How to Start a Podcast for Your Radio Station

Should You Start a Podcast for Your Radio Station?

If you want to start a podcast for your radio station then you're in luck! Our FREE "How to Start a Podcast for your Radio Station" guide contains everything you need to get your podcast up and running in no time.

From popular shows like Serial and Freakanomics, it seems people just can’t get enough of podcasts. In fact, according to Edison Research in the US 57 million people listen to podcasts every month, so it’s fair to say podcasting has never been more popular. With this in mind, if you're thinking about starting a podcast there has probably never been a better time to get going.

Who is Listening to All These Podcasts?

To put that 57 million figure into context, it’s more than 21% of the US population and the same number of people that use Twitter on a daily basis.

To put it another way, 1 in 4 Americans aged 12 - 55 listen to an average of 3 podcasts per week!

Overall, podcasting listening has increased more than 75% since 2013. So what’s driving this huge shift in podcast consumption? As you might expect the big thing, like with so many industries, is mobile. So much so that almost 65% of podcasts are listened to on a mobile phone or tablet. So if you want to start a podcast for your Radio Station then there has never been a better opportunity to connect with your potential listeners, whether they are commuting, in the gym or at work.

What are the Benefits of Starting a Podcast for your Radio Station?

There is a myriad of potential ways to listen to your favourite podcast. Your potential listeners may listen via iTunes, Spotify, a web platform like Soundcloud or even a dedicated podcast app. With so many different ways to connect it stands to reason that not only is there a potentially huge audience out there for your podcast!

In addition to this, producing a podcast is surprisingly easy to do, when compared to something like video.

How Do I Make My Podcast Stand Out from the Crowd?

In a sea of podcasts you need to try and make yours stand out from the rest, but how do you do it? Here are a few ways you can dial up your shows 10 and really pull in listeners.

Radio Voice

How you speak affects your listeners. You want to make your tone of voice fit your shows and make your audience feel comfortable. It’s tempting to talk too fast when you know what you want to say, but it might be difficult for some to keep up. The same goes for speaking too slowly, instead try and keep at a normal pace. Remember to be consistent throughout your shows.

Microphone Technique

There are some typical rookie mistakes which people do when talking into the microphone. One of the main ones is speaking far too loudly into the mic. It’s just not necessary as good mics can pick up audio quite easily at a normal level. Another common mistake includes speaking too closely or too far away. A good rule of thumb is to talk about a hand span away.

Equipment

What you have to manage your podcasts makes all the difference. Take a boom arm for example, it keeps your microphone in place and out of the way. You have far greater control by adjusting the height and angle of where it’s placed. The same goes for a mic pop, a small piece of equipment that makes all the difference to keep Ps and Bs sounds from spiking your audio.

Equipment You Need to Start a Podcast for Your Radio Station

What you need depends on what level you’re at. Whether you're new to podcasting looking for the essentials or an old professional out for the best, we’ve got a recommended range of equipment to choose from.

Basic Equipment

First up we have just the core essentials you need to record your podcasts.

Microphone: Extremely popular among podcasters and voice over artists, the Rode Podcaster is their go to microphone as it’s great at cancelling out background noises. As phantom power isn’t needed, you can plug it directly into your computer via USB. Buy on Amazon US or Amazon UK.

Headphones: The Sony MDRZX310 are ideal if you’re looking for a standard pair of entry level headphones. They’re lightweight and foldable, so if you can easily carry them with you on long journeys. Buy on Amazon US or Amazon UK.

Stand & Shockmount: A microphone needs to be held in place. A stand and shockmount keeps your mic from rolling off and helps reduce vibrations from nudges on the table. Buy on Amazon US or Amazon UK.

Advanced Equipment

An advanced setup is a mix between being a hobbyist and full-time professional podcaster. If you’re committed then this setup is for you.

Microphone: The Electrovoice RE20 is the industry standard mic in the USA. Well known broadcasters like Ryan Seacrest have used it for decades. It gives you that ‘radio sound’, picking up bass and higher end notes for classic sounding audio. Buy on Amazon US or Amazon UK.

Headphones: The Audio-Technica ATH-M50x are a fantastic pair of headphones. They have over the ear padding, so noise is concealed inside and makes it easier for longer usage. The audio cable can be unplugged and the earcups swiveled to 90 degrees for easy storage. Buy on Amazon US or Amazon UK.

Audio Interface: Studio condenser microphones like the Electrovoice RE20 need phantom power in order to work. The Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 gives your mic juice and allows you to control the volume levels of 2 microphone inputs. Price: $137 / £110. Alternatively grab the Focusrite Scarlett Solo if you don’t plan on having guests or co-presenters. Buy on Amazon US or Amazon UK.

Boom Arm: Add your microphone to an adjustable boom arm. Having this on your desk makes it incredibly easy to maneuver your mic to where you want it to be, plus it saves a bit of space. Buy on Amazon US or Amazon UK.

Pop Filter: Sometimes Ps and Bs can sound rather harsh on the ears due to the microphone’s ability to pick up clear audio. A way around this is to use a pop filter. Simply add it over your mic. Buy on Amazon US or Amazon UK.

Professional Equipment

Professional podcasters need a serious setup - Here’s the best equipment you can get.

Microphone: Widely used in commercial radio by professional broadcasters like Howard Stern, the Neumann TLM 103 is an industry standard that’s hard to beat. As it’s a condensor mic it has a large diaphragm from picking up extremely low noises, ideal for sampling, music, home recordings, and of course podcasting! Buy on Amazon US or Amazon UK (only 102 is available).

Headphones: The Bluedio U are wireless over the ear headphones. Offering 25 hours battery life, they’re designed for comfort with long periods of usage in mind. Audio is delivered through electroacoustic technology for rich sounding audio. Buy on Amazon US or Amazon UK.

Boom Arm: A boom arm is an excellent part of your setup as it frees desk space by elevating your microphone. The RODE PSA1 is the best as it’s stylish, durable, and comes with cable ties to neaten up your wires. Buy on Amazon US or Amazon UK.

Pop Filter: The Mudder is an attachable pop with a double layer filter. Recordings sound natural and it gets rid of annoying pop sounds. Overall quality of audio is improved. Buy on Amazon US or Amazon UK.

Mixer: The Behringer DX2000USB Pro Mixer is the central hub of your podcasting setup. Manage 7 channels for your external devices like 2 condenser microphones for you and a guest. Mix your sounds and adjust EQ levels for richer audio. Buy on Amazon US or Amazon UK.

Should I Record at Home or Outside?

Ideally you should do both. When you have the chance record in a home studio as it usually offers better equipment and fewer distractions. On the flip side don’t neglect the outdoors. When you get the opportunity, get out there and record segments for your podcasts to add variety to your shows.

Benefits of Home Studio Recordings

Home studios are ideal as you can record in a quiet area, equipment is designed to be easy to control, and everything is already setup and ready to use.

Benefits of Recording Outside

Recording outside on a phone or portable mic is easy, capture audio and interesting conversations on location, and use a laptop for quick editing.

How to Record Your Podcast

Once upon a time recording audio was difficult, costly, and not at all easy to do. All that’s changed now as you can record and package your podcasts up quite nicely without much fuss. One of the best free pieces of software you can use is called Audacity.

It works on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. You can use it to record and edit your podcasts relatively easily. Improve the sound quality, remove background noise, and use it to generally clean up your audio.

We show you how to record your podcasts with Audacity here.

Where to Host Your Podcast

Once you’ve finished crafting together your podcast, you can look at hosting it online. There’s plenty of places you can add it to, but nothing comes close to SoundCloud. You can upload and manage all your shows in one place.

How to Promote Your Podcast

There’s plenty of places you can list and promote your podcasts. Here are the 3 best places were you can submit your podcast. Need more? Scroll down for 7 more places!

3. Mixcloud

Mixcloud has one of the largest collection of music mixes, radio shows, and spoken word podcasts for DJs and presenters.

2. TuneIn

TuneIn is best known for it’s radio streams, as mentioned here. However in recent years it’s branched out to podcasting. You can now upload your shows and access the millions of listeners already using the platform.

1. iTunes

iTunes is probably the best and most important place to submit your podcast to. It still has one of the largest listener bases around and offers a wide variety of mixes and shows.