Amelia [00:00:04] [Twinkling, airy music begins to play, overlapping with the introduction to the episode] Welcome to The Softer Cast, a podcast for small business owners and creatives who want tender podcast advice without any tech bro bullshit.

Amelia [00:00:12] I'm Amelia Hruby and I'm the founder of Softer Sounds, a feminist podcast studio for women and non-binary entrepreneurs. On this show, I answer your questions about podcasting.

Amelia [00:00:23] Things like:

Amelia [00:00:23] Should I put my show on YouTube?

Amelia [00:00:25] Can I just record it on Zoom?

Amelia [00:00:26] How much do editors really cost?

Amelia [00:00:29] And how many downloads should my podcast be getting?

Amelia [00:00:32] Yeah, I'll even answer that question. Every episode of The Softer Cast is really practical, a little magical, and less than 10 minutes long. If you like what you hear, please subscribe to the show and share it with your podcast bestie. Then, head to the show notes to check out our free resources.

Amelia [00:00:51] [Music quiets but continues to play] No matter where you're at in your podcasting journey, we're here to support you. Join us on the softer side of podcasting.

Amelia [00:01:05] Hello and welcome to The Softer Cast, a podcast [music fades out] where we answer your questions about podcasting without any tech bro bullshit.

Amelia [00:01:14] I'm Amelia Hruby and I am the founder of Softer Sounds podcast studio, a podcast studio for women and non-binary entrepreneurs and creatives who want to create thoughtful, heartfelt shows that grow their businesses.

Amelia [00:01:28] I am obviously the host of this podcast and I'm the one answering all your questions.

Amelia [00:01:33] And speaking of your questions, I would love to get more of them. So, if you're tuned to this epi— tuned into this episode, please go ahead and open up those show notes or look down, scroll down if you're on YouTube, pop open that SpeakPipe link and record a quick question for us.

Amelia [00:01:51] I am gathering a bunch of questions, particularly for next year on the show, so please submit your podcast questions. Let me know what I can answer for you and I'll do it on air sometime next year. Thanks.

Amelia [00:02:05] So, let's dive into today's episode. If you're listening to this when it comes out live— on time, we— you are catching us right after capitalists' favorite holiday in the U.S., which would be, like, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Amelia [00:02:23] So, this is coming out the day after that. And honestly, watching all of the consumption and all of the deals [laughs lightly] and all of, you know, these pricing strategies and even in the podcast industry— watching all of, you know, this equipment go on sale, just this kind of like, I don't know, paragon of consumerism and capitalism, you know, nothing wrong with that. I'd, like, 100,000% support you if you grabbed a mic for cheap. I did that last year, but it just had me thinking about how much it costs to start a podcast.

Amelia [00:03:00] And I am a big believer that it can and should cost zero dollars to start a podcast.

Amelia [00:03:07] You know, I am also someone who charges over $1,000 to launch a podcast with me. So, let me— you know, I hold both of those at the same time. I don't think starting a podcast should require any expensive equipment. It just requires having something to say and a little bit of equipment, but nothing you need to spend money on.

Amelia [00:03:27] Of course, if you want to hire my company to support you and step-by-step hold your hand, guide you through that process, that costs money. But so many people don't need that, right? So, many of you can just record on your phone and launch your show.

Amelia [00:03:40] So, in today's episode. I want to walk us through how to launch a podcast for free. Or this question that I did get recently on a call, which was:

Amelia [00:03:49] What's the least expensive way to create a podcast?

Amelia [00:03:55] And you know this, again, it comes up all the time. It's coming up for me right now, coming out of Black Friday and the, sort of, consumerism season. It came up for me also because I was reading an interview with a podcaster the other day and they were giving the, like, top three tips for having a successful podcast.

Amelia [00:04:14] And for number one, here's what they said— they said, I'm quoting, "Record on the best equipment you can afford. Podcast listeners these days are extremely sophisticated. And if your sound quality is bad, they won't stick around." End quote.

Amelia [00:04:28] As I read this [chuckles] and on the face of it, I was like, "Fine, this is fine advice. It's probably true. Whatever."

Amelia [00:04:34] But when I read things like this, it really gets under my skin because all I can think about is how many folks are going to read that and then count themselves out of podcasting and say, "Oh yeah, that's probably true. Nobody wants to listen to me record on my phone, can't make a podcast."

Amelia [00:04:50] Because what if the best equipment you can afford is no equipment, right? That's okay. I'm here to say that's okay and I still want you to make your podcast. I want you to ignore the people that say this [laughs softly]. I want you to embrace a best equipment is no equipment lifestyle and make your podcast anyway.

Amelia [00:05:14] So, today's episode is for all you babes who might be counting yourself out of podcasting because you don't feel skilled enough or technical enough or wealthy enough to do it. I'm here to say— you can do it! You can have a podcast and people will listen.

Amelia [00:05:36] So, here's your set up to do it for free. 10 minutes. I'm going to take 10 minutes and tell you how to launch a podcast for Free 99, ya'll, so possible.

Amelia [00:05:48] Let's dive in. So, to launch a podcast, as I mentioned, really to launch a podcast at its core, what you need is a voice and something to say. Technically— on the technical side, you're going to need two more things.

Amelia [00:06:01] You're going to need a recording device that's connected to the internet and a podcast hosting platform. So, let me say that again.

Amelia [00:06:09] To launch your show you need a voice, something to say [laughs lightly], a recording device, and a podcast hosting platform. That's it.

Amelia [00:06:18] So, I'm going to assume you've got the voice and something to say taken care of. You want to launch a show. I'm going to let you figure that piece out. Maybe we'll talk about it in a future episode. And I'm going to focus on this equipment stuff.

Amelia [00:06:29] So, let's talk about a recording device first. You need a recording device that's connected to the Internet. That recording device can be your phone. That recording device can be your computer.

Amelia [00:06:42] My recommended most inexpensive recording device is a pair of Apple corded earbuds, the ones that have the little mic on them. I should have— for the YouTubers, I should have brought you an example, but the ones that you just put those little buds in your ears, they've got the cords that run down, they've got that, like, two-inch long little plastic piece [chuckles] that is the microphone.

Amelia [00:07:05] If you have those on and plugged in and you hold that mic up in front of your— a few inches from your mouth while you record, they will do a pretty solid job of recording your voice without capturing all of the background noise and sounds around you while you talk. And that's really all we want.

Amelia [00:07:22] So, you know, many of us have those or you can borrow them from a friend or you can check them out from the library. You can buy your own for less than $20. And that's my recommendation.

Amelia [00:07:34] So, you need a recording device. Again, you can record straight into your phone or straight into your computer. You don't need to buy anything new. And if you do want to find something else, that is my least possible expensive suggestion for a cheap recording device.

Amelia [00:07:50] Next, you need a podcast hosting platform.

Amelia [00:07:53] So, all podcasts are hosted on an RSS feed. That is what holds your audio files so that podcast listening platforms like Apple or Spotify can deliver your episodes to your listeners. Basically, the way a podcast works is that every time you have a new episode, you upload it to your RSS feed and then Apple, Spotify, Overcast, all those places are constantly checking your RSS feed to see if there's more audio there.

Amelia [00:08:19] So, when it comes up there, they pull it through to all the distribution places where people listen. Most podcast hosting platforms charge a monthly fee, but you can host your podcast for free with a service called Anchor. It's owned by Spotify. It is completely free.

Amelia [00:08:38] All you need to do is go to anchor.fm and create an account. They will guide you through a podcast set up from there. They make it super easy and user-friendly. You can do it on your phone. You can do on your computer. You can set up your podcast immediately. All you got to do is go to Anchor.

Amelia [00:08:55] So, now you've got your essentials. You've got your recording device that's connected to the Internet. You've got your Anchor account where you're going to make your podcast go live that's going to host it for you.

Amelia [00:09:05] So, how do you go about recording this thing [chuckles]? Well, here is another place that Anchor comes in handy, because if you're recording solo, you just log in, hit new episode, there's a big record button right there for you and you just talk, record, finish, save it, and you can publish it from there.

Amelia [00:09:22] If you're recording interviews, Anchor also has a phone app that you can record on and multiple people can, kind of, call in and record together.

Amelia [00:09:30] Now, if you don't like recording in Anchor, you can also record solo episodes using the voice note app on your phone. I have recorded so many podcast episodes in a voice memo, you know, not for Softer Sounds because [laughs lightly] I have equipment and fancy things for my production studio.

Amelia [00:09:45] But if you ever subscribe to my personal newsletter, I definitely record the audio for those in the voice memos on my phone because I like to keep it easy, ya'll and I support that. You can also record interviews using Zoom on your computer, so if you're already on a Zoom call with somebody and you want to record the audio from that for an episode, great.

Amelia [00:10:03] I encourage you to use the resources available to you. So, once you've recorded, you will save the recording either in Anchor, if you recorded there, or on your phone or computer, and then you'll upload it to Anchor.

Amelia [00:10:17] Anchor allows you to add music and sound effects. They got a whole bunch of stuff you can put in there and then you will save that episode, audio file. I think you hit next or something in their platform and you'll write your title— you'll write your description and you can publish it. You can publish right then; you can schedule it to publish later. And that's it. You are officially a podcaster.

Amelia [00:10:39] Once you publish your first episode in Anchor, they will automatically submit it to Spotify. And then, you can go through the process of submitting your RSS feed to Apple if you so desire.

Amelia [00:10:48] But truly, that's it. You are a podcaster now [chuckles] for $0 or at least $0 in addition to your phone or computer that you did need to have to make this so, you know free is relative here.

Amelia [00:11:04] So, let's recap. To need a podcast, you need two personal things, your voice and something to say, and two technical things— a recording device and an Anchor account. And that's it.

Amelia [00:11:17] At this point you're probably wondering if I'm just a huge fan of Anchor or something [chuckles]. And honestly, I am not. It's not the service I use with my clients. I find it a little frustrating in the interface for myself. And I am a little skeptical of the Spotify affiliation and it worries me a bit. You know, I kind of take the— like— like an adage or whatever that, like, if a service is free, then you're the product. And I'm like, "Hmm. How am I the product on Anchor?"

Amelia [00:11:47] I do have those questions, and so I don't use it personally, but it makes podcasting free and easy. Anchor makes— lets you make a free podcast with a super user-friendly— like beginner-friendly interface.

Amelia [00:12:03] And I want podcasting to be accessible to everyone. So, I will tell you how to make a free podcast [chuckles]. I will also share, you know, as I just did, some of my own, like, questions or critiques. But at the end of the day, I want you to make the podcast for free. You don't need to have any equipment or be able to, you know, afford anything fancy to make a show. That's what I'm here to say.

Amelia [00:12:30] So, make your podcast, babe, and then send it to me so I can listen and so I can support you and cheer you on.

Amelia [00:12:37] If you enjoy this episode and you are like, "Yes, hell yeah, I now believe I can make a podcast." I would love to invite you to also go ahead and download Softer Sounds free eight-step podcast launch plan that will guide you through some of the more intricate parts of podcasting that I didn't cover here today like choosing a topic and creating your cover art and writing an intro and outro if you want one and finding free music if you'd like some.

Amelia [00:13:04] So, all of that is in that free Podcast Launch Toolkit. So, head to the show notes, grab that for yourself. And if you have questions as always again, please send them my way.

Amelia [00:13:14] I am currently trying to source some more questions for 2023 on the pod, and I would love to answer the things that you're asking about podcasting. So, head to the show notes, record a quick voice memo with your question or email me at hi@softersounds.studio so that we can get your podcast questions answered and help you launch your show for free.

Amelia [00:13:42] [Outro music begins to play, overlapping with the episode] All right, babes— thanks so much for tuning in today. As always, I can't wait to see you on the softer side of podcasting.

Amelia [00:13:56] Thanks so much for listening to The Softer Cast. If you enjoyed this episode, please send it to your podcast bestie and after you do that, go ahead and drop us five stars on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Amelia [00:14:08] If you'd like to submit a question head to speakpipe.com/softercast to record a message or email us at hi@softersounds.studio.

Amelia [00:14:17] And last but not least, we made some awesome free things for you. Head to the show notes to download our free Podcast Launch Toolkit or our 3-step Podcast Audit.

Amelia [00:14:28] No matter where you're at in your podcasting journey, we're here to support you.

Amelia [00:14:33] Thanks again for tuning in and joining us on the softer side of podcasting [twinkling, airy music closes out the show].