How to start a podcast

What should you decide before you record?

Start with one sentence that says who listens and what they get from each episode. For example: founders in the Baltics hear how another founder handled a hard decision. Format, length and guests all follow from that sentence. For a company podcast, the listener might be a future client or a future hire, and the sentence should say which.

Then test the topic. Give yourself ten minutes to list ten episode ideas. If you run dry at five, either the topic is too narrow or you do not know it well enough yet.

Choose a name that is clear before it is clever, and check that it is still free on YouTube, Spotify and Instagram. In Latvia a show often sits between Latvian, Russian and English, so avoid a pun that only works in one of them, unless that is the language the show is in. Then pick a frequency you can keep up: weekly or fortnightly is common, and monthly works too, as long as it is regular. Let the content set the length of an episode; there is no ideal number of minutes.

What equipment do you need to start a podcast?

Each person on the mic needs:

• a microphone: a USB mic plugs straight into a computer, while an XLR mic needs an audio interface in between;
• closed headphones, so their sound does not leak back into the mic;
• a stand or a boom arm to keep the mic at a steady distance.

One computer is enough for recording and editing, and free software such as Audacity will do for a start. A sofa, curtains and a rug soak up echo, and a modest mic in a furnished room usually sounds better than an expensive one in a bare room with hard walls.

Can you record a podcast on your phone alone? For one person, yes. Hold the phone close to your mouth, sit in a quiet room, switch on aeroplane mode so calls cannot cut in, and record a short test before the real take. It stops working once two people share one phone: whoever sits nearer drowns out the other.

Video multiplies the work: cameras, light and a heavier edit. If you are unsure, start with audio only. If YouTube is going to be your main channel, film from the first episode. The guide on which microphone to start with explains mic types in detail, and filming the conversation covers cameras and angles.

How do you plan and script an episode?

Most episodes work best from an outline: a few bullet points for each segment, enough to keep you on track while you still sound like yourself. Write out word for word only the opening, the transitions and the close. A template that suits most talk shows:

1. Hook, 15 to 30 seconds: the most interesting line or question in the episode.
2. Intro: the show's name, who you are and what this episode answers.
3. Three segments, each built around one main point.
4. Recap: three things to take away.
5. Call to action: subscribe, leave a comment or follow the guest's link.
6. Outro.

If you have a guest:

• send the themes in advance and keep the exact questions to yourself, so the answers stay fresh;
• prepare 8 to 12 open questions and expect to use about half of them;
• end with the same closing question for every guest.

Plan the first three to five episodes in one sitting, so the show has a consistent shape from the start.

If you would like help from the idea onwards, Baltic Podcast Studio in Riga has a first-episode package: a briefing on the idea, the audience, the format and the questions for the speakers, a recording session with an operator, and an edited episode, for €490.

How do you record your first episode?

You can record in one of three places:

• at home, the cheapest option and the one with the most setting up;
• remotely, with guests anywhere, though each guest's room decides how their voice sounds;
• in a studio, with nothing to set up and the time paid by the hour.

If you would rather not set up a room, you can record an audio podcast in a studio in central Riga. What a podcast costs compares the three routes, and the studio's price page lets you add up the cost of a session. Wherever you record, the day goes like this:

1. The day before, charge everything and install any updates.
2. Silence phones and notifications, and close the windows.
3. Sit each person about 5 to 10 cm from a dynamic microphone, or at the distance their mic type needs.
4. Record a 30-second test and listen back on headphones.
5. Set the levels so that the loudest laugh stays well below the red.
6. Record 10 to 20 seconds of silence in the room, for noise reduction later.
7. If you are filming as well, clap once at the start: the sharp peak makes sound and picture easy to line up.
8. Record the whole conversation. When you stumble, pause and say the sentence again instead of stopping.

Recording a podcast remotely

Ask each guest to record their own audio on their side as well, as a backup. The sound of a video call is compressed and drops out now and then, and the local files give you a clean track for every voice.

How do you edit and publish a podcast?

Edit for the listener. Cut false starts, long pauses, stretches that wander off the topic and loud noises. Leave most of the ums in: take out every hesitation and the conversation starts to sound robotic. Then work on the sound:

• balance the voices so that nobody is much louder than the others;
• apply gentle noise reduction;
• even out the loudness. For spoken word, about -16 LUFS is a commonly used target.

Each of these steps is covered in how to improve audio quality. If you would rather skip editing, you can hand over the edit.

Before the first episode goes out, the show needs square cover art that is still legible at thumbnail size, a description that uses the words people search for, and episode titles that tell the listener what they will get.

How do you grow a podcast once it is live?

Publish on the same day each time, so listeners can make the show a habit.

Short vertical clips from each episode bring in people who have not heard the show yet; the guide to podcast clips shows how to find the moments worth cutting. Ask every guest to share their episode, and make it easy by sending them ready clips and the link. Titles and show notes should use the words people type into YouTube and the podcast apps, because that is how new listeners find you.

As for money, most shows earn indirectly long before any sponsor appears: they bring in clients, build a reputation or sell a product. Sponsorship needs a steady audience that you can describe clearly to a sponsor.