The world of podcasting is an interesting place, as you can imagine, for both producers and listeners alike. Since this audio medium is still relatively new, it’s constantly evolving, especially with it being a part of internet content. A big contribution to the evolution of podcasts has been its insane growth in popularity over the last several years. People love listening to podcasts because they’re available at any time, it’s better than radio, and it opens up the possibility for people to have long-form conversations without obnoxious interruptions. And if you’ve been thinking about starting your own podcast, it’s a great time for that as well. Between the costs of getting it off the ground and running, the ease of production, and the bounty of hosting providers, it’s never been easier and more streamlined to host a podcast.

However, there’s an important thing to note if you’re entertaining the idea of starting your own show: You should not confuse the ease of starting a podcast, with actually running and maintaining a podcast. There are a lot of things for you to think about and consider before you dive down the rabbit hole. Here are just a few:

• How much time, money, and energy do you want to pour into this new hobby?
• What do you want to talk about?
• How are you going to make your podcast unique?
• Who’s your target audience?
• How often are you going to release new episodes?

I’m not going to lie, running a podcast requires a lot of hard work and dedication. It will 100% be a labor of love on your part. Unless you are someone famous, it’s going to take you a while to gain momentum and establish a listenership. I’m hoping that by now the title of this series makes sense to you, the reader. Because you kind of have to be an idiot to start one. But to be fair and clear, I’m not pointing fingers here or trying to be condescending; I too am an idiot. If you’re a regular listener of the Geek Garage Podcast, you already know this by now 😂.

With all that being said, if you are serious about starting your own show, I am here to walk you through your journey of conception, all the way to your podcast being live on the internet! One thing to note here is that I am definitely not the authority figure here. At the time of this article’s publication, my podcast has yet to generate a single cent of revenue, I have zero paid advertisers, and I don’t have a professional team of producers/editors/marketers behind me (we do have Patreon donors, though!). But what I do have are 3 years worth of podcasting experience (wherein I learned a TON of lessons, most of them the hard way), and a steady monthly growth of download numbers to back up my tutorial notes for you all!

You don’t need fancy equipment and a team of professional sound engineers to start your podcast. All you really need is a decent microphone, something to say, and a willingness to always be learning. So check back soon for the next chapter of my Only Idiots Start Podcasts tutorial series!

A note to the reader:

The idea behind this tutorial series was inspired by my good friend and marketing mentor Brianna Reed, who was our guest in Episode #43 – Open-Source Marketing. Brianna is an amazing, multi-faceted individual who constantly has her hands in multiple things, such as web design, digital marketing, and interactive media. If you’d like to learn more about her and the work that she does, please visit her website at NerdetteDesigns.com!