Resources · 8 min read

How to start a podcast, step by step

Starting a podcast is not complicated, but the order matters. Nail the idea before the name, the name before the gear, and the first three episodes before the launch. Here is the whole path from blank page to published show, in the sequence that saves you money and false starts.

Step 1: What should your podcast actually be about?

Before anything else, answer one question in a single sentence: who is this show for, and what do they get from every episode? "A show about business" is a hobby; "twenty-minute interviews where London founders explain their first hundred customers" is a podcast. The tighter the promise, the easier every later decision becomes, from naming to promotion. Write the sentence down, then sanity-check it: can you list twenty episode ideas in ten minutes? If you cannot, the concept is too thin to survive past episode five, which is where most shows quietly die. Adjust the idea until the list flows, because a podcast is a series, not a one-off.

Step 2: How do you choose a format and episode length?

Format is a promise you make to listeners, so pick one you can keep every week: solo commentary, co-hosted conversation, guest interviews or narrative storytelling. Interviews are the most popular first format because guests bring half the content and their audience with them, but they also demand booking, research and scheduling. Solo shows are logistically simple but put everything on you. Whichever you choose, decide a target runtime and stick near it, since consistency builds the listening habit. Our guide on how long a podcast episode should be has real benchmarks by format, but the short answer is: as long as it stays good, and not a minute longer.

Step 3: How do you name the show?

Now that you know what the show is and who it serves, the name almost writes itself: clear beats clever, searchable beats poetic, and short beats long. Generate a big list fast, test the survivors by saying them out loud, and check availability in the podcast apps before you commit. We have a full process in how to come up with a podcast name, but do not let this step eat weeks. A decent name attached to a published show beats a perfect name attached to a notes file, and you can rename later if you must.

Step 4: What equipment do you need to start?

Less than the internet tells you. A single decent USB microphone, closed-back headphones and a quiet room will beat a drawer full of impulse purchases, and you can upgrade once the show has proven it deserves the investment. If you want video from day one, the bar rises: cameras, lighting and acoustic treatment add up quickly, which is exactly when hiring a studio by the hour beats buying. Our breakdown of what equipment you actually need covers the specifics, and what starting a podcast really costs puts honest numbers on both routes. The rule of thumb: spend on the microphone and the room, and be stingy about everything else.

Step 5: How do you record episodes that sound professional?

Listeners forgive average video and amateur artwork, but they will not forgive bad audio. Record in the deadest room you can find, keep the microphone a hand's width from your mouth, and do a thirty-second test recording before every session, because the take you did not check is always the one with the buzzing fridge in it. Prepare a loose outline rather than a script so you sound like a person, not a press release. And record your first three episodes before you publish anything: you will be noticeably better by the third, and launching with several episodes gives new listeners a reason to stay. If you would rather skip the technical learning curve entirely, a session in our Clerkenwell studio comes with an engineer, treated acoustics and 4K multi-camera video, so your first episode sounds like your fiftieth.

Step 6: How do you edit and publish a podcast?

Editing has two jobs: remove the moments that would make a listener reach for the skip button, and even out the sound so nobody touches their volume knob. Free tools handle both, and the discipline that matters most is restraint, since over-edited conversation sounds robotic. Once you have a finished file, you need a podcast host, which is a service that stores your audio and generates the RSS feed that Apple Podcasts, Spotify and every other app read from. You upload to the host once, submit the feed to each directory once, and from then on new episodes appear everywhere automatically. Write episode titles that say what the episode is about in plain search terms, because episode titles are one of the few levers you control in app search.

Step 7: How do you launch and get your first listeners?

Launch with two or three episodes, tell every person you plausibly can, and ask your first listeners to follow the show rather than just visit it, since follows are what the charts and algorithms count. Then settle into the real work: a sustainable promotion routine. Short vertical clips, guest swaps with similar-sized shows and search-friendly show notes compound over months in a way launch-week noise does not. Our guide to how to promote a podcast ranks the channels that actually grow shows. Above all, protect consistency: a fortnightly show that never misses beats a weekly show that fades by episode eight.

The short version

Define who the show is for in one sentence and prove you have twenty episodes in you. Pick a format you can sustain, name the show quickly using search-friendly words, and start with minimal gear or a studio session instead of a shopping spree. Record three episodes before launching, publish through a podcast host to reach every app at once, and promote with a routine you can keep up for a year. None of it requires permission, a big budget or perfect equipment. It requires starting.