Last Updated on June 4, 2020 by Ava
I began thinking about starting a podcast a couple years ago. 
You know, I hadn’t tried it yet. I’ve tried a hundred other things, but not podcasting.
I had no idea what I wanted to talk about or if it would be something I could or should do. Early in 2016, I took my thoughts to the next level and started researching how to go about starting a podcast. I came across Pat Flynn’s tutorial over on SmartPassiveIncome.com. I took extensive notes on how to get started. I even added a mic to my Amazon Wishlist.
Fast foward to December 2017…
I recently moved my office from upstairs in my home to downstairs and that has presented a whole new dynamic about when and where I use my laptop. Since it’s the only computer I have currently, I’ve been basically using it as a CPU only. That poses a problem when you want to use the built-in mic and/or webcam.
I revisited that mic on my wishlist, and actually bought a model that was a little better, I think, on a lightning sale thing. I just couldn’t pass up the price. It’s not really a brand name, but it came with the whole shebang. I got the boom, pop filter, shock mount, and even a separate power supply for under 20 bucks.
Now, I know if you’re some kinda pro podcaster/singer/recorder that sounds super cheap and crappy, but this thing sounds pretty awesome compared to an on-board laptop mic.
Ready, Set, Launch!
I’ve Audacity sitting on my hard drive for years and never used it much.
That has changed significantly in the last week.
This week, I launched my show, The Candid Cashflow Podcast, and I’m super excited.
I’ve had to throttle my enthusiasm a bit because this is what I do: I get excited, go full-on into something, and burn out when nothing seems to be happening.
I put out 3 episodes this week which is a bit much. I wanted to get 3 so I could begin submitting to all the podcast directories. I spent some time doing that today and actually doubled my downloads. Before we celebrate, I only had 7.
Even so, is this really going to be this easy…and stinking fun?
Am I Doing It Right?
Um, I have no idea. I followed Pat’s stuff, and I’m just sort of winging it otherwise. I started right off monetizing it, and I’m not sure if that’s a good decision or not. You know, like with blogs you’re not supposed to monetize them until you have an audience.
Shoot, if I waited for an audience, I’d never make any money.
So here I am with my cheap Chinese microphone and a dream.
I fully expect these first shows to be horrible and become something I look back on with embarrassment, but right now, they are the most awesome thing I have going.
Have You Considered Doing a Podcast?
If you wandered across this article because podcasting is something you are thinking of doing, DON’T WAIT! Absolutely do it!
I’m kicking myself for waiting 2 years!
It’s easier than I thought it would be, and it is stupid fun! I have committed for 6 months, and I don’t know how I will feel then, but right now, I’m having a blast.
I’m churning out ideas, and I’m even considering doing more podcasts in other niches…quite prematurely, but still, it has my wheels turning.
How To Get Started
Follow Pat Flynn’s tutorial that I linked above ^^^. He knows his stuff.
In addition to that:
- Start with a cheap microphone. I’m quite pleased with mine. It’s improves the quality significantly enough, and if I decided to ditch podcasting, I’m not out a ton of money.
- Use free software like Audacity. Audacity is free, open source, well documented, works with Mac, Window, and Linux, and it’s been around for a long while. I found a tutorial online and I was off and running. It’s quite easy to use.
- Use Dyson Compressor to even out your voice recording. I downloaded the now abandoned Levelator that Pat mentions until I came across this tutorial that mentioned the Dyson Compressor plugin for Audacity. It makes my podcast sound professional-ish.
- I went with LibSyn, and I’m pleased with that choice.
I’m using PowerPress here on my site. Blubrry seems to be an upstanding company in the podcast realm. Everything I’ve seen from them is top-notch and either FREE or low cost.
I totally followed Pat’s advice to commit and used his template and checklist to plan my first 10 episodes, so we’ll see where this goes.
Some Cool By Products of Podcasting
The really cool thing is all of the ideas the podcast has inspired. Each episode is generating a blog post that is nearly 1000 words in length where this blog wasn’t generating any content at all.
In addition, I’m also creating show notes in PDF format which can be easily downloaded by my listeners and used as a reference.
Unlike a blog post, a podcast can be shared in multiple places. It also caters to an additional method of learning. People who may not enjoy reading or not read well can listen and gain the insights contained in the content.
In case you can’t tell, I’m really pleased with all the potential I’m experiencing as a result of taking on this podcasting thing. I certainly hope it doesn’t disappoint.
That’s a Wrap!
If you haven’t experienced The Candid Cashflow Podcast yet, head over and give it a listen. I’d love to know what you think about it and more than that, I hope you get some useful information out of it! Thanks for stopping by!