How to Start a Podcast in 2025 | Podcast Growth Blueprint Part 1

0:00 If you're a client, friend, or family member that's been trying to start a podcast, this is the episode you've been waiting for. We're going to talk about how you build your podcast, we're going to talk about the technology you use, what you can do to repurpose that podcast in a social media strategy, and we're talking about all the technical knit and grit. Okay, maybe we're not going to get too technical because I don't want to go over your head.

1:08 Find something you're passionate about. If you're in fashion, start a fashion podcast. If you're in sports, start a sports podcast. If you're traveling the world, start a traveling the world podcast. It's not a bad idea to dual purpose your content. You just have to know there's a little bit of an investment in doing a podcast. So I want to encourage you to not give up and start finding content you're passionate about.

2:13 The best podcasts succeed where, A, it's more than you. It's an interviewer. So it's you talking to someone else and you're going back and forth. That's the best type of podcast. This type of podcast is actually not the most ideal podcast because it's just me talking to you. And unless you're Alex Hormozi, you're going to have some time to build an audience. Consistency, consistency, consistency. You're not always going to make it.

3:18 I am showing you what I believe and how I want you to succeed. And I leave nuggets about my clients and experiences and things of that nature to help build social proof, which is a topic for another day. But also to engage and let people know what I believe and what I stand for and to empower you to succeed. So if you haven't already, hit the subscribe button.

4:21 Just turn it on for record, record for 30 minutes, see what the quality looks like and see if that's something you're going to enjoy. But outside of using a phone, you can also upgrade and use a DSLR or an SLR for that matter. You can use an FX3. You could use any of the Sonys, A-series. You could use anything of that nature. You could plug it into a webcam component on OBS.

5:25 Because most people aren't going to know how to light a studio with all of this three-point lighting I have everywhere. Although it's more than three-point lighting because I like the creative colors I add to the scene. Without confusing you, the most important component you're going to have is your mic. Right here, I have a Rode mic. It's $100. I have the Rode stand. Don't get a cheap stand.

6:30 Buy a podcast mic if you're doing a podcast. If you are using a lav, spend a couple hundred bucks on that. I will tell you this rig, this stand, this XLR. And then I spent about $200, $300 on an XLR interface, USB-C to my Mac. Now, I understand a lot of people aren't going to have a Mac, and they're going to need to use USB-C to USB 3.0 on their Windows machine, unless their Windows machine has a USB-C port.

7:32 In fact, this interface would allow me to plug in two of these mics together, and that enhances the experience, allows me to do interviews. Like I said, you can't skimp on it. So overall, for the audio, you're spending at minimum about $300 to $500. I know, it's a lot of money. Quick tip on your iPhone, whatever camera you're using, if you're using a phone, you're going to have multiple lenses, and you're going to want to make the trick of looking at one of them that's not right.

8:33 Clap. And there's a frame, specifically, where your hands meet together, where you're going to hear that clap sound. I use that to sync because the audio that's going to be recorded into OBS is going to be delayed a couple milliseconds, and it might be a frame or two, and the audio from your phone, believe it or not, is always delayed, especially if you have cinematic mode turned on.

9:37 I use OBS to bridge the gap between the two because it's free, and it records high quality, and I can control it, and it's real awesome. And I use a Mac for user-friendly experience. It's more consistent. It's easier to have less problems than I do with my gaming machine, and that just has to do with Windows updates, drivers, and etc. And for entry-level, if you don't have a laptop, even if you have a laptop, you might want to invest into a Mac Mini that's like $400, $500.

10:39 Your Chromebook is not going to work. It's not going to work. It's not going to cut it. A Mac Mini will do wonders for you, and I mean the Mac Mini that just came out, the M4 chip, not the M1, M2, M3. Plus, the Mac Mini M4 chip is a streamlined experience, and it fits like in your palm of your hand. When you're recording your podcast and you're developing the content, we're going to go back to content real quick.

11:40 haven't been able to post a lot from that podcast, but I engineer it, so I have a lot of sub points that I can use. They're between 30 seconds to 60 seconds that helps me reuse the content. This way, I spend a day recreating my podcast and scheduling for the whole week. Remember, you don't care if that social media post is connected to the podcast topic. You don't have to explain, I have this podcast.

12:41 You're going to have content that works, content that doesn't work, and you're going to have to play around and see what helps. While you're learning that, you can use ChatGPT, take a transcript. I take a transcript out of Adobe Premiere. I plug into ChatGPT. I say, hey, you know, I have a crafted prompt that I give it. It processes the prompt. It processes it. It suggests me 12 to 20 clips, and I select the best seven.

13:47 has already liked like content, like it, social media is going to show it more and more to that person or that group of people. So you can literally find in the 6 billion people on the planet, plus there are people that are going to connect with your content. It's just going to take some time to find ways to interact with them, experiment with your clips and podcast content.

14:48 I'm looking at my preview monitor over here. And I can see it looks kind of cool. It adds a little bit of flare and it adds some depth to the wall behind me. I don't recommend that you shoot against a wall. A, if you shoot closer to a wall, you're going to see shadow. I don't recommend you get that close to a wall. What I recommend you do is if you do shoot against a wall that you have shelves and you have components, I don't have as much, or you add a breakup to it, which is going to add like, you know, a splash of design or something from light base, that kind of thing.

15:51 And now I have a backlight. And so now you see the difference in the backlight. Now, my hairline being as high as it is right now, you see that a little bit there. With cinematic mode, I don't actually need this light as much because it will automatically add differentiation. But once I plug it in, as you can see, I stand out a little bit because the backlight works to fold the way I have it angled, I have it angled.

16:56 on. I was like, does it look quite right? And now I have depth. I have the breakup. I have the backlight. I'm dual purposing it. Like it's just about setting it up. And if you have a dedicated space you can use, you can set it up and you're good to go. If you don't have a dedicated space, like if you didn't have this backlight, then you can shoot in front of a window on an overcast day and you can use cinematic mode to help you.

17:59 I just needed something that was a bit longer and I didn't want to have to go stack multiple quasars together. So this is what I got. And this is, I all got this from Amazon. If you want to know what I purchased, just leave a line. Maybe I'll do an Amazon wishlist or something that you can copy and paste and use all the equipment I use. Let's say you're traveling, film outside, use a love with noise canceling.

19:05 Now I am further away from my mic just because that's how the lighting works in here. It's not perfect, but it works for me. I've tested it. One thing I will say is make sure that you have the right spec cables. Because I've been using USB-C, if you watch the other podcasts, listen to it, or some of the social media clips I have from that last podcast, there was a lot of noise.

20:05 just wash the entire experience. Also, big audio tip I can tell anyone is always listen to your audio. Why? Because you'll know if you're too quiet, you'll know if you step away and sound like a mouse or if you're too loud and it's popping, you will know that because you're listening to your voice. It sounds where you're going to have to get used to listening to your own voice.

21:06 You're going to add a lot of filler words like ums. But this, my favorite one, the one I hate the most to edit out of all of my podcasts is and, and, and I do that a lot less because editing my own podcast requires me to listen to my podcast and know how bad I said things and how to improve things both subconsciously and very consciously. I get very frustrated when I'm like, that point did not sound right.

22:11 I have 30 episodes recorded online, 30 plus. I help people with podcasts all the time. It's common for a podcast host or interviewer to be thinking of their words the same time they're speaking, causing them to stumble over the words. This is very common. I hate it. It sounds like, you know, when people word stumble and it's like, that doesn't work. It happens a lot. You have to remind hosts.

23:12 You just start it off. Mr. Beast, when he first started, he was not the YouTube millionaire you know him to be. Or billionaire. But he kept growing and kept connecting. And eventually, he found a video that went viral. And that's how you grow. The algorithm is your friend and your enemy. It's a friend of me. You're going to have posts that are low and et cetera. Next week, we're going to talk about editing podcasts and turning those podcasts into social media bites.

24:13 That technology won't frustrate you. That you'll be granted the ability to pursue that vision that God has placed deep in your heart. That that thing that you're passionate about. That thing that gives you purpose. The thing that God has placed in your soul to accomplish. I pray right now that you get inspired to accomplish it. And that this helps you. Gives you wisdom. Understanding the Lord gives you wisdom.