New to the world of podcasting? You could be questioning, properly, what is a podcast? And the way do they work? On this article I’ll cowl what a podcast is, what they’re used for, and how you can get began as a podcast listener or creator.
What’s a podcast and the way do they work?
A podcast is a digital audio “present” or program you could obtain or stream from the web in your smartphone, pc, or pill and pay attention when it’s handy for you.
A podcast “episode” is a single occasion of a podcast, very similar to the episode of a TV present.
Right here’s an instance—an episode of our very personal SPI Podcast, which has been working since 2010:
For stunning, easy-to-embed podcast gamers just like the above, look no additional than Fusebox — the official podcast participant of SPI! [Note: I am a compensated affiliate for Fusebox.]
Podcasts are a particularly widespread type of media that’s rising rapidly. The primary podcasts had been produced by people, however now they’re additionally made by firms, information retailers, and different organizations. Podcasting has grow to be huge enterprise, with firms like Apple, Spotify, iHeartMedia, SiriusXM closely invested in podcasting.
For the listener, podcasts are a flexible medium! The audio-only format of podcasts makes them simple to eat in varied settings, comparable to whereas commuting, cooking, touring, or working.
You’ll be able to consider podcasts as “background” content material, however you may as well give them your full consideration if you happen to like.
Talking of content material, podcast matters can cowl an enormous vary, from true crime to enterprise methods to parenting tricks to comedy or children’ content material. When you’ve got a subject in thoughts, there’s most likely a podcast on the market for it! And if there isn’t, that may imply a chance so that you can begin your personal podcast on that subject!
Podcasts are sometimes accessible both in seasons with a set variety of episodes or in an ongoing sequence. Our podcast Flops got here out with an eight-episode season in 2021, whereas different SPI Media exhibits like AskPat 2.0 and The Neighborhood Expertise had been launched weekly (till being sunsetted final 12 months). The Good Passive Revenue Podcast remains to be launched each week on an ongoing foundation.
Able to study podcasting the sensible means?
The All-Entry Move has the assets you want.
How podcasts began (a short historical past of podcasting)
Podcasts have their roots again within the Nineteen Eighties, however they didn’t take off till the early 2000s. In September 2000, the corporate i2Go launched a digital audio information and leisure service referred to as MyAudio2Go.com that allowed customers to obtain information, sports activities, leisure, climate, and music in episodic audio format. The next month, tech entrepreneur Tristan Louis proposed attaching sound and video information in RSS feeds (see beneath). This concept constructed steam over the subsequent few years, and in 2004 the time period “podcasting” emerged to explain this new means of distributing audio content material. In 2005, Apple added a podcast subscription characteristic to iTunes 4.9 and launched a podcast listing within the iTunes Music Retailer.
Since then, the sky has been the restrict for podcasting, with someplace between 3 and 5 million podcasts on the planet proper now!
What are podcasts used for?
So what’s the purpose or function of a podcast? What are they good for? A complete lot!
For the listener, a podcast is an effective way to find out about a given subject—and/or be entertained!—in a means that’s handy to them. Podcasts are free (for essentially the most half) and straightforward to seek out, and given their rising reputation, cowl a wider and deeper vary of matters than ever earlier than.
For the podcaster, the makes use of and advantages of a podcast might be huge. Podcasts are an effective way to construct and serve an viewers by entertaining and/or educating listeners on a given subject.
One of many key benefits of a podcast for the podcaster is that you just get to talk on to individuals, utilizing your voice. Your podcast episode could also be heard by hundreds and even hundreds of thousands of individuals, however for every listener, it’s simply you and them.
It’s been mentioned that podcasting is the easiest way to scale intimacy and make a direct reference to every of your listeners.
What’s a podcast host and why do you want one? (How an RSS feed works)
Podcasts are made accessible to listeners through a Actually Easy Syndication (RSS) feed.
An RSS feed permits content material creators to publish notifications of recent content material comparable to weblog posts or, in fact, podcasts.
Right here’s how that works. The podcast creator submits their podcast’s RSS feed to a listing, which makes it accessible to listeners through a podcast app or the creator’s web site.
A podcast listener can obtain new installments or episodes of a podcast routinely by subscribing to the podcast’s RSS feed of their chosen podcast app.
However how do you create your podcast’s RSS feed?
That’s the place a podcast internet hosting platform (or podcast host for brief) is available in.
A podcast host is a service that gives a spot to retailer and distribute your podcast’s audio information through an RSS feed. The podcast host routinely generates the RSS feed to your podcast, after which submits it to podcast directories, comparable to Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and others.
You could be pondering, Do I’ve to make use of a podcast host? Can I host my podcast on my web site? The brief reply is sure—however hear me out.
There are a number of advantages to utilizing a podcast host as a substitute of DIYing it. A podcast host can:
- Present storage to your podcast episode information, and permit them to be downloaded by listeners.
- Automate the creation and syndication of your RSS feed to podcast directories.
- Supply built-in analytics, so you may see how your present is rising and which episodes are the most well-liked.
Sure, you may technically host your podcast’s RSS feed by yourself web site. And sure, most podcast hosts value cash, with these prices usually growing as your present grows.
However for many creators, internet hosting your podcast by yourself web site is far more hassle than it’s value.
You would possibly save a couple of dollars, however in our opinion, the dearth of analytics alone makes internet hosting your podcast in your web site a nasty alternative.
Fortunately, you could have loads of choices to select from in relation to podcast hosts. Our advisable platform is Fusebox, due to its ease of use and useful options. [Note: I am a compensated affiliate for Fusebox.]
Different widespread internet hosting platforms embody Buzzsprout, Libsyn, Podbean, Anchor, and Blubrry.
It’s comparatively simple to work with a podcast host. You arrange an account on their web site, the place you may enter the main points of your podcast, add episodes, and discover choices for monetizing your present. Some platforms cost a month-to-month charge (variable relying on how a lot content material you publish), whereas others are free.
Final however not least, you could be pondering, Isn’t a podcast host additionally an individual? Sure! A podcast host also can check with the one that is the face and voice of a podcast. (For example, Pat is the host of the SPI Podcast.) Glad we cleared that up. 😉
Kinds of podcasts and podcast examples
As a medium for entertaining and sharing data, podcasts can take many alternative types! Listed here are a few of the most typical podcast codecs, together with examples.
- Interview: A bunch invitations a number of visitors to debate a given subject. This present format requires analysis and outreach to seek out visitors for every episode. (The Good Passive Revenue Podcast, Armchair Skilled, Contemporary Air)
- Solo Speaking/Storytelling: Because the title suggests, a single host “runs the present.” The time that will be spent on visitor analysis and outreach for an interview present is as a substitute directed towards analysis and preparation of the present’s content material. (Hardcore Historical past, Revolutions)
- Cohosted: A present with two or extra hosts who can present totally different personalities and views and typically humorous banter. (Stuff You Ought to Know, My Favourite Homicide, Flops, The Neighborhood Expertise)
- Roundtable: An expanded model of a co-hosted podcast with extra hosts who have interaction in conversations and banter round a given subject. (SmartLess, Pod Save America)
- Documentary: Just like a TV documentary, this podcast format sometimes has a narrator, and might embody interview segments, sound results/music, and even scripted scenes. (Serial, Startup Podcast)
Observe that many podcasts are a hybrid, incorporating components of a number of codecs. For instance, the New York Instances’ The Day by day is a cohosted podcast that comes with interviews.
Who makes podcasts?
Podcasts might be created by nearly anybody, from a person to a small crew to a big firm!
What’s a podcast producer?
In the case of podcasts, a producer is somebody who works behind the scenes to ensure the present is nearly as good as it may be. They sometimes put on a number of hats, and their duties could embody discovering visitors, organizing the episode schedule, overseeing the recording and enhancing processes, selling the present, and extra.
How you can take heed to a podcast
How simple is it to take heed to a podcast? Fairly darn simple! Right here’s what you’ll want:
- A smartphone, pc, or pill with an web connection.
- A podcast app
You’ll want an internet-connected machine, comparable to a smartphone, pc, or pill to entry podcasts. Because you’re already studying this put up, I’m guessing you’ve bought this one lined. 😉
Whether or not you’re trying to find a particular podcast or need to seek for a brand new one, a podcast app will come in useful. Listed here are a few of the hottest ones:
Every of those apps might be downloaded to your machine or accessed through the net.
So which one must you select? To be trustworthy, there’s not a ton of distinction between them, particularly if you happen to’re simply getting began as a podcast listener.
Should you’re a Mac/iOS consumer, then Apple Podcasts is your go-to, and if you happen to use an Android cellphone, then the Google Play Music app is the best choice.
Every app additionally supplies a podcast listing you could search to seek out new exhibits. Many of those apps may even present personalised suggestions primarily based on the exhibits you take heed to on the app.
If you end up turning into an avid listener of a lot of podcasts, you would possibly discover profit from utilizing an app like Pocket Casts, which is designed to filter and set up a lot of podcast subscriptions. However for 99 p.c of listeners, most apps will just do high-quality.
When you’ve discovered the podcast you need to take heed to in your podcast app, you may both stream it or obtain it to your machine to pay attention later. Your podcast app also needs to will let you “subscribe” to a present so that you’ll be alerted when new episodes are launched.
Some podcast creators additionally make their podcast episodes accessible immediately on their web site through a web-based podcast participant like Fusebox.
Right here’s an instance of how you can use an embedded internet participant like Fusebox to play a podcast episode proper on a webpage:
How you can begin a podcast
Should you’re curious about how you can begin a podcast, you’re in the best place! At SPI, we have now a ton of assets for first-time podcasters (and extra superior podcasters too, however let’s not get forward of ourselves…).
With a purpose to begin a podcast, you want a couple of key substances:
That’s not all, although, and if you would like the complete scoop, take a look at our “How you can Begin a Podcast STEP-BY-STEP” information.
It contains the lowdown on issues like:
- Selecting a podcast subject you may decide to
- Writing a compelling podcast description
- Selecting a podcast internet hosting service
- Recording your episodes
- And rather more
The “How you can Begin a Podcast STEP-BY-STEP” information makes beginning your podcast simple and doable as a way to construct your viewers—and even begin and scale a enterprise with the assistance of your new present.
You too can take a look at our video information to beginning your podcast!
A free guidelines for beginning your podcast
Ensure you don’t miss a step! The Podcast Cheat Sheet provides you all of the steps you could begin your present.
What’s a podcast FAQ
Listed here are some generally requested questions on podcasts, and our solutions!
Why are podcasts referred to as podcasts?
The phrase “podcast” is a portmanteau (mixed phrase) of “iPod,” Apple’s authentic transportable music participant, and “broadcast.” Some individuals have additionally steered “transportable on demand” as a “backronym” for the phrase “podcast.”
Podcasts vs. radio: What’s the distinction?
Are podcasts the identical as radio exhibits? Whereas podcasts and radio share a number of similarities, since they’re each audio codecs, podcasts are extra versatile in a number of methods. You’ll be able to consider podcasts as the subsequent “evolution” of the radio present.
Listed here are a few of the key variations between podcasts and radio:
- Podcasts are often edited, whereas radio is often stay.
- Podcasts might be streamed or downloaded on demand, whereas radio exhibits sometimes should be listened to stay. Radio stations are more and more making their beforehand aired exhibits accessible on-line, however most radio content material should be accessed when it goes stay.
- Most radio content material is geared toward a broad viewers, whereas podcast content material might be extraordinarily area of interest.
- Most radio exhibits must fill a particular time block, whereas podcast episodes might be any size.
- Radio exhibits sometimes have greater manufacturing prices, so that they include commercials to assist offset these prices. Whereas podcast promoting is a rising trade, many podcasts don’t embody adverts as a result of the associated fee barrier to entry for podcasting is a lot decrease than for radio.
Are podcasts free to take heed to?
The most effective issues about podcasts is that they’re often free to obtain and take heed to. Sure, you’ll want a tool to take heed to them and an web connection to obtain them, however the content material itself is usually freed from cost.
In recent times, some podcasters have begun creating further paid content material for his or her subscribers. These paid podcasts have gotten more and more widespread, though free podcasts are nonetheless much more frequent.
What’s a podcast community?
A podcast community is a set of podcasts underneath the umbrella of a single firm, which produces, distributes, and/or makes these podcasts accessible to advertisers. Podcast networks can present publicity and income for podcast house owners and are an ideal choice to think about as soon as your podcast has grown a bit.
Some podcast networks are targeted on a single theme, whereas others settle for podcasts throughout a variety of matters. The largest podcast networks embody iHeartRadio, Wondery, PodcastOne, HubSpot Podcast Community, and Audacy.
What’s a video podcast?
Video podcasts are an more and more widespread type of podcasting. Because the title suggests, they incorporate video and audio, permitting listeners to see and listen to your content material. Including video to your podcast is often extra work, however it might assist expose your present to a wider viewers by platforms like YouTube and TikTok.
What tools do you could begin a podcast?
As talked about above in “How you can Begin a Podcast,” a microphone is an important piece of kit you’ll want to start out your personal present. Nonetheless, there are a couple of different items of tech to think about:
- A desktop microphone stand
- A increase arm and shock mount to cut back undesirable vibrations
- A pop filter to cut back plosives (harsh sounds from sure syllables) in your recordings
- Software program for recording and enhancing, comparable to GarageBand or Audacity
- Sound dampening supplies to cut back room echo
Do podcasters earn a living from their exhibits?
They undoubtedly can, and lots of of them do!
The commonest means podcasts earn a living is thru promoting or sponsorships. You too can use affiliate internet marketing to advertise merchandise in your present and earn a fee when somebody purchases them utilizing your hyperlink.
Our Amp’d Up Podcasting course — accessible solely to our group members — is designed to assist podcasters develop and higher monetize their exhibits whereas additionally lowering manufacturing time.
Are you prepared to start out your podcasting journey?
I hope this primer on podcasts was useful! Perhaps you’re impressed to go discover a new present to subscribe to, and even grow to be a podcaster your self!
Earlier than you leap, nonetheless, it’s necessary to weigh the professionals and cons of podcasting.
Execs and cons of beginning a podcast
The advantages of getting a podcast might be quite a few. A podcast will help you:
- Develop your model or enterprise
- Meet new individuals
- Develop new earnings streams
- Broaden your viewers
On the similar time, podcasting is probably not for everybody. It takes time, vitality, dedication, and assets to start out and preserve a podcast. To achieve success, you could produce a high-quality present and publish it usually.
Extra assets for the aspiring podcaster (or simply the pod-curious)
If the thought of beginning a podcast remains to be thrilling to you, nice! We’ve bought numerous useful assets if you happen to’re able to continue learning about podcasts and what they’ll do that can assist you develop what you are promoting and join along with your viewers.
Should you’re curious about beginning your personal podcast, our How you can Begin a Podcast Information provides you sensible subsequent steps.
However if you happen to’re prepared to start out your podcast in essentially the most streamlined means potential, our Energy-Up Podcasting® 2.0 course is for you. It’s a step-by-step information to launching a profitable podcast that will get discovered and grows your on-line model. You’ll be able to take the course as a part of our All-Entry Move — membership will get you all our programs and the help of a vibrant studying group to information and encourage you in direction of podcasting success.
You too can discover The Good Passive Revenue Podcast and skim extra about podcasting on the weblog.
Able to study podcasting the sensible means?
The All-Entry Move group has the programs, assets, help, and accountability you want.
