How to Record a Podcast: Why Consistency Is Key

Have you ever thought about starting your own podcast, but you weren’t sure how? First, be ready for the commitment. If it isn’t consistent, then you won’t be able to gain an audience. Check below for more on how to record a podcast and why consistency is key.

How to Record a Podcast: Why Consistency is Key

Consistency in Timing

Consistency is incredibly important when you’re recording a podcast. If you post irregularly, your audience won’t know what to expect and may move on. Here are more reasons to keep your posts regular:

You Become Part of the Routine

Chances are if you want to start a podcast, you probably already listen to a few. They’re likely part of your routine, especially if they post consistently. You don’t want to fall behind, do you?

Becoming part of someone’s routine, whether it be daily, weekly, or monthly, is a big part of having success in recording a podcast. If you suddenly stop posting regularly, your listeners may find something else to listen to and drop you completely.

Spotless Record

It likely won’t hurt you too much if you miss a show here and there. But you want to aim for a spotless record. Always post on the same day at the same time. It doesn’t have to be a specific time, but if you want to expand your podcast, keep it consistent and don’t miss a single date.

Avoiding Podfading

Podfading may sound like a strange word, but it’s something you want to avoid at all costs. Have you ever read a blog or listened to a podcast and the posts got further and further apart, eventually disappearing altogether?

That’s podfading. This is why having a spotless record is critical. Missing one show may not seem like a big deal, but then it can turn into missing two shows. Then five. Then you’ve given it up entirely and lost your audience and your credibility.

Engagement

When you have a consistent, fun, and interesting podcast, you get more listeners. Those listeners can turn into followers for your blog and social media. Then, they can even turn into customers if you’re selling something.

Listening Apps

Not many people know this, but some podcast listening apps have algorithms to determine where each podcast is placed on a list. Staying consistent gives you a higher chance of being seen!

How to Keep Your Timing Consistent

There are a handful of ways you can keep your timing consistent without having to pull an all-nighter every week to get it edited and uploaded in time.

Pick a Schedule that Works for You

What does your schedule look like? Are you raising three children, working a demanding full-time job outside the home, and attending school? A daily or even weekly podcast may not be the right schedule for you.

Picking the right schedule is the first step to staying consistent. If you pick a schedule that’s too demanding, you’re more likely to fall victim to podfading.

Make Sure You’re Invested

A topic may sound interesting at first, but that interest can fade quickly. When you’re developing the idea for your podcast, make sure it’s something that you can stick with for a long time. Podcasts can develop over time, but you don’t want to completely lose interest in the main idea.

If You’re Struggling with Ideas

If you’re struggling to come up with ideas for podcasts, and that’s why you’re inconsistent, try bringing in other people. You can do interviews, host guests, and more. You can even ask your audience what they want to hear or open a Q&A of sorts.

If You have to Change the Schedule, Don’t Panic!

There is no harm in changing the schedule if your audience is in on it. It’s one thing to talk to your audience during a show and tell them you need to change your post frequency. It’s another to completely drop off the map. Your audience will be much more understanding if you let them in!

Consistency in Topic

There is more to consistency than just when you post. You also want to stay consistent in what you’re posting.

Your show is bound to grow and change over time. However, going from talking about the secrets of cooking to suddenly discussing medieval weaponry is generally frowned upon.

Consistency in Quality

Have you ever watched a television show where the quality of the acting and scriptwriting goes downhill with every episode? You want to avoid that with your podcast. If you come out of the gate with a fantastic, well-edited product and a great script, keep it up.

You can always get better. But you don’t want to start strong and taper off. If you can do it once, you can do it again!

Consistency in Format

While you’re planning your podcast, you should create a loose idea of what you want to do in each episode. If you plan to start each episode by answering a question from your audience, do it every single time. Your audience may be incredibly disappointed if you cut a segment from your show without warning.

Let’s Get Started

Starting a podcast is a great way to increase your audience and draw people to your website. It’s also great for getting your ideas out there. However, there is a lot that goes into getting a podcast off the ground:

Premise

When you start your show, make sure you have a clear, concise premise in mind. You’ll also want to decide on the format, name, and length of each episode.

Hosting

Once you decide on the premise and schedule, you need to figure out hosting. That is, where you will choose to publish your show. There are more than a few hosting sites out there, but here are a few to get you started:

• Helium Radio
• Anchor
• PodBean
• Buzzsprout

 

Equipment

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need any special equipment to record. You could even record just using your phone. If you want to go the professional route, though, you’ll need the following:

• Microphone
• Headphones
• Digital Recorder
• Audio editing program

 

How to Record a Podcast

You know what your show will be about, you’ve decided on a schedule, and you have your recording and editing equipment. You’re ready to record!

Setup

Make sure you have a small, quiet space to record. Having the right setup can lead to less time editing your show, which saves you valuable time and makes the whole process easier.

Technique

When you do record, make sure you keep the microphone a couple of inches from your mouth. When you aren’t speaking, pull it away so your breathing isn’t recording. Depending on your environment, you may need to test what works best for you.

Recording

Once it’s time to record, make sure you have a drink nearby to prevent a dry throat. However, make sure that you don’t have anything that can affect your voice. For example, don’t drink anything carbonated because it can cause you to hiccup or burp.

Don’t forget to pre-record any intros or closers that you want to have in every show! This helps keep your formatting consistent.

Editing

Don’t worry about those imperfections from your recording. You can edit them out in this step and add your intros, closers, ads, and music. When you’re done, save it as an MP3 file type to ensure compatibility. And again, keep your editing quality high to stay consistent.

In the end, consistency is always the key to getting your show off the ground. If you keep your quality, topic, and schedule consistent, then you’re setting yourself up for success right out of the gate. Visit Helium Radio Network for more on how to record a podcast.