Your Podcast Launch Guide #simplified 

Are you someone who is thinking of starting a podcast? In this episode of the Maximum Lawyer Podcast, Becca, CEO at Maximum Lawyer shares her insights on starting a podcast and covers the various aspects needed to get things off the ground.

Podcasts are quickly becoming a popular platform for people to talk about different things and share their thoughts, especially since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting a podcast is a fairly easy thing to do but there are a few key things to consider in order to do it the right way. One thing is deciding how you will record your audio. Using the voice recorder on your phone, the microphone on your computer or even an external microphone makes recording a podcast versatile. It allows people to record audio from anywhere, whether it be at home, in the office or from the car. Many podcasters begin with a simple setup and overtime will upgrade as their audience and fan base increases.

Becca provides some options for editing podcasts. There are many softwares like Audacity and GarageBand that can be used to edit. AI driven softwares have also been released which edits podcasts for you, making the process faster. Another way to edit is to outsource and hire someone who can use their skills to take editing off your plate so you can focus on recording. Starting a podcast also includes choosing a podcast host, which is where you will upload all of your recordings. Whether it is Transistor, SimpleCast or Anchor, it is important to use this tool to submit your podcast episodes into the directories for Apple Podcasts or Spotify so listeners can access it.

Take a listen to learn how to start your podcast!

Episode Highlights:

• 00:24 How to start a podcast
• 1:21 Options for recording audio
• 5:51 The different podcast hosting platforms

Resources:

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Transcripts: Your Podcast Launch Guide #simplified 

Speaker 1 (00:00:01) - Run your law firm the right way. The right way. This is the maximum Lawyer podcast. Maximum lawyer podcast. Your hosts, Jim hacking and Tyson new tricks. Let's partner up and maximize your firm. Welcome to the show.

Speaker 2 (00:00:24) - Welcome to another episode of the Maximum Lawyer podcast. It's Becca, the CEO at Maximum Lawyer, and today we're discussing how to start a podcast. This topic was requested in the Maximum Lawyer Facebook group, and if you have a topic you'd like us to cover, we'd love to hear it! You can text us at (314) 501-9260, and just let us know any topics that you'd be interested in us talking about. Let's get started. If there's one thing I've seen in the entrepreneurial space in general, it's the tendency for people to overthink and overcomplicate the technical side of starting a podcast. And starting a podcast can be a relatively quick and easy thing to do. I will say there's an industry jargon to be learned, but like anything, a few Google searches can take care of that.

Speaker 2 (00:01:21) - And it can even be free. It can be 100% free. And I'll tell you how. Today I'm going to mention quite a few products and softwares in this episode, but don't worry, we'll link all of the products in the show notes. So here are the basics to getting started. How will you record your audio? A few options are using the voice recorder on your phone. The embedded microphone in your computer, or you can purchase an external microphone. I know multiple top podcasters who record on their computers in zoom and sometimes released episodes calling in from their cell phones. And you know what? The audio isn't great, but you know what else? Their followers want to hear from them anyway. They look to them for friendship, community, and strategic business advice, and that's what they get. While investing in quality equipment can improve, your show, content is key. As you progress, you can always upgrade your equipment. The quality of your podcast audio in the beginning will not make or break the success of your podcast, but your content will.

Speaker 2 (00:02:32) - Next, what will you record in? Like I mentioned, you can just use the voice Memo app, you can use zoom on your computer, or you can use a software like we use at maximum layer called Riverside FM. I don't recommend getting started in Riverside, but it is great once you'd like better local recordings for when you have guests. Simply put, this avoids the final audio recording. Having it cut out while someone's speaking. If they don't have great internet connection or slower internet speeds. Local recordings create a file for each speaker, which also allows for more detailed editing of the final audio. Next step how will you edit your podcast? Audacity is an open source and free software for podcast editing. I've also heard that you can use GarageBand on Macs, and there are a ton of AI driven softwares that claim to edit the audio for you. This could be great to play around with if you have extra time, but don't get hung up on it. None of these have truly impressed me yet.

Speaker 2 (00:03:37) - They're too new, though it is extremely convenient to have a software take out the A and UMS automatically, so you'll have to decide if they're worth paying for. And you can also outsource. You can find editors on places like Fiverr and Upwork. My best recommendation for editors is to reach out to someone you know and see who they use. You can even email us to get connected to our editor if you'd like to see if it's a good fit. My email is Becca at Maximum Lawyer Comm. Next, you'll need to write and record your intro and outro. If you're not a creative writer, then ChatGPT will get you a great first version. The intro and outro can change at any time, so don't overthink this. You can also get a very affordable intro from Fiverr with a really quick turnaround time. You just have to send them your script. They will often include royalty free music in the final product as well. If you're up for creating your own intro, use Google to search for royalty free music.

Speaker 2 (00:04:41) - Once you've recorded your intro and outro, grab your royalty free music and your audio recording, and then you're going to overlay those in audacity and boom, you have an intro. I personally would also fade in and fade out the beginning and the end of your intro music. Next you can create your podcast cover art. There are templates you can use in Canva or again, plenty of options on Fiverr for this. Next, you need to sign up for podcast hosting. Here's the thing about podcast hosting. They all do the same things for the most part, so it's all about price and various feature preferences. I have worked with Libsyn, Transistor, Simple Cast and Anchor, which is now known as Spotify for podcasters. Libsyn would be my least favorite. Honestly, I just feel like the user experience isn't that great in it. And then in addition to that, you also pay by the storage amount you upload per month. So if your podcast got longer or if you ended up publishing more episodes, you would end up paying more.

Speaker 2 (00:05:51) - Next up is transistor and this is what we currently use at maximum layer. I've also worked with Simple Cast, which was fairly similar. It is a paid option, but it has a better user experience than I feel like Libsyn has. And then finally Spotify for podcasters, which is the free option out of the four. This is where I would have anyone interested in hosting a podcast start. You are not married to your podcast host. You can transfer over a podcast to another host at any time, so do not overthink this step. Next you're going to record your first episode. Then you'll need to submit the intro episode as episode number one in your podcast hosting. This is going to allow you to submit your podcast RSS feed to the podcast directories like Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, etc. not too long ago, you had to manually add your RSS feed to all of the directories within the settings of your podcast hosts. I've seen some automatically do this for you now, so just make sure you check the settings to see if you have to copy and paste it in there, or if they've done it for you.

Speaker 2 (00:07:04) - It's going to depend on the podcast host that you choose. Out of everything we've talked about today, the truth is, there's nothing stopping you from starting a podcast tomorrow for free. Record on the Voice Memos app in your phone. Use audacity to edit and use Spotify for podcasters to host your podcast. Sure, if you have extra time and funds, you can buy equipment. But if you're overwhelmed with decision fatigue and using these things to avoid getting started, then just start with the free options and add equipment and improvements later. A lot of people start podcasts and find out they don't actually like it. This is a great way that you can get started for free with no risk, and invest in your podcast if you decide to stick with it. That's it for today's episode. If you have any questions on this topic, you can head to the Maximum Lawyer Facebook group and ask us any looming questions there. See you next time!

Speaker 1 (00:08:04) - Thanks for listening to the Maximum Lawyer Podcast podcast. Stay in contact with your hosts and to access more content.

Speaker 1 (00:08:12) - Go to Maximum lawyer.com. Have a great week and catch you next time.