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Adding a mixer to your podcast studio will allow your productions to grow along with your show.
As you get further along in your podcasting venture, you’ll likely want to add in more capabilities such as Skype hosts and guests, more in-studio microphones, and built in capabilities for backing up recordings to avoid loss of your audio. Having a mixer in your studio allows you to easily add in these and many more features as your skills and productions progress over time.
On this episode I explain the many ways a mixer allows you to easily expand your studio’s capabilities and what features you might want to look for when choosing your first mixer or upgrading your old one.
There are many ways to create an .mp3 file. Some methods include creating an mp3 directly from your editing system including Audacity, Garageband and others.
My preferred method is to use the free iTunes software. This gives you a better sounding file due to the technology (Fraunhoffer (best for voice)) that iTunes is using to compress your audio into the .mp3 format.
The video below shows you how to setup your iTunes software for compressing an uncompressed file (.wav or .aiff) into the .mp3 format.
The settings shown are my preferred settings for audio only (mostly voice) for podcasting. You can change the bit rate to your desired setting for the best compromise between size and quality.
After properly setting up the iTunes software to create mp3′s, I’ll show you how to add in metadata to your file. ID3 tags are the information that helps identify your podcast episode within someone’s portable media player such as an iPod, iPad, or Android device.
This information will display each episode’s title, description and album cover art as well as any other information you choose to include.
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Continuing where I left off in part one of this two part series, I wrap things up with a discussion about the remaining basic pieces you’ll need to start a successful podcast. I’m defining a successful podcast here as a podcast that starts off with all the core elements in place so that you don’t have to go back and fix the foundation of your show in the future. Often times, mistakes are made when setting up a podcast (understandably due to excitement and the rush to get started) that will often require an entire rework of the core elements of your podcast.
In this episode I guide you through creating artwork for your podcast, establishing an RSS feed, getting your show on various podcasting directories such as iTunes, marketing and promoting your podcast and a few extra elements to add to your show as you grow.
Most important of these factors is the proper setup of your RSS feed. The best way to ensure that you don’t run into major problems in the future is to use Feedburner to enhance your originating feed. This will not only help create a valid feed, add extras to your feed while allowing you to easily control its appearance but most importantly it will give you the ability to move your audio and/or video file host anytime you want without affecting your audience.
This episode, in combination with episode 050 (part 1), provides a solid foundation on which to build your show. You’ve learned how to produce a podcast and with this episode you learn how to enhance, deliver, and promote your show. All of these factors will set you up for a long lasting show that can be built upon as your grow your podcasting skills, knowledge and library.
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If you use WordPress to create your podcasting RSS feed then you may have noticed that only ten or less of your most recent episodes are showing up in podcatchers such as iTunes. There’s a simple fix.
Simply adjust the default syndication setting (10) in the Reading section of your WordPress settings.
Click here to see a screencast tutorial of me walking you through the process. This works for both free sites on WordPress.com and your own installation of WordPress.
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When you create your album artwork the graphic that represents your podcast (also referred to as show art or ID3 image), make sure you use a high enough resolution so that it displays well on large screens. I recommend making your show logo 600 x 600 pixels. This is a square image that will display [...]
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As a podcast producer you have likely heard that you need to create good show notes for each episode. But what does this mean and how do you accomplish it? On this episode I talk about the elements that make up good show notes (descriptive, keyword rich, and supplemental links). I also discuss ways to [...]
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On this episode I debut my new show intro and talk about how my new podcast music can affect your show’s production value. I also introduce a few new elements to the show’s introduction including an episode number and a tag-line. Learn how you can improve on your show intro and opening from a great [...]
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Promote your podcast by contacting the people and or companies you mention in your show. Many times those people will respond by passing on your content to their community. Whether it’s through a simple tweet or facebook post, your content gets exposed to infinite amounts of new listeners when it’s passed on by someone else. [...]
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The importance of having a clean, easy to read, relevant show logo. Learn why your podcast’s show art is so important and how to improve on the one you already have or create one for free. Also find out how to use Posterous to host your podcast for free but reasons why you might not [...]
Learn why having a logo for your podcast is so important and how to create one for free. Also learn some of the most important elements of show logo design for maximizing the impact it has on your audience. right-click to download Subscribe to Podcast Quick Tips
Skype hosts and guests, more in-studio microphones, and built in capabilities for backing up recordings to avoid loss of your audio. Having a mixer in your studio allows you to easily add in these and many more features as your skills and productions progress over time.
