In December of 2014 I approached Drew Short of Rock-n H Woodshop and asked him if he was interested in starting an audio podcast with me. 2 months later the first episode of Woodshop 101 Podcast was released, Woodshop 101 #001 : Why another podcast? But it wasn't as easy to get started as some might think it is. It took me 2 months to figure out how to record the episode and how to edit the episode.
When I first got started I followed Pat Flynn's Complete Step-By-Step Podcasting Tutorial. Pat Flynn runs a very successful entrepreneur website, Smart Passive Income. His tutorial got me started in the right direction but I still had a few things to figure out. Hopefully this tutorial will save you a lot of headaches.
Much to popular belief you do not need a lot of fancy equipment to get started. We don't need a pro level microphone with a fancy shock stand or a even a mixer. I recorded for a full year using the headphones that came with Apple iPhone. It requires a little more work in post editing to get the levels good but nothing that should stop you from getting started.
We record in Skype via a 3rd party program called Call Recorder. Call Recorder (at the time of writing this) is $29.95. The program will allow you to record both audio and video. It also comes with a host of other programs that I use edit the track.
Once you have downloaded the app it will automatically launch every time you open Skype. If you watch the video attached to this tutorial, I go into adjusting the settings to get the best recording. When you are ready to start recording it is as simple as hitting the red record button. And when you are ready to stop recording it is just as simple, hit the stop button. Once you stop recording the call it will automatically save the call to your computer.
When you are ready to start editing the file you will need to split the movie tracks and convert the file to .MP3 format. This is done easily with the Movie Tools that comes with Call Recorder. If for some reason the Movie Tools folder does not download with Call Recorder then click here to download the free programs. You will want the Legacy Tools in order to follow along with this tutorial. To split the movie tracks you need to open the program labeled "Split Movie Tracks". Drag and drop you file into the blank spot and it will split it into a minimum of 3 tracks (your call in audio format, the other persons call in audio format, and the video of the call with no audio). You will then drag and drop each of the AUDIO only files into the program labeled "Convert to MP3". You will need to have iTunes open because it uses iTunes to convert the file.
Once you have those done then you need to start a new audio project in Garageband. Drag and drop both of you audio files into the project. This is when I start working with the levels. If there is anything I need to delete out of the individual tracks, this is when I do it because this is the only time when the tracks will be independent. I share my file as a AIFF file so it will work with my levels program. I do this by going to "Share" "Export song to disc".
I use the program Levelator to automatically adjust the levels of the tracks. This program does a great job making all the levels equal. You can only use a .WAV or .AIFF file so that is why it is important to share your file as a .AIFF file from GarageBand.
After Levelator runs and exports the file I will import in back in GarageBand and add my intro, music, and outro. If I need to do any other editing such as bleeping words out or deleting excessive rambles then I do that at this time. If you need to bleep words then I am providing you 3 files that are different length of bleeps. You can download those at the bottom of this post.
After I finish all the editing then I need to export the file as a .MP3. I do this by going to "Share" "Export song to disc". I then take that file and drop it into iTunes. The only reason I drop it into iTunes is to write the METADATA or the ID3 Tags.
We use SoundCloud to host our file. SoundCloud creates the RSS link that iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, or any other podcast app pulls from. SoundCloud has tutorials that will walk you through setting up iTunes. To submit a podcast to iTunes you have to go to the iTunes store and on the right side there will be a link that says "Submit a Podcast".
Podcasting is a lot of fun but like anything else with creating content, it is a lot of work. The key to being successful in podcasting is consistency. We started out as a bi-monthly podcast and soon found out that releasing a show every two weeks we lost a lot of listeners because they would forget about us. We went to weekly shows and have been that way since.
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