Podcasting is a new way to share media across the internet. This instructable aims to show you how to create, publish, and distribute either a video or audio podcast.

Step 1: Brainstorm

The first step in creating anything, is to actually sit down, and think about what it is you want to do. SO grab a sharpie and figure out what you actually want from this podcast.

Some questions to ask yourself are:

What do I want my podcast to be about?

^{Do you want a tech podcast, a craft podcast, or a podcast on the different ways to change oil? Pick something you enjoy doing}

How an I going to present this?

^{Do I want to have video or just audio? Will it just be me, or could I do it with someone else?}

Planning Your podcast is the most essential step in the process.

Step 2: Pre-Production

Now you have your podcast laid out, you want to start thinking about your first episode. Once again, brainstorm, and it is a good idea to have a general outline of what you want to talk about. You could write a full script, however I find that these sorts of things work best with some sort of general guidance and let you be yourself.

Now is the time you want to be thinking about equipment.

If you are doing an audio podcast, you will need:

Microphone(s)
Mixing Desk (optional)
Quiet place to record
Computer with good sound card / Digital recorder with USB out

If you are doing a video podcast:

Video camera (that you can connect to your pc) or A Decent Webcam
Tripod (optional, but recommended)
Microphones (optional, but can be useful)
Quiet but well lit place to film

Step 3: Let's Make This Thing

Okay, press record and have fun!

Don't worry if you stuff up, just keep going. You probably won't get it perfect on the first go, and it can be frustrating, but don't give up. It will be easier with another person, but don't be worried if you don't have someone to fall back on. In the end, you will end up with at least one good take.

Step 4: Editing

Now that you have some content, you have to edit it. Add some music ( www.ccmixter.org ) and make it pretty.

Editing Software:
You will of course need some software to edit this. Here is some that you can either download for free, or you will have already installed

Mac:

^{Audio: Garage Band}
^{Video: iMovie}

Windows

^{Audio: Audacity}
^{Video: Windows Movie Maker}

Linux

^{Audio: Audacity}
^{Video: Kdenlive}

Read the help files provided with these programs to learn them.

Step 5: Publishing

You have your file, now get it on the web. Have a look for some hosting services, you may get along with your ISP's servers for a while, however it is a good idea to sign up with a professional service.

There are places online that are free and made just for podcasters, but they also include a lot of things we don't need (like the blog and XML file). I personally use fileden for hosting podcasts, as it allows hotlinking.

Step 6: Get It Out There

So your files are on the net, but nobody knows about it! So now we need to make a blog and burn it with feedburner.

Go to blogger.com, create a blog and make a new post with a link to your media file.
Now go to www.feedburner.com, type in your blog url and check the I am a podcaster checkbox. Then click Next. Continue the set up process and then you will have an rss feed that you can place a subscribe link to on your website, or go into the settings on feedburner, make it iTunes friendly and submit it to Apple iTunes.

You could also place a link to your feed on social networking sites like facebook, myspace or bebo.

Feedburner also has lots of options to get your feed out there.

Step 7: Final Words

Now that you have created your podcast, adding new episodes is as simple as creating them, publishing them and adding an new blog post.

I hope that this instructable provided a basic outline on creating a podcast and the steps involved. Thank you very much for reading and please comment if you have any questions.