Podcaster Training: The Phases of Podcasting - Phase 1 The Basics Cont’d

November 8, 2008 by Rob White
Filed under Headline, Podcaster Training

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Last week, we started discussing a new series called The Phases of Podcasting. To recap, in Phase 1: The Basics of Podcasting, we talked a bit about the history of podcasting and how to begin recording a podcast using Audacity. Now, keep in mind, that a lot of this phase really requires a hands on approach, so if you are interested in doing this and need further instruction, please contact me and let me know how I can help you.

Today, we continue with more on Phase 1: The Basics of Podcasting. We will begin by taking the recorded audio in Audacity and we will do some basic editing. I will do my best to describe how to do this, as again, this is more a hands on type of training and cannot be handled very well with words, but we will do our best to get through this!

To start, fire up Audacity on your PC and record your podcast audio. We covered this last week, however, to recap that a little, click on the red button on the toolbar to begin your recording. Once completed, click the yellow square button to stop the recording. Now, listen to your audio all the way through and while doing so, take notes where you need to edit out ums and dead space or stuttering, etc. and then once you have listened all the way through, you are now ready to begin the editing process.

Run your audio to a point on your timeline to where you need to cut out some dead space or an um or whatever. Stop your playback just before that area you want to cut out and click on the Selection Tool (looks like a capital I) and then left click and drag across the area and only the area, you want to cut out. Once you have completed your selection, release the left click button and you should have a small portion of your timeline highlighted. Let me caution you right here. SAVE FIRST BEFORE EDITING! This is very important. If you edit an unsaved audio file and then you will not have a way to go back if you accidentally remove something you didn’t want to cut out.

Next, once the highlighting is done, click on the scissors on the toolbar and your highlighted section will disappear. You have now, cut out a small section and can playback that area to hear your results. If you are satisfied, you can move on to the next section until your editing is completed.

I will not cover how to add in new audio or import say like music and the like in this section. This can all be handled through the audio process as well and there are plenty of YouTube videos covering Audacity that will walk you though these steps.

After the editing is completed, you are now ready to export your audio to an MP3. To do this, you will need to have the Lame MP3 Encoder installed in Audacity. This too, is a free download. You will find the link on the Audacity download page.

To export to an MP3, click on File and then Export and choose MP3. You will be prompted for a filename, give it one that will describe your podcast and then the ID3 tag window will open to allow you to edit and change the ID3 tags for your MP3.

To learn more about using Audacity, there is a great online tutorial you can follow produced by Jason Van Orden. You can find the tutorial here.

Moving forward, after you have your recorded podcast ready to upload, you then need a podcast host. There are lots of hosts out there such as Libsyn and Podomatic, however, you are limited to a small storage area unless you pay a monthly charge for more space. Also, some hosts will charge you for bandwidth usage as well, so you need to check that out before choosing a host.

For those of you that podcast on Talkshoe, you get the best of all worlds because Talkshoe offers free unlimited storage and no bandwidth costs and you can easily upload a pre-recorded podcast anytime you like and it will be available virtually right away for consumption.

So there you have it. Some basic history of podcasting and a little insight on how to record a podcast using Audacity. Now, let’s look at some more basics that might interest you!

For the novice or beginner podcaster, this can be a scary or frightening hobby as many people don’t like how they sound on a recording. However, once you get over your “stage fright” then you can actually start enjoying the benefits that podcasting has to offer.

For the novice or beginner podcaster, here are some things that you should have to get yourself ready to start podcasting.

First, and foremost, a topic. Without a topic, it will be difficult at best to have good content, unless you are planning a podcast that will involve listeners and make it an “open mic” affair. In any event, you should have a topic and it should be something that you are either an expert on or at least have some knowledge about.

Take this show, for example. When I started Podcaster Training, it was called So You Want To Host Your Own Talkcast? At the time, Talkshoe was young and had little to no support, with the exception of Tommy Vallier, as many of you are already familiar with. I was hosting about 6 other shows at the time and was getting questions about Talkshoe on most of these shows, like “How did you get your audio to work over VOIP?” or “How can I use Gizmo to call into Talkshoe for free?” and I would answer these questions, as I already knew how to do this, so that part was easy. After fielding these questions almost daily, I approached Dave Nelson, the CEO of Talkshoe and asked him if he would object if I hosted a show supporting Talkshoe. He readily agreed and so on with the show! I now had a topic and had some of the knowledge necessary to host the show with. Tommy Vallier came in on the very first episode and offered to come onto the show weekly and answer questions and he eventually joined the show as my Co-Host until his departure from Talkshoe.

So having a topic is key, especially a topic you are familiar with. Next, you need to have a “working title” for your podcast. A working title is a title that best describes what your podcast is about, in as few of words as possible. Take this show again, my first working title said it all! So You Want To Host Your Own Talkcast? In those days, the live shows were called Talkcasts, now they are Community Calls. No matter, my title still said it all. When I changed formats, I chose Podcaster Training, again, the title says it all.

After you have your topic and working title, you should setup a blog using Wordpress.com or Blogspot, your choice, and then get an appropriate domain name that points to your blog. Dot Com domain names are cheap by today’s pricing standards. Depending on your topic and genre of your podcast, you may want to opt for a Dot ME or DOT Org or even a Dot Info domain name. Again, your choice.

If you are pre-recording your podcasts, setup an account with a podcast host or setup an account with Talkshoe and now you have the basics for a great podcast.

Remember, you may think that it’s all been said already. Don’t be fooled for a second. What you have to say is just as important, if not more so, than what’s already been said. And, you may even say something that no one has heard before!

In the coming weeks, I will cover more on promoting and monetizing your podcasts. Next week, we will move on to Phase 2: Prepping for your podcast. We will discuss what happens before the record button is hit to insure you have everything ready for a great podcast!