Recording and Producing Your Podcast

Software

The next step in your podcasting odyssey is to actually record! Once again, your options range from free (Audacity), to overkill (ProTools HD). And once again, I recommend a rational, middle of the road solution, like Sony's Acid Music Studio . It offers everything you need to record, and even comes with a few goodies, including support for the latest drivers, as well as some basic signal processing (effects such as reverb, flange, etc.).

If you already know a bit about recording and editing sound, I'd recommend Sony Soundforge . It has lots of high quality customizable effects, and powerful editing tools that allow to you to clean up even the most distorted recordings.

If you cannot justify spending money on software yet, don't despair, because there's a pretty decent freeware program called Audacity . This cross-platform program has been gaining popularity, and its open source architecture means that users are constantly making it better. If you are a Mac user, you should look no further than Garageband.

Broadcasting Your Podcast

After recording your podcast, the next step is to upload it to the net. It is important when picking a host for your podcasts that you make sure you aren't being charged for bandwidth. The last thing you'd want would be for your podcast to become very popular, only to find that it is costing you lots of money because of increased bandwidth use due to the extra downloads.

Luckily, there are a variety of host that have no bandwidth restrictions. One of the bigger sites is Libsyn.com . Another option is to post the podcast to your blog with Podlot.com . And there are more and more companies popping up all the time. An interesting choice can also be found at slapcast.com . This host not only offers you the option of unlimited bandwidth, it also allows you to call in 60 minutes of podcast(s) over a standard telephone line.

Now that you have your file uploaded, its time to take care of the RSS feed. If you aren't sure what this means, don't worry. Many blogging sites such as Blogger now support podcasting, so they have the "enclosure" tag, into which you enter the URL of your blog. Pretty simple actually. Here is a more in-depth explanation of RSS feeds .

The final step is promoting yourself. There are many Internet directories dedicated to promoting your podcasts. Start with Podcast Alley and

Podcastpickle.com , and also check out Apple's iTunes Music Store. All are excellent, and most important, free!

A really good way to network with people, and improve the number you hits on your site would be to setup a myspace.com profile. There are an almost infinite number of ways promote your podcast - find one that works for you.