Gonzo,

I’d love to see it happen. Alas, I have no technical ability to help…just thought I’d express my enthusiasm for the idea :) Good luck amd Go Vikes!

Howler

I run three podcasts (TreoCast, WMExperts Podcast, and the iPhone Blog podcast) and it’s a little difficult at first but super fun.

Must dos:

1. Get a co-host. Having somebody else on the show that you converse with, crack jokes with, etc. will instantly make your podcast 500% better, no matter how clever you are on your own.
2. Get a decent USB mic. I like the M-Audio Producer or the Snowball, you can find either for around 80 to 100 bucks. A pop-filter is also a good idea.
3. If you’re on a mac, just use that with garageband. If your cohost is remote, just do a call with skype and both of you record locally. If you’re on a PC, there’s equally easy software out there, but I’m stupid about what it would be.

I’ve been producing a music podcast, The Roadhouse, for more than three years. I’ve also produced several spoken-word podcasts, including The ClarkCast With General Wesley Clark. I have some answers to your questions.

1. Prep time: As much as you can possibly allocate. Even the most “off-the-cuff” podcasters dedicate time to structuring each edition. If this will be a weekly podcast, it’s good to spread out prep time over the week – maybe a 1/2 hour 3-4 evenings prior to the show. It’s also a good idea to plan out the general topics of the first several episodes. That process will give you a better idea of the direction you want to take the show over the long haul.

2. Sites and services: Libsyn (http://libsyn.com) is the 800-pound gorilla for podcast hosting. They have very attractively-priced plans, based on storage rather than bandwidth. That means you can plan on success with the podcast without taking a huge financial hit. You’ll also want to make sure your show is listed in iTunes. Apple provides some great guidance on how to do that. Feedburner provides a good free feed service. You’ll want that for those who choose to subscribe via rss, and for the metrics they provide.

3. Equipment: What can you afford? Some pieces (especially in a talk podcast) are critical. A good mic, for example, can set you back anywhere from <$100 to several hundred. Large diaphragm cardioid condensor mics do very well for talk. If you plan on having a co-host sitting with you, you’ll also need a small mixer. If the co-host is remote, recording directly from Skype will work well. If you have a bit of cash to spend, I’d also recommend a tube mic preamp to warm up the voices, and a compressor/limiter/expander/gate to further process and clean the sound. Mic, mixer, preamp, and compander can all be had for less than $400 total.

4. Software: Audacity is a free audio editing package with every feature you’ll need for capturing, processing, editing, and converting your show. Mac, Win and Linux versions are available.

• I’d record three or four “pre-launch” editions of the show just to work out the technical bugs and polish your format. Critique them ruthlessly. Most podcasters will tell you that the first few shows they did were poor, if not flat embarrassing (myself included!). Those mock shows will help you launch with a far better show.
• “If you build it, they will come.” Don’t be discouraged by initial low numbers. It takes a while to build the audience. Have fun and have faith in your production and listeners will follow.
• Be flexible. Don’t be afraid (even with a growing audience) to change the things about your show that aren’t working for you. Conversely, don’t change what’s not broken.
• Encourage feedback and listen to your audience. Pretty self-explanatory.
• Have fun. If you’re passionate about your subject, it’ll come through in the podcast. There will be as many listeners hooked into that passion as those waiting for killer content.

I could go on and on. I won’t. But, for the sake of some cred, here’s a link to my show:

http://roadhousepodcast.com/

I’d tune in, BUT it doesn’t sound cheap, or easy on your daily routine. I’d hate to see you burn out, or get in trouble with Mrs Gonzo. Keep on bloggin

Gonzo, there is a much cheaper way to do this, but your quality is going to suffer.

What I did was recorded the audio on my computer using the voice record option (and a mic that cost me less than $20), then put it into whatever the Windows video creating program is (I did this mainly because you can post videos, but not audio on Blogger). I threw in some intro music and some photos to go along with the audio and was done.

From there, I published the video to the computer, uploaded it to Google Video and embedded it into a post.

I recently put together a short show and posted it on my site. Click here to check it out. It was the first time I tried to do it, so it was more of a test run than anything. As you can tell, the sound quality isn’t great, but you can clearly hear what I’m saying and there isn’t a ton of background noise. It’s a little rough around the edges, but I’m hoping to smooth it out a bit for show No. 2.

Anyway, the pros of this option is it’s much cheaper, and you can give your listeners something to look at while they’re listening. The cons are the quality is poor (using the default sound recording software and a cheap mic) and you’re not going to be able to have a co-host or callers or anything cool like that.

If you envision something more like a traditional radio show, another option is using NowLive.com, which I don’t know tons about.

I’d definitely check out any kind of podcast you put together, and I read the blog regularly. Keep it up.

Gonzo,
Before you decide you may want to contact Brian of the Viking Underground. He has done numerous podcasts (and very good ones I might add) and I’m sure he can help you out with whats involved and the time constraights so you don’t get in trouble with the Mrs.

I did tune in, but it does not sound brassy or easy on your daily everyday.
___
Aady
Addiction Recovery Minnesota