HOW TO MAKE A PODCAST FOR FREE

SO YOU WANT TO MAKE A PODCAST

(BUT DON’T WANT TO SPEND ANY MONEY)

Welcome to “Starting a podcast 101.”

Use this to create and launch your own podcast today in 8 easy steps for a total cost of ZERO DOLLARS!

Starting a podcast sounds daunting. And expensive. But it most definitely doesn’t have to be- it all depends on what you want to achieve. You could literally launch a podcast today using your phone or laptop in your bedroom and spend no money!

Naturally, you get what you pay for, so the quality won’t be world class- but it might be a good way for you to start to see if you like it. Then if you plan to stick with it, you can look at investing some money in better equipment (or get in touch with the friendly PodLab team!)

Step 1: Conceptualize Your Podcast

Step 2: Name Your Podcast

Step 3: Develop Cover Art and Branding

Step 4: Get Podcast Equipment

Step 5: Record and Edit

Step 6: Get some show music.

Step 7: Host Your Podcast

Step 8: Promote your podcast

Step 1: Conceptualize Your Podcast

This is the fun bit. Get some blank sheets of paper, maybe a bag of Doritos and some drinks and decide what your podcast will be about.

Some stuff to consider:

Will you do it by yourself or with some friends or colleagues? 

How will it be different to other podcasts?

Is there a gap in the market for this one or is someone else already doing it better?

Will you do a series, like 6 episodes for example, or will it be an ongoing podcast? 

Who is your podcast for? If it’s just a passion project for you and your friends and you are not worried about download numbers, great! That removes all the pressure. But if your wish is to build a podcast community with listeners and fans, you’ll need to think about who the target audience will be.

How long will each episode be? There are no rules with podcasts- some Joe Rogan episodes go for over 5 hours! But when you are starting out, shorter is probably better- you are more likely to stick with your podcast if it doesn’t feel like a drag.

Step 2: Name Your Podcast

Choose a catchy, memorable name that reflects your theme and audience. Then search on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, Instagram etc. to make sure nobody has beaten you to it!

Step 3: Develop Cover Art and Branding

Design a cool, eye-catching cover that represents your show (the cover art should be 3000x3000 pixels for major platforms). 

For inspiration, look at other podcasts and what they have then decide what you love the most. 

There are a million different ways to do this- you could pay someone on an app like Fiverr to create one or make one yourself using an app such as Canva. Canva even has free templates specifically for podcasts that are easy to customize.

You could even whip something up yourself on your phone (for example- take a photo then place some text over it).

Step 4: Get Podcast Equipment

This is the point where you need to decide how fussed you are about the quality. You can literally get your podcast up and running by just talking into your phone or laptop using the built in microphones. But ask yourself, would YOU listen to podcasts that didn’t sound amazing? 

To launch without spending anything at all voice memos on iPhone or the app Easy Voice Recorder both provide decent sound quality.

If you have a laptop or desktop, you can use its built-in microphone for recording. It’ll do the job (just LOL).

This could be a good way to start- after a few episodes if you are sure podcasting is something you will stick with, then maybe look at buying some specialty equipment (when Dom launched his podcast he spent $1500 at an incredible store called Rubber Monkey and got a Rode caster pro, 2x Rode Podmics and mic stands- but you can spend way more, or way less). Other great places to get podcast gear include JB Hi-Fi, Rockshop and PB Tech.

Step 5: Record and Edit for Free

Editing will be required if you want to remove any mistakes or segments or cut out any pauses, umm’s, ahhhs or mistakes. This is not essential- its entirely up to you. 

If you have had no experience with this stuff, you’ll have to give yourself a crash course. It can seem daunting, but most of these options are fairly intuitive and user-friendly and you’ll get the hang of them before too long. And YouTube is full of helpful tutorial videos.

Wavepad: This is what Dom uses. It’s great for editing and podcast production.

Audacity: A powerful, open-source audio editor perfect for recording and editing podcasts.

GarageBand: A free app available on Mac that can handle podcast production easily.

Step 6: Get some show music.

If you like podcasts that have some music at the start or the end, you can get free background music or sound effects from royalty-free sites like Free Music Archive or Pixabay Music.

Step 7: Host Your Podcast for Free

You need a platform to store and distribute your podcast episodes. You upload your podcast to this hosting site, then it gets released on all the well-known podcast apps (Spotify, Apple, etc).

Here are some free hosting options:

Anchor: Owned by Spotify, Anchor offers free hosting, distribution, and even the option to monetize your podcast.

Podbean (free plan): Offers basic features with some limitations but can still distribute your podcast to major platforms.

Buzzsprout: Their free plan includes limited hours of content but is a good starting point.

Step 8: Promote your podcast

Now you have your podcast out there, you need to let people know about it! Here are a few ways you can market your podcast with no budget:

Social media: Use your existing social media platforms (X, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook). When Dom first started, he didn’t have video content so he promoted his podcast by sharing photos of the guests and also by creating audio highlight snippets on a site called Audiogram (Audiogram has a free version where you can create 2 snippets a month). The social media algorithms mean these snippets don’t perform as well as high quality videos, but it’s a good place to start.

Another way is to just record video content using your phone and share snippets of that.

Ask for reviews: Positive reviews on podcast platforms can help boost visibility.

With these steps, you'll be well on your way to starting a successful podcast!