How to Podcast for Free (or cheap)

 Podcasting can seem pretty difficult to do, but with a little guidance its a breeze.  There are several key steps in podcasting, and this tutorial will cover the absolute basics.  If you're looking for how to do a live broadcast, a videocast, or anything that isn't bare bones audio and rss, I'm afraid you'll have to look elsewhere.  This tutorial will cover:

Recording Audio
Editing Audio
Hosting the File
Creating an RSS Feed
Submitting the Show to iTunes
Helpful Tips

The first step- so basic it doesn't even get its own page is making sure you have a microphone.  You'll need to have one that sounds decent, but don't go overkill on a top-of-the-line set just yet.  Personally, the microphone built in to my Dell laptop works great, but that doesn't mean all laptop mics do.  Test yours out, and make sure it sounds good enough to use- the last thing you want is a weird sounding you- right?

Interested in checking out my show?  www.contracast.blogspot.com
Follow me on Twitter, if my tweets are of interest to you. www.twitter.com/contrapaul

Step 1: Recording Audio

 There are a few ways to do a podcast, and although you could opt to record just your voice, this tutorial is meant to show you how to record several people at once.  The two key components I use are Skype- the free VOIP service, and MP3 Skype Recorder- a free Skype recorder.  Download both programs, and set up Skype first, then the recorder.  The recorder needs access to Skype, which you will have to approve.  Assuming you plan to record the show with others, you will need to get them to download Skype as well, but they have no need for the recorder.  Once you all add eachother as contacts, you're nearly ready to begin recording.  Set the destination of the recorded file on the recorder, and set the recording mode to mono, and you're all set.  Set up a conference call, make sure the file is being recorded properly, and talk away!

skype.com
voipcallrecordinrg.com/

Comments

[bisnejackson]

hey nice pod, where u got the mp3 bar? like youtube but just the audio?

[Contrapaul]

If you use Archive.org, as I recommend, there is an "embed" option. You can get the code for the bar from there.

[lemonie]

I listened to a bit of 13, there were a lot of "er..."s "um..."s and  "ah..."s - this is what you mean by Helpful tips No 4 I guess? Also, I'd put the "Er, you can find me on Facebook / Twitter" bits at the end, they made for a slow start.

The instructable is good though.

L

[Contrapaul]

Thanks for listening- we get better with each episode, but aren't pros.  Also we've cut the "find us on" section down to just one location each.  The main point of this article was to help other people like me- who had trouble finding free hosting, putting together an RSS feed, and so on.  

Oh- I just checked 13- I don't want to say that its a rare exception, but that episode was recorded under atypical conditions.  Maybe a later one would be better.

[lemonie]

Yeah, you're smoother on 20, but it's ~5 min before you get to the first item. It might be good (for something over an hour long) to start immediately with a rundown of what's in the Podcast?
Keep it up - best wishes

L

[Contrapaul]

The format we're kind of following is that of Extralife Radio, where each episode could be very different in tone from one another.  We're getting better, but we're still learning.  Thanks for the feedback!