I'm not sure how much use this will be, but I have noticed an increase in websites using podcasts as a way to reach their visitors and offer an enhanced service.
Hopefully a few pointers i've picked up may come in handy for anyone considering doing it.
Firstly, make sure you actually have a concept, and that its one worth setting up regular podcasts about. Try not to limit yourself to just one topic, but rather go for a certain theme - then you can take on different topics on a regular basis.
Rehearse, and script what you're going to discuss. Yes, I know it can be appealing to have a completely unscripted program, to try and achieve a more "raw" product, and that make work every now and then - but people don't want to listen to someone every week who wings it as they go along.
If you're co-hosting, make sure its with someone reliable. If you're trying to launch a regular podcast series, it doesn't look good if you have constant delays because some guy who was supposed to be co-hosting never bothered to show up.
Get a good recording program, and a good VOIP program if you're co-hosting. If you're flying solo, try
WavePad - its completely free and will provide more than enough tools to record and edit yourself. If you're going to have a co-host, try
Skype. To record from Skype, you'll probably need a little program called
HotRecorder - the basic version is free, but you'll need to pay around $20 to upgrade and be able to convert recorded files to Wav.
Save your recordings often - possibly even have more than one person recording it. We do several pre-recorded podcast-style shows on SIRadio, and I can't count how many times we've had to start over because the guy who was recording had their PC crap out on them.
If you're going for a more "raw" product, give some thought to pitching it as "uncensored" rather than "unedited" - as you'll probably find yourself wanting to do a tiny bit of tweaking to the raw product - getting rid of those horrible lengthy silences, interuptions etc. Again, Wavepad is a great program for this, or if you have a few hundred dollars to shell out, try Adobe Audition.
Also, try not to stray too far over one hour in length. If you do excessivly... maybe 1hr 30-2hrs, look at possibly splitting the file into two parts.
Last piece of advice, do not include any music or exerts from music in your podcast. There are strict licensing laws against any unauthorized individual/group making any copyrighted tunes available for download in any form, and that includes as a backing track (or carpet) for your podcast and any jingles etc.
While a lot of people may think that if their operation is small, the licensing companies won't bother them, they're wrong - i've known far too many decent stations that were small and low-profile be shut down and ordered to pay post-dated royalties because they weren't registered.
The big problem with this is that having a carpet track, or spruced up into can greatly enhance the quality of the podcast. In this case, i'd look for websites and services which offer original music composition. There are a lot of pricey ones out there, but theres also some at a decent price - so if you're serious about making this a key feature of your site, it could be worth looking into.
If you're wanting a professional voice-over for the intro's to your podcast, you may want to check out
Jeff Radio - this guy produces really great quality soundbytes fairly cheap. Also be sure to check out his links section for alternatives, as well as places to get the afforementioned royalty-free "carpet" tracks.
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Hope that is of some help to anyone considering going into podcasting - if not, then you probably won't have read this far anyway, so :P
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