How to Create a High-Quality Podcast
Over the past three months, The Otter Group has been experimenting with
different production methods for our Negotiating Tip of the Week
podcasts.
We are fortunate to have the creative genius and technical
savvy of Dr. Josh Weiss, Associate Director for the Program on
Negotiation at Harvard, who has been diligently writing and recording a
podcast almost every week. Before we got to where we are now with our high-quality Audioblog podcasts, we started off using some cumbersome yet functional recording equipment.
How we started
Using a middle-of-the-road external microphone and a “cheap” mp3
recorder/player, we had Josh using his personal home computer to record
and save his podcasts to iTunes.
Though his feline friends would sometimes slow down production,
(walking over the mic, tripping over the wires, etc.) Josh was
undeterred, able to add musical intro and outro tracks to liven up the
audio.
Once he recorded, I posted the mp3 file to our blog as an attachment via Blogware.
After the fourth podcast, we noticed tremendous growth in the number of
daily visitors to our blog. However, our blog storage space was quickly
diminishing.
Shopping around
While there are many options for publishing audio to weblog, we were impressed by Audioblog's
integrated BlogRecorder, a phone moblogging option, and unlimited
storage for our podcasts. We have also found the audio quality to be
superb. Even Josh's earlier recordings sound better through Audioblog.
How to Create a High-Quality Podcast
Using Audioblog, iTunes, and WireTap Pro (really great for mac users; PC users can peruse the millions of freeware and shareware programs on CNet.com or Tucows.com
for download), you can create a high-quality podcast. First, Josh uses
the BlogRecorder to record new audio. Using iTunes, I then create a new
playlist with the intro music, Josh's audio, and the outro music. Next,
WireTap Pro makes editing in music a breeze — simply push record while
your new podcast playlist is playing. Finally, upload the edited mp3 to
your Audioblog, and your podcast is posted within minutes.
