Category Archives: Podcasting Articles

Articles on podcasting

Equipment Suggestions For A Basic Podcasting Kit

3 Replies

Updated 8/17/2020

Today I had a friend send me a Facebook message that linked to a Behringer Podcasting Kit mentioning that he was interested in possibly getting into podcasting. He wanted to know if the kit would meet all of his needs. I found that though you could podcast with it… it’s not what I would suggest to someone just starting out.

I did some research and put together what I consider to be the best and cheapest setup or kit for podcasting. I put so much work into it that I thought I’d turn it into a post and share it here on the NLCast website.

There are cheaper kits out there… but if you go this route your sound quality will rival any podcast out there. Plus, if you go cheap, you’ll just end up replacing everything anyway spending more money in the long run.

Disclaimer: Every link on this page is an affiliate link. This is great equipment at a great price. You don’t pay any extra to use the links and I get 4%. Thanks!

About The Podcasting Kit On Amazon

That package is almost good. But it assumes you want to record to your PC/Mac… NO! Recording to a computer is horrible. It requires so much from the computer and so crashing, sound dips, and more are the natural result.

My Podcasting Kit Suggestions

Recording: A few years back I found a wonderful solution that simplified my recording exponentially: Recording to a Zoom H2 handheld recorder. You can still get them… but the new Zoom H2n with Accessory Kit looks a lot better and currently runs $169.99.

Mixer: If you will be solo casting the little mixer in the kit is fine. It’s probably a Behringer Xenyx 502. It’s currently $44.99. If you will be recording with someone else in the same room you’ll need more inputs. That would be the Mackie Mix Series, 8-Channel Compact Mixer – $89.99. This mixer also has an Aux channel which you’ll need if you bring in guests over Skype.

Headphones: Behringer HPS3000 – $18.99. Don’t use ear buds! You’ll hear yourself in your head when you try to talk. Get studio headphones that cover your ears.

Mic Stand: Get a desktop mic stand – $12.95. You need this to hold your mic quietly and to clip your pop filter on. Hint: Put it on a folded towel to keep desk noises from traveling up the stand into the mic.

XLR Cable: You’ll need one 6′ XLR cable per mic – $7.47.

Pop (or Plosive) Filter: A Pop Filter will keep the sound from clipping when you’re saying P’s and S’s – $19.99.

Mic: I’d go with a Sure SM58 – $99. There are cheaper mics (and more expensive), but this is the one you need just starting out. Good sound starts with a good mic.

Memory Card: Transcend 8 GB Class 10 SDHC – $10. You can transfer sound from the recorder via USB, but it’s slow. Being able to pop out the SD card and putting it directly in the computer means a faster wav file transfer.

Music & Sound Effects: One thing your computer IS good for is playing intros, outtros, background music and stingers (sound effects). You need a stereo RCA to 1/4″ cable for that. Goes from the PC to the mixer’s stereo inputs – $7.16.

Stereo Cable From Mixer To Recorder: You need the sound from your mixer to get to your recorder. This Hosa CMP159 3′ Cable will do ya. Alternatively you can use another RCA to 1/4″ cable along with 2 RCA to 1/4″ adapters.

Audio Editing Software: Once you’re done recording you’ll transfer your WAV file to your computer. You can edit the file for free using Audacity – Free

Media Hosting: You’ll need a great place to store your files. Regular web hosting will not handle dozens of 50MB mp3 files being downloaded constantly. Libsyn.com offers plans that start at $5 a month. No bandwidth restrictions. I’ve used them for years. They are the standard for media hosting.

Web hosting: You’ll need a website for your podcast. Bluehost.com offers cheap hosting solutions. You can install WordPress automatically for free and with PowerPress, Blubrry’s podcasting plugin you’ll be able to easily publish your mp3 files. The plugin generates the RSS feed you’ll need to submit your show to iTunes. If you can’t afford web hosting you can use the free website that Libsyn generates for you when you start your account with them.

If you need help on setting up your podcast equipment check out How I Podcast.

So There You Have It

Those are my equipment suggestions for a basic podcasting kit. It’s not what I use… but it’s what I would have suggested to myself if I could go back in time to 2006 and tell myself what to buy. I would have saved myself a lot of trouble. I would also try to convince myself to not gain any additional weight.

Podcasters: What equipment do you suggest to folks when they ask about starting up a podcast?

5 Things You Need On The Front Page of Your Podcast Website

Leave a reply

Looking around recently at a few of my fellow podcaster’s websites I was surprised to find how many didn’t have simple ways to subscribe to their show or to get in contact with the hosts.

1. A direct link to your RSS feed.
As a podcaster, your show’s success depends almost exclusively on how many listeners are downloading and listening to your shows. Your site should have an obvious link to your feed.

2. A direct link to your iTunes listing.
Love or hate it, iTunes is #1 when it comes to podcast distribution. Almost 95% of all of my downloads come from iTunes. For the folks who find you in iTunes, no biggie… but when you promo your site, when others link to you, they always send visitors to your main website. When they get there then need

3. A link to a contact page with email, contact form and voice mail line.
I’ve found that one of the best ways to grow your podcast audience is by word of mouth. People will be more likely to tell their friends about your show if their input has been read or played on it. So provide a contact page with an email address, a contact form, and your voicemail line if you have one.

4. A brief description of your show.
When your visitors come to the page, what is going to tell them that you’re not just a blog… that the real feature here is your audio shows? You’ve got to tell them. How you do it is up to you. On Nobody’s Listening’s site I use a subtitle, “A Clean Comedy Podcast” and a small About box in the sidebar that gives a little more information.

5. A link to your promo.
When other podcasters want to promote your show, they’re going to need a promo. Don’t make it hard to find. Provide a direct download link, not just a flash player.

What did I miss? Add your podcast website “must-haves” to the comments.

You can find other great articles on Podcasting here, including How I Podcast.

How I Podcast: 2010 Edition

Leave a reply

My first article on this topic was in August of 2007. I updated that article in December of that year. In May 2008 I wrote a new article on how I podcasted when both hosts were in the same room. Finally in June 2009 I wrote one more (How I Podcast: 2009) because of new equipment, different online tools and a simpler process. A lot has changed since then. It’s time to update you on my podcasting methods.

Continue reading →

How I Find The Time To Do What I Do

Leave a reply

podcasting

You must have a lot of free time…

How do you get it all done?

These are just a couple examples of the questions and comments that I get here and there throughout the average week. I thought I’d take a moment and address it and tell you a little about how I do 5 podcasts, a webcomic and blog nearly every day and still hold down a job, be a husband and super-involved father of two.

It doesn’t take up as much time as you think.

I do 5 podcasts… and that sounds like it must take forever… but not as much as you might think. From the very beginning I created the shows to be easy to produce and over the years I’ve worked very hard to simplify and streamline the entire process.

I created shows that require very little pre-show prep. The show with the most prep required is Nobody’s Listening and that’s only because there are a ton of email and voicemails that have to be read and added to the show notes. Geek Loves Nerd is super easy as we just pick a topic during the week and just sit and record. Children’s Ministry Monthly is similar in that I just choose a topic and write a few notes of my experiences with the subject and that’s about it. The Gospel of Kennison is recorded in the car on the way to somewhere with a portable audio recorder. I Like Genius’s pre-show prep is all done via emails randomly through the week as I try to get interviews with interesting and creative people.

As for recording, all of the shows, with the exception of GOK, are between 45-60 mins. Add about 15 minutes to that and the front and the back for setup and such and we’re at an hour and a half per show.

Post-production used to take me forever. I once recorded each voice on different tracks and remixed them… it took hours. Now it’s super simple. Everything is recorded in real time down to a single stereo track. Live to hard drive as they say. After we’re done recording I typically only have to trim and dead air off the front and end of the show, Hard Limit and Normalize it, encode it to MP3, upload it and post it. The whole process maybe takes 30 minutes these days.

I do most of it early and late.

I blog in the early morning during breakfast. I record podcasts late at night. Nobody cares what I do with my spare time after the kids are in bed at 9pm. So from 9:30 to 12… it’s my time. Jenn and I record GLN on Monday nights. Tuesday nights are NLCast. I Like Genius are done randomly throughout the week… but typically on Thursday or Friday evenings. GOK is whenever I’m in the car. CMMonthly is once a month on a Sunday evening. No time has been taken away from my family, chores or other responsibilities. The webcomic is done on Sunday evenings… takes about an hour.

So the tricks and tips? The KISS principal comes into play. If you going to do a lot of podcasting and blogging… Keep It Simple Stupid!

Behind The Scenes of the NLCast.com Website

1 Reply

I was asked today by one of the kids in my children’s ministry, “How do you make a website?” It gave me the idea of putting together a post with the details of what makes nlcast.com tick.

I use GoDaddy.com for hosting and domain registration. In my experience they are the cheapest and best for my purposes. You can save yourself some money (and help out the show) by using our codes.

I use WordPress for the website itself. WordPress is an excellent, free and easy to learn blogging platform that allows you to install themes that change the look and feel of your site instantly without changing the content itself. GoDaddy hosting makes installing WordPress simple by doing it for you.

The WordPress theme I use currently is a modified version of a premium theme called Simplista by WP Now. They liked what I did with the site so much, they asked to feature it in their Showcase.

I use a lot of plug-ins for WordPress. Plug-ins are free and easy to install. They add additional features to your WordPress blog that do not exist in the base platform. Here’s a list of what I use:

If you have questions about How I Podcast, you can visit the Podcast Resources category for a list of articles that will help you get started.

Do you have any great WordPress themes or plugins to share? Post them in the comments!

10 Things That Keep Listeners From Listening To Your Podcast

3 Replies

10. Hosts who read their iTunes reviews as a segment… or even better, to start off their whole show.

9. Jokes that only the hosts get… not even regular listeners.

8. Um… (dead air) um… ah. Ummmm.

7. Hosts talking about technical glitches forever.

6. Hosts that talk like they’re bored out of their mind. Why should I care if you don’t?

5. Shows with no discernable format between episodes.

4. Shows that go on for over an hour, but have the content of a 15-30 minute show.

3. Hosts that talk to people off mic that aren’t in the show. It’s so fun hearing one side of a conversation!

2. When the host sounds like he’s recording in the middle of a echo chamber standing about 10 feet from the mic.

1. Heavy breathing and mouth noises… like smacking. *shiver*

Announcing the launch of CleanCasts.com – The Clean Podcast Directory

4 Replies

cleancasts

I’ve been hinting about a new project for a little while now… and today’s the day to let the world know!

CleanCasts is a directory dedicated to listing clean podcasts (G and PG)… and that’s about it.

If you’re a listener, head over and check out the growing list of shows and be sure to tell your favorite clean podcast so they can get listed.

If you’re a podcaster with a G or PG rated show, head over and add your site today!

CleanCasts.com

HUGE THANKS go out to Philip M. Hofer (Frumph) from WebComicPlanet.com for his amazing coding skill and willingness to give.