I have had a dream of creating my own content for years. Honestly, because of the pandemic, I finally had the time to come up with an idea and a plan for how to make that dream a reality. I have always been one to have really deep and personal conversations with friends and family. Those types of conversations have always helped me, and so I thought that maybe they would help other people. Deep conversations are perfect for long form content like podcasts. So, here’s how I created my podcast.
By that point, the first part of creating a podcast was completed: the idea. Before creating a podcast, you must consider why people would want to listen and what value you bring. It can be anything from more niche topics to general discussions about life and love. I settled on the latter of the two options; I decided that every week I would try to tackle and discuss a general topic about the highs and lows of life.
Once I had decided on a topic/theme, I had to make a podcast title and artwork. I brainstormed for weeks about a title, and it eventually came to me during a walk outside. I have always been described as “too much,” and sometimes, I have felt like I’m not enough. And I know that phenomenon is not unique to me. I settled on the title “Too Much and Never Enough.” It was short enough and related to the general theme of my podcast.
Then, I had to design artwork. Now, I am no graphic designer; however, I had gained some experience with Canva, a platform that makes graphic design simpler, with my previous job in social media management. On Canva, I found a template that I liked. I really wanted something simple and clean-looking. I tweaked the original design a lot, and I came up with my own design. It was very easy to do, and, maybe once I get more familiar with graphic design, I will come up with better cover art.
Once I had created a title and designed my own artwork, I had to set up an account with Anchor. Anchor allows you to upload your podcast episodes for free, and they distribute your podcast to all of the major listening platforms. This makes life so much easier because you do not have to register with each major platform like Spotify and Apple podcasts. Anchor does everything for you. Anchor also has detailed analytic tools, which makes it easier to see who is listening, how long they are listening, and what platforms they are listening on.
Once my Anchor account was set up, I started actually recording. My first episode was just me answering personal questions about myself so my listeners could get to know me. To record that episode, all I needed was my phone and my computer. The voice memo app and microphone on iPhones are actually decent quality. I always just record on my phone and then AirDrop that recording to my Macbook.
To edit, I use Adobe Audition 2020. As a BU student, you get most—if not all—Adobe programs for free! So definitely take advantage of that. There is a slight learning curve with Adobe Audition; however, after watching several YouTube tutorials, I got the hang of it. Once the episode is edited, I upload it to Anchor and schedule it to go out every Sunday.
I also created an Instagram account for my podcast, but I have had trouble getting traction on that account. All in all, I have loved making my podcast, and I hope more people will start to listen soon. Recording has become therapeutic for me, and it is one of my favorite parts of the week.
If you have ever wanted to or thought about starting a podcast, you should go for it! It’s easier than you think. If you have any questions, definitely reach out to me on my personal Instagram @gracelechner. If you are interested in listening to my podcast, follow my podcast Instagram @tmnepodcast or listen to my podcast on any platform you use to listen to podcasts.
Enjoy!
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