Podcasting For Dummies

Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Foreword
Introduction
	About This Book
	How to Use This Book
	Conventions Used in This Book
	Bold Assumptions
	How This Book Is Organized
		Part 1: Podcasting on a Worldwide Frequency
		Part 2: The Hills Are Alive with the Sound of Podcasting
		Part 3: So You’ve Got This Great Recording of Your Voice: Now What?
		Part 4: Start Spreadin’ the News about Your Podcast
		Part 5: Pod-sibilities to Consider for Your Show
		Part 6: The Part of Tens
	Icons Used in This Book
	Beyond the Book
	Where to Go from Here
Part 1 Podcasting on a Worldwide Frequency
	Chapter 1 Getting the Scoop on Podcasting
		Deciding Whether Podcasting Is for You
			You want to deliver media on a regular basis
			You want to reach beyond the boundaries of broadcast media
			You have something to say
			You want to hear from your listeners
		Creating a Podcast
			Looking for the bare necessities
			Recording your first podcast
			Compressing your audio files
			Uploading your audio to the web
			Grabbing listeners
		There’s an App for That
			The old-timer: Apple Podcasts
			Podcasting on the go: Stitcher
			Welcome the game-changer: Overcast
			Podcasting with the G-man: Google Play Music
			A new 800-pound gorilla: Spotify
		Other Podcast Resources
	Chapter 2 Getting the Gadgets To Produce a Podcast
		Finding the Right Mic
			A Beginner’s Guide to Mics
			Investing in a high-end mic
		Podcasts Well with Others: The Mixing Board
			The anatomy of a mixing board
			Hooking up a mixer to your computer
		Accessorize! Accessorize! Accessorize!
	Chapter 3 Building Your Podcast’s Digital Workstation
		Budget-Friendly (a.k.a. Free) Software
			Audacity: The risk-free option for all
			Cakewalk by Bandlab for Windows: A complementary Step in Running with the Pros
			GarageBand: Moby in your Mac!
		The Sky’s the Limit: Big-Budget Software
			Adobe Audition
			Apple Logic Pro X
		Gluing It Together with RSS
			Keep it simple and get a blog!
			Doing it by hand
		Podcast Management 101
			Size does matter
			Bandwidth demystified
	Chapter 4 Go, Go, Power Podcasters!
		Podcasting with Your Laptop
			Mackie Onyx Blackjack
			Shure MVi
		Podcasting with Your Mobile Devices
			A Shure Thing: The MV5 and MV51
			Two for the Røde: The VideoMic Me and smartLav+
		Podcasting with Portable Recorders
			Zoom-Zoom-Zoom: The Handy Recorder line
		From Cloud to Computer: Portable Audio Workflow
			Getting audio from your portable recorder
			Getting audio from your portable device
Part 2 The Hills Are Alive with the Sound of Podcasting
	Chapter 5 Before You Hit the Record Button
		Choosing a Unique Topic for Your Podcast
		Finding Your Voice
			What if I hear more than one voice?
		Deciding Whether You Need an Outline or Script
		Determining a Length for Your Show
			The hidden value of the short podcast
			A little length won’t kill you
			Finding that happy medium
		Mark Your Calendar: Posting Schedule
			Posting daily
			Posting weekly
			Posting biweekly (or fortnightly for our friends in the Commonwealth)
			Posting monthly
		I Hear Music (and It Sounds Like Police Sirens!)
			The powers that be
			I can name that tune . . . I wrote it!
			I’ll take the First: Free speech versus slander
	Chapter 6 Interview-Fu: Talk to Me, Grasshopper
		I’ll Have My People Call Your People: Interview Requests
		Preparing for Interviews
			Asking really great questions
			Avoiding really bad questions
			Feelin’ the synergy
		Recording Interviews
			Recording using Skype
			Recording using OBS
			Recording using hardware
		Prepping Your Green Room for Guests
			Welcoming in-studio guests
			Meeting guests on their own turf
		Ensuring Trouble-Free Recordings
	Chapter 7 So What Are You Waiting For? Record, Already!
		Did Your Sound Check Clear the Bank?
			Understanding dB levels
			Setting your levels
		Noises Off: Capturing Ambient Noise
			Identifying ambient noise
			Minimizing ambient noise
		Now Take Your Time and Hurry Up: Pacing and Clock Management
			Take the potato out of your mouth and enunciate
			And now let’s take a break for station identification
		Concerning Tangents and Their Val — Oh, Look, a Butterfly!
			“Say, that reminds me of something . . .”
			“But getting back to what I was saying earlier . . .”
		Time to Push the Big Red Button!
			Getting started with GarageBand
			Getting started with Audacity
	Chapter 8 Cleanup, Podcast Aisle 8!
		A Few Reasons to Consider Editing
		The Art of Editing
			Editing with GarageBand
			Editing with Audacity
		Making Your Musical Bed and Lying in It: Background Music
			Finding the right balance
			Applying bed music the right way
			Setting volume levels for bed music
		Making an Entrance: Intros
			Theme music
			Intro greeting
		Exit, Stage Left: Outros
			Leave the audience wanting more
			Catch phrase sign off
			Credits roll
			Coming soon to a media player near you
Part 3 So You’ve Got This Great Recording of Your Voice: Now What?
	Chapter 9 Shrink That Puppy and Slap a Label on It
		A Kilobit of Me, and a Whole Lot of You: Understanding Kbps
		Care for a Sample, Sir? (Audio Sample Rates)
		ID3 Tags: The 411 of Podcasting
			Tell me about yourself: All about ID3 tags
			IDentity crisis: Making ID3 tags work for podcasting
			Creating and editing ID3 tags
	Chapter 10 Move It on Up (to Your Web Server)
		Show Art: Getting Graphic with Your Podcast
		Adopting an Effective File Naming Convention
		Understanding How FTP Works
		Making Your Connection with an FTP Application
			Step by step (or quack by quack) setup for Cyberduck
			Step by step setup for FileZilla
			A place on your web server for your stuff
			Uploading your files
		Uploading to a Podcast-Specific Host
	Chapter 11 Providing Show Notes
		Show Note Etiquette
		Planning the Post
			It’s all in the details
			A picture is worth a thousand words
		Posting Your Show Notes
			Posting in WordPress
			Posting on LibSyn
		Boosting Search Engine Rankings with Good Show Notes
			Loading up your titles
			Soliciting backlinks
Part 4 Start Spreadin’ the News about Your Podcast
	Chapter 12 Speaking Directly to Your Peeps
		Gathering Listener Feedback
		Fostering Comments on Your Blog
		Focusing on Online Forums
		Social Media
			Facebook
			Twitter
			Pinterest
			YouTube? For audio?!
			Instagram
		Discord: The Lava Lamp of Online Communications
		Using Voicemail
		Seeking Out the Comments of Others
			Trying a general search
			Searching within a site, blog, or social media platform
		When the Comments Are Less than Good
	Chapter 13 Fishing for Listeners
		Getting Your Podcast Ready for Promotion
			Polishing your presentation
			Checking your bandwidth
			Figuring out your USP
		Exploring Various Advertising Options
			Give me a boost, Facebook
			Insta-traffic with Instagram
			Writing press releases
		Promoting Your Podcast
			Optimizing your site for search engines
			Submitting promos to other podcasts
			Recording your promo
			Giving interviews
			Generating buzz
Part 5 Pod-sibilities to Consider for Your Show
	Chapter 14 Show Me the Money
		How Much Money Can You Make?
		Convincing Advertisers to Give You Money
			Developing a media kit
			Establishing a rate sheet
		Getting a Sponsor
		Asking Your Listeners for Money
			Gathering listener donations with PayPal
			Building patrons with Patreon
			Selling stuff
	Chapter 15 Podcasting for Publicity
		Podcasting and Politics
		Telling the World a Story, One Podcast at a Time
		Keeping Good Company: Community Podcasts
			Creating a podcast to encourage testimony
			Podcasting for fun (while promoting in the process)
	Chapter 16 Podcasting for Passion
		The Philosophical Question for All Podcasters: Why Do We Do It?
			Gaining perspective on passion
			Podcasting passion with a purpose
			Sharing your passion with friends
			A passionate love for the podcast
		Holding Interest: Keeping a Podcast’s Passion Alive
			Podcasting on puree: Mixing it up
			Starting a second (or third) podcast
			Moving forward with a plan
		When Podcasting, Be Like Bruce Lee
	Chapter 17 One Giant Leap for Podcasting: Streaming Content
		In the Beginning: The Early Days of Video Podcasting and Live Broadcasts
			Light, cameras, and say what: The unexpected demands of video podcasting
			Going live (if you’re lucky): Early attempts at live podcasting
		Streaming Media: Podcasting Evolved
		Going Live . . . for Realz This Time: Streaming Your Podcast
			The first step: Setting up a streaming account
			Setting the stage: Working with Streamlabs OBS
			And we’re live! Podcasting in the moment
			It’s a stream, it’s a podcast. It’s a stream and a podcast!
Part 6 The Part of Tens
	Chapter 18 Ten Types of Podcasts to Check Out
		Tech Podcasts
		Independent Media Podcasts
		Science Podcasts
		Self-Development Podcasts
		Comedy Podcasts
		Slice-of-Life Podcasts
		Gaming Podcasts
		Podcasts of the Pen
		Geek Podcasts
		Podcasts about . . . Podcasting
	Chapter 19 Top Ten Reasons to Podcast
		You Are Considered a Subject Matter Expert
		You Are Passionate about the Subject
		You’ve Got a Creative Itch to Scratch
		You Like Playing with Tech Toys
		Bring Your Friends Together
		All the Cool Kids Are Doing It
		I Can Do More
		Bring Out the Best in You
		Talk to Interesting People
		The Ultimate Thrill Ride
	Chapter 20 Ten Original Podcasters
		Mignon Fogarty
		Adam Curry
		Mur Lafferty
		Steve Boyett
		Adam Christianson
		Dave Slusher
		Scott Sigler
		Michael Butler
		Dr. Pamela Gay
		Brian Ibbott
		Authors’ Footnote
Index
EULA