Step One: Planning for your podcast

Picking a topic for your podcast is the most important step in the process! Plotting out your path, getting into the details of what you want to share, and investing some time into research will give your podcast a polished and professional sound. While it's great to have conversations with guests and let those conversations drive the direction of your program, it's important to have an idea of what you want to talk about to have some data ready to fall back upon while you talk.

So consider your options:

What is my show about? - Are you a math major that wants to talk about careers in the field? Are you an artist who discusses paintings with their colleagues? Plan your topic based on your expertise/willingness to put in research so you can sound knowledgable and add to the conversation. Keep in mind that if you plan to discuss this topic for some time/multiple episodes, you will need to keep learning and stay abreast of the topic.

How does my show work? - What does the format of your show look like? Are you interviewing guests? If so, it's a great idea to have guests sign a release form (more on this ahead). Are you monologuing and giving more of a speech than a conversation? You can change your format up on occasion but most successful podcasts maintain a format and don't vary too often.

How often do I make a podcast? - This is up to you! A lot of podcasts come out weekly, some famous examples are Serial, Tech News Weekly, The Commish Report. But there are no hard and fast rules for how often you can publish an episode. Things to keep in mind while planning your frequency is how you connect with your listeners. If you are discussing current events or a fast-paced issue, a more frequent episode makes sense. If your topic is something large and requires a great deal of research, you may wish to take more time between episodes to complete this work. Its up to you and what you are comfortable with.

Possible Podcast Formats

Some options for formatting your podcast:

Interview: probably the most popular format, a host interviews one or more people regarding a particular topic.

News: A podcast that discusses the news from a specific industry or subject. This is not about content you've created but you are reporting on developments of others in the field.

Educational: Scripted shows to teach lessons on a specific topic.

Scripted Fiction: Like a radio drama, telling a story in a series of episodes.

Recaps: Shows about various media (tv shows, movies) that discuss details, watch alongs.

-Heather Teysko

Adding Music to your Podcast

Music (copyright free): intro/outro music adds polish to a podcast. You can find copyright free music here (Links to an external site.). Find a song that matches the mood of your subject matter.

1. select the song you like and click download on the right down-pointing arrow

2. From your downloads, you can drag a file to an open Audacity window and it will open automatically. You can also select File>Open from Audacity do to so.

***If this feels too zoomed out, you can zoom in here to see more detail in the song:

3. Select the first 10 seconds (or so) by highlighting the section of the song you want to capture, hitting copy, and then pasting in the grey screen below your selected section: