Creating a podcast is easy. You are in the right place if you have no idea where to begin. All you have to do is go through the six steps below to create a podcast that will then be ready for publishing:

Steps explanation

1. Connect your microphone
The majority of laptops have microphones built-in. If your laptop has a microphone built-in or you have previously connected an external microphone go to step two.

For desktops or laptops without microphones there are many kinds of available on the market. Microphones can be connected to your computer in two ways either direct to your sound card (see picture 1.1), or through USB socket (picture 1.2).

Picture 1.1


Picture 1.2



2. Download the software
There are a hundred or more applications for sound recording. In the examples below we use Audacity which is one of the most popular, however you can use any software available (e.g. My MP3, MP3 Editor-Recorder, FREE Hi-Q Recorder ).


3. Test your microphone
Test your microphone and make sure everything is working properly.


4. Recording the podcast
To record a podcast you have to click the "record button" on your toolbar. You will probably need to record a few test samples first to confirm your software is working properly. If your recording is not clear or not loud enough you can change the parameters of the recording:

	Output volume value can increase your recording's volume
	Input volume can change your microphone sensitivity

You can change the quality of your podcast by clicking Edit -> Preferences and choose 'Quality' tab. This is important because a high quality recording can make the file very large and difficult to download or to listen online.




5. Export to MP3
Once your podcast is recorded you need to save it on the disk. The best way to do this is to export the file to an MP3 format. Click on menu File -> Export As MP3... and save the file. If the file is too big you can change the "bitrate" setting in your software Preferences like on the picture below (Audacity):



6. Listen and enjoy
The easiest step needs no explanation at all.

If you want to know how to publish a podcast click here.