What Is a Podcast, and How Do You Make One?

Podcasts have been very popular abroad for 15 to 20 years, and in Turkey they have spread quickly and become a familiar name over the last 3 to 4 years. That said, there are people in Turkey who have been recording podcasts for much longer. Originally designed to be played on iPods, podcasts can now be heard on many different platforms. Put simply, a podcast is like a radio show you can easily access and listen to whenever you want. Podcasts, however, usually revolve around a particular topic.

There’s no limit on the number of speakers in a podcast. One person can record on their own, or a podcast can be an interview or a panel. You can host the show with the same people every time or invite different guests each week. Whatever format you choose, another key element is the topic. Podcasts usually revolve around a topic, and it needs to be one that interests people when they listen. For your podcast to earn money, it’s important that many people listen.

How Do You Make a Podcast?

As we mentioned above, deciding on the format and topic is the most important thing before recording a podcast. Once you find a topic you believe will interest many people and that they’ll listen to regularly, some technical matters come into play. But there’s no need to worry; these details are easy to learn.

Once you’ve found a good topic and decided to record a podcast, you’ll need some equipment if you’re recording at home. The equipment depends on your needs, since it varies with your budget, the quality you want and your audience. At first, you can start with more affordable gear to try things out and see how it goes. If you just want to test yourself, you can even rent equipment for a while, depending on how often you record and how many episodes you’ve stockpiled.

What Equipment Do You Need to Record a Podcast?

For entry-level podcast equipment, a budget of around 1,000 TL may be enough, but if you want to start with good quality, setting aside 3,000 to 5,000 TL is a better idea.

Microphone

Whatever kind of podcast you want to record, the first and most essential piece of equipment is a microphone. A good microphone is important for clear, clean, high-quality sound. Here you’ll need to choose between two types: analog and digital microphones.

As with many things, analog microphones offer better sound quality, but they can be bigger and a bit harder to use. Digital models, meaning USB microphones, stand out for their ease of use.

Background static during recording, latency when monitoring with headphones, difficulties with multiple microphones and quality concerns make analog microphones the better choice over digital models. With USB models, these problems decrease significantly as the price goes up.

Pop Filter: A pop filter isn’t essential for recording a podcast. But if you intend to make somewhat professional recordings and want the best results, you should use one. It will extend the life of your microphone and prevent plosive pops while you speak.

Audio Interface or Mixer

If you choose an analog microphone, you’ll need an audio interface. To connect an analog microphone to your computer, you need an audio interface or a mixer. Audio interfaces can give you higher-quality results. If you prefer a mixer, whether the model has a built-in digital audio interface or is fully analog can make a big difference.

Headphones

You may also need good headphones to judge the quality of your own recording. Even with a good microphone, without good headphones you won’t be able to hear the true quality of your show. So buying headphones with good sound quality is very important for understanding the quality of your recordings.

Headphones may be something you can compromise on at first, but if you’re running an ongoing podcast, you can improve your show’s quality by getting a good pair as soon as possible.

Microphone Arm

To keep your microphone from vibrating and get the best possible sound quality, you may need a microphone stand or boom arm. You can skip this at first, but at some point it’s an important tool for getting a complete, accurate recording.

A microphone arm or stand has a movable body with more than two axes and lets you fix the microphone to a desk or similar surface. The microphone mounted at the top of the arm is held in a shock mount, which protects sound quality from bumps.

Although podcasts weren’t created to replace radio, they emerged as a necessity of our age to fill one of radio’s gaps. Live broadcasts can’t be heard if you miss them, and recording them isn’t easy, so people looked for a platform they could access easily and listen to whenever they wanted. That’s how podcasts became very popular abroad over the last 15 to 20 years, and in Turkey over the last 3 to 4 years.

The biggest advantage of podcasts is, of course, that you can listen whenever and wherever you want. Being able to listen to a topic you’re curious about, or someone you enjoy following, while doing other things, especially in traffic, while traveling, walking or exercising, is a big advantage and saves time. Today, especially for people living in big cities, life moves fast and there are many things we can’t find time for. We can at least make our routine tasks more enjoyable by filling them with our interests. Podcasts let us do exactly that, helping us make time for ourselves and our interests.

Corporate Podcasts

For organizations, the momentum podcasts have gained in recent years is as important as getting onto new social media channels early to reach their audience. Seen as an essential part of communication and marketing, podcasts help organizations reach their audiences, and it’s very important for them to produce or sponsor podcasts on topics related to their field, directly or indirectly.

Considering that business, and especially entrepreneurship, is a constant topic of conversation, business podcasts certainly have their own audiences. If you’re a company that cares about being present on different channels and getting your name out there (and in this day and age, you should), take some time to think about what you can do with podcasts.

At Digibus, we produce 3 types of podcasts for corporate companies:

• Podcast production
• Turning webinars or YouTube broadcasts into podcasts
• Converting written texts into podcasts in any language with text-to-speech technology.

For more information, you can visit our contact page.