Podcasting. Pick up a microphone. Talk. People listen.
That’s it, right?
Maybe for your first episode (if you’ve got enough mates to listen).
If you’re looking for something with a little more longevity and purpose, then I’d like to share with you my knowledge on the subject, from conception to publishing. This is the first in a series of three articles covering The What, The Why, and The How of Podcasting.
The What
So firstly, what is a podcast?
Think of a podcast as your own broadcast or radio show.
It’s (usually) a serialised/episodic content medium that your listeners subscribe to via apps (Spotify/iTunes, etc).
Listeners are then notified of any new episodes which are usually downloaded automatically to their device (more often than not a phone) for listening.
But, a podcast is not just made up of audio content. There are two very important parts to the ‘package’ that go along with your ‘talky bit’.
Cover Artwork
Similar to the old school ‘album cover’, you’ll undoubtedly want to have some ‘cover artwork’ to tell people what they’re listening to. I like to use the same title artwork for every episode but change the guest and episode details.
Now I’m not saying these are the most creative or expertly designed covers, but they give people the information I want them to have up front:
Podcast name, episode number, guest.
Podcast artwork needs to be square. Although there are many distributors you could upload to, they all tend to follow a pattern of needing to be minimum 1400x1400 pixels and a maximum 3000x3000 pixels. One piece of advice would definitely be to make sure your artwork is not so complex that it wouldn’t be viewed well on a smaller screen (phones are the most common!)
Show Notes
Show notes are where you give the details/descriptions that go along with your episode.
You might use it just to tell listeners what’s in the episode, but it’s also the place you can give guest details, place links or references to items discussed and of course, your own contact details!
Use show notes to populate the ‘description’ boxes of your podcast host as above (more on that in the HOW) or, if you’re creating a web page to point listeners towards, use show notes to give them the low down.
So, that covers how I answer the question 'What is a podcast?'
If it's helped you or you have any questions or further thoughts, please leave a comment!
