Getting Started with B2B Podcasting: A not-too-techy guide for first-time podcasters
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This guide offers a step-by-step approach to getting started with B2B podcasting, emphasizing the importance of selecting appropriate hosting options and controlling the RSS feed for submission to platforms like iTunes. It covers technical aspects such as equipment needed, recording tips, editing techniques, and opportunities for promotional strategies across social media. Additionally, it highlights the necessity of monitoring metrics to improve content and engage listeners effectively.
Getting Started with B2B Podcasting: A not-too-techy guide for first-time podcasters
- 1. Getting Started with B2B Podcasting A not-too-techy guide for first-time podcasters
- 2. Introduction Here you‟ll find friendly technical advice on how to bring your podcast all the way from setup to submitting it to iTunes.
- 3. From left to right: Fiona Campbell-Howes – MD and lead copywriter at Radix Communications, David McGuire of Lungfish, Emily King (me) – Research and Marketing Executive at Radix Communications. About Me I started podcasting in 2008 and currently produce two podcasts: the Radix Copycast (at work) and Nerds Assemble (outside work). I‟m involved at all stages of production, from outlines to recording, editing to uploading.
- 5. Hosting Wait, you don‟t even have a podcast episode yet and we‟re telling you to sort out hosting? It‟s one of those things that you really shouldn‟t leave last minute. So where to host? Your options are: •Company servers •Podcasting service •Cloud storage solution
- 6. Company servers If you self-host on your company‟s web servers, talk with your web team about how best to upload the audio files. Note that your servers will need to be capable of “byte-range” requests to be accepted on iTunes. Using WordPress? There are plugins you can install that display an audio player of your podcast – again talk with your team about what will work best.
- 7. Podcasting service providers • • • • • • • Lisbyn Soundcloud Podbean Audioboo (our favourite) jellycast PodOmatic (And many more) NOTE: some of these are paid-for services and/or have limits on bandwidth usage
- 8. Cloud storage solution Dropbox Amazon Web Services Google Drive Rackspace (And many more) NOTE: some of these are paid-for services and/or have limits on bandwidth usage
- 9. RSS Wherever you host your podcast files, you‟ll need control over the RSS feed – that‟s what lets you submit your podcast to services like iTunes. If your company blog RSS isn‟t RSS 2.0 compatible or optimised for podcasts, consider using an RSS service like FeedBurner to create an RSS feed for your podcast.
- 10. What to base your RSS on Every episode you upload (wherever it may be) should be cross posted to your company blog with a direct link to the audio file on where it‟s hosted. These posts should be organised under a dedicated category or tag for your podcast. The URL for this tag or category is what you base your RSS feed on.
- 11. The importance of controlling your RSS iTunes is unlikely to disappear anytime soon, but you may fall out of love with where you‟re hosting your podcast. And if you‟re using their RSS service, when it comes to breaking-up you‟ll have great difficulty in maintaining continuity. Blogging your episodes and having your own RSS gives you options.
- 12. Hardware Already own a decent handheld digital audio recorder? Use it to record episodes, with a pair of headphones for playback. Otherwise you‟ll need a desktop PC or Mac and a few more pieces of kit.
- 13. The Kit Your easiest choice for headphones is a pair with a 3.5mm jack. Headphones A condenser microphone that plugs into a USB port on your PC/Mac. USB microphone
- 14. If you‟re going to be recording by yourself, you can use a combined USB headphone and mic headset.
- 15. Software There are lots of programs out there that will let you record and edit audio. If you‟re a Mac user, you may already have GarageBand. Audacity (free and can be used for commercial purposes) is available for Windows and Mac and can be used to record and edit. NOTE: If you choose Audacity. you‟ll need to download and install the LAME MP3 Encoder. Downloads and instructions are available on the Audacity site.
- 16. Also consider downloading software that can configure meta data for your podcast, once it‟s been edited. Programmes such as Mp3tag can configure not just information like Artist and Publisher, but also apply cover art so that a track has an associated image when played on an MP3 player.
- 17. Long distance podcasting Hoping to have guests who aren‟t there in person? You could use Skype and an audio recording software like Total Recorder or host a Google Hangout, download the video and strip out the audio. It‟s possible to record Skype calls via Audacity, but the editing process is far more complex.
- 18. Format From episode length to theme music
- 19. Length Check whether your hosting platform sets limits on file size or episode length – that will be a critical factor when planning episodes.
- 20. Scripts vs outlines Some parts of a podcast are better scripted: introductions and outros, for example. But scripting more than that will make your podcast sound unnatural. INSTEAD: Create a broad outline for each episode. This will let your contributors know what‟s up for discussion and how long they should spend on each topic.
- 21. Theme music Music can give your podcast a unique identity and a professional feel. It also enables transitions between segments. Make sure you have the right to use your chosen music in the way you want. E.g. can you edit it to fit? Can you use it in multiple episodes?
- 22. Music resources with content under Creative Commons and/or Public Domain licensing: Free Music Archive ccMixter Opsound Search for other CC work here Always check what kind of license a track has before using it in your podcast.
- 23. Royalty free music sites: • AKM Music • mediamusicnow • allmusiclibrary Check before purchasing whether there‟s a limit on the number of times a track can be used/played. Alternatively: commission your own theme music. Again – check what your usage and editing rights will be.
- 25. Recording space Unless you have access to a professional recording studio, there are a few things you need to sort out: Choose a quiet place to record (the less echoey, the better) Let your colleagues know when you‟re recording Ask contributors to switch off their phones or put them in airplane mode Use a stopwatch to keep track of recording time
- 26. Settings Whichever software package you use, you‟ll want to ensure a good recording quality. Ideally the quality settings of your recorder should be sampling audio at 44100Hz (CD quality) and the sample format should be 32-bit, though 16-bit can also work. You should record in mono. Here are some good resources: Guides on using Audacity for the first time Guides on using GarageBand „11
- 27. Testing sound levels Before you get into the full flow of recording your podcast, make sure you‟re not sounding too quiet or too loud. Digital recorders, recording software and computer operating systems will have their own configuration for how much sound a microphone detects.
- 28. Is it really recording? It may seem a silly thing to check, but it‟s a problem that many podcasters have faced. Look for signs like time bars moving or estimated file sizes getting larger.
- 29. It‟s okay to pause Unless you‟re podcasting live, there‟s always time to pause if things go wrong or you need a moment to think about what you want to say next. In fact, pausing and being quiet when something goes wrong can help give a visual clue to you, during editing, that something is amiss near the area of that pause. Pausing is also useful at the beginning of a recording, distinguishing the episode audio from any banter.
- 30. Long distance - tips 1. Get everyone to do a sound check before you properly begin recording. 2. If the sound begins to break up or distort during the recording, restart the call/hangout. 3. Guest doesn‟t have access to a PC? If they have a smartphone or tablet they can use the mobile versions of Skype or Google Hangouts. 4. Regardless of device - make sure they use headphones or there will be an echo effect from their mic picking up the conversation.
- 32. Waveforms Your editing software will probably display audio tracks as a “waveform” like the one opposite. Waveforms display a great deal of information. The bigger the peaks, the louder that part of a track. A nearly flat line means no one was talking at that point.
- 33. Saving Remember: • Save often • Making a major change? Save it as a separate project • Get into the habit of using keyboard shortcuts to save Audacity does have a quirk where you can‟t save your current project when the audio is playing or paused, so remember to stop playback when saving.
- 34. Sort out a rough version first Edit together a rough version of your podcast first, with all the audio tracks for the episode in the correct order, and with any unnecessary audio/silence at the beginning and end removed. Once the rough version is edited together, you can then work on fine tuning it – taking out “ums” and adding theme music.
- 35. Pauses and „ums‟ A podcast should sound natural, but sometimes the proportion of „ums‟ and unintended pauses can be too much. Get used to recognising what an „um‟ looks like, it‟ll be easier to edit them out. Pauses have nearly no waveform definition. All of these boxed bits of wavefor m are “ums”
- 36. Adding music & fades Decide whether your music will keep playing under the introduction or whether it will stop before the talking starts. Either way, add fades. Have your music “fade in” as it begins and then “fade out” as the talking begins or before it starts. It stops it sounding abrupt. Fades are good for interval music and outro music.
- 37. Exporting your episode Once you‟re happy with the editing, you‟ll need to export the episode. The option to export is usually under “File” in Windows based software, Garageband has it under “Share”. You should save your podcast as an .mp3 file, and the bit rate quality is best set to 128kbps.
- 38. Metadata While you‟re exporting you‟ll be asked to fill in “metadata”. Key information to provide will be your podcast‟s title as “track title” and your company‟s name under “artist name”. If you want a more in-depth metadata editor and the ability to add a logo as cover art, take the exported .mp3 file to a metadata editor.
- 39. Share Blog post to RSS
- 40. Blog Even if you‟re using a third party hosting service, create a blog post for each episode. Things to include in your post: • A direct link to the mp3 file for your episode • A specific tag or category for your podcast series • Attribution to any CC or Public Domain music used Check out this episode of the Radix Copycast to see how we post.
- 41. Getting onto iTunes & more It‟s up to you whether to submit your podcast‟s RSS to iTunes and other syndication services. But your first episode blog post must be live and registering in your RSS before you submit it to iTunes. Further advice and instructions for submitting to iTunes can be found here.
- 42. Sharing across your channels Don‟t forget to promote your podcast across relevant social media channels and groups and in your e-newsletter. Ideally you should link to the blog post for each episode so you can track the incoming traffic. Simply having the podcast on iTunes will not be enough to build an audience.
- 44. Keep an eye on metrics Track visits to your podcast blog posts using your web and e-newsletter analytics If you‟re using a podcast hosting provider, keep an eye on its metrics. Watch how it does in social media – especially how people to respond to it. Look for episodes that do well and use that information to plan future content
- 45. Don‟t be afraid to try again If, after the first episode or two, you find that no one is taking notice of your podcast or the format isn‟t working out for you or your listeners: try something different. Lots of long-running podcasts sound completely different today from when they started – the podcasters have improved and refined the format over time.
- 46. Podcasting resources Check out the following sites for more advice and help with podcasting: The Podcasters Google+ Community The Audacity to Podcast Advice on podcasting with an iPad Tips on how to record a podcast with Skype and Audacity
- 47. About us Radix is a copywriting agency for the content marketing era. We work with marketers to develop programmes of content that guide customers through every stage of the buying process. We specialise in the B2B technology sector, with expertise in enterprise hardware and software, networking, electronics and industrial automation. We‟ve written for innovative tech companies large and small, including Canonical, Oracle, Salesforce and Spirent. Our monthly podcast explores trends and issues in B2B technology copywriting. You can listen to it here.