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Podcasting is a great way to get information to your audience. They can download and take your message with them to the gym, listen in the car while traveling, or simply listen on their computer while they chat on Facebook. Podcasting makes your message more personal and tangible to your audience. Seth Godin has recently said that podcasting is the new blogging, and there’s never been a better time to get started.  Aim to make your podcast as professional as you can to give the best possible experience to your customers.

1. Use the Right Mic

Purchase a mic that has noise canceling features, and that is of high quality. The best mic will be one connected via USB and not cordless, as the latter will mess with the quality of your mic. You want a directional mic that captures sound in front of it and not around it; this will make for a much better quality sound. Ask your guests to also have a good sounding mic if you’re recording them over the internet or by phone. The Blue Yeti Mic below is highly recommended by most professional podcasters.

2. Invest in Good Software & Hosting

Software made for podcasting like Audacity is good a choice to record your podcast. Be careful using software like Skype and Pamela for your podcast because the quality will be affected due to talking over the internet. But, if you do choose to use something like that, ask that your guests are plugged into the internet by USB and not wireless. For hosting options, I highly recommend Blubrry.com and Libsyn.com.

3. Edit the Final Results

Everyone makes mistakes, so it’s not as if you have to make every answer and every last part of your podcast perfect and whitewashed. But, some editing will need to be done so that everyone sounds professional and long-winded answers can be cut down for time’s sake. Editing is the most time-consuming part of producing a podcast, so if you don’t have a ton of time on your hands or are unfamiliar with editing, I highly recommend hiring a freelancer from FreeeUp.com to handle it.

4. Keep the Room Quiet

Yes, you have a life and you are probably recording your podcast in your bedroom or home office, but you don’t want it to sound like you are. If you don’t have the luxury of having a small studio to record in, make sure you have a lock on the door and alert those at home that you’re about to record. You don’t want to have to take time out to shush a child or quiet a barking dog. Instead, do what you can to make sure the room stays quiet while you record your show.

5. Practice

When you first start out it might take some practice to get used to the technology, the quiet time in the recording room, and a lot of other things. Take the time to have a few practice shows before you put your show live so that you can learn how to use the new technology.

Pinterest - Ten Tips for Creating a Professional Podcast

6. Pay for an Introduction

Find someone to do a professional voice-over on Fiverr.com, and purchase some intro music to take you in and out of commercials. Some people have music for the end of the show as well. It helps the listener to get ready to listen and helps let them down easily when the show is over.

7. Sell Advertising

As your show becomes more popular, sell advertising. In the meantime, you might consider giving away some advertising so that people who are listening get used to ads being in the show. And if anyone who listens wants to place an advertisement, they can hear the type of quality you expect.

8. Invite Rock Star Guests

People love listening to podcasts more if there is a conversation instead of just one person talking. Try to invite guests who are masters of their niche and their businesses. This will rub off onto you by association. If you hang out with those who are doing well, you’ll be seen as someone who is doing well too.

9. Be Consistent

Putting out a podcast irregularly is the kiss of death for your podcast. It’s important that your audience become dependent on hearing your podcast on a certain date and time. It sometimes takes a bit for a good audience to catch on, and if you aren’t regularly posting podcasts you’ll never catch on.

10. Stay on Niche

This can be hard when you are doing a podcast because of having to repeatedly come up with subject matter for shows. But, you want anyone who listens to understand who you’re speaking to and not to end up bored due to targeting the wrong audience.

You really can produce a professional podcast from your home office. You just need to have a good niche, understand the audience, and post podcasts on a regular basis using subject matter that your audience wants to hear.