1. Prepare
A. Come up with an idea A podcast can truly be anything. This is your chance to share your voice, your thoughts, and your imagination with the world. Many people create talk show podcasts, but you don't have to limit yourself to just that format. Create on-demand versions of JCI chapter and conference presentations. Interview business leaders on different topics each week. Produce audio walking tours for your favorite city or museum. Dine at and review local restaurants. Record your favorite band at the New Years party. With just a few pieces of gear, this tutorial, and a little inspiration, you can be podcasting in no time at all. Want to really maximize your audience? We've found that many successful podcasts start with a good plan. Begin by listening to some existing podcasts and taking notes about what you like and dislike about the shows. Let these shows guide you to what will work best in your own podcast. Next, think about the content of your podcast. What will you talk about? How long will your podcast be? Jot down a rough outline for your podcast so you can keep on track when recording. Finally, how often will you create new episodes? Daily? Weekly? Monthly?
B. Get the gear Now you need to gather the tools to make your podcast. You'll need this basic equipment:
A laptop or desktop computer with an Internet connection. Though not required, we recommend that your computer is running a recent version of Windows (Windows 2000 or newer), Mac OS X (Mac OS X 10.3 or newer), or Linux (such as RedHat Linux 6.0 or newer).
A microphone. The built-in microphone on a laptop is a fast and cheap way to get started, but remember, you get what you pay for. A laptop mic will pick up background noise and will generally have poor sound quality. Many MP3 players now also have built-in microphones. You may want to check yours, if you have one. For a higher quality recording (or if your computer doesn't have an internal mic), get an external mic that plugs into your computer. You can buy a decent computer headset with microphone for just $20 to $30.
Sound recording software. You can use a number of free and paid software programs to record your podcast. Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) is a popular free program for recording and editing podcasts and it's available for both Windows and Mac (http://www.apple.com/). Mac users can also purchase GarageBand for sound recording and editing.
An MP3 encoder. This software converts your podcast into an MP3 file. You can use a variety of different programs. If that link doesn't work, here’s (http://www.free-codecs.com/Lame_Encoder_download.htm) another link to an alternate download site. iTunes (www.iTunes.com) for Mac and PC can also convert recordings to MP3 for free.
