Launch Your Podcast For Under $100
Solopreneurs know there are many different hats to wear when running a business. You’re the Sales Manager responsible for guiding customers through the sales process. You’re the Office Manager in charge of shipping and ordering coffee.
And of course, you’re the Marketing Director.
While there are countless ways to reach your target audience, we know that 82% of marketers actively use content marketing. Content marketing is produced in different forms including blog articles and white pages, but one of the more popular forms are podcasts. From true crime to personal finance, the podcasting format is a great way to reach your audience directly and provide meaningful content. The best part of using podcasting as content marketing is that you don’t need an inflated marketing budget to create, produce and publish your show.
Here’s everything you need to launch your podcast for under $100.
Equipment
One of the biggest expenses most people imagine when it comes to podcasting is equipment. It’ll likely be your biggest upfront purchase and audio equipment can be pricey. However, there are plenty of reasonable options to launch your podcast for under $100.
- Use your phone — Our flat, little rectangular computers (that we sometimes use for calls) have good microphones. Audio won’t be studio quality, but it’ll record just fine. Cost: Free
- Lavalier Mics — You’ll feel like you’re giving your very own TED Talk with these lapel microphones. Plugs right into your phone’s headphone jack and produces better quality than the phone’s onboard mic. (Adapters may be needed. Cost: $11-$35
- USB Mics — They’ve come a long way in quality and affordability. As a solopreneur, you have dragons to slay. You don’t have time to mess with cables or mixers. USB mics “plug and play”, saving you the hassle of making sure cables are connected properly.
Blue Snowball USB Mic — Popular amongst podcasters for a reason. Good quality and budget friendly. Cost: $39
Amazon Desktop USB Mic — More expensive but good quality. Cost: $59
Software
You’ve got your hot content and USB mic (you sound great, btw). You’re ready to record but how? Most recording software is too robust for the entry level podcaster to produce a show. You simply need to capture your message and send it to the masses.
- GarageBand — For Mac and iOS. Cost: Free
- Audacity — An amazing audio recorder and editor. Open source and cross-platform, running on Windows, Linux AND Mac. Cost: Free
- Skype — Have a guest? The popular VOIP software has a baked-in recording option in its call interface for recording interviews. Start your call, let your guest know you’re recording (it’s polite), click the Record button and go! Cost: Free
Studio
Let’s face it. For a lot of us, “studio” is just a fancy name for “kitchen table”. Which gets confusing when you’re meal prepping in your “studio”.
Your podcast should sound as professional as possible. So finding a quiet place in your home or office is important.
- If your recording space has a lot of street traffic, wait until rush hour is over to begin recording. Cost: Free
- Hang blankets, sheets or rugs from the windows to “deaden” some of the street traffic noise. Cost: Free (unless you’re out of linens)
Hosting
You’ve just recorded the best show of all time and the file is too hot to just sit on a hard drive. Congrats! Let’s launch your podcast.
To publish your podcast, you’ll need a dedicated host for your podcast to live on.
- If you already have a website, you can host and publish your podcast through an RSS feed. You can then add your RSS feed to other distribution channels like Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify and others. Cost: Free (associated website hosting fees notwithstanding)
- Don’t have a website yet but want to hit the podcast ground running? Here’s a few FREE options:
These hosting services are perfect for your podcast to call home. There are drawbacks to free podcast hosting (limited bandwidth/storage, no analytics or tech support, etc.), but the paid tiers on some of the services are affordable with quality features. Cost: Plans start as little as $8/mo for most first tier paid plans
Start a Podcast Today
Solopreneurs understand all aspects of their business including marketing and cash flow. The average podcast listener listens to 8 podcasts a week with 28% of the U.S. population over 12 years old listening on a weekly basis. You can see why audio podcasts have become a go-to content marketing tool. With low overhead, you can launch your podcast for under $100 today and get a leg up on the competition with personalized content that only YOU can deliver.
