Your Podcast Essentials: The Must-Have Guide to Podcast Software
If you’ve stumbled upon this blog article, then chances are you’ve started playing around with the idea of launching your own podcast.
Maybe you have a vision for what it will look like, but have no clue how to get from dream to launch. Or maybe you have all the conceptual pieces figured out… but need help in producing and physically launching your content across different platforms.
Either way, we’re here to take the guesswork out of it so you can have all the tools necessary to get your podcast up and running! Read on to check out our comprehensive list of podcast essentials (and some of our personal recommendations) that you’ll need to get organized!
Microphone (and stand) - There’s a reason this is the first item on our list, because it truly is that important! The last thing you want is to record yourself, or maybe even a guest, only to realize the quality of the sound is awful! Having a good microphone, as well as a stand to hold it up, is essential to creating crisp and clear audio that will take your podcast to the next level and help you sound professional from the beginning. Check out this mic that one of our teammates swears by - the sound quality is great and you can’t beat the price!
Recording and editing software - This isn’t as intimidating as it sounds! There are tons of software out there that are great for podcasting and a ton of them are free as well! For the novice podcaster, check out GarageBand for iOS users or Audacity for everyone else! Both are great software that are free and will help you get a lay of the land in terms of editing! If you are a little more experienced, Adobe Audition is another great option to advance your editing skills.
Podcast distribution platform - Once you’ve finalized an episode, you need a platform that will host and distribute your content to your audience across different podcast apps and platforms. Anchor is a great, all-in-one option that is completely free and actually gives you the opportunity to monetize your podcast regardless of your audience size! You can also use it as your recording and editing software if you want to simplify your work a bit! (Just keep in mind that there will be some ads for A Intro and outro music - If you want to have music added to the beginning and end of your podcast, check out Youtube Music. It has a ton of free and non copyrighted music that you can use to spice up your intro and outros.
Graphic design software - You’re going to need great graphic design software so you can design cover art and marketing materials that will attract your ideal audience and showcase a bit of the show’s tone at first glance. Most of us don’t have a working knowledge of Adobe software, so Canva is the next best thing! It’s free, super easy-to-use, and has a bunch of templates that you can use to create your own graphics for the podcast and social media.
If you are still feeling a little overwhelmed by all that goes into creating and launching your own podcast, check out the rest of our How to Launch Your Podcast series on the blog as they release every Monday of January! We are here to help you navigate this easily so you can start delivering amazing content and value to your listeners!
Have any questions for us? Need some more guidance on this topic? Send us a note at hello@hannahmarieoliva.com!
P.S. If you haven’t read the first post in our podcast series yet, where we dive into developing a strong vision and topic for your podcast from the start, then click here to read all about it!