In my last blog post, I had listed some of the reasons why it is important to get into podcasting if you haven’t done already.
But, you must be asking yourself, “What do I really need to get into the podcasting game?” Do I need an audio mixer? Or will a computer microphone be sufficient enough?
You search on the Internet and you will get endless results of what items you need to start your podcast. However, this shouldn’t stop you to get started with the podcasting. Yet, the truth is there are still bare essentials that you must have to start a podcast.
Now, there are few people who would way too much time to research on what equipment to use to start your podcast and never take action while there may be others who would just buy the best equipment available without doing enough research.
The disadvantage of former group of people is that you tend to waste too much time in researching while your main task should to just record the podcast and put it out there in the world. When I started my podcast, The Anuj Kapoor Talk Show, I didn’t really buy any podcasting gear. Now, you must be asking yourself, “What is the bare minimum thing I would need?”
Well, in simple terms, you just need a smartphone or a computer to start your podcast. That is all you need. You can either record your podcast on your laptop/desktop or you can even record it from your smartphone itself. Also, you will need a computer or a smartphone to record and upload your audio files.
But, once you get started with first few episodes then you would need to buy some equipment for your podcast. However, you don’t want to go too far in other direction otherwise you could buy the wrong thing or you could get an equipment that may not work for your requirements. Also, you may even end up wasting your money buying the wrong equipment.
In this blog post, I’ll list the four essential things that you require if you want to start a podcast.
Microphone
You will definitely need a microphone if you need to start a podcast, as you cannot use the built-in microphone of your smartphone or computer. You can either go with your regular microphones or buy microphones that are suited best for podcasting. There are various microphones available in the marketplace depending on how much you can invest your money. Microphones come in different categories, such as condenser microphones like Blue Yeti Pro and Rode Broadcaster and lavalier microphones like BOYA BY-M1DM Dual Lavalier Universal Microphone.
Pop Filter
Along with a microphone, it will also a good idea to purchase a pop filter that consists of a little foam sock and it will helps to filter out the plosives from your voce when you’re speaking. Plosive is a sound that comes when you say a word with a p sound. A pop filter can be one of the useful accessories in your list of equipment for your podcasts. Without a pop filter, it can cause many problems as the plosives can cause distortions in the audio. Also, pop filter will generally make your podcast sound more professional.
Audio Editing Software
While it is important to have gear for your podcasts, you also need an audio editing software where you can edit your episodes. There are plenty of options available that are both standalone and cloud-based. Some of the examples of best audio editing software are Audacity, Adobe Audition, Zencastr, and Cast.
Podcast Host
So, you’ve recorded and edited your episodes. You’ve exported your episodes into Mp3 format using the audio editing software. What next?
The next thing you need if you want to start a podcast is to house your episodes. And, you can do this using a podcast host. There are various podcast hosts available like Libsyn, Blubrry, Buzzsprout, and Anchor. All of the podcast hosts provide a bunch of features depending on your preference.
The Anuj Kapoor Talk Show operates on Anchor, which is 100% free platform to host your podcasts.
Wrapping it up
You don’t need to make it lot complicated while choosing an equipment for your podcast. After all, your main focus should be on the content that you want to deliver through the podcast and build the audience.
You just need to narrow down on a some options based on your requirements and see what works best for you right now and in the near future.
If you’re already a podcaster then feel free to add on the list of equipment that is needed to start a podcast and should be included in this list. Also, you can even let us know your absolute favourite podcasts with me.