How to start a podcast: a practical guide to your first episode

1. Choose a topic and a specific listener

Start by completing this sentence: “My podcast helps [a specific person] to [understand or do something] through [a format].” A topic alone, such as sport or finance, does not explain why a listener would come back. Then write down five episode ideas: if they all repeat the same question, narrow or broaden your angle.

A working example: a ten-minute show that explains one expense to students each week. The first episode might answer “How should I split my grocery budget?” This example illustrates a positioning choice; it is neither an audience forecast nor a required format.

Throughout this guide, we will prepare a fictional five-minute pilot called “Pack your bag without rushing in the morning” for a show called The Little Spark. Its goal is to suggest three actions to try the evening before you leave. No real podcast or audience results are associated with this example.

Your deliverable at this stage: a promise in one sentence, a working title and a list of five topics. Ask someone in your intended audience to read the promise: if they do not understand who you are addressing and what they will learn, simplify it before recording.

2. Prepare a pilot you can finish

Choose a realistic format: solo, interview or group discussion. For the pilot, prepare a hook, three main ideas, an example and a conclusion. An outline with a few cues is often enough; writing every word is an option, not a requirement.

• Explain quickly what the listener will learn.
• Choose a length you can produce regularly.
• If you invite someone, explain the topic, session outline and how the recording will be used before the session.
• Only add music if you have the rights needed to distribute it.

A script template to adapt for a five-minute episode

This original running order is a framework, not a text to read word for word. Replace the topic, name and examples with your own. The timings are cues to test aloud; expanding the examples and leaving pauses determines the actual length.

3. Record a voice listeners can understand

For a first take, a device you already own may be enough to test the idea. Choose a quiet room with curtains, a rug or furniture rather than an empty room. Stabilise the phone or microphone and avoid touching it during the recording. Listen to a short test through headphones before recording everything.

For our solo pilot, a phone and headphones you already have allow you to make the first test. On a computer, explicitly select the microphone in your software: the webcam microphone may be selected instead of your external microphone. Record thirty seconds, using your normal voice followed by a louder sentence.

Listen to this test before continuing. If the voice distorts on louder passages or the level goes into the red, reduce the gain or adjust the distance. If the room echoes, change position and move reasonably closer to the microphone. Changing one thing and repeating the test is more useful than adding lots of editing effects.

If you make a mistake, pause and repeat the whole sentence. Keep the original files in a folder dedicated to the episode. With several speakers, check whether your setup lets you keep separate tracks.

• Record a podcast with a phone
• Choose a microphone for your setup

4. Edit, back up and export

When editing, remove distracting mistakes, long waits and avoidable noises. Keep speech natural: you do not need to remove every breath. Audacity lets you record and edit for free on a computer. Keep the original file and editing project before exporting an audio file your host accepts.

Do not confuse the working project with the final file. The first lets you return to editing; the second is for listening and publication. Before uploading, check the beginning, end and a few passages in the middle of the exported file.

In Audacity, open or import your recording, listen to it and select the passages to remove. Save the project before making major changes. For this spoken pilot, focus on repeated takes, long pauses and consistent voice levels. Music is not essential.

Then export an audio file, for example as MP3 if your host accepts it. A single voice can be exported in mono. The editing project is not the file to upload. Menus may change between versions; official Audacity instructions are listed in the sources.

• Follow the editing workflow with free software

5. Choose a host and prepare the RSS feed

The host stores your episodes and provides an RSS feed: an address that describes the show and its audio files. Listening applications then use this feed. Creating a show on Spotify does not mean it will automatically appear on Apple Podcasts.

Prepare a show name, a clear description, cover artwork and a dedicated email address. To compare plans, use your actual production: four thirty-minute episodes represent two hours of new content each month. This volume is different from the number of downloads, which depends on listening.

Our five-minute pilot represents 5/60 of an hour of audio. Four episodes of this length total twenty minutes, or around 0.33 hours per month; add trailers and bonus episodes to the calculation. Our calculator starts at 0.5 hours: enter this value as a cautious rounding up to reproduce this example. Start with this actual need, not the most feature-rich plan.

The path to remember is: your audio file → your host and its RSS feed → listening applications. If you choose Spotify for Creators as your host, the RSS feed appears after you publish the first episode. Enable it for external distribution; the feed’s email address becomes public, which is why a dedicated address is useful.

• Calculate my hosting cost

6. Publish, then check as a listener

Upload your episode to the host, complete its title and description, then publish it. Submit the feed to your chosen platforms using their procedures. Once your show is available, open its public links and listen without going through your dashboard.

Launching is a beginning, not an audience guarantee. Ask for specific feedback on the pilot’s clarity, length and sound before adding more subscriptions or purchases.

For the pilot, the title could be “Pack your bag without rushing in the morning: three actions to try”. The description states the problem, content and resources mentioned. Avoid a title that promises more than the episode delivers. In Apple Podcasts Connect, choose to add a show with an RSS feed, provide the feed and check the information before submitting; approval is neither immediate nor guaranteed.

• Are the cover artwork and title readable on a phone?
• Does the episode start and finish correctly?
• Does the description contain the resources you mentioned?
• Have you kept your files and planned the next episode?

• Follow the publication steps for Spotify and Apple Podcasts

What budget do you need to get started?

You can make a pilot without additional purchases if you already own a phone or computer and headphones, have an internet connection, and use free software and hosting. This is not a universal equipment budget: your time, existing devices and connection also have a cost.

• Equipment: reuse what you have for the test; only buy after identifying a specific sound or connectivity problem.
• Editing: Audacity is free on a computer. Plan a backup independent of the software and host.
• Hosting: Spotify for Creators offers a free plan. Compare a paid plan only if its features meet a specific need.
• One-year budget = initial purchases + subscriptions actually payable + add-ons, taxes and any overages. Do not confuse a monthly payment with the monthly equivalent of an annual payment.

• See the options and limits for starting a podcast for free
• Understand the hosting budget for your first podcast

Checklist: is your first episode ready?

Copy this list into your notes. Tick each item after checking it, not simply because the file has been uploaded.

• The episode’s promise is clear and the content fulfils it.
• The original recording, editing project and exported file are backed up.
• The final file has been checked through headphones; it contains no long waits or distracting clipping.
• The title, description, cover artwork and content information are completed.
• The voices, music and visuals can be used for this publication.
• The RSS feed has been retrieved; submissions to your chosen applications are tracked separately.
• The public link has been tested and the episode can be played without an administrator account.
• Someone in the intended audience has given specific feedback, and the next topic is chosen.

Three common problems after publication

A file being online at the host does not yet prove that all directories have retrieved it. Identify the step that is blocked before recreating a show.

• No RSS feed on Spotify: check that the first episode is published, then look for RSS distribution in the availability settings.
• Episode missing from Apple Podcasts: check the submission and its status in Apple Podcasts Connect. Publishing on Spotify does not automatically submit the feed to Apple.
• An older episode on Buzzsprout’s free plan disappears: check its upload date, not just its publication date. This plan keeps episodes for 90 days after upload; keep your originals and plan what comes next.