School’s out. I’m not in Thailand for Naturopath’s Without Boarders. I’m taking a few weeks off before I start studying for Step 1 of the Boards… so I’m starting a podcast!
Professional Podcast Setup
With a few programs and tools, you can be ready to go!
I had absolutely no idea where to start. I had no background in any type of computer or audio work, and frankly, I find even writing this blog overwhelming.
I knew I needed a computer, microphone, some editing software, some music… and a whole lotta creativity, time and understanding of the interwebs. HELLOOOOO, quarantine!!!!
I also knew that if I came out of quarantine without learning a new skill or starting this thing I’ve been talking about starting, that I wouldn’t forgive myself.
I mean, eventually I would, but I would have to take a long, hard look in the mirror and really get to know myself. Luckily, I’ve managed to meet my own expectations for myself (for a few short minutes, at least) and pushed myself out of my comfort zone.
I hunkered down and started watching Youtube videos and reading blogs teaching beginners how to start a podcast. At first, knowing everything you need answers to is freely available at the stroke of your fingers is exciting and motivating! Very shortly after, exactly .85 seconds after, you press “enter” for your first Google Search and 650million results turn up, you become the opposite of motivated.
I’ll call the opposite of motivated: overwhelmed.
Luckily, I came across Resonate Recordings, which started me off in a great direction. I quickly learned that I needed:
A way to record the material- you need to be able to record your voice and your guest in a WAV or MP3 format on separate tracks. The separate tracks thing is so important to the editing process that it’s literally not worth asking why. Just make sure you figure out how to do it. There are great free programs which allow for this, including Zencaster and Resonate Recordings.
A platform to host the content- you need a host to transfer the WAV or MP3 recordings into an RSS feed which THEN communicates to the podcasting sites, such as iTunes, Spotify and Soundcloud. This is a necessary middle man technology, which allows your recorded/edited tracks to be translated into a new type of format (RSS) so that it can be heard by your followers.
Editing software- there are great paid programs out there specific to podcasting such as Adobe Audition. I have opted for the free Garageband application on my Mac which is also highly rated amongst experienced podcasters. With a few settings modified to optimize the platform for podcasting, you can easily have a podcast template saved that automatically opens each time you start GB. This youtube from Buzzsprout helped me with GB!
A focus on recording the best quality sound the first time around- with a basic understanding of input/output you can figure it out pretty quickly. You need a high quality microphone for your input and headphones for your output. You can’t use the sound on your computer because you’ll create feedback during recording, which, well, is not tolerable for anyone. Ear buds can work better for your output sound rather than noise canceling head phones so you can hear yourself talking. This helps things feel a little more natural. The microphone I bought allows me to directly plug my noise cancelling headphones into so I can hear the way I sound when recording!
You also need an incredibly insulated place to record with a good microphone. (If you aren’t going to video record, consider talking directly into pillows and your headboard!)
And you need to figure out what “clipping” is and avoid it during your recordings. This essentially is looking at your sound waves and knowing when a person’s sound is too loud (from talking too close to their microphone or any other 100 reasons). Their words are actually clipped off which can severely reduce the quality of your recording. You can learn how to spot this immediately when you start to record and troubleshoot it before you really get into the tofu and potatoes of your business.
A basic understanding of input/out and what sound waves “should look like” can set you up for success from Day 1
and prevent you from poor quality audio
While I was going down every rabbit hole I could in my initial Google search, I realized I was learning all of these bits and pieces of information- that were all important- but was getting confused on how to put it all together.
Luckily, I had an incredible resource to lean into and ask for advice. Kate van Buskirk with Canadian Running Magazine and host of The Shakeout Podcast came to my rescue. She helped me outline the following process:
Research your guest and topic. Obviously this should be the most exciting part of your process! Your podcast should provide a platform to nurture your own interests, growth and development. ENJOY THIS PART!
Come up with a list of questions to ask during recording. But don’t send your questions to your guest ahead of time if you want the flow of your show to be a little more spontaneous and less scripted.
Have a stock email with instructions to send to your guest on how to use Zencaster. This includes stuff like input/output on microphones and headphones for everyone involved. Zencaster creates a link that never expires for that episode so you can easily plan ahead and set everything up.
Conduct the interview. Woohoo! Finally!
Now it’s time to edit. [Whomp. whomp.] *Note: I am struggling here but I’m not giving up YET!
You aren’t done! There is also a post production process. This pretty much is the finishing touch on the quality of the sound before you upload your file to your hosting site. [Figure out what 16LUFS means and always use that number. Thanks, Kate!] You can hire companies like Zencaster to do this for you, or you may be able to figure it out with the editing software you have.
Write show notes which include blurbs about your interview and social links to get people to subscribe to your SM platforms.
Always include a Call to Action at the end of everything you publish.
Publish the final version of your podcast, show notes and CTA on your chosen hosting platform. This part is as easy as it sounds! Press “Publish.”
Embed the podcast in your blog! Figure out how to do this on your website so that the player looks good and formatting isn’t messed up. I use Squarespace for my website and they have an easy add on that allows me to copy and paste the actual code into the page so that it looks good.
Extra little tips that make a big difference:
Don’t talk when your guest is talking, at all, on Zencaster- it only records one track at a time so things can get lost or missed if you are saying “uh-huh” or “hmm.” Feels weird and unnatural, but gotta work with this one.
Have EVERYTHING else closed on your computer except for your recording screens.
Ask your guest to set up their phone and record themselves during the interview in case something happens with the Zencaster recording. If something gets lost in the upload process from their side, you can use this as backup to produce your podcast. The show much go on!
Look into royalty-free music for you intro/outro. Or ask one of your musician friends to make something new for you!
WOW. That looked and felt like a lot more before writing this all down.
I don’t know why writing things down in a list like this always makes things look and feel a lot easier, but it does!
I hope this list makes tackling a podcast feel a lot easier for you. At the end of the day, learning a new skill is always worth it. Even if you only learn parts of this process, you can appreciate the rest of the work and decide to outsource parts you aren’t interested in learning. I’m also planning to do this. Ain’t no way I’ll be managing all of these processes plus medical school plus ultra-endurance training. But for now, and for my first episode(s), I’m figuring it out sola to stretch my limits and learn new tech skills!
And on that medical school note… as if all of this weren’t enough of a hassle, as a future Naturopathic Doctor, I also had to run my podcast ideas by legal to make sure I don’t violate any regulations for our profession.
I emailed CONO, The College of Naturopaths of Ontario, and asked if I was in compliance with the name of my podcast. They informed me that as a student, I fall under the jurisdiction of what the school allows.
Due to the name of the podcast, the school lawyer wanted to make sure that there weren’t just medical students on the line and that a licensed doctor would also be there.
This ACTUALLY allowed me to get laser focused and clear on the structure and purpose of the podcast! It wasn’t until I reached out to our school lawyer that I had my aha moment! I was concerned legal guidelines would limit my ability to create what I envisioned, but instead, it actually provided space for more creativity!
When you have to find ways to create powerful and impactful content that meets legal requirements for your profession, it calls on you to step up your game and make something unique. Something fresh!
I can’t wait to share it with you!
Woah…
I cannot believe I just wrote THIS post! Never in a million years could I have imagined figuring out something “so technical.” I am pretty damned proud of myself. Now, I need to get to work and make stuff happen for episode 1. I still have a long way to go before I have something to show you, but I had to get this out to you! I’ve have a number of friends reach out asking these types of questions, so I needed to publish this! It also allowed me to get clear on my process and have a checklist to work from!
I know you want to hear how my first podcast turns out, so follow Real Talk with Real Docs @TalkWithDocs on Facebook and @TalkwDocs on Twitter. I’ll keep you updated on when the first session drops!
In health,
Lorna C.
*LoveLightHealth*
