How to Create Your First Podcast
Author: Andrew Green
If you are interested in creating a podcast it is really simple to do. If you have never created a podcast, follow these brief instructions and you will have uploaded your very first for distribution. The steps involved in creating a podcast include creating the audio, converting the audio, and publishing, creating a feed, and publishing your news feed.
A podcast is an audio file that you can distribute across the web or upload to your website. This type of file is similar to radio content in a way. Audio content is very important to online viewers today. It provides a way for you to give a feeling to the customer as if you are right there in the same room to the listener. You aren't forcing an online user to read a bunch of material because you are offering it in audio. Many people would very much prefer audio files rather than read pages and pages of content.
The first thing you want to do when you create a podcast is to create an audio file. You do have certain computer requirements in order to do this. You will need a working microphone on your computer. If you do not have a built in microphone then you will have to purchase one. You will plug a microphone in the back of your computer on the sound card microphone input slot.
You should have software that will give you the opportunity to record audio files. Today, most Microsoft operating systems have integrated software that will allow you to record a short audio file of you talking. This will be called ‘Sound Recorder' or something similar. This is what you will use to create your audio file.
Your podcast is going to be an audio file. You should write out exactly what you are going to say. You might want to have the text on your screen so you can read it as you speak. This should be professional. Be sure you do not say a lot of ‘ums' or it will not sound professional but amateur. You might have to record yourself reading the content a few times until you are comfortable with the way you sound and read your copy.
Be sure while you are reading that there are no distractions or loud noises in the background. Many cheap audio applications, like the one integrated inside of the Window's operating system will pull in the background noises. You should create these files with no television, radio, or children playing in the background. It should be silent. Open the recorder when you are ready. Press record and say aloud into the microphone your copy that you want to tell the world. When you are done click on stop. You have now created your audio file.
Once this is complete you will need to convert the file into an MP3 format. The best way to do this is to use a converting tool. If you don't want to go through all of the work. Save the audio file to a thumb drive or a CD. Put the CD back into your computer and let your Windows Media Player automatically convert the file.
You have to have a website if you want a podcast. These instructions are upon the assumption you have a website and a web host. The next thing you will do is log into your web host and publish your audio file. This will require you to upload the file to the server. The next thing you will do is create a podcast RSS news feed to the location of your podcast. This is really simple. On your hosting tools you will click on the button that says create RSS feed. It will automatically generate a link that will be the destination of your website RSS feed.
Now all you have to do is publish the RSS feed and you are done. This means click on the save button or publish with your web host. Not all web hosts are the same. Some only require you to click on save. When you go to your website you will see an RSS link and your podcast file. When you click on it you will immediately begin to hear your audio file that you have just created.
You can create a podcast in just a couple of minutes if you have the right tools to do it. You will need audio software, a converter or a media player, and a web host. You can immediately begin blogging and distributing your podcast upon the upload of the file.
About the Author:
Andrew Green is part of the team behind A-Z Proxies, an attempt to list from A to Z all web proxies. Andy has been actively working in the web proxy field since 2005 and has built up a wealth of knowledge on the subject.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – How to Create Your First Podcast
