Podcasting is unbelievably easy.  Once everything is setup it’s smooth sailing from there!

What you need.

1. Recording Hardware
2. Recording Software
3. Audio and Website Host
4. Podcast Hosting Software
5. A Valid Podcast Feed
6. Syndication Outlets

Recording Hardware:

You really don’t need much more than a microphone and a quiet room this day in age.  Almost every PC or Mac already has the ability to record high quality digital audio via a Microphone Jack. If you need to be able to record phone calls you may need additional hardware that can be a little pricey, but why not just use Skype for the time being?

Recording Software:

Download Audacity.  It will do absolutely everything you need from recording to converting to compressing.  It even has some nifty audio cleaning features!  Oh, and the best part? It’s free!

Audio and Website Host:

Alright, so far everything has been pretty easy (and inexpensive) so I’ll try to continue with that in mind.  Hosting audio is by far the most important aspect of a podcast.  You need a fast, reliable, (and inexpensive) host so your visitors don’t turn around and leave because they have to wait 6 seconds for your audio to load (and they will!)

There are free solutions out there (Google Pages, Archive.org, etc.) but I would stay away from them.  They have huge limitations (max number of loads, max download speeds, huge wait times!) It’s so important that when a user clicks play, that your audio actually starts playing.  You cannot afford to mess this up.

I recommend Hostmonster (hey, it’s the 5th company we tried and until our listener base explodes we will stick with them!) They’re fast, you get plenty of space and they can host your software too (next section.)

Podcast Hosting Software:

Podcast hosting software used to be very difficult to use, expensive, and you were very limited in what you could use.  Fortunately that is no longer the case.  Here at Recognized Expert we use vBulletin and vBSEO to host our podcasts.  A little overkill maybe, but I think it looks great and it functions very well!

I’m going to recommend WordPress as your podcast hosting platform though.  It is very easy to setup (Fantastico!) It’s free and you can host it right on your Hostmonster account!

So, here is what you will need to download (hey and it’s all free!):

1. WordPress.org (or use Fantastico for the install!)
2. 1PixelOut Audio Plugin for WordPress
3. WordPress FeedBurner Plugin

A Valid Podcast Feed:

“But WordPress doesn’t create a valid Podcast,” you say.  Nope, it doesn’t!  That is where this nifty FeedBurner trick comes in to play.  Go setup an account at FeedBurner.com and when you are first asked to burn your first feed be sure to click “I am a Podcaster!” (you cant miss it!)  This will take the MP3 link that you post in your wordpress blog and create a valid podcast feed!  It’s really that easy!  You can do much more with FeedBurner, but that is the bare minimum you must complete.

Syndication Outlets:

Get the word out, get your feed out, get your podcast into the hands of as many listeners as possible!

Here is a great place to start.  Tell as many of these sites that will accept your feed that you can!

One Last Note:

Remember, your audio can be displayed on other peoples sites so don’t expect your listeners to know what your website address is.  You have to tell them over and over and over again within the actual audio!  Give listeners reasons to visit your site because this is what “driving traffic to your site using podcasts” is all about!

Good luck!