually, did you go back up to check again? hehe
So I want to recommend the next product that would be beneficial to your set up. It’s what’s called a pop filter. The short of it is, it’s better for you to speak closer to the mic. However, in our speech, humans use what’s called a plosive when they speak. These are the things such as “puhs” like “parties” or “buhs” as in “barley”. They’re called plosives because they are the more forceful part of speech. This plosives smack the diaphragm (thing that captures the sound) with force, causing distortion in the sound and really distracts from the recording.
Pop filters will intercept that blast from the plosives and save your recording from these detrimental bursts of air.
You can get pop filters at any audio/video/music store or you can make your own.
Pop filters are optional, so it’s up to you if you’d like one, I promise it’ll help with the sound. it allows you to get closer in proximity to the microphone for better audio capture. You could sit farther away from the mic or set the mic to avoid catching your plosives as much but both of these would also require you to project your voice more.
One more upgrade to your sound quality.
Another optional addition to your set-up is a microphone isolation shield. Microphone isolation offer further protection from reflecting waves and improves your recording. They make some that sit on tables or you can get some sort of mic stand. I find these to be an investment that I can’t justify myself, but if you think you may need it (maybe you can’t deaden your space so well) then you may as well grab it. It will help with the sound so it’s not like it’s a waste of money.
Here’s an optional slightly advanced additional piece of equipment
It’s possible you’d like to have a bit more pro set-up and have picked more of a professional microphone for yourself. Pro microphones often use an XLR connector rather than a USB connector. If this is the case you’ll need what’s called an audio interface. An audio interface interprets the signal from the microphone and translates it to where the computer can understand the audio signal being reported by the microphone.
There are plenty of interfaces spanning the web and they can definitely cost quite a lot of dinero but there are a couple of options I can suggest for you. An interface is an optional piece of equipment if you are going the USB mic route, but they are mandatory if your mic has an XLR connector.
Option #1 – Anything by Focusrite
Focusrite was originally founded by Rupert Neve who basically is one of the pioneers of professional audio equipment. While he separated from the company at one point, they are still a phenomenal company.
The Scarlett Solo is probably all you need. But if you’re planning to record more than your voice, you should look at their USB interface selection to see what’s right for you. You can find various bundles with the Focusrite interfaces that may include a pop filter, mic stand, and headphones– it may be something to consider for you.
Option #2 – One of the Zoom Recorders
I suggest this option because if you choose one of the handy recorders, then you also now have a portable high quality professional microphone/recorder combo that you can reach for instantly with no setup for those thoughts/ideas that just can’t wait. If I were going to suggest one to start out solo with, it would be the Zoom H4n, it’s got what you need. If you’re starting a bigger podcast with a bunch of people or are curious you may look around at their other products; you may find one that better suits your needs.
Option #3 – A Professional Mic attachment for your phone.
It’s possible that you may not have a computer but would like to get started recording things anyway since if you don’t have a computer, you certainly have a phone as this content is only available digitally at the moment.
It’s truly amazing what technology is capable these days. All anyone needs to do to capture high quality sound is a phone. You can podcast from ANYWHERE.
So, if you think a mic attachment for your phone suits your style or would be convenient to have then there is what I would suggest:
The Rode VideoMic Me-L (iphones) / Rode VideoMic Me (standard phone audiojack) / Rode Vlogger Kit USB-C Edition (USB-C)
I don’t personally trust a lot of the microphones out there and I don’t have a bunch of money to spend on audio equipment, I’ve got those bills to pay. I figure investing in good names is a great way to avoid buying a cheap microphone that just needs to be upgraded/replaced later.
Rode is that good name. They’ve been in the audio community for a long time, I’ve used these personally and they were/are great. I see no need to go buying anything else unless you’re interested in wireless or lapel recording. You can check out all of their mic options here.
If you have the ability to invest, I would advise one of the Vlogger Kits if possible. Maybe you can ditch the camera if you’re not interested in video, but go find a phone tripod somewhere. Often when people record into phones they can’t hold it still, especially when dividing their attention between that and talking. This will also prevent hand jostling the phone around in your recording noise that could potentially ruin your recording.
Bonus option for you folks out there who want to do things quick, dirty, and cheap:
Any wired headphones with a microphone.
If you’re not looking to invest a lot of money initially but just test the waters out initially, the quality of mics on wired headphones really aren’t soooo bad. Notice I say “wired” headphones. A lot of the wireless headphones such as the Apple Airpods Pro 2 have active noise cancellation that you can’t bypass. This may sound like a good thing, and it is for when you’re talking on the phone, but it’s not good for what you’re looking for. It will just degrade the quality of your audio and make it harder to listen to. If you’ve got something you want to say, you’re gonna wanna make sure you’re intelligible.
So, if that’s what you’re gonna do I would advise sticking with good brand names because they don’t skimp out on quality. The Apple wired headphones are like $15 bucks (avoid the Chinese knockoffs) and work marvelously well, Bose is probably good, Samsung, you get the gist.
I would also advise you to hold the mic next to your mouth and not let it hang down, don’t play with the wire either, the vibration will travel down the chord and into the mic. Only downside here in using a wired headphone mic is that if you’re on video it could be distracting potentially.
This is a perfectly doable setup for someone looking to do the absolute minimum investment to test the waters before jumping in fully. I will say, if you go this route, make sure to keep up the habit. It’s so easy, because you didn’t really invest in this venture, for you to fall off of the boat that’s headed where you want to go.
If you go this route it’s easier to say, “eh, I just invested like $50 into a pair of good headphones and a tripod. I can do that whenever” then you are less likely to make the time for it (especially if you are not someone trained in proper discipline) and make it to where you said you would’ve liked to go; another failed venture for the books, but hey, at least you tried right? OOOORRRRR you could invest a little bit for a set up and have the mindset of, “I invested this equipment into myself, I need to use it. I spent money on myself because I believe that I can do it, I can’t not use it and let it go to waste.”
Obviously your financial situation comes into account here and affects your equipment capabilities so if that if your decision in doing what you do, there is no need to feel guilty about not being able to invest more. Proceed and be confident in yourself saying, “This is just the start, one step at a time and before you know it, I’ll have all that other stuff too.”
Headphones
Truthfully, you’re probably good to use any wired headphones (don’t use bluetooth, it will create lag/latency) you’ve got laying around. So use those unless you’d like to look into upgrading. It would certainly be helpful to have a dedicated pair of headphones that allow you to hear what you sound like accurately.
Avoid any headphones touted for music. These ones are adjusted to music and are optimized to reproduce music the best, not the work that you’re doing. It’s going to distort what your voice actually sounds like within the audio files you create. Here are some options for headphones:
Option #1 – Audio Technica ATHM40x ($100)
Audio Technica has headphones ranging all over the spectrum and are a great entry-level option for the price. They also have some cheaper models that may be better for fitting your budget.
Option #2 – AKG K240 Studio ($69)
AKG is a worthy contender to Audio Technica, and really they make some high-quality stuff. There higher up the scale, the more money it costs of course. The AKG K240 Studio is fine for getting started. Personally, if you’re able to, I’d recommend the K712 Pro model, but I understand that’s likely not able to fit into everyone’s budget if they’re just starting out. You can view all of their options here.
Option #3 – Sennheiser HD280PRO ($100)
Sennheiser is a worthy name in the audio community and is usually reserved for the pros. This is a lovely entry-level pair of headphones for a very fair price.
Option #4 – Sony MDR-7506 ($130)
Their page on Sony’s website could definitely use a re-vamp, but don’t let that deter you. These are a professional studio standard and one of my personal favorites due to their weight and collapsablility; allowing for extended periods of wear as well as convenient storage capabilities. They also are quite durable and last for a long time. These would be an investment well made.
Option #5 – The Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO ($160)
I personally use the Beyerdynamic DT 880 PRO as my choice of headphones, they’re a slight variation with a semi-open back design. The 880s are better suited for the type of work that I do as an audio-post engineer. I wouldn’t advise them for one recording content but rather editing content as they allow for less ear fatigue than a closed back design.
But anyway, yes, I use the same thing but slightly different. These things are also like pillows, so comfortable on your ears and an very high-quality choice common among the pros. Highly recommend!
Once you’ve got your headphones, it’s time to get closer to the nitty gritty control station.
A computer/phone
So we’ve already discussed the majority of the phone conversation above, there’s not much more to say here.
I also feel that having a computer is obvious. Just a friendly reminder that the power of your computer will affect the quality of work you can do.
Also as you record, you will begin to generate files, KEEP YOUR FILES ORGANIZED, and if possible HAVE A BACKUP.
You never know when your computer will go kaput. You people should have backups of your computer regardless of whether you’re recording or not. Memory and external hard drives are SO CHEAP these days, you don’t need anything fancy and if you don’t work in a field that requires a lot of the work to be on the computer then you probably don’t need much memory at all (which if you do work in a field that requires a lot of the work to be on a computer, I’m sure you already have a backup for your comp, right? RIGHT?? lol)
Anyway, I’ll get off of my soapbox now. *cough* I hope you back up your phone regularly too *cough*
Be mindful of the connectors that the mics have, you want something that will work easily with your computer. Don’t buy a USB mic if you have USB-C ports on your comp for example. If you do, you’re going to have to buy a usb port, which isn’t necessarily so bad and shouldn’t introduce problems, but a good rule-of-thumb is to never introduce adapters into the equation if you don’t have to.
PRO TIP: As an professional within the creative industries it is my obligation to tell you that the standard computer in the creative industry is a Macintosh. If you are not entirely anti-Apple then I advise you to invest, if you haven’t already, in a Macintosh for your creative endeavors. I realize they present a hefty price point, but it will just make your life easier. There is nothing wrong with rocking a PC, there’s no reason you can’t get the job done with them, but throughout my (and others) journey through the industry, they often pose complicated problems. Macintoshes are just so easy to plug-and-play and work so well. A great thing about Macintoshes is that they usually work the same way for YEARS! I am currently still touting a 2013 model mackbook pro that I got for $500 on craigslist in 2013, consider buying used if budget is a concern in your podcast setup.
The phone recording programs
I’m going to start with phone reocrding programs first. You should definitely download a different voice recorder app than the one that is native on your phone. You can use the one that comes on your phone but it is likely set to record on the lowest quality to save space on your phone. You can turn the quality settings up, but sometimes they can only go so high. Apple phones, for example, only record formats that use compression; theoretically this compression is unperceivable to the human ear (or at least the average Tim & X Æ A-Xii), but it’s still happening and with enough ear-training/attention one can detect the difference, and this difference is always there, people perceive it subliminally if not consciously.
I don’t really use these, so just type in “pro recorder” (you will find many free ones and some for a very small fee) or something like that in your app store and make sure it can record at minimum 44.1kHz sample rate and 16 bit depth in an .AIFF or .WAV aduio file format. Some places ask that you record at 48kHz and 24bit, but this is really not mandatory. The human ear can only hear 20Hz – 20kHz in the audio frequency range (which degrades as you age/tread your ears poorly) which is covered in the 44.1kHz range according to the Nyquist rate.
Sooo teeeechnically you don’t need a 48kHz sample rate, but some argue that even though it’s not directly perceivable to the human ear, you can still feel it. I would agree with that based on what I know about frequencies/waves, but would also say that you have to have a highly trained perception to even pretend to feel it. One good reason functionally for recording at 48kHz is because it takes more sample points than 44.1kHz so 48kHz is good for if you need to perform any time-stretching on your audio because it allows for more time stretching before degradation/distortion is introduced into your audio.
Phone editing programs
Twisted Wave $10 (iOS)
Sorry Android users but I have no idea what to suggest to you as I don’t use an Android. I’m sure there are plenty of articles out there addressing them that can be found with a quick google search.
TwistedWave is the only audio editing program I can suggest for iOS, I’m pretty sure every other editor out there is trash. The iOS version is a less expensive option compared to their desktop version, but at a reduction of features. You won’t be able to do as much in other audio editors, but what you can do is good and you can always export the file to your computer for easier editing.
The computer recording/editing programs
If you’re recording into a computer you’ll need a program to record and edit it. These could be separate programs for each function, but luckily all of the methods listed below have all of the capabilities you need wrapped into them.
Option #1 – Audacity (MAC/PC) or GarageBand (MAC ONLY) $FREE.99
Easily the best of the free options for you. Audacity is a free and open source cross-platform audio software developed by volunteers. Sometimes with these types of softwares they can be really buggy or lack much-needed features, however, Audacity is fortunately a software that has been out since 1999. As such it is one of the most stable free audio programs that can potentially compete with any other audio recording/editing profram (Digital Audio Workstation aka DAW) if you can forgive the look of it.
GarageBand is another good option, it comes free with your Apple computer and you can easily record with it. It’s also Apple and has been around the block for quite some time as well. Very reliable. My only qualms with it is that the operation is a little less intuitive than I would like personally and you may only record at 44.1kHz/16bit, though both of those things aren’t deal-breaking if your work is relatively simple. GarageBand also has a rudimentary audio editor within it, but its usability is lacking in my opinion.
Option #2 Twisted Wave (MAC & iOS devices) $100
Sorry to tell you Android/Windows fanboys, while you can certainly compete with no issue, pro audio and video is mostly worked in a Mac standard. Everything on a mac is just too stable compared to windows and doesn’t have any weird hiccups like a version of windows that doesn’t allow more than one program to have access to a mic source.
Twisted Wave is a standard entry/low-level work audio program. You only have to pay that $100 once and this particular program also has iphone and ipad apps so you can record/edit on the go. It also has super batch processing skills and a function for detecting silence and cutting it out, helpful for editing out breaths as well as distracting room tone.
Option #3 – Adobe Audition (MAC/PC) $20.99/mo or Pro Tools First (MAC/PC) $FREE.99
All of the adobe products are stellar. While potentially seeming intimidating when you first take a look at the interface, like anything else you can quickly get your bearings and drive it well; Adobe programs, at least in my opinion, have the added benefit of being somewhat more intuitive than other programs and if you’re familiar with other Adobe programs you will be able to learn this one no problem as the Adobe operability tends to have many translations and cognates between their softwares.
While a powerful program, and an industry standard, I’m not such a fan of subscription services myself so I tend to avoid them. If you already have an Adobe CC subscription or a subscription to one of the other Adobe products this may be the better option for you as you can download it for free or bundle it for a cheaper price with your other software.
As far as Pro Tools First goes, it’ll get you where you’re going. You may ask why I listed this program last when it’s a free program, especially when I, myself, use Pro Tools as my own weapon of choice. Well that’s because I’m writing this article with the assumption that many of you have little to zero knowledge on the subject. Pro Tools First has a very steep learning curve, not that it can’t be learned, but as a starting out software I wouldn’t recommend it unless your have familiarity of another audio program or other audio experience first. Though if you think one day that you may be editing at a Pro Tools/Logic Pro X level (notice that both of those programs have the word “Pro” in them), then go ahead and get Pro Tools First and get to learning. Though again, I would suggest learning some other program first.
“Wait, wait, I’ve never done this before! How do I use all of this?”
Look I would really like to write you a very detailed guide as to how to hook everything up and drive your programs, but really I know for a fact that that information exists elsewhere in the world and you can certainly find a video/guide somewhere explaining any questions you may have regarding this. (In fact, what I’m writing here is already out there as well, but my friend asked me for help, and when someone asks for help, you help them)
Not only that, but, READ THE MANUAL. Unless you’re some sort of science type / non-lazy person you probably don’t always take the time to read the manual that comes with the things that you buy. When was the last time you read the manual to something? You know they don’t print those just to waste paper right? They actually have pertinent information related to the function(s) and use(s) of your products. Information that, if you read, will likely take the frustration out of learning how to use the product since it contains step-by-step instructions of what to do as well as learn capabilities of the product that you may not have realized on your own.
And lastly, well there are places out there called forums where you can go and set up a thread asking for help on your specific question. There are plenty of them and if you google your question you are actually likely to stumble across a thread on one of these forums where someone asked a question about the same exact problem you have; there’s nothing new under the sun, remember?
I’m always happy to help and I would like to give at least a simple guide regarding how to operate the set-up you made for yourself but there are so many options/methods of doing things. I really couldn’t cover them all in this article. Your set-up is different form somebody else’s, you’re going to have your own “unique” workflow/problems and I can’t anticipate them all in advance.
This guide is about what you need, not how you use it so I’m not doing to delve into the operability of your hardware/software or editing tips/tricks, but if that’s something you’d be interested in let me know and we’ll see what happens..
“So all I need now is an audience right?”
Yep that’s correct, but let me tell you the awesome part of getting an audience– it happens automatically.
There are only a couple of things you really need to get an audience:
#1 – Produce as much quality content as possible
People won’t find you if you don’t have anything out there for them to find. The more content you have out there the more of a chance that someone will find your content and begin following you.
Now, notice, I used the word “quality” up there. You can’t just produce trash or low-level/effort content and expect to gain followers. Even with quality content you can’t expect to gain millions of followers overnight.
Take your time developing your content and make sure it is something that is worthy of the people who are paying you with their time/attention, people don’t like their time wasted, so don’t do that.
It may take you a full week to produce a piece of quality content or it may only take a few hours, the point is, really take the time to cultivate your garden for value. This is your future we’re talking about and you should at least put things out there that you feel are your best, if not out of respect for your listeners, then out of respect for yourself.
So you don’t have to produce content every day, you just need to:
#2 – Keep at it
Really, even if you just make sure to post things once a month, at the end of a year you will have 12 pieces of quality content and that’s much better than having 24 pieces of content with some lacking in quality– having quality content over quantity of content drives up your value. And so long as you continue along, eventually you will have 24 high quality works, and then 36. In all reality though, you will likely have more than this because as you continue to develop your skills/mind, then quality content will become easier and easier to produce.
Soon you’ll be writing/editing your content in half of the time it took initially and not only that but your quality will have also increased during this time. You will continue to see this improvement as long as you actually keep at it. Writing, speaking, recording, and editing is actually pretty easy once you have the hang of it, it’s not hard to do this– it can be seen through a quick perusal of the internet that anyone can do this (in fact it’s almost far too easy in my opinion, like having babies). The hard part is continuing to do it, but once you’re in the groove and so long as you have the proper will/determination/discipline that become easy as well.
“Build it and they will come” so the saying goes, but this saying is slightly too simple. What are you building? What makes people want to come? Why should they come to you? How do they benefit by coming to what you’ve built?
These are the questions to keep in mind and so long as you are able to provide good answers to these questions there is no doubt that what you have built will attract people to you. Just make sure this is a road you are prepared to go down, you are now presenting yourself publicly to the world, you should present yourself well. Present yourself well and you’ll be rewarded.
In Conclusion
Alrighty, this has been quite the lengthy article, so let me go ahead and do a quick review for you so we can reinforce what we’ve learned here today.
If you want to be a podcaster/content producer you need at least these six things:
- You – The right attitude, patience, discipline, development of skills, and a willingness to learn
- A voice – Take a listen to your voice, make adjustments as needed so that people can easily understand you
- Content to read or talk about – start building your writing skills and get writing or find someone else’s content to read
- Equipment (+environment) – Be mindful of your recording space and get yourself the equipment well-suited for you/your budget
- A few programs – Get a program that suits the work you plan to do and your budget so you can make edits
- Listeners – keep producing high-quality content and don’t stop, eventually you will be where you would like to be so long as you don’t drop it.
And that about lays it out! I hope you not have a better understanding as to what is required to become a successful podcaster/content producer. If there are any areas that are hard to understand or you would like further elaboration just let me know and I’ll do my best to help if I’m able.
Good luck on your journey, though I know you’ve got this 🙂
Wishing you all the best,
FCP 🙃
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