How to Create Your Own Podcast As A College Student

By Travis Ramsdell

​Over the past few years, podcasts and their audiences have grown exponentially. With a wide variety of topics available, podcasts listeners are able to identify with a certain niche, gain valuable insights and or grow attached to the conversations. Furthermore, with a number of influencers, such as Nadeshot, starting their own podcasts and being able to utilize them for marketing strategies, the possibilities are endless for podcasters. In this post, we’ll explain how to start your own podcast as a college student, specifically emphasizing how little equipment you need and how it can be used as a potential source of income over time.

​Most may be unaware of exactly what podcasting is and the possibilities that are available for those who create their own. To put it simply, a podcast is like a radio show that is centered around specific topics. These podcasts are able to be produced in a variety of different fashions, whether it’s a daily or weekly podcast, one person or interview style, or any other setup that you prefer. Most importantly, those listening to podcasts are able to enjoy them on the go, whether they are doing chores, driving or completing homework. With many individuals being exposed to podcasts, due to an increase in time available because of the pandemic, it is important to understand the potential that podcasts have to offer both from the listener perspective and those who may potentially use podcasting as a way to generate income.

Here are five easy steps to help college students create their own podcast.

1. Planning.
Although this step may not actively produce any content, it is still as important as it provides the foundation for your podcast and makes it easier for you to structure yourself and your audience. Certain decisions that will be made here are centered around who and what your podcast is for. Although you have free range to talk about anything you want on your podcast, you want to make sure that it is centered around a specific theme or topic. It would be very hard to maintain an audience who one week expects to hear about sports and the next week starts to listen about homework tips. Furthermore, you want to be able to identify potential audiences that may listen to you and target them. If you’re creating a podcast focused on school tips, you wouldn’t necessarily put much emphasis on an audience who graduated from school 10 years ago. Additionally, come up with a name for your podcast. Once again, you want to choose a name so that those who are listening for the first time are able to identify exactly what your podcast is about.

2. Crafting out your episodes.
Now that you have figured out what your entire podcast is going to be centered around, you need to figure out how to conduct each episode. You should figure out how long each episode will be, how often you will release new episodes, how each episode will be formatted, and how they will be titled. Do you want to create weekly hour-long episodes that are monologues? Or do you want your podcast to be 30 minutes long, interview style, and released twice a week? These are the decisions that need to be made prior to starting your podcast to ensure that you follow a set structure and that your audience knows what to expect. Furthermore, you want your episode titles to be tailored to your topic and clear so that listeners will be able to identify what the episode is about.

3. Recording, editing, and producing your podcast 
Although some podcasts are recorded in elaborate sound studios with the best equipment, as a college student it may be difficult to have all those resources available. Fortunately, the bare minimum that you need to get started is a microphone and recording/editing software. Simple USB microphones are capable of giving good results, such as the Samson Q2U. However, if you want to step up the equipment just a bit, the Rode Procaster is another solid option. For software, Audacity is free of charge and offers good quality, but Alitu offers the easiest possible experience, as it can automate audio cleanup, edit and process your podcast, add music and publish to your host.

4. Publishing Your Podcast
Once your podcast is recorded and edited, it’s time to publish. You want to create a cover art image, one that is easily identifiable with your theme and that stands out as well. Then, you want to choose where to host your podcast. This is where your audio will be stored and will allow listeners to listen to your podcast. Some top services would be Buzzsprout and Captivate.

5. Advertising your podcast
Your final step will be focused on getting the word out about your podcast! By posting on different social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram you can attract an audience as well as potential sponsorship opportunities from various companies who may wish to use your podcast to spread the word about their company. Over time, this could possibly generate a revenue stream for you.

Podcasts are quickly turning into a vital part of the entertainment industry. With the market still in its infancy, anyone has the opportunity to share their thoughts and create a potential revenue stream over time with their own podcast. The days where you have to utilize the most high-end equipment are gone. Now, with only a microphone and some software, you are able to turn nothing into something. Furthermore, with the ability to monetize your podcast through possibilities such as brand partnerships, the chances of becoming a full-time podcaster are attainable.

What are some topic ideas that you have for a podcast? Let us know in the comments below.