How to Record a Podcast: Easy Guide for Beginners

Podcasts have exploded into the mainstream as a versatile, engaging, and highly accessible form of storytelling and communication. Whether you're looking to share a personal passion, entertain listeners with captivating stories, or educate an audience on niche topics, podcasting offers an incredible platform to reach people worldwide.

Despite its popularity, the idea of recording a podcast seems daunting. Where do you begin?

You’ve put in the time, learned how to use audio editing tools, invested in the best podcast equipment money can buy (or, at least, the best gear for your budget), and written a killer podcast script to make the very angels weep in jealous awe at the sheer sublimity of your exquisite wordcraft.

The good news is you’ve already gotten the hard part out of the way! You’ll quickly learn that recording your podcast is actually the easiest mountain to climb in your content creation journey. 

In this guide, I will walk you through the process of recording a podcast easily. So grab your microphone and get ready to bring your ideas to life in the world of podcasting.

How to record a podcast

You don't need to break the bank in order to produce a high-quality, professional show. Regardless of the money you choose to spend or save, there are a few common threads that are worth tying together when creating the tapestry of your show.

1. Set up a suitable recording environment

This is an often overlooked aspect of recording a podcast. While there are many guides written on what to buy for any given setting, you also need to consider the way your recording space is configured. It’s not hard to do, and a little preparation in this area will go a long way toward making your recording sound more professional and polished.

The size of the room and the things inside it will affect its acoustics and subsequently alter the quality of the recording. Large, empty spaces will cause the sound to bounce around with the volatile and chaotic energies of an over-caffeinated housecat. Smaller spaces filled with sound-absorbent material such as carpets, heavy curtains, or books will help contain the sound and thus yield a much more mellow tone.

Additionally, small factors such as the airflow from a fan or other ambient noises such as air-conditioning units should be eliminated around the microphone.

2. Learn good microphone technique

Now that you have your space configured to your liking, you need to make sure you’re using your microphone properly.

Regardless of the microphone you’ve chosen for your show, there are a few things that you need to be aware of in order to use it properly. You want to place your microphone at the same level as your mouth and around two to three inches away from you.

If your microphone is too high, it will cause your voice to sound nasally and high-pitched, while speaking down to it will add a warmer tone. The closer it is to you, the lower the input volume needs to be, which leads to an overall higher-quality recording. Don’t get too close, though, or your audience will only hear your heavy breathing on the mic.

3. Select the best recording software

When it comes to selecting software to use for the recording of your episodes, there are a few strong contenders to choose from. Luckily, G2 has a page dedicated to recording and audio-editing software to help you in this search.

G2 calculates user satisfaction rates by analyzing all user reviews that take the following into consideration:

1. Customer satisfaction with end-user-focused products
2. Popularity and statistical significance based on the number of reviews received
3. Quality of reviews received
4. Age of reviews
5. Customers' satisfaction with administration-specific products
6. Overall customer satisfaction

A live look at the G2 Grid for this category shows the audio editing products available based on real time, validated user reviews:

Of course, there are numerous other products to choose from. These are just some of the most commonly used local recording options for podcasters.

On the other hand, when you have co-hosts or remote call-in guests, you’ll want to use conference calling as the basis for the recording of your podcast. Most video conferencing tools have plug-ins that will allow you to record the call directly.

Generally, podcasters prefer Skype as it allows you to easily separate the different speakers into different editing components, which makes editing and post-production a breeze. For the best quality, you’ll need to use a call recorder (such as Pamela for PC or Call Recorder for Skype on Mac), but these are all incredibly easy to use.

4. Improve your recording literacy

One of the first things you’ll notice when you’re recording for the first time is that there are numerous different dials and colorful gauges, all screaming for your attention.

Source: digitaltrends.com

While most recording software is not nearly as complex as the one pictured above, it’s still worth your time to learn the interface. Luckily, there are only two vital concepts you need to be familiar with in order to record an audio-only medium, such as podcasting.

Gain

Gain is sort of like volume, except it controls how loud something is before you mix it with any sort of processing goodness. In essence, it is the volume of the unfiltered, unedited input into your microphone. Most recording tools will have an adjustable gain setting. In most cases, you want it to peak around -10 or -12 dB, meaning that the loudest recording level should go no higher than -10dB.

Monitoring

Most recording tools will allow you to monitor the levels of what you’re putting into your podcast in real-time. The input volume of your microphone will generally be visible as meters that range from green to red, depending on the gain of your recording. Generally, you want your recording to exist in the green range with the occasional jaunts out into the yellow. The red levels are, unsurprisingly, indicative of an overload of input into any given channel.

Even with good visuals and metrics, you should make sure you’ve used your ears to double- and triple-check the quality of your recording. Listening to your recording in real time with a good pair of closed-back headphones is crucial to ensuring that you don’t lose an entire session to an avoidable issue that might arise during recording.

Here's a useful video resource that gives an overview of recording a podcast for beginners.

Source: Riversidefm

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Podcast recording best practices

These are some general tips that will help you push the quality of your podcast recording to the next level:

Pause for effect

At the beginning of each recording, it’s a good idea to pause for three or four seconds after you’ve turned on your equipment but before you’ve started speaking. This is an excellent way to give yourself a little more leeway when editing your show to eliminate any ambient noise that could otherwise mar the rest of the recording.

Preparation is the mother of perfection

Even if you’ve followed all the steps of this article, there’s still a chance something will go awry in your recording. In fact, something probably will. Considering this, it’s a good idea to take a practice recording before committing to an entire episode of your show. This is an excellent way to identify any broad issues afflicting your recording setup for a relatively small investment of time and effort.

Shrug it off

No one likes making mistakes. Luckily, podcasts are a very forgiving medium when it comes to slip-ups and snafus. If you lose your train of thought or your guest launches off on some bizarre rant, you can simply edit it out later. Just make a verbal note of this mistake in the recording by saying something to the effect of “take out that last section,” pause for a few seconds for editing purposes, and then continue where you left off!

The power of muting

Don’t be afraid to use the mute button to save an otherwise excellent recording! If you or a co-host’s equipment starts to act up, a good idea is to hit the mute button when they’re not talking in order to cut down on the disruption their mic might be causing. These are always issues you can fix in editing!

FAQs: How to record a podcast

Questions? Find your answers below!

Q. What equipment do I need to record a podcast?

A. You’ll need a microphone, headphones, and recording software. For better sound quality, consider using a USB or XLR microphone, audio interface, pop filter, and mic stand.

Q. How can I avoid background noise in my recordings?

A. Record in a sound-treated environment (using blankets, foam panels, or carpet). Use directional microphones that pick up less background noise. If necessary, apply noise reduction filters in post-production.

Q. How long should my podcast recording sessions be?

A. It depends on your episode length and format, but aim for 30-60 minutes of raw audio for each episode. Keep recording sessions as efficiently as possible to reduce post-production time.

Q. How do I monitor audio while recording?

A. Listen to the recording in real time using closed-back headphones, ensuring that no external noise affects the audio.

Q. Do I need an audio interface for podcasting?

A. If you’re using XLR microphones, an audio interface is necessary to connect them to your computer and improve audio quality.

That’s a wrap!

Now that you know the essentials of what it takes to record your podcast, you’re ready to start sharing your ideas with the world! Make sure you’ve taken all the above steps into consideration, and you’ll be ready to have a great pilot episode.

Need more help in setting up your recording studio? Check out our detailed guide on podcast equipment to see exactly what you need to make it happen!

This article was originally published in 2019. It has been updated with new information.