![\"Margaret](\"https:\/\/www.publicityhound.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/margaret-larkin.jpg\" "\\"Margaret")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nMargaret Larkin is the creator and host of the Radiogirl Podcast<\/a>, a media podcast that features interviews with people who work in radio and TV, in Chicago and beyond. She also writes for CBS Radio in Chicago. She owns Metrolingua LLC<\/a> and specializes in writing and editing, website content, and audio and video. This is the second in a two-part series. See Part 1, Podcasting Equipment That Will Make You Sound Like a Million Bucks.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n By Margaret Larkin<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that you know what tools to use, where to buy them, how to use them, and mistakes to avoid, it’s time to record your podcast and publish it online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some basics about the process:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do a trial run and test your sound.<\/strong> Make sure your equipment and software work before recording, and speak into your microphone to determine the best distance between your mouth and the mic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You also should listen for any odd room sounds or hums. There’s a hum in this interview<\/a> I did because my mic was too close to the computer, and I didn\u2019t know about the grounding issue. My biggest mistake occurred when I didn\u2019t test the sound for this interview<\/a>. I only looked at the soundwave to confirm it was recording at the right levels (I made other technical mistakes with this interview that I can explain if you\u2019re interested). Eyes aren\u2019t enough\u2014you need to use your ears, too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Audio production can be simple or complex, depending on the quality of your audio and how much editing and producing you want to do. To avoid trying to solve problems in post-production, which I tried to do many times because I was a podcasting newbie, make sure your recording is the best it can be. The only people who really know how to fix \u201cbad\u201d audio are audio engineers— and probably none of us have that level of expertise—so be careful!<\/p>\n\n\n\n You will probably need to edit your audio. It\u2019s an art as well as a technical craft. If you don\u2019t know how to edit audio, explore the tutorials at the Audacity website<\/a> or refer to your software\u2019s manual and website. Many helpful online videos demonstrate the editing process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are three basic audio concepts to consider when producing your podcast:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Normalization<\/strong> —<\/strong> Sets the peak level of the audio; it sets the overall volume. It ensures that loud sounds will not be distorted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Equalization (EQ)<\/strong> — Boosts or reduces various frequencies (high, mid, low). This is what people perceive as \u201ctreble\u201d and \u201cbass\u201d when they hear something. You can read more about it here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Compression<\/strong> — Balances the dynamic range of your audio (louder sounds become softer and quieter sounds become louder so that they\u2019re better matched). Here’s a more detailed explanation of compression.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n I think podcasters should do some type of compression or dynamic processing because when people listen with headphones, the levels will be uneven, and they\u2019ll have to keep adjusting the volume because some people will sound too loud and others too soft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recording and editing is a trial-and-error process, and you can decide to go as deep as you want. As you develop your skills, the Internet will become your best friend. You’ll find many tutorials online about various aspects of audio, and advice for effective microphone techniques, so have fun exploring and learning lots of new things! The Media College website<\/a> is worth checking out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a good idea to have a short musical intro and outro for your podcast. Listen to what successful podcasters do with music, but make sure you have permission from the artist to use it. That\u2019s what I did. Or use copyright-free music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you choose your music or create your own, you\u2019ll have to do a bit of multitrack mixing in your audio software. If you\u2019re using Audacity, they explain the process of using narration with background music.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Every software program has its own way of mixing down tracks into a single file, so follow the program\u2019s directions. When your file is ready for export, you\u2019ll have to make sure it\u2019s an mp3 file to post online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I recommend making your file mono, with a bitrate of 96 Kbps. You can do what you want–some people prefer to make all their audio stereo and use a bitrate of 128 Kbps. A standard sample rate is 44 kHz (though some people use 48 kHz). Whatever you choose, remember that it will affect the file size. After you mix down your file, try variations to determine what sounds the best to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want to submit your podcast to iTunes and other podcast directories, you\u2019ll need cover art. It will also show up in people\u2019s audio libraries when you create ID3 tags. Each podcast directory has size specifications, so conform your art to those dimensions. Of course, your art will also represent your podcast wherever you promote it, so it\u2019s best to have a designer create it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n When you load music on your playlist in iTunes, Windows, or other digital audio systems, you\u2019ll notice details about the song, artist, year, etc., and you\u2019ll probably see an image as well. That information comes from ID3 tags, and they are essential for each of your podcast episodes. Decide on a consistent naming convention and tag each episode so that your podcast has uniformity and will be easy to locate in a person\u2019s audio collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here’s a list of some common tags.<\/a> Here’s an image of what the dialog box looks like in iTunes<\/a>. To open it, click “Info.” If you have a PC, you can create the tags, also referred to as \u201cmetadata,\u201d in the Windows Media Player<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Audacity has a window that automatically pops up when you mix down\/export your project, and you\u2019ll see empty spaces where you’ll type the various tags.<\/a> You can also get ID3 tag software online, but you might not need it if you want to keep your tags simple or stick to what\u2019s available in your own program or computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I create my ID3 tags in iTunes. This is what they look like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Note that I use my website and contact information in some of the tags so people can find me. After you upload your art, your tags are complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you\u2019ve finished producing your podcast, you must decide where you want to post it and how you want to share it. My advice: Put all your audio on your own website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I know people who use podcast services such as Libsyn<\/a>, an established and popular service, Blubrry<\/a>, Podbean<\/a>, Podomatic<\/a>, Amazon S3<\/a> or audio sites such as Sound Cloud <\/a>. The advantage of a hosting service is that it makes sharing your podcast on the Web easy. Storage is already set up, and they’ll create an RSS feed for you. That\u2019s how you \u201csyndicate\u201d your podcast. RSS feeds aren\u2019t as widely used by people as they used to be, but if you want to know more about them, read this Wikipedia article on RSS feeds.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n However, if you want control over your audio and avoid spending a lot of money (the podcasting services charge for increasing hits, storage, etc.), then you should host your own audio at your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s what I did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I started my podcast, I decided to upload my audio files to my website, hold them in a folder, and use the web address of the audio file wherever I wanted it. I used Blogger<\/a> to share my files and write the description. Originally I used an HTML code to create a player, but the Web standards changed, so I ended up simply posting an audio link in each Blogger post, which opens when people click on it. They can download it, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I like having the freedom and control, and it doesn\u2019t matter how big my audio file is, or how many hits I have. I essentially have unlimited storage space, and the amount of downloads and hits don\u2019t affect what I pay to my website host, either. I used Feedburner<\/a> to create an RSS and to send my feed to iTunes and do other things, but Google seems to be phasing out Feedburner. So I wouldn\u2019t recommend that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here’s what I recommend. Use WordPress <\/a>to build your site, and use plugins to create your podcast. I\u2019m not talking about getting a blog at WordPress.com, but getting your own domain name and building it yourself or hiring a techie to do it for you. Many of the WordPress templates are easy to use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A popular option is Weaver<\/a>. By having your own website with your own content, you will have control of your brand, and you can centralize your blog, podcast and whatever else you want there (like what The Publicity Hound site does). It\u2019s your property!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, WordPress has a built-in RSS feature, so you don\u2019t have to worry about creating one. RSS feed creation is very technical—here\u2019s an explanation and example of how to build one by hand<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n WordPress comes with feeds, <\/a>and accommodates podcasting.<\/a> You can check out the WordPress plugins Seriously Simple Podcasting<\/a> and Powerpress<\/a>. There are others, too, but make sure they have good reviews and many downloads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you already have your own website, you could also use the Podcast Generator<\/a> to add to your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thanks to Joan for letting me share some of my knowledge with you! I\u2019ve tried to cover the basics of podcasting here. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the Comments below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n[Tweet “Learn How to Produce Your Podcast and Publish It Online via @PublicityHound #podcasting”]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Margaret Larkin is the creator and host of the Radiogirl Podcast, a media podcast that features interviews with people who work in radio and TV, in Chicago and beyond. She also writes for CBS Radio in Chicago. She owns Metrolingua LLC and specializes in writing and editing, website content, and audio and video. This is the second\u2026 Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","iawp_total_views":6,"wds_primary_category":603,"footnotes":""},"categories":[603],"tags":[465,619,233,550],"class_list":{"0":"post-30158","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-content-creation","7":"tag-free-pr-tools","8":"tag-photos-graphics","9":"tag-podcasting","10":"tag-wordpress","11":"entry"},"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Joan Stewart","author_link":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/author\/jstewart\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30158"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42815,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30158\/revisions\/42815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"woman](\"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2015\/11\/woman-podcaster2.jpg\" "\\"test")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nProduction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"mixer](\"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2015\/11\/mixer-soundboard.jpg\" "\\"mixer")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nMusic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"musical](\"https:\/\/www.publicityhound.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/musical-notes-podcast-intro-300x212.jpg\" "\\"podcast")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nMixing\/Mix down\/Export<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Art<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Radio](\"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2015\/11\/Radio-Girl-logo1.jpg\" "\\"Radio"){kind=logo}
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nID3 Tags<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Podcasting](\"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2015\/11\/Podcasting-ID3-Tag3.png\" "\\"ID3")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nPosting Your Podcast Online<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Seriously](\"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2015\/11\/Seriously-Simple-Podcasting.jpg\" "\\"Wordpress")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n