Though I think the title says it all, I’d like to dedicate this list to everyone who is interested in starting their own podcast. I had a lot of help when I started my first… and I’ve come a long way since then. I hope these resources help cut your learning curve down a bit! God bless your efforts!

Podcast Production

Adobe Audition – I’ve used Audition since it was called Cool Edit Pro. I still use Audition 1.5 because it’s what I’m used to and I’ve never seen the need to upgrade. I use this program for all of my recording, editing, mixing and mp3 conversion needs.

iTunes – Not only is it needed to publish your podcast, I’ve found that it’s also the perfect ID3 tag writer. I import my final mp3 into iTunes and using the Info window, fill in all of the episode information and even add the artwork. I have iTunes set to manage my music library and have given it permission to change my file names.

Skype – It is universally accepted that Skype is the best way to podcast with a co-host when you can’t be in the same room. I have used it with guest-hosts from across the country and around the world. The trick with using Skype successfully is understanding that your sound quality is directly connected with the amount of bandwidth available for Skype to use. When recording stop all downloads, video streams and IM clients… otherwise your co-host will sound like a robot.

Sound Byte Computerized Cart System – Sound Byte, put simply, is a way to play sound effects, segment intros, bumpers and voicemails with the lick of a button. It fills you screen (or smaller if you wish) with columns of buttons. You can assign any sound file to any of the buttons.

Feedburner – I wish Google had owned this service back when I started Nobody’s Listening. Feedburner takes your existing podcast feed and makes it easier to use for your listeners. It also offers download stats. It’s greatest benefit to podcasters, in my opinion, is that if your real feed ever changes (maybe you change hosting services or get you own url) you are able to tell Feedburner where your new feed is, but your subscribers will never notice a difference. For podcasters, your feed is you life… and it is a sensitive beast. Feedburner will prove invaluable to you. Did I mention it’s all free?

Levelator – A super simple, super awesome way to get the most out of your vocals.

Graphics

Picnik – This is a great online service that I use to quickly resize, crop, recolor and otherwise modify photos for my (almost) daily posts. Even though I own some pretty hefty graphics programs (Corel, Adobe) you can’t beat the speed of this online utility.

Flickr – I use Flickr for all of my personal and hobby photos. It’s great for podcasters because you can create groups that any of your listeners can contribute to. I also use it to host my online graphics portfolio.

Google Images – Though you have to be careful if you care about what you see, there is no easer way to find a quick image to compliment your post. Save it to your computer, upload it to Picnik and you’re set!

Corel Draw, Corel Photopaint – I’ve used Corel Draw since version 3. Although I believe Photoshop to be superior to Photopaint, it’s what I’m used to. I create all of the logos, icons, and podcast episode art using these products.

Hosting

WordPress – I use WordPress for all of my podcast websites. It’s simple, powerful, versatile and with the huge amount of free themes and plug-ins, it’s also invaluable.

GoDaddy Domains & Hosting – Maybe I don’t register a domain every week, but when I do, I use GoDaddy. You can’t beat the price and the amount of control you have over your own url. You can get your own .com domain for under $10 a year. Who can’t afford that? I also host all of my podcasts with GoDaddy. I spend under $5 a month for my site. GoDaddy also will install many online tools such as WordPress and SMF through a great online interface.

Libsyn – Liberated Syndication is the best place on the web to host you podcast media files. There are a lot of hosts out there that combine web and media hosting, but if you’ll split them, as I have, you’ll save a fortune. Libsyn offers plans starting at just $5. They have unlimited bandwidth so your shows will always be available. They also keep your media archived so every episode will always be downloadable as well. The only limit is on the amount of media you can upload in a single month. I currently use their $20 plan.

Google Adsense – I have a love-hate relationship with Adsense. I hate some of the junk that gets advertised on my site… but I love that they send me a check every time I earn $100 bucks! The trick with Adsense is staying with it. My whole first year I only earned $9 because I was constantly giving up and changing my mind. Once I got past the first 9 months or so I started getting ‘real’ ads for things like TV shows and movie releases. Those are more likely to get clicked on. So if you’re in, stay in it for the long haul.

Google Analytics – Remember back when we all put web counters on our GeoCities pages? Never again! With Analytics you drop a little bit of code in the footer of your WordPress template and it tracks an amazing amount of information about how your site is being used by your visitors. I love knowing which posts are most popular, what part of the world my site is being accessed from, what keywords people are using to find me, and who’s linking to my show… and it’s free.

Simple Machine’s Forums – Lots of themes, lots of plug-ins, lots of control. There are a ton of forum programs out there… this is the one I use.

Podpress – This is a required plug-in for every podcaster using WordPress. It makes feed generation and publishing a breeze. Love it, love it, love it.

Online Apps

Gmail – I love me some Gmail. I’ve been using it since 2005 or so. If you’ve never used it, you truly owe it to yourself to give it a month or so. Threaded conversations alone is something I will never be able to be without again. The feature that has the most value for podcasters is the Filtering options. Gmail instantly scans all of my incoming mail and tags it with one or more labels based on the content, title, sender or intended recipient. When you have a contest, for instance, tell your listeners to put a certain phrase in the subject line and then tell Gmail to label it automatically. Then come show time, just click that label and instantly see every entry. Gmail also offers excellent spam filtering!

Google Docs – Can you tell I’m a Google Fan-boy yet? I keep all of my shownotes online and shared with my co-hosts. At anytime I can update the file online and my co-hosts instantly see the changes. When I have a guest, I simply email them a copy right from the site.

Google Calendar – I have several calendars. One for work, family and my podcast. I keep track of guest-hosts, show dates and show sponsors with Google Calendar. You can also share the Calendar with your listeners by linking it from your site, or even embed it right into a page.
Grand Central – I use Grand Central for my show’s voice mail needs. Grand Central gives you a phone number (usually in your local calling area) that you can give out on your website and show. It emails you whenever you get a new message. It allows you to label your callers, block any number, or even customize your greetings for individual callers or groups. In the past I’ve used GC to take live calls on the show. Just allow GC to ring through to your cellphone, put it on speaker and hold it to the mic. Bingo! Instant call-ins and nobody knows your real number. Again, free.

FolderShare (Windows Live) – I use a laptop and a home computer. FolderShare is an excellent and free way to keep multiple folders in perfect sync between computers. I sync my graphics and my documents. If I’m working on my home computer and need to go out, when I pull up the lappy, the file I was working on is right there waiting. Excellent and simple.

JAMStudio.com – An excellent online flash-based midi sequencing program. The music for Geek Loves Nerd and several of the later recap songs was created for free using JAMStudio.com.

ning.com – Ning allows you to create your very own myspace-style community. Users can create profiles, add friends, upload photos, music and videos and more.

Wetpaint – Create your own easy to set-up, easy to use wiki for your listeners. Here’s ours.

Blubrry.com – A great online community for podcasters. They provide a lot of free tools and work to find and offer advertising sponsorships for their members.

Google Reader – I read a lot of blogs, but that’s not why Google Reader made it on this list. Reader allows you to scour the web for any mention of your name, podcast, articles you’ve written or people who have linked to you… and what they said when they did. For more information read this article on reasons to have a Vanity Folder. I do.

ustream.tv – A great quality place to share your live recording sessions with your listeners.

Stickam.com – A not so great place to share your live recording sessions with your listeners… but I’ve had less problems using stickam in the past than with ustream. If you have a younger audience, go with stickam.

Frapper Maps – It’s a Google map where your listeners can stick in a pin and let you (and others) know where they’re listening from. It’s a blast!

YouTube – Not just a great place to watch videos. I use YouTube to post occasional videos that will interest my listeners. I’ve also found that many of the hot internet songs can be found in video form long before you see them pop-up anywhere else. Lastly, there’s a lot of great videos to watch and then share with your listeners.
MySpace – Hate it. Need it. I can’t say I’ve gotten a lot of listeners from MySpace… but I can’t tell you I haven’t either. I have a profile just for the show. I’ve got a lot of friends. More than you.

Facebook – I don’t really ‘get’ facebook, but I don’t hate it. Podcasters can never do enough social networking. Get one for your show and set Gmail to delete all incoming mail from them… except friend requests.

Merchandise

Busy Beaver Button Co – A great place to get quality buttons on the cheap!

Sticker Junkie – Horrible website. Makes my eyes ache… but if you want to get cheap stickers for your podcast, there’s no better place on the webbernets.

Launchy – An awesome tool that will allow you to launch any program with just a few keystrokes, rather than having to drill down in your start menu. I literally use this hundreds of times a day.

Online Resources

Freesound – A wonderful place to mine for free sound effects… if you don’t mind digging around you can pretty much find just about anything you might ever hope you might find. Hopefully.

FindSounds.com – Another great place to find free sound effects.

Podsafe Music Network – Music for your show that you don’t have to pay for. Need I say more?

Podcast Themes – A good amount of free music themes for podcasts. For a fee the author will make you your own customized theme.

Solostream.com – Where I purchased my first (and current) WordPress theme.

mypictr – This website will allow you to upload a photo and custom crop it’s size to fit all of the most popular social networks.

Filezilla -The perfect free FTP that I use to upload my media files every week.

Firefox – The best web browser in the world. Tabbed browsing, plug-ins galore. This is the browser for podcasters and bloggers alike.

Google Browser Sync – A Firefox plug-in that allows you to switch computers but keep your bookmarks, history, cookies and even your tabs in perfect sync. It’s great.

Foxmarks – A Firefox plug-in that will keep your bookmarks backed up online and even sync them between multiple browsers.

Gmail Manager – A Firefox plug-in that can track multiple Gmail accounts and lets you switch between them instantly. I used this a lot before I decided to use one Gmail account to rule them all.

Twitter – I have my phone set to be able to text updates to Twitter. I use it to remember weekly updates. I’ve been twittering more and more lately. I use it to update folks about new podcasts, blog articles, interesting bits of info and more. This results in followers… which hopefully results in more listeners!

Musicians Friend – Where I’ve purchased every bit of my podcast equipment. You can see my podcast setup here.

Podcast Pickle – The premier online podcasting community. I don’t know how many listeners use it, but it is defiantly a hot spot of activity for networking with other podcasters.

k7 Free Voicemail Service – Go to the website and reserve your own number instantly. Then call, hit *, enter your pin and customize your greeting. The service emails your listener’s calls as small wav files that you can add to your show in post production.

Have any of your own that I didn’t list here? Share them in the comments!