Podcasting was developed in 2004 by former MTV video jockey Adam Curry and software developer Dave Winer. Curry wrote a program, called iPodder, which enabled him to automatically download Internet radio broadcasts to his iPod. Several developers improved upon his idea, and podcasting was officially born.
Living in lockdown has provided us with a plethora of stories that range from the extremely tragic to the deeply introspective. A new kind of normal that a global population can foundate a relationship on.
This is a great time to express your narrative. Podcasts don’t have to be polished. They have to be real. A key that unlocks the reality behind your closed door.
There are literally millions of podcasts available, and many of the great ones come from “non-professional” content creators. People who lock into the base of telling a story, and not worrying about the semantics. Training radio, one of our inherited creative blocks comes from structure and directive, and we creatively grow within a confined space.
But with podcasting, no one has the black belt ownership on the process. Just have a plan, record from the heart, and touch another’s life.
People are still overprotective of their time, so yes, it still has to be a high-quality product that you are serving, in one way or another, that satisfies their hunger for medium consumption.
Work on a 3, 6, 8, 12, or 24 part series that engages loyalty and buy-in from a podcasting audience. Don’t know how to start? Here are some base tips:
- Choose a Topic You’re Passionate About. Before you hit record, it’s a good idea to give serious thought to why you’re starting this podcast in the first place
- Brand Your Podcast
- Format and Structure
- Plan Your Content
- Record, Broadcast, and Edit Your Podcast
- Grow Your Audience
- Monetize Your Podcast
In teaching my students about how easy it is to drive your narrative, we took the content of “Self-Help” and blew up the ideas around what stories could be told. I wanted it raw, I wanted it real. And I wanted it to really come from the heart. So I experimented. I’m usually quite clean and polished when producing content pieces and podcasts based on the subject matter. But I woke up at 3 am to make sure my inhibitions were down, turned on my laptop, scrapped out a creative blast, picked up my phone, and started recording. I also edited from my phone using basic audio editing software, so as to emulate a real-time process, where nothing is lost in transit.
It was uncomfortable, which means it taught me something of value.
Here is the outcome:
For some guidance please check out the following links:
- Advice from the NPR Click here
- Insights on how to start a podcast Click here
