How to Create a Successful Podcast on a Budget

These days, everyone seems to have a podcast. In fact, some people have more than one podcast! But then there are others who haven’t ever listened to a podcast! However, these people are in the minority. According to Buzzsprout, 62% of the population over the age of 12 has listened to a podcast, and over 1/3 of Americans listen to them regularly. That’s around 104 million people … so is it any wonder that people consider podcasts to be a hugely effective marketing tool?

If you’ve been considering it but are intimidated by how complicated it appears to be and how much it may cost you, then this article is for you. I wanted to start my own podcast for several years but put it off as I assumed it would be too difficult to do and cost far too much money. However, at the start of this year, I bit the bullet and decided to just go for it.

I started off slowly and didn’t commit to much, but I managed to get the show out there, get over 40,000 listeners and make a name for myself. This next season, I plan to upgrade things, but this article is all about how you can start your podcast on a budget:

Related: How to Start a Podcast With Almost No Money

Video podcast or just audio?

I know that everyone is talking about the power of video and how you can leverage it for your social media growth, but if you’re planning on doing this in the simplest way possible, scrap the idea of using video right now. It complicates things so much.

Stick to an audio podcast at first, and you can still create videos for social media using the audio. By creating podcast audiograms, you can trick social media algorithms to thinking you’re using video, and it will help with your reach.

Budget podcast equipment

You absolutely do need a good microphone, and there’s no going around that. However, this mic does not need to cost you the earth. Of course, you can get fancy microphones, but I personally use the Blue Yeti, as do many other podcasters. The sound quality is fab, and it’s extremely affordable. The other accessories it offers are optional.

Then, that’s actually really it! You just need a quiet room to minimize all the background noise and then you have barely any editing to do. The rest is all down to how you record the podcast, which is what we will cover next.

Related: The 7-Step Process to Launching Your Podcast for Free

How to record your podcast

This will really depend on how you choose to structure your podcast. You will have some decisions to make on what will be the best format for your podcast, and this will depend on your expertise and your niche. Will you record the podcast solo, or will you have guests?

Either way, there is some great podcast recording software out there, many of which are free! Not only this, they even include free audio editing software — meaning, you can record and edit your podcast for free. You can’t get more budget-friendly than that.

Some of these have built-in options so you can even record a call with your guest, but these often require a paid upgrade. Alternatively, you can do this on Zoom for free, but the quality is not as good.

Here are some of the places you can look to record your podcast for free: Riverside FM, Alitu, Audacity, Podbean and the one I personally use, Anchor FM.

I’ve been recording my podcasts via Zoom (even though I know it’s not as good quality!) and uploading them to Anchor, without using their embedded platform, even though it’s super simple. However, I wanted to use video, so this was a little bit more complicated. You can also add songs from Spotify (they’re the ones who own Anchor!), add transitions and free music to it.

Pick a niche

The easiest way to get noticed with a podcast is to go super-niche with it. My podcast is for entrepreneurs and stars entrepreneurs, which definitely isn’t niche enough! The more niche you go, the more likely you will stand out. I know this may not be for everyone, but it’s definitely a way to make your marketing a lot easier.

Related: Learn How to Start and Market High-Quality Podcasts

Marketing your podcast on a budget

You’re not going to immediately top all the podcast charts without advertising spend behind you, but you can still make some noise and build up a loyal following. Use your current network, and ask them to tune in and leave a review for you. This helps your podcast reach more people if the podcast apps think that the podcast is being well-received.

Repurpose your podcast content so that you make the most of each episode. Make audiograms (we mentioned them earlier) and stick them on your social media channels, transcribe your podcast to a blog post (some platforms do this for your automatically!), send out a newsletter with the episodes in them, and then collate themed clips from different episodes to provide guides on certain topics.

So, I’ve just provided you with a guide on how to create a successful podcast for just the price of a microphone. Everything else is free. What’s more is, if you follow the advice in the last paragraph, you will be able to create enough digital content to last you a whole month! You’ve now got no excuses left to not create your podcast!