How To Start A Podcast: A Step-by-Step Guide To Podcasting

Podcasting is one of the most powerful and personal ways for brands to connect with an audience today, whether you want to build a brand, share a passion, or launch a product. But as soon as you start looking into how to start a podcast, you’re suddenly faced with terms like mixing, mastering, hosting, and so on, making it hard to know where even to begin. Here, we help clear things up for you with a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to getting started. We’ve broken down the entire process, from planning your first episode to hitting the “publish” button and growing your audience, along with what you can expect on the brand-new Hosted.com® Podcast channel.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• If you do it correctly, launching a podcast for your brand can help with engagement, authority, and growth
• Starting a podcast involves getting the proper equipment, planning episodes, editing and publishing them to a hosting platform for distribution.
• Consistently marketing, promoting, and engaging will help grow your listener base and keep people coming back.
• Monetization can be executed with consistent quality, audience growth and using the best methods for your brand.
• The Hosted.com® Podcast on Spotify covers everything you need to know about launching and managing a website.

Why Start a Podcast?

If you’re wondering how to start a podcast for your brand or small business, there has never been a better time. With millions of people worldwide listening in 2025, audio content is exploding. It’s a great way to share your expertise, tell your story, and expand your business’s reach to a whole new audience.

Here are a few of the reasons why it’s worth exploring how to start a podcast:

• Brand Authority: Hosting your own show helps reinforce your status as an expert in your space while giving your brand its own voice.
• Audience Connection: Generally, the audio format feels more personal, as listeners often feel as if you are communicating with them directly.
• Growth: A podcast can drive traffic to your website, boost conversions or subscriptions, and create opportunities for partnerships for even more reach.
• Creativity: Whether you’re talking about yourself or your industry, interviewing podcast guests, or explaining niche topics, a podcast can give you a potential goldmine of content.

How To Start a Podcast: Our Full Guide

There are some myths about how to start a podcast, such as that you need thousands of dollars in equipment and must be a tech genius/sound engineer. The only things you really need are a good idea, the right equipment and a basic understanding of recording. The followers will, for lack of a better term, follow later.

While starting your own podcast is easier than ever these days, doing things correctly the first time will help you avoid frustrating, unnecessary delays.

Gearing Up with Podcast Equipment

First and foremost, good sound quality is the core of any good podcast show. When potential listeners hit “play”, poor audio quality can cause them to stop pretty quickly, so you need the right gear from the start.

These are the essentials you’ll need for your setup:

Microphone

A microphone is the (obvious) first thing for recording high-quality audio. Your two main options are USB and XLR microphones.

USB microphones are the easiest option for beginners, as they are plug-and-play and connect directly to your computer. The sound quality, even on most entry-level podcast microphones, is usually good, making them perfect for getting started quickly with minimal setup.

Alternatively, an XLR microphone offers higher-quality sound. However, the trade-off is that it requires an audio interface to connect to your computer via an XLR cable, converting the analog mic signal to a digital one so you can record.

If you want a more professional studio setup, to record multiple people in a room, or would like the best possible sound, starting with an XLR condenser microphone (consider brands like Audio-Technica, Rode and Shure) can be a good choice, despite the slightly higher learning curve.

Regardless of which one you choose, you’ll also need a pop filter. This is essentially a fine-mesh screen that goes between you and the mic. It reduces plosive sounds and background noise, improves clarity, and protects your microphone, so you sound more polished.

Headphones

When you record, headphones let you monitor your voice and sound in real time, and they help you catch unwanted noises before they ruin a recording session. During editing, closed-back headphones help you focus entirely on your tracks, ensuring everything is synced (if you’re doing a video podcast), mixed, and mastered correctly for a professional-sounding final audio recording.

Interestingly, research by the University of California suggests that headphones are twice as effective for communicating your message. No wonder 93% of podcast consumption occurs on headphones!

Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) 

A DAW is the software you’ll use to record, edit, mix, and master your episodes. There is a range of options, including free ones like Audacity and GarageBand (for Mac users), which are ideal for beginners to learn the basics. They generally have enough audio editing features to get your recordings done and sounding good.

If you wish to take things further, paid software like Adobe Audition and Pro Tools offers more advanced features, separate track mixing, and professional audio editing tools. But, keep in mind that if you’re starting, they take longer to learn to use correctly.

Planning Your Podcast

Like any new venture, proper planning and preparation are essential for a successful podcast and maintaining momentum (and subscribers) once you’re set up.

Niche & Format

You need to decide on the specific topic you wish to focus on and the value your podcast content will bring to new listeners. For example, instead of using a broad topic like “movies,” try a niche genre, like “classics”, “horror” or “superheroes” that will appeal to a specific target audience. This will make it easier to create that niche, attract, and expand a loyal follower base. Just ensure you actually know what you’re talking about and are not making it up as you go along.

According to The Pew Research Center, podcasts have become a trusted source for news and information. Some listeners actually trust podcasts more than traditional print and broadcast media.

The format, as you’ve probably guessed, is the structure of your show and the type of content. The most common ones people choose include:

• Solo Show: Great for sharing expertise, commentary, or personal stories.
• Co-Hosted: Provides chemistry and differing viewpoints, and is often highly engaging.
• Interview Show: Excellent for networking and attracting expert guests.
• Storytelling: Highly produced, long-form content (like true crime or history).

Create Episode Scripts & Titles

While it may be tempting to wing it, you’ll be much better off following a script. You don’t need to write out every word, but structure is important.

Ensure you write a good script for your intro and outro to ensure consistency and professionalism. For the body of the episode, best practice is to create a detailed outline of the segments (in the correct order), including the main points and any transitions or segways.

Your title is your hook, and it needs to make people want to click it. Write episode titles that are clear, intriguing, and include your keyword or topic for better visibility when potential listeners search in podcast directories. Finally, write an engaging episode description that sells the value of its content.

Record an Intro & Outro

Your podcast intro and outro are often the most important elements for establishing your brand’s voice and episode consistency.

Record a brief, catchy intro (30 seconds or less) that immediately tells listeners who you are and what your show is about. Your outro for the end of the podcast should be equally catchy and include a Call to Action (CTA) that encourages people to subscribe and tune in for the next episode.

Include background music and sound effects in both intro and outro to keep things entertaining and professional. Depending on what you decide to use, the music should either be licensed from the artist or you can use royalty-free music to prevent copyright issues.

Editing & Publishing Your First Podcast Episode

You’ve set up your studio space, got your script, intro, and outro down, and recorded your episode. Now, it’s time for podcast editing and publishing.

Start by importing all your recorded audio tracks (voice, music, and sound effects) into your chosen DAW. Even if you’re using a free tool, you’ll be able to create a tight edit that keeps listeners engaged for the long term.

Trim out dead air, long pauses, mistakes, and filler words like “um,” “uh,” and “you know”. Add your intro, outro, music, and sound effects in the right places. Ensure the music levels are faded properly so it doesn’t overpower your voice.

Clean up any background noise and equalize (EQ) the frequencies to make everything sound rich and clear. Balance the volume to keep it consistent so there aren’t any sudden loud or soft parts.

Once your episode is edited, you’re ready to unleash it.

Export the final mixed audio file. The best format is MP3, which is compressed, small, and easy to stream. If you want a higher-quality copy, you can also save it as a larger WAV file.

Before uploading, ensure the file is tagged correctly (for yourself and the platforms). This includes the title, podcast description, episode number, and host name. From there, upload the file to your chosen hosting provider (we cover this in the next section).

Choosing a Podcast Hosting Platform

Deciding which hosting service to use is an important task to consider when you’re working out how to start a podcast. Podcast hosting services store your uploaded files, create and manage your RSS feed, and distribute your show to listening platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Amazon Music, making your content available to a worldwide audience.

When comparing podcast platforms, look at available features, including download-tracking analytics, episode storage and limits, and distribution tools. Also, consider the interface/dashboard for ease of use when uploading and publishing.

Platforms like Spotify offer free, unlimited hosting, which is perfect for new podcasters testing the waters. However, if you have the budget and want more features, paid services like RSS.com, Buzzsprout, and Podbean offer advanced analytics, monetization tools, and customer support.

Pro Tips on How to Start a Podcast

Once you launch, the real work begins. Around 584.1 million people worldwide listened to podcasts in 2025, and the most successful podcasts follow a simple formula: consistency equals loyalty. Here, we discuss the key strategies for maintaining momentum and scaling your audience.

Set a regular publishing schedule (weekly or biweekly is most common) and stick to it. Your audience relies on this predictability. Quality is just as important as timing; every episode you release should provide genuine value.

Your listeners are always one click away from another show. The easiest way to lose them is by providing poor sound. While you start simple, commit to upgrading your equipment as you grow. Better microphone quality, improved sound, and mixing directly translate to better retention.

Every production decision should prioritize the listener experience. Ensure your episodes are easy to listen to, with clear audio and structured content, and that you always use polished, consistent intros and outros.

Your podcast host provides download numbers and audience data, so use this to track what works by analyzing the performance of different episode lengths and types, guest features, and formats. Don’t guess; let the data inform your content strategy so you can best use what your audience wants most.

To quote Les Alfred “If you’re interested in growing your podcast, I would say consistency is incredibly important. We can’t release an episode one week and then ghost our listeners for a month… Success in podcasting isn’t just about starting but about keeping a steady schedule that works for you and your listeners.”

Podcast Marketing

After launching, it’s time to tackle another essential aspect of how to start a podcast: it’s crucial to get the word out to your target audience. Below are some (relatively) easy ways to do it.

Social Media

Promote each episode on your social media accounts, but don’t just share a link; share content for each one. For example, you can use short audio clips of the episode with graphics or share behind-the-scenes videos on your YouTube channel. Just ensure the post format suits the platform where you share it.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO Optimization)

For people looking on the web for their next best podcast, write detailed show notes (not just a summary) that incorporate your episode’s keywords, along with topic tags and guest names. Publishing a transcript of your episode as a blog post on your podcast website can also dramatically improve visibility. This is because search engines can index your content, making it discoverable through traditional web searches.

Email & Engagement

Social media algorithms change, but an email list is something you’ll always have. Encourage listeners to subscribe and use email to discover when new episodes will be uploaded, ensuring reliable listening outside of app or browser notifications.

At the same time, engage your audience directly through questions, polls, and feedback. This two-way communication builds a loyal and invested following that will stay with your show for the long haul.

Collaborations & Guest Features

This is one of the fastest podcast promotion methods. Consider it like audience-swapping. Invite guests onto your show who have an existing audience that ties in with yours. When they share the episode, new listeners discover your show.

Similarly, offer opportunities to appear on other podcasts in your niche. This can immediately introduce you to thousands of highly targeted listeners. This way, everyone wins.

Podcast Monetization

Just like website monetization (Insert link to – Blog RF-131 – How to Monetize a Website), once you’ve built up an audience, you can start monetizing your podcast.

Sponsorships & Ads

This is the most common path, as sponsors recognize the high value of a loyal podcast audience. For example, with native ads, you read the copy provided, which can lead to better conversion rates because listeners trust you.

Alternatively, your hosting provider can automatically insert ads into your back catalog, creating passive income based on downloads.

To show you how effective this can be, we have included a quote from Jake Jorgovan, CEO of Content Allies, who said in a blog that “Advertising to grow your podcast is one of the biggest trends we are seeing growing in the podcast sector right now.”

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing involves promoting products or services you genuinely use and trust, earning a commission for each conversion, click, or sale through your unique affiliate link or code. This works best when the product fits with your show’s theme.

Here’s an analysis of podcast industry trends from TechWyse. It says: “The key to success here is authenticity. When podcasters recommend products that they genuinely use and love, it fosters trust and drives real engagement.”

Memberships

Generate monthly income by offering a premium tier(s) subscription. Platforms like Patreon or built-in subscription features on Apple Podcasts allow you to offer exclusive content not available to the general public, such as bonus episodes, early releases and ad-free listening.

The Experts are Talking: The Hosted.com® Podcast

Looking for the best way to master the backend of your online business? The Hosted.com® Podcast Channel on Spotify is the essential resource for anyone who manages a website or wants to understand the mechanics of running a website. By subscribing, you’ll gain expert insights and practical tutorials on:

• Web Hosting: Understanding different web hosting types, improving security, performance, and ensuring uptime.
• WordPress Hosting: Setting up a WordPress site with themes, plugins, security best practices, and performance optimizations.
• Domains: Tips for finding and registering the perfect domain name and managing DNS settings.
• cPanel: Learning to use this powerful control panel for file management, email setup, and database administration.

Whether you’re a beginner launching your first site or a seasoned pro looking for advanced tips, the Hosted.com® Podcast is your regular dose of technical know-how.

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Rhett Freeman

Rhett isn’t just a writer at Hosted.com – he’s our resident WordPress content guru. With over 7 years of experience as a content writer, with a background in copywriting, journalism, research, and SEO, and a passion for websites.

Rhett authors informative blogs, articles, and Knowledgebase guides that simplify the complexities of WordPress, website builders, domains, and cPanel hosting. Rhett’s clear explanations and practical tips provide valuable resources for anyone wanting to own and build a website. Just don’t ask him about coding before he’s had coffee.

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